4 ms·

This bookstore is now basically selling an new additional "premium service" (Private Wi-Fi, preferred seatings etc) for a yearly fee. It's really cool that they

by IMTDb 9y ago

This bookstore is now basically selling an new additional "premium service" (Private Wi-Fi, preferred seatings etc) for a yearly fee. It's really cool that they found a new way to make money, and that it works. But lots of businesses offer premium membership services. My local club has been doing this for year with some success. What's so new about this besides changing the name from "Premium Membership" to "Sponsorship" ?

tehwebguy 9y ago
Looks like it's 50% premium service, 50% supporting something people see as a public good.
- quickfox 9y ago
  That plus the fact that they went from being a regular bookstore to this and it worked.
rtpg 9y ago
I guess it's mainly that bookstores don't do it? It's like that restaurant that only allows up-front-paid reservations. It's kinda obvious once it's brought up, but goes against how that industry usually works
leggomylibro 9y ago
I'd definitely pay for a place to go and sit with a laptop or book for awhile...you know, I wonder if something like olde London's "social clubs" could work today, but cheaper. They were basically buildings or floors rented out to simply be a place to relax, kick back, do some quiet work, play pool, drink/smoke in what I can only imagine were velour jackets, etc. In practice though, they were very expensive and mostly an upper-class affair. I feel like we could do better these days with say, 4000 sqft. of mixed-use space on the border between an industrial and residential neighborhood where rent is reasonable.
- ghaff 9y ago
  Clubs in the classic sense absolutely still exist in cities like NYC. But they're definitely not oriented around sitting around and working on your laptop.
- troymc 9y ago
  What you're describing sounds a lot like some kind of coworking space. Maybe something like betahaus in Berlin [1]. When you enter, it looks like a big cafe with lots of tables and many people with open laptops, but that place has layers: separate meeting rooms, a big events space (several floors up), "office hours" (one-on-one, free 30-minute consultancy sessions with experts from their community), group runs through the city, ... There's a monthly membership fee, but anyone can get stuff at the cafe or attend the public events. [1] https://www.betahaus.com/berlin/ https://www.betahaus.com/berlin/
  - SyneRyder 9y ago
    > What you're describing sounds a lot like some kind of coworking space. In my city a hotdesk at a co-working space starts at $250/month for just 2 days a week. So I go to cafes, partly because of cost, but mostly I prefer the ambience and staff there (much friendlier, better music, coffee on demand). If my local cafe chain had a $300/yr gold membership/sponsorship, I'd buy that in a heartbeat. On the other hand my cafe doesn't sell Club Mate or Mate Mate, so betahaus definitely/easily beats Perth there! :)

by IMTDb 9y ago

tehwebguy 9y ago

Looks like it's 50% premium service, 50% supporting something people see as a public good.

quickfox 9y ago
That plus the fact that they went from being a regular bookstore to this and it worked.

rtpg 9y ago

I guess it's mainly that bookstores don't do it? It's like that restaurant that only allows up-front-paid reservations. It's kinda obvious once it's brought up, but goes against how that industry usually works

leggomylibro 9y ago

I'd definitely pay for a place to go and sit with a laptop or book for awhile...you know, I wonder if something like olde London's "social clubs" could work today, but cheaper. They were basically buildings or floors rented out to simply be a place to relax, kick back, do some quiet work, play pool, drink/smoke in what I can only imagine were velour jackets, etc. In practice though, they were very expensive and mostly an upper-class affair. I feel like we could do better these days with say, 4000 sqft. of mixed-use space on the border between an industrial and residential neighborhood where rent is reasonable.

ghaff 9y ago
Clubs in the classic sense absolutely still exist in cities like NYC. But they're definitely not oriented around sitting around and working on your laptop.
troymc 9y ago
What you're describing sounds a lot like some kind of coworking space. Maybe something like betahaus in Berlin [1]. When you enter, it looks like a big cafe with lots of tables and many people with open laptops, but that place has layers: separate meeting rooms, a big events space (several floors up), "office hours" (one-on-one, free 30-minute consultancy sessions with experts from their community), group runs through the city, ... There's a monthly membership fee, but anyone can get stuff at the cafe or attend the public events. [1] https://www.betahaus.com/berlin/ https://www.betahaus.com/berlin/
- SyneRyder 9y ago
  > What you're describing sounds a lot like some kind of coworking space. In my city a hotdesk at a co-working space starts at $250/month for just 2 days a week. So I go to cafes, partly because of cost, but mostly I prefer the ambience and staff there (much friendlier, better music, coffee on demand). If my local cafe chain had a $300/yr gold membership/sponsorship, I'd buy that in a heartbeat. On the other hand my cafe doesn't sell Club Mate or Mate Mate, so betahaus definitely/easily beats Perth there! :)