Greetings from a bookstore owner in Sweden

Mange · 09-19-2010, 03:31 AM

Hello all,

The name's Magnus and I run a small bookstore in the south of Sweden.

Two things about that make it special. First, I'm one of the few that don't percieve ebooks as a threat to bookstores and the book retailing bit. As opposed to quite a few of my colleagues. Secondly, we were actually the first bookstore in Sweden to sell ereaders.

We are also one of the few bookstores that can sell ebooks over the counter, although that will probably change in a very near future.
Soon, every bookstore in Sweden will be able to do that.
And the reason for this, was something the publishers didn't think about:
Most of our customers buying ereaders are older people and a lot of them don't have computers.
So, while taking advantage of the obvious features of the ereaders, many books at hand, being able to adjust the fontsize, the customers always come back to get a new book and have us put it in. Because they can't, won't, aren't intrested in doing that themselves.

Myself, I've got a Sony Touch, PRS600, and have just ordered the new PRS650, through a friend who's off to England today.

In the store we've sold different brands and models, the most popular being Cybook Opus and the Sony Touch.

Looking forward to getting to know you all and learning more about the insides of this business.

Mange (short for Magnus)

nomesque · 09-19-2010, 03:48 AM

Welcome, Magnus!

It's good to see you here, and to hear what you're up to in book selling. Your methodology sounds incredibly sensible, and it's a breath of fresh air!!

Do you sell ebooks primarily in Swedish or English? Where do you source them?

kacir · 09-19-2010, 03:50 AM

Hi Mange. Nice to have you here.

If you can't beat us, you join us ;-)

Mange · 09-19-2010, 04:01 AM

Hi Nomesque,

We sell a bit of both actually. We get the english ebooks from Gardners, one of our suppliers, that can send ebooks directly to my customer, altough I'm the one ordering it.
So the customer comes in to my bookstore, buys an ebook and goes home and downloads it, using a link given to him/her in an email from me/Gardners.

That model is not really representative of the one I spoke of earlier, because it assumes you, the customer, has a bit of computer knowledge. Or a computer for that matter.

The swedish ebooks on the other hand is supplied by Elib and I download them on my computer at the counter. Then the customer gets his/her ebook, when I drag and drop it to the ereader. This assumes they got their ereader with them.
Which they always do, of course.

Mange

Mange · 09-19-2010, 04:06 AM

Hi kacir,

Exactly my thought. But you'd be surprised how many who opposes the whole ebook idea (or maybe you're not really surprised).

But an interesting thing we've noticed: it's not customers or publishers or authors that are sceptical. It's other bookstore owners. They see it as a threat. And they don't seem to realise that the threat to bookstores isn't coming from ebooks.

Anyway, thanks for the welcome,
Mange

lene1949 · 09-19-2010, 04:25 AM

Welcome to MobileRead..

Mange · 09-19-2010, 05:27 AM

Thank-you Lene,

And you're all the way in Australia!
Cool.
Wish I could've been there too. It's getting too cold here for my taste.

Javed · 09-19-2010, 07:37 AM

Hello Magnus and welcome to MobileRead!

Valmore Daniels · 09-19-2010, 10:16 AM

welcome

that's a very clever and considerate approach to ebooks!

desertgrandma · 09-19-2010, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mange

Hello all,

The name's Magnus and I run a small bookstore in the south of Sweden.

Most of our customers buying ereaders are older people and a lot of them don't have computers.
So, while taking advantage of the obvious features of the ereaders, many books at hand, being able to adjust the fontsize, the customers always come back to get a new book and have us put it in. Because they can't, won't, aren't intrested in doing that themselves.

Mange (short for Magnus)

WELCOME to MobileRead, Magnus. What a fantastic way to do business. As someone who has worked in retail all her life, I applaud your customer service. Best of luck to you, and enjoy the forums.

Don't hesitate to ask questions, and be sure to check out our library for downloads. Formatted by our own members, you'll find them free of extraneous pages, errors, etc that you might see from other sources!

Enjoy!

KunoK · 09-19-2010, 10:47 AM

Hi Magnus and welcome. I think that the stores, which will survive, are the ones which gives their customers a little extra service. I think you are on the right track.

Mange · 09-19-2010, 11:03 AM

Thank you Javed, Valmore Daniels, desertgrandma and KunoK for the welcome and the kind words.

Yes, I agree, that this is a important way to meet the future. Especially in our business.
Selling books is as old as Metusalem and the last business to adjust to new times.
If my colleagues doesn´t change with the times I'm afraid that we'll see more small towns here in Sweden without a local bookstore. And I guess in other countries as well.

Take care all.
I'm looking forward to discussing all things ebooky with you guys.

Mange

neilmarr · 09-19-2010, 11:58 AM

Hey, Magnus. Really great to have your new company from ye gods' own country. I love indie shops. Pop into my own indie publisher site below and I reckon we can immediately offer you at least 100 titles in whatever format suits and at good retail rates. Meantime, choose a few titles from our own online bookstore, email me, and I'll send them along for you to check quality. Very best wishes. Neil

Sandra Edwards · 09-19-2010, 12:21 PM

Welcome to MR!

Sandy

Mange · 09-19-2010, 01:55 PM

Neil and Sandy, a varm thank you for the welcome.

Neil, I'll be sure to check out your online bookstore and I'll also email you as soon as possible.
Right now though, I'm preparing to go to Gothenburg in a few days for an important seminar, "Framtidens bokhandel" (translates to "The bookstore (business) of the future") and the swedish bookfair the day after that.
There'll be lots of publishers and authors and also some ereader companies. I'm hoping to get a hands-on on the first Cybook Orizon in Sweden later this week.
But I'll be back!

Take care,
Mange

09-19-2010, 03:31 AM	#1
Mange Enthusiast Posts: 33 Karma: 410 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Höör, Sweden Device: Sony PRS650, T1, Kindle touch, PocketBook Touch	Greetings from a bookstore owner in Sweden Hello all, The name's Magnus and I run a small bookstore in the south of Sweden. Two things about that make it special. First, I'm one of the few that don't percieve ebooks as a threat to bookstores and the book retailing bit. As opposed to quite a few of my colleagues. Secondly, we were actually the first bookstore in Sweden to sell ereaders. We are also one of the few bookstores that can sell ebooks over the counter, although that will probably change in a very near future. Soon, every bookstore in Sweden will be able to do that. And the reason for this, was something the publishers didn't think about: Most of our customers buying ereaders are older people and a lot of them don't have computers. So, while taking advantage of the obvious features of the ereaders, many books at hand, being able to adjust the fontsize, the customers always come back to get a new book and have us put it in. Because they can't, won't, aren't intrested in doing that themselves. Myself, I've got a Sony Touch, PRS600, and have just ordered the new PRS650, through a friend who's off to England today. In the store we've sold different brands and models, the most popular being Cybook Opus and the Sony Touch. Looking forward to getting to know you all and learning more about the insides of this business. Mange (short for Magnus)

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09-19-2010, 03:48 AM	#2
nomesque Snooty Bestselling Author Posts: 1,485 Karma: 1000000 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Ipswich, QLD, Australia Device: PRS-650	Welcome, Magnus! It's good to see you here, and to hear what you're up to in book selling. Your methodology sounds incredibly sensible, and it's a breath of fresh air!! Do you sell ebooks primarily in Swedish or English? Where do you source them?

09-19-2010, 03:50 AM	#3
kacir Wizard Posts: 3,450 Karma: 10484861 Join Date: May 2006 Device: PocketBook 360, before it was Sony Reader, cassiopeia A-20	Hi Mange. Nice to have you here. If you can't beat us, you join us ;-)

09-19-2010, 04:01 AM	#4
Mange Enthusiast Posts: 33 Karma: 410 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Höör, Sweden Device: Sony PRS650, T1, Kindle touch, PocketBook Touch	Hi Nomesque, We sell a bit of both actually. We get the english ebooks from Gardners, one of our suppliers, that can send ebooks directly to my customer, altough I'm the one ordering it. So the customer comes in to my bookstore, buys an ebook and goes home and downloads it, using a link given to him/her in an email from me/Gardners. That model is not really representative of the one I spoke of earlier, because it assumes you, the customer, has a bit of computer knowledge. Or a computer for that matter. The swedish ebooks on the other hand is supplied by Elib and I download them on my computer at the counter. Then the customer gets his/her ebook, when I drag and drop it to the ereader. This assumes they got their ereader with them. Which they always do, of course. Mange

09-19-2010, 04:06 AM	#5
Mange Enthusiast Posts: 33 Karma: 410 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Höör, Sweden Device: Sony PRS650, T1, Kindle touch, PocketBook Touch	Hi kacir, Exactly my thought. But you'd be surprised how many who opposes the whole ebook idea (or maybe you're not really surprised). But an interesting thing we've noticed: it's not customers or publishers or authors that are sceptical. It's other bookstore owners. They see it as a threat. And they don't seem to realise that the threat to bookstores isn't coming from ebooks. Anyway, thanks for the welcome, Mange

09-19-2010, 04:25 AM	#6
lene1949 Wizard Posts: 1,952 Karma: 213930 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Middelfart, Denmark Device: Kindle paper white	Welcome to MobileRead..

09-19-2010, 05:27 AM	#7
Mange Enthusiast Posts: 33 Karma: 410 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Höör, Sweden Device: Sony PRS650, T1, Kindle touch, PocketBook Touch	Thank-you Lene, And you're all the way in Australia! Cool. Wish I could've been there too. It's getting too cold here for my taste.

09-19-2010, 07:37 AM	#8
Javed Grand Sorcerer Posts: 10,270 Karma: 1126878541 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Astak Pocket PRO, iPod Touch, PRS-650	Hello Magnus and welcome to MobileRead!

09-19-2010, 10:16 AM	#9
Valmore Daniels Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,592 Karma: 2822668 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Kindle	welcome that's a very clever and considerate approach to ebooks!

09-19-2010, 10:47 AM	#11
KunoK Connoisseur Posts: 63 Karma: 558 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Copenhagen, Denmark Device: Gen3, Boox 60, K3, Sony T1, Sandra has a Sony505, 650, K3	Hi Magnus and welcome. I think that the stores, which will survive, are the ones which gives their customers a little extra service. I think you are on the right track.

09-19-2010, 11:03 AM	#12
Mange Enthusiast Posts: 33 Karma: 410 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Höör, Sweden Device: Sony PRS650, T1, Kindle touch, PocketBook Touch	Thank you Javed, Valmore Daniels, desertgrandma and KunoK for the welcome and the kind words. Yes, I agree, that this is a important way to meet the future. Especially in our business. Selling books is as old as Metusalem and the last business to adjust to new times. If my colleagues doesn´t change with the times I'm afraid that we'll see more small towns here in Sweden without a local bookstore. And I guess in other countries as well. Take care all. I'm looking forward to discussing all things ebooky with you guys. Mange

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09-19-2010, 11:58 AM	#13
neilmarr neilmarr Posts: 7,216 Karma: 6000059 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Monaco-Menton, France Device: sony	Hey, Magnus. Really great to have your new company from ye gods' own country. I love indie shops. Pop into my own indie publisher site below and I reckon we can immediately offer you at least 100 titles in whatever format suits and at good retail rates. Meantime, choose a few titles from our own online bookstore, email me, and I'll send them along for you to check quality. Very best wishes. Neil

09-19-2010, 12:21 PM	#14
Sandra Edwards Queen of Procrastination Posts: 1,884 Karma: 1802 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Nevada Device: K2, K3, Fire	Welcome to MR! Sandy

09-19-2010, 01:55 PM	#15
Mange Enthusiast Posts: 33 Karma: 410 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Höör, Sweden Device: Sony PRS650, T1, Kindle touch, PocketBook Touch	Neil and Sandy, a varm thank you for the welcome. Neil, I'll be sure to check out your online bookstore and I'll also email you as soon as possible. Right now though, I'm preparing to go to Gothenburg in a few days for an important seminar, "Framtidens bokhandel" (translates to "The bookstore (business) of the future") and the swedish bookfair the day after that. There'll be lots of publishers and authors and also some ereader companies. I'm hoping to get a hands-on on the first Cybook Orizon in Sweden later this week. But I'll be back! Take care, Mange