Moving online easy for book shop
Books and Toys in Duncan St, Whanganui East did the right thing when the pandemic threw a spanner in the trading works.
The store, owned and operated by Aaron Longshaw and Helen Williams, went straight online.
“We closed the shop and went internet only,” says Aaron. “It was not as good as a normal day’s sales but it definitely was a help.
“Our website really took off as soon as we and the rest of the world went into lockdown. Today [last Thursday] I’ve wrapped a parcel for Slovakia, I’ve sent stuff to the States and I’ve got a parcel to go to Scotland. And I’ve been selling a few books on Fishpond.”
Fishpond sales are usually good condition copies of out-of-print books.
“Level 3 made very little difference apart from putting a phone number on the shop so locals can ring and I can arrange something for them.”
Aaron and Helen live in a house on the premises with easy access to the shop.
“Technically, we’re working from home.”
He says he’s looking forward to the freedoms the next level will bring but they’ve coped well with the restrictions created by the pandemic.
“It is what it is and we deal with it. Humans are adaptable creatures.”
Meanwhile, in the CBD,
Patrick’s Bookshop remained closed throughout levels 4 and 3.
“I had a look at a couple of people’s collections and I bought some,” says owner Patrick McKenna. He says it was easily done while still complying with social distancing requirements. He has also been able to appraise book collections.
“I figure that during this time a lot of people would have been able to have a tidy up in their garage or shed and they might have a lot of books to get rid of.”
Patrick says he’s looking forward to opening under Level 2, with sanitiser available and a limit on customers in the shop at any given time.
“I’m very optimistic. I like the whole concept of shopping locally and we can now get rid of a lot of bad habits we had. That’s my feeling.
“I’m hoping there’s a new normal.
“We’ve learned that we can get by with a little less of everything, we don’t have to drive all over the country, we don’t have to eat takeaways every day and we don’t have to have a lot of things we used to have.
“We don’t have to spend for the sake of spending. I just hope we’ve learned that life can be simpler.”