What Kind of Book Shopper Are You?

(photo by Lizzy Foulkes)

Bookseller Matt Blind recently wrote a blog post detailing the various types of people who come into his store. As a former bookseller myself, I related to many of the descriptions of some of these shoppers. Below is a brief description of the seven types identified in the blog.

Seekers – those looking for a specific book. These include students of all kinds and those who heard about a book (TV, radio, magazine, friend) and want THAT book.

Grazers – those who love book stores but don’t really ever plan to buy a book. They wander the aisles and just gaze at the shelves and displays, occasionally picking up a book to read the cover and then go back to wandering.

Browsers – those who don’t need a specific book, but are content to roam through the aisles of the genre or topic they are looking through, i.e. sci-fi, romance, self-help.

Campers – those who come into the book store, set up shop and stay there. This includes students who think the book store is their personal library, the homeless, tutors and others who set up their drinks, food and laptops and don’t move all day.

Idiots – those with little to no specific information about the book they are looking for. "I don't remember the name of the book or the author, but I think the cover is red. Do you have that one?"

Independents – those shoppers who would rather use a computer terminal than talk to a bookseller.

Time-sucks – people who come in and ask advice for books as gifts without an inkling of what works. Or, just ask general questions about books that don’t help the bookseller or the consumer do anything, except waste time.

I have definitely interacted with many customers like those described in the blog. I was once asked to find a book based on the fact that it was large and yellow – miraculously, I was able to find the book they meant, but that is one of those types of questions booksellers dread.

When I go into a bookstore, I try to be as prepared as possible, armed with as much information about the book or books I am looking for. If I am just browsing, I do my best to stay out of the way of the other buyers and booksellers. I step around those randomly sitting in the middle of an aisle, the ones snoring in the wooden chairs, and try not to squeal too loudly when I see a new book on the shelf by one of my favorite authors.

How about you? Do you see yourself in the categories above? Do you think there are other types of buyers? Leave a comment and let me know!

Nicole