# Any advice? I want to start a book store!



## Matthew1344 (Feb 7, 2015)

My city has no book stores period. Not Christian. Not any. 

How would I go about getting this started? 

Has anyone done this before?

What is first step?

take out a loan?

What type of business would it be under?

Do I need a business degree?

Do I get investors?

Do I find location?

I don't know where to start! But I am very interested in doing this.


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## Gforce9 (Feb 7, 2015)

Matt,
We had friends who did that here several years ago and we talked about things they had learned. Here is what I remember:

1- Be prepared to buy/stock/display what people will buy, not what you like or think is theologically sound.....unless you're independently wealthy. People want Osteen, T.D. Jakes...... and self-help stuff they can "do", not things about growing in the knowledge of God, necessarily. R.C. Sproul's The _Holiness of God_ and J I Packer's _Knowing God_ are a few of the book seller anomalies. Your demand for the _NLT_ and _Message_ will be higher than would be for the _Reformation Study Bible_, I suspect.

2- With online buying at one's fingertips, the real appeal you will need to have is stuff in stock. If they have to wait for it anyways, Google may help them find a better price and free shipping to boot.......withing a matter of minutes.

3- You would have to look into cost, but a second appeal might be good; coffee shop or coffee shop with Friday night bands coming in to play? Young bands (and many mature ones, too!) jump at the opportunity to play out without compensation!

4- Advertising is expensive. What is on your side is that you can mail/email churches in your town and have a lot of free advertising that way.

5- Real Estate isn't cheap and the rent check never fails to show up every month! For space, see if a local church would rent you (maybe even give you!) space. It would cut your costs way down.

I don't mean to sound negative, but I don't want to see a good brother get into financial trouble and suffer. You're a nice guy and have good desires, Matt, as is evidenced by the demeanor in your posts. Be wise.....do your homework.


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## Matthew1344 (Feb 7, 2015)

Thank you so much for your post! 

ALL of this is very helpful advice! I will check out some local churches to see if someone might be interested in renting (or giving ) a room! The coffee shop is a great idea too. 

Here is an idea, you tell me what you think. 

My wife is great at antiquing furniture (or distressing or vintaging...whatever you call it). She has great decorative style and is very crafty. When people come over to our house their jaws drop when they see all the stuff she does. What if I had a furniture / book store? Do you think that would work? LifeWay kind of has a house section. I guess it would be like that if we did it.


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## Matthew1344 (Feb 7, 2015)

BTW... no way would I do td jakes or olsteen. Stanely, moore, maybe.... no way jakes or olsteen if my wife and I do this ha.


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## Gforce9 (Feb 7, 2015)

Matthew1344 said:


> Thank you so much for your post!
> 
> ALL of this is very helpful advice! I will check out some local churches to see if someone might be interested in renting (or giving ) a room! The coffee shop is a great idea too.
> 
> ...



I think you may have to "test" the market where you are for specialized furniture like that. I wouldn't want to guess what your market would support. Maybe obtain a business license and try selling from your home (local code permitting) or from that free space someone will give you  before you make a decision. I would like to see some of her work! As for incorporating that into "the store", keep in mind space restrictions, the cost of space, and the size you settle on. I think a store that looks "full" has more appeal than one that has bare shelves.....bare shelves gives the impression you're not doing well. A store with good books, some furniture and knick-knacks to accompany can have a homey, inviting feeling.

Jack K here on the PB might be a good resource......I think he has been involved in marketing some of his work and would have some advise, I suspect.....



Matthew1344 said:


> BTW... no way would I do td jakes or olsteen. Stanely, moore, maybe.... no way jakes or olsteen if my wife and I do this ha.



This is a decision you will have to settle on up front. You will need a good, kind answer for the folks you will turn away because they want that garbage. It's garbage (as is much of what I see in "Christian" bookstores here) for sure, but it sells and people *will* ask for it.


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## Matthew1344 (Feb 7, 2015)

Thanks once again for the advice!

I am heading to a bookstore owned by a friend a couple cities over today. Hopefully he can help me out too!

I really appreciate your advice!


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## Romans922 (Feb 7, 2015)

I wouldn't recommend doing it since books are antiquated now for most people. Now they just get ebooks, kindlebooks, etc. 

The question should be asked, is it a wise business venture? Sure there is a need, granted. But is it wise? On top of just a bookstore in general, you want a Christian bookstore. And on top of that one that is discerning in what books to make available. I would think in this economy, in the time we live this would not be wise. I would recommend against it.


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## Edward (Feb 7, 2015)

Matthew1344 said:


> What is first step?
> 
> take out a loan?



Absolutely not. 



Matthew1344 said:


> What is first step?



The first step should probably be to locate a good bankruptcy attorney. But putting that aside

1. Ask why the town has no bookstores. 

2. Develop a business plan. What are your 3 month/12 month/5 year costs. When is the break even point. Have you factored in ALL the costs? What would a $10/$15 minimum wage do to your bottom line. How much shoplifting should you expect? What are your taxes and fees going to be. 


3. Is there a SCORE volunteer who could give you advice? https://www.score.org/ Any state resources?

4. Find someone in another town doing the same thing and ask how it works for them these days. If you aren't going to be competing with them, they might be willing to talk. (Or they might paint a rosy picture and offer to sell out to you). 

5. Answer the question as to why Lifeway has closed so many locations. (or "face a tremendous headwind in retail" as they put it). TRUSTEES: LifeWay outlines vision for future




Matthew1344 said:


> take out a loan?



The bank shouldn't loan without a business plan unless it is very well collateralized. Do you have a lot of equity in your home to put up? (Don't put up anything that you aren't prepared to lose.) Do you and your wife have a steady source of income with which to repay the loan? How much do you need to borrow? How is the bank going to get its money back? 


Matthew1344 said:


> What type of business would it be under?


 
I'm not sure I understand that question. 



Matthew1344 said:


> Do I need a business degree?



No, but you do need to know what you are doing. And you probably need a lawyer and an accountant. You did work those costs into your business plan above, didn't you. 



Matthew1344 said:


> Do I get investors?



Money in, control out. You have to keep the investors happy. What kind of return on investment should they expect? When will they start getting money back. Are they going to be happy with you deciding to sell only good stuff instead of what people want to buy? Your best bet might be to look for doctors looking to shelter income from taxes using your early year losses and depreciation. 



Matthew1344 said:


> Do I find location?



You at least are going to need to know what the costs are for your business plan.


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## deleteduser99 (Feb 7, 2015)

One friend I know who runs such a Christian bookstore (that is, discerning as to what he sells) says that a break-even day is a good day. He's in a place where he can afford to run his bookstore without depending on the income generated by it.

If you're looking to go in the route of selling Christian literature, have you considered the Kindle market? There are plenty of old books that would be nice to have in a readable format. Some of the old works out there for Kindle aren't in an user-friendly format and are difficult to navigate. I don't know that it'd work to make it a primary source of income, but the start-up cost should be low.


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## Jack K (Feb 7, 2015)

I suspect that a careful market analysis will call into question whether a for-profit Christian bookstore is viable. A ministry, however, is a different animal. Especially combined with the coffee shop idea, a place to hang out that's known to be run by Christians and is supported by a church, yet is located in or near your town's central hub, would provide both a service to believers and an outreach to others.

Being both a coffee house/hangout and a small bookstore, and appealing both to a wide cross-section of believers and to others who might just drop in, increases the number of customers who have a reason to actually visit the place. It also gives you more freedom to stock only books you think are really good. In a place like Tennessee, an outward-minded church might get behind such a venture. Young believers are looking for a safe place to hang out on a Friday evening that isn't a bar, and unbelievers often prefer to explore faith without having to attend a church service right away.

Brick-and-mortar bookstores today have few advantages over online sellers. One of the only real advantages left is personal trust and knowledge of good books. Anyone can sell books. You want to get to know people and recommend books. You want to help people discover great books they never would have noticed if they merely shopped online. You want people to visit your shop because the world of books is too big and in your store they find the otherwise hidden gems; they trust you to surprise them with a great book they never knew existed.

This is the path successful small bookstores are taking these days. It's actually a mistake to stock the bestsellers. You can't compete with online retailers on those titles; the publishers won't work with you. But you _can_ turn a small bookshop into a place of wonder and discovery. _That's_ what you sell: friendship, Christian fellowship, wisdom, wonder, and discovery. There's a market for such things.


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## matt01 (Feb 7, 2015)

Matthew1344 said:


> I am very interested in doing this.



Read Edward's post a few times and consider whether you really want to do this. Given the availability of online options (everything from Amazon to RBAP), is there really enough desire in your area to support a physical store? Do you have the knowledge and skills that this would require? There may be a need in your area for a bookstore that sells decent material, but at the end of the day, you are going to have to find funds for: inventory; bookcases, tables, etc...in store; rent; electricity; phone and Internet charges; website design & maintenance; insurance; your time, or compensation for employees; advertising; etc... _You've Got Mail_ comes to mind. Everyone might have loved the little bookstore around the corner, but at the end of the day people will go where they can get the product at the best price.


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## Gforce9 (Feb 7, 2015)

Matt,
What I hoped to communicate implicitly, others have done so explicitly. Count the cost. We don't know the market there, but Amazon and Kindle have seriously dug into the paperback market just about everywhere.............


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## Miss Marple (Feb 7, 2015)

Purely my two cents, but if your town doesn't have a bookstore, it's probably because it won't support one. Thus I'd say as you investigate it that you make it a bookstore/coffee shop. I dare say your town probably has a lot of coffee shops! Which would indicate that there is a demand for that. A nice place to relax and drink, with wifi, good music playing, decent bathrooms. . . that would be appealing in my opinion.

May I suggest also that you think about having a good section of classic children's literature for gift giving. Good quality hardback books and fiction titles, not necessarily at all doctrine. . . just clean and wholesome like the Laura Ingalls Wilder series, Henty, etc. etc. etc. People like to give good gifts to their children and quality hardback well illustrated children's books are hard to find, and hard to buy online as I at least want to "see" them.

Add some decent baked goods with your coffee and perhaps rent out the space for meetings in the evenings and perhaps you'll have a winner.

May I also recommend that you have a strict "no unpurchased books" in the coffee/baked goods area or people will just grab a book to read while enjoying their coffee and then replace it.

Best to you!


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## Ask Mr. Religion (Feb 7, 2015)

Matthew1344 said:


> Here is an idea, you tell me what you think.
> 
> My wife is great at antiquing furniture (or distressing or vintaging...whatever you call it). She has great decorative style and is very crafty. When people come over to our house their jaws drop when they see all the stuff she does. What if I had a furniture / book store? Do you think that would work? LifeWay kind of has a house section. I guess it would be like that if we did it.


Most cities have vacant store locations wherein local arts and crafts folks set up a small cubicle like venue and sell their materials, paying a fee to the space rental agent. Try this for starters and see if the business warrants setting up a stand alone location.


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## Edward (Feb 7, 2015)

matt01 said:


> bookcases, tables, etc...in store;


Retail furnishing should actually be among the smaller costs - pick up used from liquidation sales of retailers going out of business. Radio Shack, for example, is getting ready to dump several thousand stores worth on the market across the country. 

I didn't think of it earlier, but your post also reminded me of another potential expense - computerized inventory tied to a point of sale system.


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## Dearly Bought (Feb 7, 2015)

Matt,
Your city has at least a Christian homeschooling bookstore, which would be an important position in the market already occupied. I'd advise against your present thoughts of a for-profit bookstore. If you did a ton of market research, careful planning, had the financial means, and were very confident that both you and your wife were skilled and committed enough, you might consider turning the furniture idea into a local business. Then you could tuck a small bookshelf in a corner and offer a handpicked selection of works on the side.

On edit:
Ok, I really strongly recommend against a for-profit bookstore. Murfreesboro has multiple Christian bookstores and multiple secular ones. Such saturation in such a close market couldn't be good for business.


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## RamistThomist (Feb 7, 2015)

Matthew1344 said:


> BTW... no way would I do td jakes or olsteen. Stanely, moore, maybe.... no way jakes or olsteen if my wife and I do this ha.



That will be a cut in sales, but maybe not an insurmountable one. Lifeway, for all of their goofiness at times, draws the line somewhere (of course, they have big SBC money backing them)

On second thought, if there is a large "Young, Restless, and Reformed" niche, you could start a pub and cigar place (though that will involve licensing).


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## Edward (Feb 7, 2015)

ReformedReidian said:


> Lifeway, for all of their goofiness at times, draws the line somewhere


And they aren't exactly prospering these days.


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## RamistThomist (Feb 7, 2015)

Edward said:


> ReformedReidian said:
> 
> 
> > Lifeway, for all of their goofiness at times, draws the line somewhere
> ...



That's true. I remember when they were called the "Baptist Bookstore," or something like that. Now they sell more parephenalia than books, and at the end of the day I suspect they can always fall back on baptist money if profits aren't there.


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## KeithW (Feb 7, 2015)

Our metra area is over 2 million people. We are NOT part of the Bible belt. There is a Christian book store chain of small stores which carry more trinkets than books. And pretty much nothing Reformed. We used to have a store called Monergism Books (Monergism Books :: Reformed Books - Discount Prices), so by definition they sold Reformed friendly books. The store was not really set up to browse through everything they carried. Most of their stuff was in a warehouse area in the back. A few years ago they shut down the physical store and now exist solely as an online store where orders are fulfilled by Amazon.

Something to be aware of, the average book buyer wants the latest book, whoever it is by, no matter how good the book is.


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## Wayne (Feb 7, 2015)

An extremely difficult business to be in these days. 

If you were to do it, do everything you can to keep costs at an absolute low. 

Back home there was a couple who converted their garage into a bookstore. 

The advantage was that they had no monthly rent to pay, but could deduct that portion of their home on their taxes. 

In addition, they could afford to sell only those books they stood behind theologically. 

I think that would be essential if you were to do this. 

You have a population there of 44,000, of which how many might even be customers? And if you went the in home route, would you want people in your home?


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## Edward (Feb 7, 2015)

Wayne said:


> You have a population there of 44,000



Metro area there is a little over 1.5 million. Looks like 5 Lifeway stores in the area (closest about 10 miles). I see a Logos in the area, as well. And a Family Christian, as well as several independents. 



Wayne said:


> And if you went the in home route, would you want people in your home?



Zoning issues, permits, angry neighbors, to start.


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## Wayne (Feb 7, 2015)

Those are potential concerns, to be sure, Edward.

Sometimes, someplaces, you can pull it off, but not everywhere.

I think I would sooner start an organic food store and have a rack of books off to the side.


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## Edward (Feb 7, 2015)

Wayne said:


> Sometimes, someplaces, you can pull it off, but not everywhere.



As I tell my co-workers -- 'If a problem seems simple, you aren't looking at it hard enough'.


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## Kalinin (Feb 7, 2015)

Some really excellent advice! I helped set up a bookstore that operates via volunteers in a room (no storefront), which mostly operates online (browse stock, pay with PayPal or send in a Cheque, then we post out) but which is open a couple of times a week on a weekday and a Saturday afternoon, for folks to browse & buy in real life. We also accommodate occasional viewing by appointment.
Most of our stock is second hand and donated. Folks like to give "niche" books to a book distributer that will find a good new home to loved volumes (sadly we get quite a bit from relatives whose loved one has died, and they don't want their library/ have room for it).

Two possible thoughts to minimise costs
1) 2nd hand books. is it possible to be a "recycling" avenue for good Christian books that people have read/ want to dispose of in a loving & useful way? 
2) finding a willing and skilled a Christian IT student who could set up a book selling website using Open Source software? I used Joomla along with VirtueMart linked to a PayPal account. Once set up, the entry of the information for each book can begin - a process that is basically data entry. We found that having a decent typer do the actual input typing and a willing accomplice to read the information out for each book (title, author, year, publisher, place published, description, page number, state, length, width, weight (vital for automatically calculating postage) and so on) was the best practise. 
Sorting out the books into sections & regular stock control, in addition to entering the info into website database - is not a trivial task.

Anyway, just some quick thoughts from my experience.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## Toasty (Feb 7, 2015)

Matthew1344 said:


> My city has no book stores period. Not Christian. Not any.
> 
> How would I go about getting this started?
> 
> ...



I would suggest that you contact some people who own Christian bookstores. They would know what it would take to have that kind of business. If you don't know anyone who owns a Christian bookstore, you could do an Internet search concerning Christian bookstores and contact the owners. 

Does your church have a bookstore?


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## whirlingmerc (Feb 8, 2015)

A bookstore might get lower shipping than a person ordering themselves... if you don't carry a book offer to let the person order it/buy it thorugh you and pick up later

I appreciate when a bookstore has a library of tapes and dvd's and such to rent... but the reality is with the new online types of buying, it's hard to make much money Problem might be that renting when you could buy might undermine sales.

Supplement the store with gift choices.

See if there are churches with bookstores near you... if none you might have a better market


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## Timotheos (Feb 8, 2015)

Not that you should take my practice or ilk into consideration, but I buy and read a lot of books. I almost exclusively buy online. It is cheaper and convenient. If I need a book "now", I just get it on kindle. Bookstores aren't relevant. You might be better off opening a Christian coffee shop and sell a small assortment of books on the side.


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## Scottish Lass (Feb 8, 2015)

We have the closest thing to a semi-Reformed bookstore in Louisville that I've seen anywhere. John basically makes it because he runs it alone M-F (he has recently hired a p/t guy for Saturdays and fill-ins). His major market is that there are two seminaries in town (PCUSA and SBTS), and he carries their textbooks. He's fairly choosy about what's in the new section of the store, but has all manner of junk books in the used section. His other hook is that *all* of his new books sell for 30% off list price. He loves it, but he aint' wealthy. Any of our PB friends who have visited it (with or without Tim) can attest to his lower overhead by being in a rougher part of town, too.


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## Andres (Feb 8, 2015)

Timotheos said:


> I almost exclusively buy online. It is cheaper and convenient. If I need a book "now", I just get it on kindle. Bookstores aren't relevant.



This.


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## Miss Marple (Feb 9, 2015)

It's interesting, all these recommendations for coffee shops. 

The argument is, you can get books online/via Kindle now, etc. Yet we can make coffee at home, too!

Still, we go out for coffee and get our books delivered to our house. Just the way it is right now.


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## lynnie (Feb 9, 2015)

I used to work at a christian bookstore. Philly suburbs. 

50% of the profits came form the sale of music CDs. 15% from bibles. The other 35% was cards, gimmicky items, VBS materials, communion supplies, and books. Most of the books were trash to be honest.

I would go into this real slow and with a lot of counsel first.


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## Edward (Feb 9, 2015)

lynnie said:


> 50% of the profits came form the sale of music CDs.


I expect CD sales have taken a big hit in recent years.


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## Timotheos (Feb 10, 2015)

Miss Marple said:


> It's interesting, all these recommendations for coffee shops.
> 
> The argument is, you can get books online/via Kindle now, etc. Yet we can make coffee at home, too!
> 
> Still, we go out for coffee and get our books delivered to our house. Just the way it is right now.


Yeah... but can you get coffee house coffee at home???

Well I guess. But it is the atmosphere that I enjoy. If your business is reading, then you need to find a place to do it well. A coffee shop is for me. 

But your point of irony is well taken.


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## bookslover (Feb 10, 2015)

Any time someone opens a bookstore anywhere in the United States, someone at Amazon picks up a phone and says, "Release the hounds!"


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## Logan (Feb 10, 2015)

This seems like a great idea for a ministry, bad idea for supporting yourself.

Edward's post is spot on. Ask why there are currently no book stores. Is it because there is no market for one? Have there been bookstores in the past that have closed? A combination coffee shop, study group, reading group thing might work. But I think people read less these day and those who do read don't tend to go to a place like a bookstore to do so. There has to be a really good reason for them to leave their home.

Brick and mortar stores are a dying industry, in my opinion. They just aren't as convenient.

By the way, I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing. I loved going to the library as a kid. These days, I'm love that through my library I can instantly check out a book for my Kindle, without having to leave my house and I get it right away, and there are never any late fees (automatic return after 2 weeks). Do I have fond memories of the "good old days"? Sure. Do I wish what we had now didn't exist? No.

Similar with bookstores. I used to consider myself an amateur collector and loved browsing antiquarian bookstores. I still do. But I haven't bought a book from one in years. The books I do buy I usually buy on Ebay or ABE for much better bargains. Do I still love them? Absolutely. Do I love them enough to wish I didn't have any other option? No.

There will always be things we love and remember fondly that eventually get pushed into irrelevance. I loved my old LP record player. But I'd never listen to it now, I prefer the convenience of something that has thousands of times more capacity, better sound quality, and fits in my pocket. Same with my Kindle. I read 20 books on my last work trip. I am so glad I didn't have to lug those books through the airport!


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## 4arrows (Feb 13, 2015)

Have you considered starting smaller than a store? Possibly a distributor out of your home, or something like that. I would think that a "niche" bookstore would be hard to make any money on a consistent basis. However, I would be so happy if there was one close to me, and be happy to support. I love the feel and smell of a real book.


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## Steve Curtis (Feb 13, 2015)

Well, here's food for thought:

America's Largest Christian Bookstore Chain Files for Bankruptcy | Gleanings | ChristianityToday.com


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## RamistThomist (Feb 13, 2015)

Word on the street is that Family Christian Stores is declaring bankruptcy.


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## Matthew1344 (Feb 14, 2015)

After much prayer with God, discussion with my wife, other bookstore owners, and you all, I have resolved not to do this. 

Thank you guys for your input!


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