BUYING SERVICES

Ghostbuyers is a service for stores that either feel overwhelmed by the buying process, or who see the value in sub-contracting that work out to a seasoned professional. Aside from freeing up your time, Ghostbuyers also costs much less than a salaried employee and can start right away with no need for training, scheduling, or benefits.

Maintaining your store’s personality and place in your community is critical to our mission and we’ll work with you to understand and nurture those unique qualities.

Frontlist Ordering Service

Frontlist ordering is seasonal, but building those orders in a timely and efficient manner are a year-round job. Combing through the thousands of new titles each season is a daunting task, but finding the just-right new titles for your customers is enormously important.

Using parameters chosen by you, we’ll create orders that align with your budget and your store’s priorities in mind.

  • Frontlist ordering via Edelweiss
    • Titles selected according to your stated preferences
    • Edelweiss Analytics subscription required
  • Professional sales rep relationship building
  • Weekly PDF showing upcoming titles
  • Staff input protocols (reviews, tags, etc)
  • Drop-in capture
  • Monthly recommended return list

Interested? Let’s chat. Email joe@ghostbuyers.com

Opening Inventory Service

An incredibly daunting task, deciding what titles to have on your shelves on opening day can be an intimidating ordeal. We can help in a variety of ways that best suit your needs. Whether you would just like a list of 2000 fiction titles that match your store’s personality, or if you’d like to use a map of your shelves to decide where store sections should live.

Perhaps you’d like to decide on a title count for your store’s linear feet of shelf space, taking face-outs into account. Maybe you have a list of your desired store categories and would like a specific number of suggested titles for each.

Pricing for this service will vary depending on your specific needs. Get in touch had we can work something out together!

Interested? Let’s chat. Email joe@ghostbuyers.com

Backlist Reordering Service

Working with you to get to know your store through interviews, virtual store tours, Sales history and Edelweiss Analytics data, we’ll make sure that your store is stocked and ready for your customers.

Through strategic reordering, and open lines of communication with your and/or your staff to alert us to customer requests and local buzz, we’ll make sure the right titles are on your shelves.

We’ll also send you a list of suggested returns on a regular basis to help ensure your inventory is as lean and profitable as possible.

  • Customizable number of restocking orders/week
  • Regular communication with you and/or your staff concerning trends, customer requests, local and regional news, etc.
  • Customized to your store’s ’emphases’ and ‘personality’
  • Ordering Cascade

*Store Requirements:

  • Book industry point-of-sale system:
    • Booklog, Bookmanager, Anthology, IBID, Wordstock, iMerchant, Basil (EDI-capable POS Systems)
  • Ingram account, and publisher-direct accounts (upon discussion)
  • Edelweiss Analytics Subscription
    • Allows means to measure effectiveness and gives you a “report card” of our work.

Interested? Let’s chat. Email joe@ghostbuyers.com

Full-Service Book Ordering

Frontlist Ordering Services

Backlist Reordering Services

Regular Check-Ins

Leave the buying to us, from restocking orders to frontlist ordering with your sales reps.

Interested? Let’s chat. Email joe@ghostbuyers.com

Why require book industry POS systems and an Edelweiss Analytics account?

To put it simply, efficiency. Book industry specific point-of-sale systems have built-in tools to make buying and inventory management easier and more efficient. General retail systems often lack the tools that are very specific to the unique needs of bookstores. These general retail systems require a significant amount of time creating workarounds for processes that are simply built-in tools in book industry specific POS systems.

Edelweiss Analytics includes tools to help measure the effectiveness of your ordering, help you catch things you may otherwise miss, and provides a handy report card. Summit is the required subscription level.

With these important tools in place, success is easier to achieve.

Interested? Let’s chat. Email joe@ghostbuyers.com

How Our Ordering Partnership Works:

We’re excited to get to know your store and support your unique vision. Here’s what to expect as we begin working together:

1. Getting Started

  • Introductory Form: After our initial contact, you’ll fill out a brief form to help us understand your store’s personality, priorities, and current systems.
  • Video Call & Store Tour: We’ll schedule a video call to meet face-to-face, walk through your space, and begin building a shared understanding of your goals. We can examine the need for an in-store visit.

2. Choosing a Service Level

  • Once you select a service level, we’ll collaborate on a schedule and ordering frequency that fits your store’s rhythm and budget.
  • Pricing may be adjusted based on the frequency and scope of service.

3. Data & Analytics Integration

  • We’ll connect to your Edelweiss Analytics account to review sales history, inventory trends, and performance metrics.
  • For backlist reordering, we may use a secure Remote Desktop tool to access your system directly, if needed.

4. Receiving & Shelving

  • Once orders are placed, books arrive at your store for your team to receive and shelve as usual.

5. Frontlist Ordering

  • You’ll receive a weekly PDF highlighting upcoming frontlist titles, giving your team a clear preview of what’s on the way.

6. Returns Guidance

  • Every ordering service includes regular return recommendations to help manage inventory health.
    • While returns are always your decision, a consistent return schedule is key to maintaining a balanced selection.
    • Return pulls and processing remain your store’s responsibility.

7. Ongoing Communication

  • We keep communication open and responsive. You’ll let us know about:
    • Customer requests
    • Book group needs
    • Local trends
    • Special orders

8. A Tailored Approach

This is not a “one size fits all” service! Every aspect of our work is designed to reflect and respect your store’s distinct identity.