at full retail price, you're often looking at 40-50% for books...but then everything goes on sale at some point. sideline merch (think the stuffed animals in the kids section) can get 60%+. but after rent, expenses, etc. we're just hoping to break even in year 1. the math suggests its possible but we're about to find out empirically. in the end, most evidence also suggests there are a lot easier ways to make $30k net a year. but it's a community project as a much as a business.
more power to you finding something you love and providing so lovingly to the community, money be damned, it's all the other things that truly matter!
my wife and I when visiting a new place specifically seek out the local bookshop and buy something, her heading into the nonfiction section and me into fantasy/scifi. always a pleasure.
yes exactly, my wife and i are the same way. some of the other shops we talked to were surprised at the amount of foot traffic from people who for one reason or another just happened to be in the area. anyway, we will have a full 8x13' room for scifi/fantasy; that's my section too...we could probably use more space for that. :)
