Subject: Brand new out of date NASB? |
Bible Note: EdB: I was addressing gould55, but adding your two cents worth is ok with me. The tone of you note is more than a "tad" unfriendly! I would call it almost sarcastic. I don't mind a open challange to my "information" but you come rather close to saying I don't know where I speak from. I am answering you so you can be better informed. I am not refering to Wal Mart or CBD or Sam's Club! To become a Christian Book Store owner it requires about 25 to 50 thousand dollars, to be an independant owner. When Family Book Stores, which was a franchize, the start up cost was much higher! The price a store owner pays depends on VOLUME! On many books there are minimum count amounts to even buy one. Some require 10, or more. Unless it is a special order which there is little if any profit after transportation and calling the person to tell them the order is in. In a very typical Mom and Pop Christian Book Store they put in about 72 hours in six days! When additional help is required that is an added cost. Location and Name recogintion is the first most important thing a store ouner must have. That means usually a higher rent area. Then it's varity of stock of books. In Bibles alone the expence can be staggering, if you want more than the bare miminum. Customer service is absoultly the most single thing that will make or brake you. Then there is advertizement. Christian radio expects your "support", and phone books, there are usually three to be in. Then you want to be competive, with Wal Mart or CBD or Sams. Now remember these BIG outlet stores buy these books by the hundreds of thousands! Mean while the Mom and Pop store orders what the HOPE will sell! Often books set unsold. Would be customers have handeled books, them and bent covers, or the child mother was carring slobbered on a page or two. There are returns. "I did not know the author was a pertrib person", after reading the book. Or the Bible I picked out for aunt Jane she does not like. This is after her name was put on! Remember the small Book Store Owner has to keep their customer happy so they will return! Just because a Book store marks up a book by 40 percent does not mean that's what they made! Indeed they might well have lost money! A Christian Book Store profit or loss is determined by the end of the year talley of the books! Not on a single item! If you were able to get a typical Christian Book Store owner to tell you their actual profit at the end of the year you would see how mistaken you are! THE TYPICAL INDIVDUAL OWNER MAKES ON THE AVRAGE 4 TO 6 PERCENT! I worked for ZONDERVAN and I was in a special sales division and my commision was about 40 percent, but after expences, and everything the first year I was in the negative for more that 15 percent! the next three years improved. My best year was 3 percent profit. My job was working with churches, and many times they were late with payments, or just quit paying! Do not think that Mom and Pop Christian Book stores don't have there fair share of bad accounts as well. Ther is an assumption that every church should be entitled to an account, and if you don't agree to it see how quickly the news spreds. Just try and see if Sam's or Walmart will special order a book for you. I shop a lot at Wal Mart. But,I also know the old local Bakery, Shoe store, and the Toy store are gone. Sure I save a good amount of money. I expect competive prices. By far, most Local Individual owned Christian Book Stores are not any where near 10 percent. Sure CBD sells for big discounts. If you bought a boxcar full of one kind of set of books you could get them at 50 percent off. Volume times actual price plus 40 percent is quite typical for big stores. I would like to know of ANY book store owned by a Mom and Pop that has made 100 percent. I challenge you to prove your words! EdB, you seen like a person who wants to be a good steward of the money God provides. However many Christians are under the same false misunderstanding about how much Christian book sellers make. You can go to the annual Christian Booksellers convention with your Book Store owner friend, and see for yourself. A Christian Book Store is a Ministry, not for much profit. I will add this too, think of all the different denominations there are. The book store tries to keep material that will fit in all these groups. I know I have said that if all these different authors were ever in one place there would an all out battle of words! So EdB, please reconsider you words. agape, justme |