Christian Bookstores Forced to Close

[Gregory Matthews]

See:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2016/june/shutting-down-distributor-christian-products-send-light-stl.html?utm_source=ctweekly-html&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_term=16245031&utm_content=441196571&utm_campaign=email

[Gail]

True! Thank you for posting this! This is part of a trend that I would say has been going on for, hmm, close to a decade now. For a while now companies have been changing hands so often that I doubt that I have kept up.

When this trend begun among Christian resellers, we began to freak out. BUT the ABC is not your typical Christian bookstore! I never counted ours as competition to the local, larger Christian store in town. What has saved us is our unique character.

This is not to say that ABCs have not suffered. We also view ourselves as one of God's ministries. But God has helped us tremendously during this crisis. 

That is all I will venture during these Sabbath hours, which are precious to me. But the Lord has a hand in this work I do. I praise Him for His help to not only us but to people who love to do His work in spreading the everlasting gospel!

[Gregory Matthews]

Our ABCs face some real challenges today.   Some of those are of our own making.  I look to what was the Potomac Conference ABC to set the standard for survival.  But, it has been many years since I have been aware of what it is.

 

As a government chaplain, I never purchased materials from an ABC.  Yes, I did obtain and distribute SDA material.  But, I never purchased from an ABC.  Why?  Purchases for the government are complex.  There may be paper work, and/or other issues to face.  The ABC people whom I once attempted to deal with simply did not know what was involved.  They did not know what a Purchase Order was.  [NOTE:  A Purchase Order is a legally binding contract that obligates the government to pay for what was ordered AFTER it was provided.]  I had other suppliers standing in line to accomodate me in the purchase of supplies.  They knew what a Purchase Order was. 

I do not intend to be critical.  I simply have concerns as to the future of the ABCs.  Some of the changes, are suspect to me.

 

 

[Jeannieb43]

The ABC which I'm familiar with was fighting a losing battle.   It didn't seem to know how to market its products, and didn't carry the types of things many of us were looking for.   So it began losing money.

 

[Gail]

In a time when Christian bookstores are gasping for life, ours made a profit last year. Here are some of the reasons why:

Our Canadian ABC has an advantage that those on the US side don't have, mainly that we are the only outlets for the food products that Adventists love so dearly. If the local supermarkets were to carry it we would be in trouble.

The bookmobile accounts for 1/4- 1/3 of our sales.

We have a Campmeeting that runs a week long.

Our mandate is to focus on Adventist material. Part of the problem the mainstream Christian booksellers have run into is that the publishers were distributing through big box stores like Costco and Walmart. I learned my lesson early that the "faddish" releases like the Purpose-Driven Life were best to avoid altogether. We do stock some titles from mainstream publishers but not a lot.

I like to play up our uniqueness. Years ago, after I got hired on after years of homeschooling, I asked to bring on the Dover line of books. They specialize in out-of-print, hard-to-find material, but I especially liked their colouring books with lifelike images. I saw a market for them with our people. The line has been a hit. They were first to promote the adult colouring concept with occupational therapists and finally that led to the craze that is upon us now. I worried a bit when the fad unfolded and still don't know where it will all end. But Dover has been wise in their marketing. They have protected providing their best-selling "stained glass" colouring books for their longstanding resellers, not Michael's. Also, I much prefer their artwork and contrary to the other books out there they use a better quality paper which does not have a glossy finish.

[Gail]

Bibles: we have a great selection of KJV, which many of our customers want. There are actually many evangelicals that like them, too- and are willing to pay for calfskin. Customers bring in their friends to buy relatively lesser-seen bibles such as Tyndale's or loose-leaf. We don't sell a lot of those but the delight on their face in seeing a Rotherham's or Interlinear makes me know that they are going to tell their friends about it.

We sell many Adventist-friendly bibles, even though they are expensive. I have been told, though, that the prices on our other Bibles are under those of the other store in town. That helps. We are a not-for-profit organisation and do not need to mark up our books as much.

At a time when even the NAD was not eager to hang on to ABCs our conference took up an initiative called REACH (which I think WAS originally a NAD idea). This has done much to bring awareness and connection between members and all branches of the conference: the office, churches, schools and the ABC. I cannot stress enough the boost that has given us. For that I thank our former president Wayne Culmore. British Columbia is a rocking conference all the way through!

And I also thank our membership. As a whole they are spirit-led and mission-driven. We sell hundreds of Steps to Christ and the ASI versions of the Conflict titles. As the Periodical clerk for the press I take hundreds of renewals for sponsored subscriptions for SIGNS magazines. I have worked hard to bring in quality options for teachers and SS leaders, too. 

We have also been told that our staff is friendlier than the other place in town. 

We have not had to rely on "gimmicks". The other store has concert nights and sells toys, coffee and gelato. In the future we might have to expand, but our customers know what they are coming for when they come in. We don't advertise, as we have found that dollar for dollar, advertising hasn't worked for us. Word of mouth has done it for us. People are excited to find product that nobody else has.

[Gail]

There are other services that we work hard to make happen that I could list. What I like to do is to visit shops that are successful and note what they are doing that works. But I find that when the whole village is included it really makes a difference.

[Gail]

@Gregory Matthews

We would have happily taken your PO!  

I would be interested in reading about some of the changes you are thinking about that you don't think are good ideas.

[Gail]

I thank God that we have an end-time message of the everlasting gospel that is worthy of going throughout the entire world! It's a message of peace and hope especially for a world that is becoming more uncertain.

I am thankful for our understanding of Scripture, even though there is plenty of leeway for personal revelation. As time goes on and the factors that divide the believers of whatever persuasion from the lukewarm and unbelieving spread the gulf wider, I pray for the day when the sides will be clear for all to make an informed choice for God or not.

These are certainly interesting times we live in.

[John317]

No more ABC in Loma Linda, as I'm sure you know.    :-(   They still have a well-stocked ABC near La Sierra U, though, and fortunately it is not far.  

[Gail]

No, I was unaware