A Short Q&A with Daniel about Ebooks on Our Website

Q. Did we sign up with Google Editions to be a licensed seller?
A. No, not yet. It took me a year to get through the credit card approvals.

Q. How are sales going on the website?
A. Actually, worse than when we didn't take credit cards, mostly because friends of the store have slowed down their purchases on it.

Q. Why do you think that is?
A. Our front page is inconsistent. We haven't individually uploaded products that are harder to find (local books, our tee shirts, gift items, autographed books). And on regular products, don't you think the web makes price everything? I wish the pick-up-in-store option was used more often, but honestly, for that, you could just email or call us. Sometimes I think about moving to the blog as our web ambassador. It would certainly save us money.

Q. Why isn't your website kept up better?
A. Totally my fault. My attention tends to wander.

Q. Any other reason why you haven't signed on?
A. Well, I would like to see the dust settle with other indie booksellers. It's been hard enough maneuvering our new inventory system.


Q. That sounds like a bunch of lame excuses to me. Do you really have any other issues here?
A. It's tied up in my general angst.

Q. It sounds like your a luddite.
A. More of a late adapter. I have a smart phone, and recently bought a new water heater. See? I avoided reverting to burning firewood. And I'm facinated by the company, Bradford White, that only sells to plumbers, not mass merchants. It was made in Middleville, Michigan. And did I mention that my Taagen plumber was shopping at the bookstore on Sunday with his daughter? That made me very happy.

Q. So will your own reading habits ever change?
A.Who knows? Have you read Daniel Gilbert's Stumbling on Happiness? We're not very good at predicting our futures.