Inventory Management

Click Here When Registration Opens on 11/08

This course is designed for those who are employed by or who own a retail bookstore (this includes a mobile or pop-up shop) that has been in existence for at least 1 year and has 25%+ new book inventory; the skills and strategies taught in the course are designed for the new book trade, not for used-only stores. The course will teach owners and/or store buyers to create buying strategies and routines that get the best discounts, maintain cash flow, work within budgets, and integrate with the store’s marketing and merchandising. The skills students learn will help them analyze and improve their buying process.

Our 2025 Instructors

Co-Dean Jill Hendrix, Owner, Fiction Addiction, Greenville, SC

Co-Dean Carol Price, Co-Owner/Buyer, BookPeople of Moscow, Moscow, ID

Josh Christie, Co-owner, Print: A Bookstore, Portland, ME

Erin Caudill, Buying Manager, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Latonia, KY

Melissa DeMotte, Owner, The Well-Read Moose, Coeur d’Alene, ID

Alison Reid, Co-owner, Camino Books, San Diego, CA

Kate Reynolds, Book Buyer, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY

Membership

Being an active member of the bookselling industry is a critical step in growing a bookstore and shows commitment to your chosen profession. Stores with students in all Professional Booksellers School courses are required to be current members of their regional trade association and/or the American Booksellers Association. To enroll, students must also create a PBS account, which is free.

 

Course Components & Cost

This course consists of live classes via Zoom, office hours, and a final project. Homework is assigned for each class. Students are expected to attend the live classes, turn in all homework, and pass their final project to be certified.  The course is $375, with discounts available from their regional trade associations. Find out what support your Regional Trade Association offers on our website.

Preview the 2025 Syllabus

Course Objectives

The Professional Booksellers School Inventory Management Course provides buyers with the skills and tools to:

  • use the store’s POS to manage and analyze inventory and ordering
  • efficiently select and order the new book inventory that will sell best for their particular store
  • build a system to schedule and track ordering
  • understand how and when to order direct from publishers for better discounts
  • use Ingram both efficiently and effectively, especially for customer special orders 
  • maintain cash flow via returns, turns, and budgets
  • integrate marketing and merchandising into the buying process so that their carefully selected inventory actually sells
  • analyze and improve their buying process over time
Major Project Deliverables

Homework for Inventory Management is completed via Trello. Assignments include, but are not limited to: frontlist and restocking criteria; buying calendars and schedules; community demographics and target markets; procedure documentation; turns and COGS calculations; at least one specced out inventory experiment, and a big picture strategic plan as the final project.  

Classes

Section One: Introductory Material

Class 1 -  How to Successfully Complete This Course

Class 2 -  Book Buyer Overview

Section Two: Using Wholesalers

Class 3 -  Introduction to the Power of Ingram

Class 4 - Special OrderWorkflows, Website Fulfillment & Ingram Tips & Tricks

Section Three: Curating Your Store

Class 5 - Buying Criteria

Class 6 -  Frontlist Buying Through Edelweiss+

Class 7 -  Children's Buying

Class 8 - Communicating the Buy Internally & Externally

Class 9 -  Other Revenue Streams: Sidelines and Services

Class 10 -  Restocking, Events & Pubeasy

Class 11 -  Returns

Section Four: Cash Flow & Profitability

Class 12 -  Buying to Constraints

Class 13 -  Basic Bookbuyer Math: COGS, Linear Feet Analysis & Turns

Class 14 -  Co-Op

Class 15 -  Data, Metrics, and Efficiencies

Class 16 -  Final Project & Action Plans

Learning Outcomes

As a result of this course, students will be able to:

  • Know the value of a good sales rep and how to request and work with one.
  • Set and/or document your store’s buying criteria.
  • Create a direct publisher frontlist order using an Edelweiss rep markup and import
  • it into your point-of-sale system (POS).
  • Track your frontlist buying for budgeting purposes.
  • Price sidelines to achieve a desired profit margin.
  • Calculate inventory turns, as well as cost of goods sold (COGS) for inventory purchased at different terms.
  • Create/document your store’s special order promise, procedures, and workflow.
  • Establish and/or document communication procedures between the buyer and other staff/departments.
  • Generate a publisher overstock return pull list.
  • Understand the publisher co-op system and how it affects a store’s bottom line.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of your community, store identity, and demographics.
  • Personalize the techniques you learned in class to apply to your store’s specific situation.

If you have questions or need assistance, contact administration at hello@professionalbooksellers.com.

Independent Study