Picking an accurate name that got top placement in the phone book was one of the first steps Wolfe took back in 2001 to help grow the business. Since then, the key has been to go with the flow of trends.
For example, one of the store’s best selling sections is the “BookTok” section, where customers can find books that are popular on TikTok. According to Foley, the idea for the addition came from her daughter.
“We have to change with the times,” she said. “I mean, that’s what happened here. This wasn’t our idea. I didn’t know anything about it.”
While Wolfe admits that it feels like they’re chasing trends at times, they always go all in with any new initiatives they try.
“If we're going to have an area or category of book, we're going to have more than anybody,” Wolfe said. “We're not going to dabble with it. We're either going to have it or not, and we're going to dominate on that.”
Buying more books and paying more than other stores is one way Always Buying Books grows its collection. Wolfe also goes out on “book runs” to purchase used books in bulk. On a recent trip, he brought back several hundred nonfiction books about the history of several states.
The collection is curated, with Wolfe and Foley choosing what they think will sell.
“There's not a book on the shelf that’s not sellable,” Wolfe said. “We don't have the room for fillers. If we find a slow moving book, we'll replace it, we'll get rid of it.”
Sorting through the books and keeping them organized is Foley’s job. According to her, providing what customers actually want versus just what’s cheap is an important aspect of the business.
“Sometimes after we bring (books) in, we're like, ‘We don't want that, that's junk’,” she said. “Or we get too many of the same copy so we can't do any more of those. It's continual and it's fun. I love books so it's not a problem.”
When books are pulled from the shelves, they get put on tables outside of the store on what’s called the “book buffet.” Customers can take as many books from it as they wish and make as large or as small of a donation to the store as they want. However, it didn’t always work that way. At first, books were priced at 50 cents apiece, then 25 cents and finally 10 cents each. According to Wolfe, the “book buffet” brought in around $12 a week with those prices. He decided then to just take donations for the books. Within the first week there was a difference.
“One book and they’d give us $5,” Foley said. “People are giving us more in donations. We were like, ‘We got to find more people to give this money to now’.”
Currently, the store sends the donations out once a week to local elementary schools in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma. The money is used to help cover the money owed on a student’s lunch balance if payments are late. The program helped pay for over 1,000 lunches last year when it started.
Riverton Elementary School in Riverton, Kansas, has received two checks from the store this school year. According to Superintendent Kevin Cooper, the donations can provide more than just financial help.
“I think a lot of times our kids know that they have an outstanding balance, just because they're taking home letters and things like that,” he said. “So when you're able to actually wipe out those balances and the kids don't have to worry about that anymore, I think that's an important thing for the self-esteem of those kids.”
Earlier this year, Always Buying Books also helped raise money for a local VFW where Wolfe is a member. Originally $1,000 was needed, but when Wolfe called on customers for donations, $3,000 was raised.
“We got the best customers in the world, because if I put out a project on Facebook for people to come in and donate money, it can be done,” he said.
Wolfe got customers involved in another project after that, asking for help collecting 1,000 books to donate to local kindergarten teacher Nicole Thorn. Thorn teaches at Jefferson Elementary School in Joplin, and posted on Facebook that she was looking for books for students to read before school.
A portion of the books are now being read by third, fourth and fifth graders, while Thorn is still organizing the selection for kindergartners and first and second graders. She said the donation has helped ensure a wide variety of books is available.
“It has a huge impact,” she said. “Teachers, educators and school buildings, we always need the community to partner with us. It's a community effort to help kids grow, and so to have Bob walk alongside us and assist us with that is just so helpful and meaningful.”
For Wolfe and Foley, it’s no question to give back to the community in the different ways that they do. They approach it with a “why not?” attitude whenever a need presents itself.
“These things all happened because we listened to other people,” Foley said. “They put stuff on Facebook. We're just really waiting for an opportunity to help people with books however we can.”
To celebrate the beginning of its 25th year, Always Buying Books is having an anniversary sale on May 2 and 3, with all books ranging from 10% to 75% off. The store will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.
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