At The Bookshop in East Nashville, Tenn., customers can't seem to get enough stickers, reported store owner Joelle Herr. The store's offerings tend to be book-related or about social justice issues, with some favorites coming from ShopSourSweetener and Gibbs Smith, particularly the latter's "Bookstores Save Democracy" stickers. Herr and her team are also dipping their toes into creating stickers of their own, she noted.
Keychains are a relatively new addition for the bookstore, with those made by Three Potato Four selling well. Hats are also "on the upswing," with Herr mentioning some great ones from Out of Print. "From day one," the bookstore has carried bookish games and card decks, such as Punderdome from Clarkson Potter. Enamel pins are another staple, with Rather Keen being a favorite supplier, as are bookish pinback buttons from suppliers like Gibbs Smith and Seltzer Goods.
Asked whether tariffs have affected the store's sidelines business, Herr said "not yet," though she pointed out that she mainly orders from suppliers based in the U.S. "I'm sure the tariffs will likely start affecting them soon, though, so we'll have to see."
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For Meet Cute Romance Bookshop in San Diego, Calif., stickers are "really consistently a great seller," said owner Becca Title. The store has "a ton," with many sourced from vendors on Faire; Title pointed to Turtle's Soup as a favorite. Meet Cute sells lots of pens and bookmarks as well, with magnetic bookmarks being particularly popular, and Maeve chocolates are another perennial seller. Many of these items, Title noted, are also sourced through Faire, though she will order some items, like Decomposition notebooks or Out of Print products, directly.
Meet Cute recently brought in earrings, Title said, and they're "going pretty well" so far. She tries to keep earrings, and most of the store's sidelines, under $35, which works well for Meet Cute's customer base. Title added that the store used to sell store-branded T-shirts through Bonfire, but recently worked with a local printer to print new shirts. Meet Cute has had to "restock a couple times" now.
On the subject of tariffs, Title said she had to cancel a $300 order of enamel pins and stickers from a U.K. vendor after learning there'd be around $400 in tariffs. In the past Meet Cute had ordered from that vendor on a regular basis; now "we won't be able to order from there," Title remarked. She also expressed frustration with the difficulty of trying to keep track of minimums, exceptions, and other details related to the tariffs.
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| Book Nook Kit from Hands Craft | |
Erin Ball, store manager and gift buyer at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, Wash., reported that the store is doing very well with greeting cards at the moment. She recently put together a "kind of political display" of greeting cards featuring words like "shitshow" and "dumpster fire" that "did really well." Though Ball orders from plenty of greeting card companies, she mentioned Smitten Kitten and Kendra Lee Miller Art as a couple favorites.
Stickers are doing so well at the Lake Forest Park store that Ball said, "if you don't have stickers, you're missing out." She has also had a lot of success with a local bath and body company called Twisted Tomboy, and Ball has recently brought in more journals specifically for the "scrap-booking crowd," as well as more art supplies. She added that Book Nook Kits from Hands Craft are strong sellers.
Asked about perennial favorites, Ball said, "You must have socks," and mentioned Out of Print and Sock It to Me as good options. Journals are another staple, and local candy, particularly chocolates, do really well. The store sells plenty of tote bags, including one that's store-branded. Without all those, she said, "we'd be in trouble."
When it comes to tariffs, Ball remarked that it's "hard to figure out what's happening," and said she's gotten "so many" e-mails from companies saying "they are or are not raising prices." With all the uncertainty, she is essentially trying to proceed as normal. She has heard some talk about doing fourth quarter orders as soon as possible, to avoid getting stuck empty-handed if larger retailers decide to "buy up everything before tariffs," but that would be very costly and demand a lot of storage space. "The industry is a little nervous," Ball said. --Alex Mutter
If you are interested in having your store appear in a future Sidelines Snapshot article, please e-mail alex@shelf-awareness.com.