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Can we talk about the Portland shop that put a single book in their window for 3 months
I walked past this tiny store on Hawthorne in Portland every day for 3 months and their whole window display was one copy of the same novel, face out, with no sign or nothing. I kept thinking it was lazy or the owner forgot to change it, and I almost went in just to ask what the deal was. Then last week I finally did, and the owner told me he only puts up a book he has personally read twice and can talk about with anyone who walks in. He said that one book sold 41 copies in 3 months, way more than anything else he ever displayed. Meanwhile the shop two blocks down has a window crammed with 30 books and a chalkboard and I never see anyone in there. So yeah, I think the one book thing is genius and the crowded window approach is dead. Am I crazy for thinking a single book beats a whole themed display?
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ryanh7711d ago
Get why you almost went in to ask, I would've done the same thing after a couple weeks. That would bug me too, walking past the same book every day wondering if the owner just stopped caring. Turns out the guy had a system the whole time, and a pretty smart one, since he can actually talk about the book instead of just stacking whatever the publisher sent him. The 41 copies thing says it all, because people can tell when someone really knows what they're selling. A window with 30 books and a chalkboard is just noise, nobody knows where to look. You're not crazy at all, one book with a real person behind it beats a crowded display every time.
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