A new year dawns and with it, we've dusted off the shelves and re-configured the calendars. We've been (mostly) closed the last few weeks – and oh, what an adventure that's been.
Inventory Systems Overload
We've been on Square for Retail. Which has been fine; it's an industry staple, but it's not specifically geared for booksellers. We're migrating to a software package called Basil Lite, which is optimized for small indie booksellers and supports multi-channel online listings. The trouble is, the good folks at Basil have been experiencing technical difficulties, so our Eternal Inventory Update is still, well, eternal. But we're working on it.
Bye-Bye Buybacks
When our transition to Basil is complete, we will extend store credit only for books folks bring in. (We're basically mimicking the same software and processes as The Bluestocking Bookshop in Holland, because why invent the wheel when Aimee has already figured it out?) Until Basil is fully deployed, we will still allow one-for-one trades, but effective immediately we are no longer offering cash for books.
Support the Indies!
Here's why we're discontinuing buybacks for cash: For 2025, the bookstore experienced net-negative revenue. Lots of people wanted me to pay them for books; correspondingly fewer people paid me for books. As a hobby business, I could absorb the (small) loss without incident – but a 2026 goal for the bookstore is to be free-standing and generate at least a little revenue. I can't do that when I buy more than I sell.
Independent bookselling is not a high-margin, cash-comfortable business. Bookstores that traffic in new titles buy those books and only make about 10-20 percent on each title sold. So a lot of cash is tied up in inventory. Used stores can fare better, but the market for used books is smaller and more fickle.
If you want bookstores to continue exist as a viable third space, shop there. (Just as you should support indie publishing by, uh, buying books directly from your favorite local authors.)
Big Launch Coming
Jason's Books and Coffee has functioned as a quiet hobby business since February 2023. We've never advertised. We're in mapping software, and blog posts go out to a small distribution list, but that's about it.
I've decided that we need to be a "real" bookstore, so I'm planning a grand-opening celebration sometime around Valentine's Day. The next three topics address this plan more directly.
Social and Marketing Update
The bookstore technically has a Facebook and Instagram page. However, we rarely check messages there – not because we don't care, but because across multiple businesses, Jason gets overwhelmed with messages from many, many different sources spanning many, many different initiatives.
We're aiming to fix this by running a 10DLC campaign for the bookstore to allow SMS (texting) to our main phone number, as well as standing up a unified social inbox to channel all social-media DMs and mentions into a single application, so nothing gets lost and all social accounts enjoy simultaneous visibility. We expect all of this to be finalized over the month of January.
At the same time, we'll be more present with advertising in the community and cross-posting of events on common sites like Eventbrite and Reddit.
We can't fix the problem of our street sign – as in, we can't have one because the City of Wyoming imposes draconian "square footage per foot of frontage" zoning rules and our parcel is technically shared with other businesses that were here before us and, well, they get the signage. But a bigger marketing presence may help alleviate that problem a bit.
Hours Update
We're updating our hours of operation starting January 5, 2026.
Going forward, we're open as follows:
- Monday, 9a to 3p
- Tuesday, 10:30a to 4p
- Wednesday, 10a to 8p
- Thursday, 9a to 3p
- Friday, closed
- Saturday, 9a to noon
- Sunday, closed
This schedule is largely the result of our partnership with Fourth Form Marital Arts Studio. The karate dojo tends to run most evenings, so our ability to be open later in the day is limited except on Wednesdays. I'm closing Fridays so that I can concentrate appointments on that day (and thus reduce the rate of unplanned closures) and making up for it with some Saturday-morning hours.
As always, we ask folks to look at the calendar before stopping by. We're committed to being open during these hours, but we close the bookstore on major civil and Catholic holidays, and whenever Wyoming Public Schools closes for weather. We also open late when Jason needs to support a funeral at his church.
Community Activities Galore!
Our programming calendar for the year is set. We look forward to welcoming you as follows:
- First Wednesday (6p) – Contemporary book club. January's book is Dealing with Dragons.
- Second, fourth, and fifth Wednesday (5p) – Open writing and group informal critique.
- Third Wednesday (5p) – Craft and social night. Games, crafts, and good times!
Apart from the book club, people are welcome to come or go as they please. No RSVP is needed, and there's never a cost to participate.
We're also launching a classics book club with an aggressive reading list and a goal of talking real philosophy after each text. If you're interested, contact the store to be put on the interest list. Our tentative first book is The Egyptian Book of the Dead.
Thank you for being a friend to the bookstore in 2025. I hope you enjoy a happy, healthy, and well-read new year!
-- JEG
