English bookshops

[bailey]

Hi,

I'm moving to Spain with my Partner for his work, and I need to have something to make my living.

Thought of several business ideas, in England I'm a counselor/therapist so not very transferable with the language barrier.

I have two real loves my dogs and books.

Been suggested open a dog kennel or an English book shop.

I prefer the idea of the bookshop, can anybody suggest good areas, the competition etc. I would be hoping to not only sell to expats but also Spanish people learning to speak English, maybe in conjunction with teaching English myself.

I would be grateful for any thoughts

[BENIDORM]

Selling English books in Spain is probably, after English bars, the most tried and tested business started by Expat Brits ...It is a good steady business, if run correctly, but does require thorough research as to where to operate from...ie....It is a pointless exercise to open a shop near another similar business, there really isn't enough business to 'go around'.

There are plenty of shops already operating in the popular Brit areas, however there are 'new' areas opening up inland....I would suggest that you look at these areas, and it would be probably a good idea to back up a retail shop business with online booksales...

Selling English books to Spanish is quite difficult and I wouldn't expect it to be a major earner, but as they say..'every little helps'..Other English speaking Northern Europeans do buy English books, ie Dutch, Scandinavians, Germans etc..

There is a lot of competition from charitable enterprises who sell 'donated' books, so again avoid 'clashing' with them...

Most people assume that selling books is easy, but I can assure you it isn't, it really does take much thought..Secondhand books, I have found, always sell better than new books....

I had retail shops in Spain, for many years, and bookselling was a big part of my business, if you require any further info., please feel free to contact me by p.m...I do know where to obtain good regular supplies of secondhand paperbacks, non-fiction 'coffee table' books and childrens books......Good Luck..! !

[El Cid]

Most people I know buy their books from Amazon rather than pay the inflated prices charged in English bookshops.

The exception to this are specialised local books which are often not available from Amazon.

There is certainly a steady trade in cards, calendars, local maps and guides.

Sid

[Trackbikes]

Most people I know buy their books from Amazon rather than pay the inflated prices charged in English bookshops.

The exception to this are specialised local books which are often not available from Amazon.

There is certainly a steady trade in cards, calendars, local maps and guides.

Sid

I agree €10.50 for a paperback i can get in 3 days from amazon for about £4 is one of the reasons I don't buy too many books from local bookshops> generally fnd i can get 10 books delivered from amazon for what i would spend on 5 locally.

What i do miss though Is access to a wide range of magazines at reasonable prices for example if i find a version of PC Pro it costs about €10 and most cycling and motorcycling mags are not available. So if you can find a good way of providing magazines at a reasonable price then that may be a good opportunity

[pilgrim]

English books are available in Seville City and at the airport. A friend and I have been looking into setting up some sort af book exchange for the past year or so, but have come to the conclusion you would need to combine it with something else, may be a cafe? I get my books from ebay and amazon or swop locally and as said before you can get about 5 books sent here for about 13/14 euros against buying ONE in a shop here for the same price. If you do a search on here there is a poster from Huelva who has a large collection of books which are available for swopping and I am sure I will be paying a visit in the not too distant future to stock up for winter

[peteroldracer]

most cycling and motorcycling mags are not available.

Try the Spanish ones - the monthly "Motocliclismo clasíco" is excellent and has a wide range of coverage, even in one issue several pages on a rally in Great Yarmouth! There are several others dealing in the various sorts of motorcycling, from trials, to Superbikes. It really isn't that difficult to read Spanish as you have a lot more time than when trying to understand rapid conversation!

[spanish_lad]

pete, and track bikes - probably not somewhere that you would frequent, but if you go to the paseo maratisimo of fuengerola (los boliches end) there is a very large newsagents that sells all sorts of motoring magazines in about 4 or 5 different languages, although at seemingly inflated prices.

there is a new very big english book shop owned by bookworld espana just opened up in the myramar / eroski centre in fuengerola. last time i happened to pass by it was so packed in there that you couldn't move !

[Trackbikes]

most cycling and motorcycling mags are not available.

Try the Spanish ones - the monthly "Motocliclismo clasíco" is excellent and has a wide range of coverage, even in one issue several pages on a rally in Great Yarmouth! There are several others dealing in the various sorts of motorcycling, from trials, to Superbikes. It really isn't that difficult to read Spanish as you have a lot more time than when trying to understand rapid conversation!

I do try to pick up motoclicsmo for the gossip (team roberts getting toni elias and ducati engines ..yeah right!) But I do miss the shoddy english reporting! I used to run a race team in the UK and actually want to keep up with the racing news in the UK which the Uk race news.

[bailey]

Lots of interesting ideas, thanks for all your help.

The sought of thing I was thinking was inland, bookshop with small cafe,
hopefully selling cards etc as well.

Possibly adding a section of second hand books as well.

As you said the more forms of income generator the better.

I need to think and research a lot more first, but feel very excited at this idea.

Thanks for your offer of info, will plot for a few days and pm you if that's OK.

[Cassandra]

We were also planning to open a book shop at one time but it didn't happen for a number of reasons. One thing we were going to do to get people in was also stock newspapers, Spanish and English, as it's a 10km drive to our nearest stockist but one thing you're stuck with then is a 7 day a week commitment.

Trackbikes, have you tried contacting the publishers of the mags/papers you used to buy? I've just ordered a quarterly specialist magazine who offer overseas subscriptions and the cost is only 50p more, which I think is reasonable to cover the extra postage. I'm pretty sure most major publishers will have subscriptions available, after all it's guaranteed sales for them if you commit to 12 months.