I used to run a bookshop in a tweeting vending machine called Machine Supply. It was the smallest member of the Booksellers Association (I had a stick

Sometimes the product innovation is the distribution (Interconnected)

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2024-09-27 21:00:08

I used to run a bookshop in a tweeting vending machine called Machine Supply. It was the smallest member of the Booksellers Association (I had a sticker on the glass and everything) and I partnered with a great book wholesaler.

So the book business relies on wholesalers. They buy the books from the publishers and bookshops buy the books from them. They provide warehousing and distribution for the publishers… but critically for the bookshops they provide a trade account. Credit! The ability to return stock! Ordering systems and consolidated invoices and regular shipping! A big deal.

I ordered some… standard wholesale discount. They arrived along with the regular books. I stocked them in the vending machine. (They fitted the shelf mechanism of course.) They sold well!

Would I have stocked Moleskines if they weren’t distributed by the book wholesaler? No, it wouldn’t have been worth the hassle.