Start Your Holiday Shopping Early! (Please.)

We know, we know. It’s the start of November.

Not even the most egregiously holiday-minded radio stations have started playing Christmas tunes yet, but we wanted to make a quick plea with you all to start your holiday gift shopping early this year. There are a couple of reasons for this:

1. We spend a lot of time talking to publishers, and we are constantly hearing alarming news about paper shortages, supply chain issues, printing limitations, and other scary things. Some of these problems are pandemic-related, some are not. But the overall message we’re hearing is that the shop needs to order all the books we need now because there literally may not be so many books available in a few weeks’ time. If you order early, you’re less likely to be disappointed.

Also, bear in mind that there are certain books like this one whose demand will be so huge that we anticipate there will be an almighty scramble to grab copies on Christmas Eve. Don’t wait until the last minute and risk disappointment.

2. Then there’s this. Frankly, it would be hugely helpful to us, as a business, if you were to shop early. Like all small, locally-owned businesses, we’ve been struggling throughout the pandemic, and have been improvising madly over the past several months in an effort to keep the business viable. The holiday season is our busiest time of year, but with restrictions on the number of people we can allow into the shop and our ongoing commitment to keep our staff and our customers safe, it’s going to be really, really hard to sell enough books.

If you’re able to buy early, that would certainly help us. If you want to shop online, that helps, too.

We’ve come up with a ton of great ideas for unique solutions to all your holiday gifting dilemmas, and will be sharing those with you soon. In the meantime, please stay safe, keep reading, and - if you’re reading this on Tuesday, November 3 - please go vote.

Thanks!