The Book-buying Experience... :)

[Krys]

The aisles need to be wide. If I can't sit down on the floor to flip through a book or scan the lower shelves without leaving room for people to walk by, then I leave.

And it needs good ventilation! Recently went to a second hand place that was called BookZellers, which my boyfriend and I now call "BookSmellers". I think we lasted all but 3 minutes before gagging on the smell and running for our lives.

I don't think of the bookstore as the video store, i.e. "Do you have that movie with that guy who did that thing?" I go into a bookstore with either a purchase in mind or just to browse.

 

[muggle]

I enjoy Barnes and Noble and can usually find what I am looking for. However, I frequently just like to browse in their store.

For best prices I shop Sams Club or on Amazon.com. It depends a lot on what i am looking for.

 

[RitalinKid]

The aisles need to be wide. If I can't sit down on the floor to flip through a book or scan the lower shelves without leaving room for people to walk by, then I leave.

Yeah, space is a good thing. Who likes to be crowded when shopping for books? I realize it has to be a trade off for bookstores though. It's not very efficient to have less merchandise per area of salesfloor.

 

[7hm]

Like many people who've posted here, I prefer small bookstores. In particular, I like used bookstores (or ones that carry both new and used). The main reason I like small bookstores is that the management is willing to create relationships with their customers, to bargain with us, to spend time talking to us (I don't usually, but a nice conversation with someone that you didn't expect can often brighten up your day).

The thing I most look for in a bookstore is the opportunity to surprise me. I love nothing more than going in and leaving with some book I had no idea I wanted, but end up adoring. Usually, small bookstores are better able to provide me with that experience.

 

[Wolhay]

I like it when books are placed so that their covers are showing. That way you don't have to tilt your head and skim through the books to find what you're looking for. I think this is in the interest of the store owners as well as covers can sell themselves sometimes or at least ignite curiousity and it would make stores less crowded since it wouldn't take as much time to find the books.

So far I've probably only been in one book store that used this system and that is a store that only sells pocket books which might make placement a lot easier since they don't vary much in size.

Usually stores and libraries keep some of the books with the covers outwards on a shelf of their own but that can be counterproductive as they're out of the alphabetic order and you might miss the book you're looking for if you're unlucky.

 

[sanyuja]

Small bookstore, chairs (not necessarily comfy sofa) to sit on when you browse through book racks, shopkeeper who is knowledgeable about books, can understand my taste of books and recommend some book that I like.
I am particularly impressed by a shopkeeper who knows which book is where.
Tell him the name of a book and he points it out in a jiffy! Highly impressive

 

[sanyuja]

Oh I forgot to mention what puts me off!
One thing that annoys me about these big 'popular' bookstores is that they hire so many helpers who have no clue about books.

I once went to a highly popular bookshop here and was looking for a particular book. The books were not arranged neatly, I searched for half an hour for that book in vain and I finally gave up and asked the helper to give me that book. He stared at me blankly and I realised later that he hadn't even heard that book's name!

I left the bookshop without buying that book.

 

[lorrekarloff]

I also like the small, secondhand bookstores. When I lived in Newtown,PA, years ago, there was a tiny store that sold used books and records. The woman who ran it had to be in her 80's and she knew every book and record in the shop! She was so well-read she could tell you about any book or author and she knew exactly what she had and didn't have. She kept a list of books and records that I was searching for and if she found them she'd set them aside for me. She also had a vast knowledge of music from classical to rock-and-roll.

She'd also tell you about all the new arrivals since your last visit, and would even save things aside that she thought I might like based on what I'd bought before! I loved going in there to see if she had any 'surprises' for me.

I also lived above a secondhand bookstore here in Upstate NY called "The Lost Dog". The owner would let myself, my daughter and the next-door neighbors borrow books without buying. It was like our own little library! Unfortunately, it changed owners- and I moved. Funny thing-the house we bought is right next door to the people who owned the "Lost Dog" and we have become good friends!

Amazing where a book can lead you!