»Chicago bookshop owner blasts customer who returned $800 books after staging home«
The co-owner of a Chicago indie bookstore expressed her irritation online after a buyer returned $800 worth of books.
The owner of Volumes Bookcafe, Rebecca George, took to Twitter to vent her annoyance after a client chose to utilize her store as a library and returned all of the expensive art and cooking books they had purchased one month prior.
The purchaser only utilized the books as props and decorations in their home during the holidays, when they had guests visiting.
She expressed her dismay and warned customers not to behave in such a manner, especially when small businesses are involved, in George’s post.
Rebecca George, a 42-year-old independent bookshop from Chicago, was frustrated after a customer returned a $800 purchase of art and cookbooks.
The tweet by Rebecca George has been viewed millions of times.
“One of our biggest sales last month was to a customer who wanted to decorate their home for the holidays, and now they want to return all of the items.” People, please do not do this to a tiny business. John tweeted.
Since then, the tweet has received nearly 7 million views.
George further mentioned that the sale represented about a third of the store’s monthly rent.
‘Wow, this gentleman came in and bought up all these art books! What a wonderful day,’ George exclaimed at the time of the huge sale. We needed it immediately.
The Volumes bookstore launched in September owing to donations from members of the community.
The customer had purchased the books in December solely to use them as temporary holiday decorations and props, then returned them after the holidays.
Numerous individuals responded with expressions of support and suggestions for preventing a recurrence.
It resulted in other users expressing their support for the bookstore and recommending changes to their return policy, such as the addition of a restocking fee, in order to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Due to the pandemic, the bookstore had a difficult fall last year, and they are grateful to the 25 members of their community who provided loans to assist them purchase a new site, which opened in September.
George also noted that book returns were exceedingly uncommon, accounting for less than 1 percent of all transactions, and were typically the result of someone possessing a copy.
If such were the case, they could have obtained literature in another manner. They might have purchased secondhand books or borrowed them from the library,’ George said Fox 32. I don’t believe people know how significant this is for small businesses.
Some well-wishers inquired as to where they might make online purchases or send money to the bookstore.
George saw that the sale accounted for about a third of the store’s monthly rent after the bumper sale.
Independent bookstores frequently have low profit margins and face competition from larger retail establishments, making each decision and purchase vital to their existence.
“Even after opening, we were still paying electricians, plumbers, and all the other costs associated with opening, in addition to our mortgage,” George explained. The fall was difficult. We knew that as soon as the holidays were over, we would feel more safe.
Even additional bookshop employees acknowledged the difficulties faced by small business owners.
Later, George, 42, took to Twitter to thank everyone who had supported her business and to clarify that the returned purchase was $800, which represented one-third of the month’s rent.
She verified the bookstore has received numerous orders from around the United States as a result of her tweet.
The consumer ultimately opted to return their purchase a few days after the 30-day return period had expired and agreed to take store credit.
Later, George, 42, took to Twitter to thank everyone who had supported her store.
»Chicago bookshop owner blasts customer who returned $800 books after staging home«