Customer Reviews

The Mathematics of Bookselling: A Monograph

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Simply put, this book is the very best work I've ever read on the subject of operating a profitable retail bookstore. The analysis was conducted by the legendary Leonard Shatzkin and presented as one of the first serious studies made publicly available on inventory control. His controversial recommendations turned the bookselling industry upside down while simultaneously boosting the profits of countless independent bookstore owners who follow his advice.

For example;

1. Discarding the notion of buying in larger quantities as a means to eliminate stock outs.
2. Tossing out the idea that quantity discounts increase bookstore profits.
3. Proposing the radical idea that lower publisher discounts actually increase bookstore profits.
4. Subjective inventory buying decisions should be minimized.
5. Computer modeling should be used as sales predictors to control the majority of book buying decisions.

This book is loaded with plenty of statistical analysis to back up Shatzkin's claims. He confidently articulates his position based on nearly 40 years of experience as a bookseller, publisher, and consultant.

If you operate a retail bookstore, or plan to do so and haven't read this book, you're leaving money on the table. Let me correct myself, you're leaving a LOT of money on the table. No serious bookseller should operate his or her store without having thoroughly studied The Mathematics of Bookselling!