Let’s Open a Bookstore!

I began selling used books out of my home in 2017. In just a couple of years, the business has taken over the upstairs flat and a sizable portion of the downstairs flat. Now it’s on the cusp of outgrowing the entire house, and I’m getting more and more requests to hold pop-up events or to have people shop in my home. Books are heavy, so we only do one or two popup events a year…and we have four huge dogs of our own plus an even bigger foster dog, so opening up our house to shoppers just isn’t an option. I do get the reasons for all the requests, though: buying books online is fine if you know exactly what you want, but browsing online just isn’t as much fun as finding an unexpected treasure in real life. Online shopping simply doesn’t compare.

I want to open Detroit’s only late-night used bookstore. Detroit has a number of wonderful brick-and-mortar stores, but most of them are niche bookstores or deal exclusively in new books. The only used bookstore in town that has general stock closes before 6:00 p.m. I’m a natural-born night owl and can commit to keeping my store open until at least 10 p.m. — perfect for evening browsing after dinner or on the way to a late show. I’ve already made arrangements with several local vendors to sell their wares on our specialty shelves; scheduled interviews to promote the fundraiser and the store; and received agreements from Detroit storytellers and tarot readers to provide their services in the store once it opens. I’ll be doing my best to source all performers, vendors, and other services from within the city of Detroit or at least from established regional sources.

The store would open in Detroit’s iconic Russell Industrial Center. I’ve already paid the hold fee for the space, and my current online sales are steady enough that I can handle the month-to-month costs for the space I’m renting. I can also cover a good deal of the startup costs, but the rest of those startup costs are just out of reach.

A number of conversations I’ve had recently have shown me how strong the community support is for a new used bookstore in Detroit, so I’m holding a GoFundMe to raise capital. Funds will go toward the rest of the deposit; required city inspection fees; and some of the costs for fixtures and moving.

My goal is to raise at least $4,000 by November 15th so I can hold a soft open in mid-December. With your help, we’ll be able to hold our annual Book Flood in what will be our new permanent home!

Stretch goals are set at $15,000 and $50,000 — but $4,000 is all I need to get this business off to a great start. Your donation comes with perks: donations of any size will get you 125% credit to be used online or in-store; and donors who give $100 or more will have the option to either take a 150% credit or the 125% credit plus free meeting room space (the store will have a gathering space that is semiprivate while the store is open, and can be reserved as a private space during certain times when we’re closed; we also have plans in place to build at least one completely private meeting room if we reach our first stretch goal).

If we don’t reach the $4,000 goal by the time the fundraiser closes I will still open the bookstore. It will just take me a little longer. One way or another, I’ll be in The Russell by spring of 2020. Funds raised through GoFundMe are going directly to an escrow account that will only be used for the bookstore.

The fundraiser ends at 11:59 p.m. EST on 12/31/19 regardless of the amount raised, so if you want to support Detroit’s newest used bookstore and get a 25%-50% credit, this is the time.

You can find the fundraiser here. Please check it out. If you aren’t the donating sort, there are still lots of ways you can help! You can shop the online store on this site or visit us on eBay. You can also help by sharing the fundraiser link. Every share helps spread the word, and increases the chance we’ll be able to open this year.

Thank you so much for reading, and for all of your comments and messages of support. I wouldn’t be in a position to even consider this if not for all of you. ❤️

LET’S OPEN A BOOKSTORE, Y’ALL!