The Booksellers Association is smashing

The Booksellers Association is 'a member of the National Book Committee, dedicated to the well-being of books and the written word.'
They also say 'Our services range from the commercial, such as reduced rates on credit and debit cards and a tailor made insurance scheme, to the practical, such as the 'Christmas Books' catalogue and carrier bags, to the intangible but invaluable, such as representation to Government and the EU'.
Over 95% of bookshops are signed up to the BA.
It ' is committed to providing the widest possible range of services to its membership, the value of which far outweigh the cost of being a member'.

Now i'm about to play devil's advocate here....

The thing is, a bookshop cannot sell or accept book tokens if it isn't a member of the BA. They're part of the same set up. So, a bookshop really doesn't have much choice then, in becoming a member of the BA, as (quite rightly) bookshops should accept book tokens.

Let's look at the other services it offers;

• reduced rates on credit and debit card transactions. We got a much reduced rate through Leading Edge.
• A tailor made insurance scheme. The cost of which is also matched (if not bettered) by other companies
• Christmas Boks Catalogue. This is a generic catalogue that has the same books in it, so no matter if you're a bookshop in King's Road, or Wood Green. Two very different markets that probably wouldn't want to be promoting the same books at Christmas. It also costs quite a lot.
• Carrier Bags. These bags advertise National Book Tokens, and not the bookshop. Not the greatest marketing tool in the world (and not that cheap in comparison to other bags out there)
• Batch.co.uk. Actually this is pretty useful, as it saves banking costs, amongst other things. But it isn't vital...

there are other benefits, but as far as I can see, these benefits can be gained whether you're a member or not.

An annual fee to be a member of the BA starts at about £150, which is quite a lot just for being allowed to trade with Book Tokens.

Now here's the plan.

20 indie bookshops get together, and 19 agree to leave the BA. The other bookshop (that's still a member of the BA) buys all the book tokens for all the 20 indie shops. Everyone still carries on accepting and selling book tolkens as normal. The 19 shops then send the used book tokens to thae 20th shop every, say, 2 months, and it then sends the tokens to the BA and gets the credit, which it then distributes to the other 19 shops. Obviously this means extra work for the one shop, but if the 19 shops paid this one shop say £25 each a year, then the bookshop will be making a tidy sum, and the £19 other shops will have saved themselves £125 each (plus VAT).

Who's with me?

Please note, I love the Booksellers Association and all they stand for. I'm more than happy to listen to all the other reasons why we should be members of the BA, so feel free to educate me.

You'd Better, you'd Better, You Bet.

Gambling.
I like a little flutter, as i've mentioned on 43 occasions since this blog started. I've had one big big win in my life. A four horse acculmulator came in and my £1 bet returned over £1000. In the back of my mind, if I lose a bet I think to myself, 'we'll i've still got £999/£998/£997 to play with'. I suspect though that as this bet was about 4 years ago that figure is considerably lower (and of course all the losses i've made before this big win were completely forgotten).
That said, I like a flutter. And so does Scott Pack, who's excellent blog Me and My Big Mouth is essential reading. With this in mind, we've come up with a betting competition, for which we'd like to invite anyone who'd like to take part. It's a virtual game so no money need be spent.

It begins next Monday
Every day each contener will recommend one bet to the sum of £1. They will post the bet on their blogs by 1pm each day. It can be anything and you can take the odds at the time you bet, or you can take a starting price (just like you would in real life).
The competition will run right up till the FA Cup final next year. The player with the biggest profit (or, more likely, the smallest loss!) will win this trophy.or one fairly similar.

There'll be prizes throughout as well, including the person leading at christmas will be getting a chocolate bar from all the other competitors (i'm a big fan of the crunchie by the way).

Please let me know if you'd like to play.

NB A person should not gamble with an amount that the individual does not know they can live without. It is important that people not spend any money they cannot afford to lose, because it is very possible that they may lose this money and not hit their dreams of winning a jackpot or large amount in the gambling games in which they take part. As a result, a person who gambles more than they can afford can lose not only their money and possessions, but also the people and things that are most important to them if the addiction is too strong. Not all gamblers are addicted to gambling, but it can take over a person’s life, if they are not careful. Moderation is the key when it comes to gambling.
OK?

A Brief Comment on Support

Tim:

Just a few days after the closure of Waterstone's was announced the support for the shop and its staff started rolling in. This is the most positive thing that has come out of this whole affair. We simply did not know how much people loved us. And now, whenever we tell anyone of our plans they are really enthusiastic and full of encouragement. They still love us!

I just wanted to say thank-you, really.

Oh, and if you are a local Bookseller check out the on-line petition that one of our customers started. http://www.petitiononline.com/Bookshop/ .The petition is closed now, but the comments prove that what we are doing - as a trade - is still worthwhile. It'll give you a lift, trust me.