...because in his former shop, he had to carry a whopping 200 books!
Japanese Bookshop Stocks Only One Book at a Time
11–20 of 73 posts
Re: Japanese Bookshop Stocks Only One Book at a Time
#12I've imagined this repeatedly. When you can buy any book you want online, physical bookstores become, in practice, galleries—and their clerks become salesmen. In such times, there's not much point to having a big store stuffed to the gunnels with anonymous tomes that the clerks don't even know they have, let alone know anything about. Bookstores have none of the things that the book-buyer wants (discoverability, reco…
This Christmas reminded me that as long as there are people like me, who leave shopping for presents to the last minute, physical stores with large stock aren't going anywhere.
But I am definitely waiting for the moment when physical stores turn into a purely advertising space, and draw their revenue from there. In a very near future you might not be able to buy things at a store, you will only be able to look at and try things (books are a good example).
Clothes are an exception here.
Re: Japanese Bookshop Stocks Only One Book at a Time
#13So this is essentially a subscription model?
It sounds like he is trying to capture the attention of a group of regulars to the point that they will all buy every book he displays. That, or every time he stocks a new book the updated store will at least turn heads. Standard bookstores never really change in appearance.
I guess there is also a threat. Buy it now because it won't be here next week.
Re: Japanese Bookshop Stocks Only One Book at a Time
#14And then there's the record store that only sells (and buys) the White Album:
Re: Japanese Bookshop Stocks Only One Book at a Time
#15Very Zen.
Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. – Confucius
Re: Japanese Bookshop Stocks Only One Book at a Time
#16I'd buy it. I mean, if the guy's stocking one book, it's going to be pretty good, right? I mean, what is it going to be like that (redacted) book I was reading written in a dead author's name? [1] I was like, wait a second what is this piece of crap - then I was like, ohhh. Yes, that would explain it.
That's not going to happen if I buy this guy's one book.
[1] like this - http://www.avclub.com/article/pay-no-attention-to-the-man-be...
Re: Japanese Bookshop Stocks Only One Book at a Time
#17Very Zen. Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. – Confucius
I hate to be that guy, but Confucius probably said no such thing.[0]
Re: Japanese Bookshop Stocks Only One Book at a Time
#18When playing a board game, like Terra Mystica, where there are choices I can make, and there are random elements that change from game to game, there's two routes I could go - The first is to play out the plan I've thought about so many times previously, to align the choices I make with that plan as faithfully as the random elements allow. The second, is to completely ditch whatever was in my plan, look at the random…
He's only sold 2100 books in 7 months - not much of a success, at least in terms of profitability.
[deleted]
Re: Japanese Bookshop Stocks Only One Book at a Time
#19It seems to me almost a given that the authors and publishers are paying or otherwise helping support these endeavors, via some sort of cooperative advertising type model. Some of his comments seem to hint at that.
Either that or he has a trust fund, given Tokyo real estate prices there don't seem to be many other reasonable hypotheses.
Re: Japanese Bookshop Stocks Only One Book at a Time
#20I've imagined this repeatedly. When you can buy any book you want online, physical bookstores become, in practice, galleries—and their clerks become salesmen. In such times, there's not much point to having a big store stuffed to the gunnels with anonymous tomes that the clerks don't even know they have, let alone know anything about. Bookstores have none of the things that the book-buyer wants (discoverability, reco…
For used book stores, I usually wander in out of curiosity, and often walk out with six or seven books that I didn't realize I wanted when I walked in.