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Ingenuity helps Sudbury independent bookseller adapt in the age of COVID-19

Bay Used Books can now ship to customers anywhere in Ontario

Bay Used Books has been a haven for Sudbury’s bibliophiles for more than four decades.

But in the age of COVID-19, when books aren’t considered an essential service, owners Anne Bouffard and Jim Shea have had to get creative to keep the pages turning.

Known for its vast inventory – 400,000 volumes by rough estimate – the store offers readers an affordable alternative that’s more communal and eco-friendly than buying new.

On average, books are available for a few dollars, Bouffard noted. New, hardcover versions go for less than 10 bucks, and when they’re returned, the customer gets $4 to put back in their pocket.

Beyond the books, Bouffard said, the shop is a sanctuary where avid readers unite in their love of the written word, revelling in the chance to browse at their leisure, and eager at the prospect of stumbling upon a new-to-them adventure.

“It's kind of like a little community,” Bouffard said. “People come in to talk with our employees, to get recommendations about reading material, and to just browse through the books. It's not just about reading; I think there's more to it than that.”

That’s why, in mid-March, when the province declared a state of emergency, Bouffard and Shea reluctantly decided to close the store to customers.

But COVID-19 isn’t the first challenge the family has faced since Anne’s parents, Fran and Bernie Bouffard, picked up the family and relocated from North Bay to launch the business in 1975.

Overnight, Anne and Jim rejigged their process, setting up online ordering and offering curbside pickup.

Customers could no longer browse the aisles or search through the shop’s specialty sections. But they could email in an order, which staff would bundle up and process over the phone or by etransfer.

When it was ready, the customer simply had to call the store from the parking lot, a staff member would place the bagged order on the outside steps, and the customer could pick it up.

It was efficient, it was contactless, and, most importantly, it was popular.

“We turned things around very, very quickly, and we were doing very nicely,” said Bouffard, who estimates her sales are 20 per cent of what they were before the pandemic hit. 

“We were allowing our employees to continue working a little bit, with the idea that they would collect EI (employment insurance) and then we would supplement their income. And then all of that came to a crashing halt.”

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On March 23, the province issued a directive requiring the shutdown of all but essential workplaces, and Bouffard was dismayed to see bookstores had been left off the list.

At a time when so many people are feeling isolated at home – enhanced by the uncertainty of when social distancing restrictions will be lifted – Bouffard believes books have never been more important.

“They keep people at home; they keep kids entertained and they keep kids reading when they're not in school,” she said.

“Older people are not online; they don't watch TV. They need books desperately, because they're even more isolated.”

Curbside pickup ceased, and the owners had no choice but to send all five of their employees home. They once again found themselves brainstorming for an alternative that could keep their little bookshop running.

The pair has now set its sights on a province-wide solution, offering delivery to anywhere in Ontario, with a particular focus on serving the North.

Customers can submit a request for books online, and the store will subsidize the cost of shipping.

For orders of more than $50, a flat shipping rate of $10 will be applied, while orders totalling more than $100 will be shipped free.

Although the store’s full inventory isn’t available online – 400,000 is a lot of books to catalogue – Bouffard has begun taking photos of the store’s various sections, so visitors can get an idea of what’s on the shelves. The website is updated almost daily.

“It’s not ideal – it's just a picture for the sections – but some customers were telling me at the beginning they need to browse, need to see the title before they could know what they want, so that's how that got started,” she said.

Bouffard estimates she’s able to find what the customer is looking for about 80 per cent of the time.

Online book-buying is not totally new for Bay Used Books. For the last 15 years, the store has listed rare and collectible volumes on digital book marketplaces like AbeBooks, Alibris, and Amazon.

But Northerners forced to stay at home in underserviced communities are starting to take note of the newly expanded service.

Bouffard has recently made shipments to Manitoulin Island, Elliot Lake, and New Liskeard. 

She’s hopeful that, pandemic or not, adapting as she has to a new digital model will, over the long term, lead to prosperity for her business.

"That's the only silver lining in all of this,” Bouffard said. “We're creating new customers that we would never have had, and hopefully they will continue to come see us afterwards.”