Seattle Mystery Bookshop, which moved to its current location at 117 Cherry Street in downtown Seattle in 2005, will be moving back to its previous, smaller space at the end of August 2014 (this month). They’ll still carry a wonderful selection of mysteries (and since they have such great relationships with authors, many autographed copies). But they could use support– both of the strong-backed, box-schlepping sort during their move over the holiday weekend and of the dollars-where-your-heart-is-paying-customer sort.
If you can help, please contact the store at [email protected].
Here’s their full announcement:
We’re moving back to our original space. No kidding. No April Fool.
As anyone who has been paying attention to the economic news and bookselling news over the last few years knows, it has been tough for small independents for some time now. While it is easy to blame it on one thing or another, the fact is that not enough people are buying books from us to afford to stay in this larger space. We’ve been warning of changes coming in how we do things. This is one of those.
We’ve been shrinking our stock for the last few months. We’ve been suggesting that you let us know what books you want and that we’ll order them for you. That will have to continue and expand. We’re happy to get you want you want – mystery or not – but it is inevitable that you may often not find what you want in stock when you walk through the door. It simply isn’t possible to order books in the variety and quantity of “the good old days”.
We’ll move over Labor Day weekend (kind of symmetrical, isn’t it, as we moved down here over Memorial Day ‘05). We’ll be closed Friday Aug 29th – Monday, Sept 1st. We’ll be looking for volunteers who’d like to schlep boxes and for those who can lend us library carts. We’ll provide pizzas and pop.
Once we’re back in the original space, we’ll try to keep the shop set up as it always has been – a large section of PNW authors and books, a table for new paperback releases, a table for signings, the new hardcovers, and some special sections. We won’t know how exactly it will all work until we begin putting in shelves. We imagine it’ll still feel familiar and you won’t feel too lost or puzzled. And it’ll be carpeted!
We really have no option but to move if we want to continue. Current sales make the rent on this space prohibitive. Rent in our old space will be a third of what is now. That means we should be able to make it to the end of our current lease. Beyond that?
Well now, that’ll depend a lot on you. For years now we’ve been saying that if you like what any small business does you must support them with sales. The time for warnings is past. With your help, we’ll do our best to make it through to next June and, maybe, to our 25th birthday… and then maybe our 30th! If you want the Seattle Mystery Bookshop to continue – the quarterly newsletter, the weekly newzines, the signings and signed books, the selection of used books, as well as our charming company – buy from us. If you don’t, all of this will go away. Simple as that.
~ the Crew [at Seattle Mystery Bookshop]
Remember: You can order online from Seattle Mystery Bookshop! You can even place standing orders for any upcoming books from your favorite authors.