It is with a heavy heart and very mixed feelings that I have made the decision to close the retail website for Bookety Book Books.
It's no secret that the economy is poop right now, and we're all feeling it. My operating costs have doubled, if not tripled, since opening, and with fuel and freight costs continuing to rise, they're costs that neither our customers nor we can comfortably absorb. Add in lower consumer spending, the ongoing logistical battle of running a bookstore in New Zealand, let alone from the bottom of the South Island, the challenge of selling and promoting a widely available product, combined with subscription growth being slower than I had hoped, and it has just become incredibly difficult to sustain at a small scale.
But at the heart of it all, the changing nature of online bookselling in Aotearoa over the last few years has been the straw that broke the camel's back. Discounting has become increasingly aggressive, and technology is reshaping online retail at a pace that small businesses in a highly competitive market can't keep up with.
In recent months alone, my website was crawled and scraped by tens of thousands of bots, while elements of how we have built our brand, something that I have spent years doing, are being replicated elsewhere. It can be disheartening to watch larger players build on the pathways that small businesses have spent years creating. And there is very little that can be done to prevent it.
Discounting books is a race to the bottom, and we've seen internationally what can happen when market share becomes the primary goal. It often comes at the expense of diversity, competition, and the wider bookselling ecosystem. It prioritises books as products first, and art second.
This is not meant as a pity party. I am not naïve to the complicated realities of what makes the wider industry tick, but that is a much bigger conversation for another day. I just want to be really honest about what has led us here, as I imagine this decision will come as a shock to some. But, I always knew there was a large possibility that one day a larger, better-resourced player would enter the space and make it increasingly difficult to compete.
In a perfect world, I would own a beautiful colourful bookstore filled with people and events and books everywhere. But location, logistics and cost make that dream very hard.
I've been flip-flopping on this decision for a while now because it feels like a massive leap of faith. Will I lose my place in the industry if I step away from retail? What if I'm making the wrong decision? Will I just disappear into a sea of bookstagrammers? (Sorry, love you, bookstagram.) I've worried deeply about disappointing people, especially my loyal customers who have supported me for so many years.
And then there's that insistent little voice that keeps wondering if one more change, one more idea, or one more push might somehow make things better. And maybe it would. But I finally feel like I need to know when to let go.
I started Bookety because I believed independent bookselling could exist online in a way that still felt personal, thoughtful, community-driven and joyful. I wanted to reach readers all over Aotearoa who couldn't easily get to a physical bookstore and were missing exposure to a wide and diverse range of books. And in making this decision, and admitting how hard the realities are behind the scenes, feels in some ways like some kind of failure to this on my part, I logically know that isn't true.
Bookety has given me so much. Friendships, opportunities, creativity, confidence, purpose, and an incredible community of readers now from all over the world.
It may seem counterproductive to lean out of the fight when showing up and practising what you preach matters so much. But I also have hope that when one door closes, another opens.
Stepping away from retail creates space for new opportunities (hello?), and allows me to grow the parts of Bookety that so many of you enjoy most. Our new content-focused website is now going to get our full attention, and so much of what you've loved about Bookety will remain, if not become bigger and better.
The reviews, the recommendations, the book clubs, the events, the conversations, the industry news, and the community aren't going anywhere. If anything, this decision gives them more room to grow.
I am so grateful to all of you. A huge thank you to every single person who has purchased a book from us over the years. It is, and always will be, the best way to support the businesses you love.
Thank you to the publishers, sales reps, to my fellow booksellers who have become dear friends, to Booksellers Aotearoa, and to the brilliant authors who so generously share their minds with us, and without whom none of this world would not exist. But most of all, thank you to my family, who have supported me every step of the way, and who didn't bat an eyelid when I walked into the living room during the first nationwide lockdown and announced, "I'm going to open a bookstore."
Our final day of trading will be 31st August, exactly six years after we first launched Bookety Book Books.
Our new literary hub will launch in September following the closure of the retail website, and I can't wait to share what comes next with you all.
Logistics:
If you have a gift card, please make sure you spend it before the end of August!
June will be our final month for subscriptions. We have options for you all subscribers, so please don't worry, we will be in touch with you all this week.
All pre-orders will still be fulfilled (even for release dates past closure), and we can't wait to end our final month of retailing with the new Meg Mason novel Sophie, Standing There. Your pre-orders will mean the world, as we won't be bringing in a lot of extra stock due to the short selling window. If you'd like a copy, please pre-order now.
