Sneaky Thieves love Christian products

I'm really not very happy right now. I just found out that some items were stolen from our store. They did it right under our noses too.
It's always disturbing to me that people would steal stuff from a Christian Bookstore. I caught an older lady stealing a DVD from us last fall. I had to confront her about it, and as she gave the DVD back to me she said, "Oh well. Hard times. God Bless."

I'm not kidding.

The DVD was The Passion of the Christ. Widescreen.

Again, I'm not kidding.

The next day I called our local security company and had them install a security tag system at the entrance of our store. I noticed that not as much stuff was missing after the security system was installed. But unfortunately it can't stop real thieves.

That's who came in the store today.

I was walking around the store, checked on the bible section and noticed an empty bible box on the shelf. No bible to be found. Navy bonded leather, New Living translation, Life Application bible, ON SALE for $59.97 I might add. But the thief apparently needed a bible but not the box. I'm thinking it was easier to put it in their coat without the box. I also found a security tag ripped off of something else, and I wondered what else they stole. I looked around the area to see what was small but expensive, and got my answer right away.

The NIV/KJV Bookman, $79.99 price tag. Missing.

Even before the security system was installed, the main things getting stolen were DVD's and CD's. Not bibles.

I was pretty angry for the next hour. I prayed a lot. I don't like to be angy. I wondered if the thief would read the bible. They can't return it anywhere, it doesn't have a box! As for the bookman...
I got on the phone right away and called another Christian bookstore that's about 15 minutes from our store, and told them to be on the lookout for someone trying to return a bookman, and gave them the ISBN for it.
Who knows, maybe we might catch the crook. But, odds are, we won't.

I feel torn. I'm angry because someone stole stuff from our store. I'm sad that it was bibles. I would gladly give anyone a bible that asked for it. We keep copies at the store for just such a purpose. I just don't understand what would drive a person to steal bibles. It's way beyond my ability to comprehend.

Then again, I'm not exactly innocent of sin either. Most people don't realize that when they sin, it has a ripple effect, like a drop of water in a pond. Sin doesn't just effect the one who is committing the sin. The sin ripples out and hits everyone around them, people the sinner knows and people the sinner doesn't know. Bowling over the guilty along with the innocent.

I'm still hoping the missing bible gets opened up and read by the one who took it.

~Shane

Tyndale's selling policy

I like Tyndale. This is from Tyndale's FAQ section of their website... Tyndale link

FAQ's results
Authors and Books
I'm having trouble finding something you've published/where can I buy your products?

Answer:
Tyndale does not sell directly to the consumer. So, even if we have what you're looking for, you still need to purchase it through a retailer. If you are having difficulty finding a product, it may be out-of-print; in that case, you still need to contact your local Christian bookstore or online retailer to help you find a copy. Tyndale doesn't keep track of each store's inventory and couldn't tell you where an out-of-print book might be. You may purchase our products wherever Bibles are sold, including Waldenbooks, B. Dalton, Crown, Barnes and Noble, Borders and Musicland, and they can also be purchased online.
Click here to use our store locator.

I applaud their policy for not selling direct to consumers. That's got to be a tough one to stick to, when it seems so popular for a publisher to go direct these days.

Regarding the options listed for purchasing their books, I think it would have been nice to see something like "your local Christian Bookstore" in the list. I know, I know. They said that phrase earlier in the answer, but when I got to the end, all I remembered from the list of store options was Borders (my closest non-Christian Bookstore competitor). For some reason or another, my brain tends to remember the beginning and/or the ending of something I've read. Forget all that stuff in the middle. But that's just me. I'm just happy that they mentioned "your local Christian Bookstore" anywhere.

Tyndale is fair. I also tried the store locator, and it lists Christian Bookstores on the left, and Non-Christian Bookstores on the right. Interesting...
~Shane

Channel Conflicts A Sour Note for Music Publisher

There's something brewing with the music publishers as well... link to article Mel Bay (my first guitar book in grade school was by good 'ol Mel) is going through some changes. The web is screwing up the way they used to do things... we're going to see more and more of this kind of conversation. The theme I'm seeing, is that no matter what industry we're in, there's big changes happening. We can't operate the way we used to. It's just not going to work anymore.
~Shane

Green Key Supports Retailers

Just thought I would ad something that was a bit positive. The news is a couple of weeks old, but I just found out about it today, and was quite happy. Green Key Books is doing a fine job on conecting with retailers. And I have to add that my personal experience with them has been great. Thanks!
~Shane

Here's a reprint of the news release...

GREEN KEY BOOKS NEWS RELEASE

PUBLISHER SUPPORTS INDEPENDENT RETAILER WITH TELEVISION ADVERTISING - 01/18/05

January 18, 2005—Holiday, FL—Green Key Books recently produced two television commercials for GOD’S WORD™ Translation that promoted the two locations of Sweet Spirit Christian Bookstores in Marietta, Georgia.

Store manager Bob Camp was thrilled with visibility the ads brought to the Sweet Spirit stores. “We had quite a few new customers come in to our store because they saw the ad on television,” said Camp. “In October our sales were quite down. We’d been losing much of our business to big box stores and online retailers. We were facing a loss for the year; but this ad campaign gave us a huge boost. Spiritually, it was a big encouragement to us and an answer to prayer.”

“We are very pleased with the success of the advertising campaign that we test marketed in the Atlanta area and the lift it gave to Sweet Spirit Christian Bookstores. We are committed to working with independent retailers to creatively promote our products while driving business to their stores,” said Peter Castor, president of Green Key Books. “We are thankful for the significant contributions independent retailers make to the Christian retail industry. They are an integral part of the success of our business.”

The advertising campaign featured two original thirty-second commercials that ran more than 300 times on cable networks Fox News, Home and Garden Television (HGTV), Lifetime and The Learning Channel (TLC) in the Atlanta, Georgia area.

Each cutting edge spot was filmed on location in New York City. One featured a twenty-something female discussing her realization of God’s purpose for her life and the other featured a young male businessman discussing the importance of God’s Word in his life. The spots concluded with the name and contact information for Sweet Spirit Christian Bookstores.

GOD'S WORD® Translation continues to gain momentum as people everywhere discover its natural English language and easy readability.

One of Those Days

You ever have "One of Those Days"?

It all started when I when to the bank drive-thru this morning. The teller working on my deposits was obviously still in training. I don't have a problem with that, I've got some time.

The guy behind me has NO time.

He starts to beep his horn. At first, I thought it was an accident.

It wasn't.

After the 3rd horn beeping session, one of the tellers opens the door and screams at him, then slams the door. I personally wouldn't recommend this action for good customer service, but it made me feel a little better, in a weird sort of way. At least beepie wasn't just annoying me.

I left the bank feeling embarrassed and angry, even though I didn't do anything. I was just waiting for the newbie teller to do her stuff. And I just couldn't shake the bad mood I was now in. It's amazing how other peoples actions can affect me so dramatically. There's a lesson here somewhere, I think.

Harry Potter Backlash

I got this email first thing this morning from a lady in Indiana...

Dear Beth Ann O’Reilly-Amandes and all associates of Logos bookstores:

I just read the article (Harry Potter series finds place on Christian bookstore’s shelf). You’ve got to be kidding right?

link to article

How completely and utterly ridiculous that I even have to address this issue. Basic principles of our Christian faith speak LOUDLY that we are not to have any association in the occult, which includes sorcery, casting spells, witches, warlocks, etc. Please spare us the nonsense that Harry Potter promotes Christian principles and cultivates spiritual growth of our faith. I am not that naïve, nor are most Christian folks. Please don’t be quick to hurl quotes from “Christian” authors who endorse Harry Potter either. My number one source for spiritual wisdom comes from the only one and true source, the WORD OF GOD. Man’s opinions are secondary, especially when they contradict the scripture. EVERYTHING about Harry Potter contradicts scripture.

Those who endorse, distribute, or indulge in these types of WITCHCRAFT books are drawn to their mystical enticements…it’s called feeding the flesh. If you read it, it is because you enjoy it…you are drawn to it…you are sucked into the lure of mysticism and the occult, it is not because you are picking through it to find aspects that you can apply to your Christian walk! You cannot deem yourself a Christian and dabble in this sorcery. It is not innocent. It is not educational. It is not good reading for a Christian adult or child. IT IS EVIL. Call it as it is.

Please take one moment to ask yourself this question, and please answer it to yourself with utmost sincerity and honesty….

Would our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ encourage or read Harry Potter himself?

It is such an elementary question that I intend to teach my kids, how sad that we so called adults have forgotten our child-like faith.

One of the two must be removed from Logos….the WITCHCRAFT material, or your identity as a CHRISITAN bookstore. The two do not coincide and can never be.

Praying for true conviction to speak to your heart so that you will do the right thing and remove this WITCHCRAFT from your shelves.

Karissa

Not a good way to start the day. Karissa doesn't understand that the Logos Bookstores are independently owned and operated, that we aren't a chain as the AP article by Hillel Italie falsely reported...

"But O’Reilly-Amandes believes the Potter books fit the store’s mission to bring in more customers. The Oak Park Logos is part of a 30-store chain in the United States, Canada and the Bahamas that targets both Christians and non-Christians. The philosophy is to attract “hidden people,” including those who don’t shop in religious bookstores, and “are completely unaware of the wealth of Christian literature written on their level and addressed to their needs.”

It may not seem like a big deal, but it's an important distinction. Because we are not a chain, we each decide what we will or will not carry. I believe in the philosophy stated above. But for my particular store (as with some of the other Logos stores) we just don't feel that the Harry Potter books fit, or even make sense, to stock on our shelves.

Karissa's email is just one example of what happens when a Christian bookstore stocks something that someone doesn't like. Just an FYI, I don't carry the Harry Potter books, and for many reasons. But I'm going to leave that for a separate post...

Almost weekly, I'm judged by someone for being too liberal or too conservative. Pretty wild, huh!

My question is this, is Karissa going to shop at Wal Mart, Target, and Borders, and other big box stores? They all sell those books, plus other stuff I'm sure in which she doesn't approve.

~Shane

Harry Potter

Our Logos stores as well as other Christian stores have hit the AP.

Wizards, witches and Christians: A Christian bookstore sells Harry Potter

I think it's pretty fun to see the quotes from other stores. They quoted some of what I said (left out what I thought was important, of course), and my last name was misspelled, (should be Kardos, not Cardos) but that's ok. I'll survive.

Sometime down the road I will post some extensive thoughts about Harry Potter. I've read the whole series, and have had some really good conversations about the topic with our customers and our staff.

~Shane

Christian bookstore sells Harry Potter

www.sfgate.com Return to regular view

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Wizards, witches and Christians: A Christian bookstore sells Harry Potter
- HILLEL ITALIE, AP National Writer
Tuesday, February 1, 2005

(02-01) 11:34 PST (AP) --

Walk into the Logos Bookstore in Oak Park, Ill., and you'll find Bibles, the "Left Behind" novels and a lot of other works you'd expect at a Christian shop.

But go to the children's section, through a make-believe castle door at the back of the store, and you'll see a series of titles that make Logos unique among its peers: Harry Potter books.

"Our thinking is that because the mainstream public is reading the books, Christians should be aware of them and use them as an opportunity to bring in Christian themes and values," manager Beth Ann O'Reilly-Amandes said.

The sixth Potter book, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," is scheduled for release in July and Logos expects to sell it even though J.K. Rowling's fantasy series has long been attacked by Christian groups because of its themes of magic and wizardry. Some libraries have pulled Potter from their shelves and, in 2001, the Pennsylvania-based Harvest Assembly of God Church burned some of Rowling's books, along with other allegedly "anti-Christian materials."

Not surprisingly, the vast majority of Christian booksellers have avoided Potter. While many say they have no personal objections, they believe that patrons would object to having Potter books on sale.

"I know a lot of Christians who read them and enjoy them, but it just wouldn't fit with what our customers expect of us," said Chris Childers, owner of the Georgia-based Macon Christian Bookstore and chairman of the Christian Booksellers Association's board of directors.

But O'Reilly-Amandes believes the Potter books fit the store's mission to bring in more customers. The Oak Park Logos is part of a 30-store chain in the United States, Canada and the Bahamas that targets both Christians and non-Christians. The philosophy is to attract "hidden people," including those who don't shop in religious bookstores, and "are completely unaware of the wealth of Christian literature written on their level and addressed to their needs."

However, among Logos stores, the Oak Park retailer is an exception when it comes to Potter. A Logos member in Jacksonville, Fla., the Oasis Christian Bookstore & Coffee Shop, does not stock the books because of "the community we live in," said inventory manager Quinn Parman. "It would probably cause more of an uproar than it would be worth."

At Logos of Ohio, based near Kent State University, store manager Shane Cardos said he has read all the Potter books and enjoyed them, but didn't think it was "worth the fight" to actually sell them.

"I've had people complain about the `The Lord of the Rings' and I feel like I've got good reasons for carrying that," Cardos said. "But with the Harry Potter books, I don't have the same number of arguments to use that would justify carrying them."

O'Reilly-Amandes said that the Potter books are popular with her customers and that she is ordering 100 copies of "Half-Blood Prince," comparable to what she would order for one of the "Left Behind" novels, the million-selling apocalyptic series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins.

Her store carries other secular works, including Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code," which has angered Catholics by implying that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married. The Oak Park Logos also sells J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, another fantasy series criticized by Christians.

Oak Park, a Chicago suburb, is a liberal community, O'Reilly-Amandes said. But the occasional protester does turn up.

"One time, we had a book on world religion and we featured it in the window. Somebody came in and said we shouldn't feature other religions if we're a Christian bookstore," she said.

But while Rowling's books are off limits, fantasy stories and works about Potter remain in demand. "Christian" alternatives to Potter, such as C.S. Lewis' "The Chronicles of Narnia" and G.P. Taylor's "Shadowmancer," have been popular fiction titles. Meanwhile, numerous religious works about Potter have come out in recent years.

John Granger's "Looking for God in Harry Potter" is a Christian author's defense of the series; Granger argues that Harry's fight against of evil reflects Christian values. Richard Abanes' "Harry Potter and the Bible" makes the opposite argument, that the books contradict such values.

"We had Richard come into the store a couple of years ago for a seminar on Harry Potter," Chuck Wallington, president of Christian Supply, Inc., in Spartanburg, S.C., said. "We had about 60-70 folks show up and it was an interesting discussion. Richard is not in favor of the books, but he was very fair on the subject."

"If a customer has a question about why we carry the Potter books, then we'll suggest one of the Christian books, like (Connie Neal's) `What's a Christian to Do With Harry Potter?"' said Amandes-O'Reilly, referring to a sympathetic Potter book.

"It's a way of bringing more people into the conversation, without preaching to them. It's something that opens us all up."

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©2005 Associated Press

Phone Anxiety

Today at the store I got a call from a customer, just for privacy sake I’ll call her by a made up name - Linda. Let me correct something, I got multiple calls from Linda. Sounds like a story brewing here…

Linda is an older lady with a few medical problems. She has to live with someone, to help take care of her, so she’s living with her Dad. Her Dad is also having medical problems, dealing with cancer. Not a real good situation.

Linda doesn’t drive the car too much on her own; she relies on others to take her places. So she doesn’t get out much. Which leads to the phone calls. She calls a lot of people during the day, including our store. She calls just to say “hi” and to see if the book she ordered last night is in yet. I’ve thought about explaining to her that we are not the ACME store from the Warner Bros. cartoons, where Bugs will order something and get it 10 seconds from a delivery boy on a scooter. But instead, I just say, “No it’s not in yet, we’ll call you when it comes in.” And then she’s happy.

I’m trying to do the right thing, being nice to her, etc. But I’m starting to get phone anxiety. I don’t know if this is an official term or if I coined it, but I’ve got it. Every time the phone rings, I think it’s going to be her. In all reality, it’s starting to drive me nuts. A restraining order has crossed my mind, but then when I really think about it, I know that’s not the right thing to do.

So when the phone rings, I just pause, take a deep breath, and pick it up. Maybe someday I’ll get over my phone anxiety, and without the help of any medication…

~Shane

Out of the Loop

The newest CBA (the association of Christian retailers and product suppliers, for those not in the know) issue is trust. I think they're right on the mark. They've sent out several surveys via email over the past couple weeks, and I've got to tell you that I've faithfully filled out every one. It's really important to give CBA (and any other associations we're members of) as much info as we can.
The trust issue has been in the front of my mind for the past couple of years as I've been working with my suppliers. As a retailer, I need to trust my suppliers, and hope that they have our best interests in mind. I trust that they want to see our store succeed, just as I want to see the publisher succeed. No publisher, no books.

I have to add at this point, that the person who represents a certain supplier or publisher, for example, my regular phone rep or road rep, or just a general customer service phone rep, is just that - a representative. They represent the company they work for, and in most cases, is my only contact with their company. It's a huge responsibility. It's no different with my staff. My staff represents me (when I'm out of the store), as well as our store and who we are, and why we are. If my staff fails in representing us right, we lose customers. Plain and simple. In the same vein, the reps from the publishers can make or break a relationship with a store.
With that said, I've got to say that almost all of my reps are wonderful. They're real, and caring people. I've only had maybe 2 or 3 reps that I won't work with again. So, for the most part, my experience over that past 7 years is that I can trust most of the reps that I work with. This is good news.

To keep a positive spin on things (so I don't get depressed), I've decided to evaluate the suppliers that I'm working with, and I've established (at least in my mind) some base requirements...
1) that they have a heart for ministry, and care about the ministry that happens in and through my store
2) that they want to help drive business to our store (which in turn means selling more of their products)
3) that they will not circumnavigate our store with direct marketing that doesn't even give the option of purchasing their products or special offer at any local Christian retailer

But what I'm finding out is that not every publisher that I've been working with cares about my store, or even if it is still open for business a year from now. As I've said, it seems that the reps care, but the actions of the publishers (outside of the rep realm) say otherwise. I'm not sure about the publisher's concern for their own people either. One of my really good reps was let go because her "numbers weren't high enough". It's sad. She cared about my store, and wanted to make sure that their books (which are really good books) were always stocked - with the right titles and the right quantities for our size store. This was a rep that wanted to make sure that we had the right book for the right person at the right time. I can't ask for more. But for now, I don't have a rep with that publisher... and I don't know what their plan is from here on out either.

At least once every 2 weeks or so, I'll get a mailing straight to my house (my personal abode, the place where I live when I'm not working at the store), directly from a publisher. It will be some new book club or some other new offer. Nowhere is there any mention that we could go to our local Christian bookstore for the same offer. It's as if Christian bookstores don't even exist. The most recent offer came in just this week. A book publisher has teamed up with a card company (I don't know if I'm allowed to mention their names, so I won't) and sent out the offer that was very personalized. The offer talks about how it is inconvenient to make it to the store to pick up a card for someone

"And it always seems like it's a couple of days before I can run by the store and hopefully find what I want."

So now, you can buy these new cards and have them sent directly to your home, and

"you do so at cheaper than retail prices!".

This offer is really good. I'm a busy guy. My wife is busy too. For that matter, who isn't busy? Everyone I know is busy with something or another. And you know, it would be nice to have some cards delivered to my house. The cards are nice, they give you a free devotional with your order, and a cool newsletter with each order. Even as I'm typing, I'm just about selling this offer to myself, I personally would have a hard time refusing.
...Except for the fact that I'm running a Christian bookstore, that carries a lot of cards from this card company, and I also stock many books from this publisher as well as including some of them in our store's core inventory (just an aside, a book has to be pretty good to be included in my core inventory, I'm picky).

This direct-to-home marketing offer has totally circumnavigated my store. Nowhere in this offer does it give an option to get these really nice cards, free book, and newsletter from your local Christian bookstore. I'm absolutely positive that I have customers that would come in for this offer - they wouldn't mind making the drive to the store. Some of our customers drive quite a distance just to be in our store. They like the atmosphere. They leave encouraged.

When a publisher sells direct to the consumer, the consumer doesn't buy from the store, the store doesn't buy from the publisher, and the publisher fires it's reps for not having better numbers. Not so pretty is it. But the publisher is making some extra money to keep the doors open. Is it worth it? How much money do we need to make to stay open anyway? (That's a whole other blog post I think)

So, I'm at a point where I don't know what to do with this. It's not the first time this has happened. It's been more than one publisher too. I understand that the publishers are trying to make more money, they need to so they can continue operating their businesses. But so do I.
I really don't have an answer at this point on how to make the situation better. I feel like I've been totally left out of the loop.

Maybe this will be my 4th requirement when looking for a publisher to work with...
4) that they don't leave me out of the loop

~Shane