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“Picture this as a hot air balloon,” John Simpson said of his used bookstore, Dave’s Books, in Old Town. “What I did was cut the basket loose because there’s no more ballast.”
The metaphorical basket was an annex accounting for a major chunk of Dave’s Books – Simpson operates entirely in an 18-and-a-half-by-20-foot room, cutting his rent in half. The basket was also the heart of his non-electronic gaming shop; in relinquishing shop space, he’s downsized the games display to 10 percent of its original area.
“I’ve never been this far in debt,” Simpson said. Although the “tough times” began within the last two years, Simpson’s debt began when he moved his shop to its current space at 277 Main St.
Simpson, 35, came to Dave’s Books in 2000 with an estimated 57,000 volumes. He has recycled nearly 20,000 books – works “no one will ever read,” he said.
“Fewer books are selling. People with time on their hands have less free money than they used to; it’s just the way of things in tough economic times. So even my good, loyal customers are buying fewer than they once did,” Simpson said.
Even with a steady diet of affordable staples like Ramen noodles and macaroni and cheese, financial troubles do not weigh heavily on Simpson’s friendly spirit.
“We all have a choice – we can choose to face life or not. How to stay in good humor is I look at life and say, ‘Well, geez, this sucks. Now, I can be miserable or not. Which do I want to be?’ That’s the bottom line,” he said.
Although Simpson was not prepared to disclose finances, he said Dave’s Books now operates at under one third of its gross profit from 2007.
Vicky Erker, proprietor of Front Porch Books at 67 Pine St. in Orono, runs a different type of shop: She caters more to hobby readers, with specialized sections like cooking, travel and history. Her collection stands at roughly 3,000 volumes. She operates in a specially tailored space above her garage.
Dave’s Books, by comparison, hosts over 20,000 volumes and does not sell enough to cover overhead costs like rent and insurance.
Cutting costs like rent – a task easier set than achieved – may be the only way to stay solvent in a floundering trade.
“My 2008 numbers were terrific compared to the year before,” Erker said. A week after what was likely America’s oldest gay and lesbian bookseller, The Oscar Wilde Bookshop in Manhattan, announced its impending closure due to profits diving and rent skyrocketing, it’s worth wondering if Erker’s sell-from-home method is the only way to survive.
“Rent-free space is a large help to the bottom line,” Erker said. Her business remains subject to taxes, insurance and utilities.
“My goal is slow, steady, sustainable growth. The business grew wonderfully my first year in the shop, and my challenge is to sustain that growth in this economic climate. I am sure this will take both flexibility and creativity,” Erker said.
Simpson identified high foot traffic, visibility and “being someplace other than Old Town, Maine” as crucial to success. But part of the problem is the nature of a used bookstore. To illustrate, he pulled an arbitrary volume from his shelves – a 15-year-old paperback novel that, when new for $5, was priced at $2.50 in a used bookstore.
“The price of a book hasn’t gone up. I’m charging the same amount [while] my rent goes up, my insurance goes up,” Simpson said.
Simpson aims to begin delivering pizza full-time to meet the cost of living. Dave’s Books will stay open as often as Simpson can manage, but the hours will be severely reduced.
“My store is now becoming a very expensive place to keep books. It’s going to be next best to being closed,” Simpson said. “I will be here as much as I can, but working 40 hours a week, this is going to be part-time.” He will discontinue phone and internet services within two months, eliminating his capability to accept credit cards.
Simpson said that each new class at the University of Maine includes fewer readers and less hope for his business. “There are new customers, but my losses outnumber my gains.”
According to Simpson, the volume of sale in the bookselling industry has been cut in half in recent years; internet sales have fallen by one third.
