For all my friends who frequently go to bookstores
Here are some tips on how to deal with bookstores, how they work and what not to do.
When you go to a bookstore looking for a specific book dont expect your sales assistant to immediately know the book and know where it is.
Salss assistants do not know every book in store and what genre they are. They'll know popular books, popular authors and what they themselves read but expecting more is unfair.
Do not ask your sales assistant "I dont know the name and I dont know the author but it was blue and about dragons" because 80% of the time they will not be able to help you at all. And it leaves both parties frustrated.
If your sales assistant does not know what you're talking about dont get mad at them. They may not have come across what you want before, know they dont have it or you have made a mistake on your side.
If you're in a place that speaks multiple languages or if your sales assistant is not a native english speaker or you are not a native English speaker please understand that your accent plays a large role in how they understand what you say.
Say you have a book that you bought and you realise when you get home that it was misbound or the batteries to a sound book are flat and you want to return it.
When you return a book because something is wrong with it the bookstore sends it back to the supplier so that the bookstore can get back the money it spent on a faulty book.
However suppliers will only take back books that are in mint condition - meaning no torn pages no bent spines and all the batteries in place. So if you bring back a book and want it exchanged then the bookstore will only do it if the above conditions are met. Otherwise the bookstore loses money. It's just business.
You cannot exchange/return a damaged book. If you bought a book and you only notice at home that it is damaged then you need to be able to prove it was damaged before you bought it or the store will not take it back. Suppliers will only take back damaged books if the store can prove they were damaged in transit or on the suppliers side.
If you want to return a damaged book/one without all the parts dont throw I fit in the bookstore shouting about bad service and horrible stores and expected it to get you what you want. Especially dont tear the book apart in a fit of rage (like a lady in our store does). It will not get you anywhere and all it does is make you a joke about how horrible working in retail is.
The process of ordering books is fairly simple. Your sales assistant will with their suppliers if they stock the book, check price and availability and then let you know.
Price: know that the price on the bookstores system might not be the same price as what is listed with the suppliers. Suppliers also sometimes raise stock price after you have places your order so when the book gets to you it might be more expensive.
Stock availability: how long it takes your order to get to the bookstore depends on if the supplier has stock or not. If they do not have stock it will take longer. Generally 6-8 weeks or longer for some books.
Delays: if your order is delayed please understand that it is a problem on the suppliers side and the bookstore has no control over that.
Different suppliers stock different books. It may be that the suppliers your bookstore has do not stock what you're looking for at all and therefore the bookstore will be unable to source it for you .
This one is mainly for bookstores outside of America.
If the book is embargoed (meaning it has a single global release date) that book will be on the shelves right across the world on the same day.
If that book does not have an international embargo then understand that there is a high chance bookstores will not have them at the same time as their american release date. Or the same release date as the country the book originates from
Example: if it's an Australian book and its release date is the 12th of October then some international stores may only get it end December.
Some stores also do not stock certain books so if you want something that's newly released but the store doesn't stock it its highly likely that they cannot get it for you.
If you are looking for something very specific and only that it is better to call the bookstore beforehand so that you dont waste a trip to a store that doesn't have what you want.
Every book has an ISBN number that is unique to it. If you manage to have the ISBN number when asking your bookstore for the book your looking for it makes it easier for them to find the exact book and edition you're looking for.
I know I said dont expect your sales assistants to know everything but ask them if you need help. They're there to help you.
If you want something in a certain genre but dont know what they should be able to point you at popular books in that genre as well as similar books to what you have read.
If you're looking for books for certain age group they will also be able to point you at age appropriate books.
Books go out of print and publishing houses shut down. If the book you're looking for is close to a decade old or older it's probably gone out of print if it hasn't stayed wildly popular. Second hand book stores are a good place to look for books that have gone out of print.
I have made so many mistakes of spelling and tense in this post I die. But too many people have seen this now for me to change it undetected. We die without proofreading like men. Leave me on this hill.
