Comments on: Two Bookstores: One Big, One Small. One North, One South

By: Sindi Wasserman

Sindi Wasserman — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 03:19:34 +0000

I am so proud of you!!!!! I am so jealous that you are not so far away. I miss your bookstore in the Pomona Arts Colony. Nothing has been the same since you left. I wish you all the success in the whole world.

I will be there to visit you soon.

I hope I'll find some of my photography hanging in your beautiful new store.

Love and hugs.

Sindi

By: June Covington

June Covington — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 04:44:59 +0000

I stopped in to see Dicho's this evening with my daughter during first Thursday night.. we were very impressed and we will be shopping there again.

By: Isabel Cevallos

Isabel Cevallos — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 15:18:10 +0000

My goodness, after dinner last night we stopped at Legacy Books, felt comfortable, fun, and filling. The chef made us crepes, we sat and he told us stories. Imagine telling tales at a bookstore, haven't seen that kind of customer service in years. Guess where I'm going on Friday nights. You can't help but buy a book , simply to thank them for being there.

By: Robert Ungemach

Robert Ungemach — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 01:00:06 +0000

The Bishop Arts District is a wonderful collection of unique shops and restaurants that is fully supported by the local community and others from around the area. Dicho's is a great fit in this neighborhood.

Welcome to the neighborhood!

By: Tom Hendricks

Tom Hendricks — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:58:55 +0000

I've worked in a number of bookstores in Dallas. Helped close the Doubleday Downtown, worked at some chain bookstores, and worked at some fine indie Mom and Pop stores.
Here's a few hard lessons you new bookstores will have to face.
1. Oftentimes you can buy a book cheaper at Wal-Mart than you can at your wholesaler.
2. Your customers will know this, buy the bulk of bestsellers at a discount at the mainstream bookstores, and take all their hard-to-find special orders to you – where your discount and thus profit is almost nil. Wal-mart won't have any customer service, but they'll get all the profit.
3. Christmas sales is everything. Ouch! this Christmas may be a tough one. Also note we have some fine used book stores like Paperbacks Plus, and Half Price Books. People may go used to save money in these hard times.
4. There is an ongoing protest from indie stores as a group, that they cannot get the same amount of discount from mainstream publishers as the major sellers like Wal Mart do.
5. Don't forget indie publications like zines or the works of local writers. Adding these to your stock adds local writers to your store.
6. Mainstream novels are in a slump now but retain outrageous price tags. Nonfiction is usually padded out 10 page essays and they too carry outrageous price tags. Both are hard to sell.
I've had to close 3 bookstores, and one more I worked in in Northpark is long gone. Every indie NEW bookstore in Dallas that I've loved over decades has long gone out of business. You do know you are crazy to buck the odds? But I also love bookstores and am glad you are trying.
Good luck!