two tables and middle grade and YA sharing a table and then picture books on the end. We thought our set-up was pretty good until Elizabeth got her hands on the books. She has this way of seeing a stack of books almost exactly like a customer would (it’s funny how hard that can be to do sometimes) and rearranged accordingly. Our sales went up every time she tidied. It happened so often that I just had to laugh.
Darrilyn, our returns manager, came over early to help set up and stayed for hours. I kept trying to send her home on the gorgeous day, but she was totally engrossed in replenishing the tables and excited about watching the books get sold. It was a fun day for everyone. Shoppers loved it. They couldn’t believe how low some of the prices were and bought armfulls of books. People were remembering cousins for the holidays, buying ahead for a baby shower six months away, and kids were just happy to get a hardcover.

The day was also proof that it takes a village to run a business. Our third scanner broke earlier in the week. While living in Vermont is lovely, it can mean that I don’t always have access to things like bar code scanners in my local stores. All the scanners had to be mail-ordered and I didn’t have time. On a whim, I called the Shelburne Country Store to see if they had a scanner I could borrow. They did! and I was able to sell books outside. We also needed an extension cord with a three-pronged plug. This was discovered at 8:30 in the morning. I wen to the new bakery next door and asked if they had one, and lo and behold, they did! I was so thrilled to save the expense of buying a new cord (I had forgotten mine in the garage) and the time it would take to run that errand.
This sale was fun. People were thrilled to be saving big money and we were thrilled to see so many new faces come in the door. Here’s hoping we see them again during the holidays; I’m sure folks forgot people on their holiday lists.