Merch for independent bookstores
Readers choose their local bookstore on purpose, and they like to show it. The tote bag is where to start.
Free to open · no inventory · 20% of each sale, nothing else
Why bookstore merch works
Independent bookstores have some of the most loyal customers of any local business, and readers are proud of where they shop.
Bookstore merch lives in the right places: totes on every commute, mugs beside every reading chair, stickers on every laptop at the library.
And bookstores are natural gift shops. A tote and a mug are easy presents for any reader.
What you’d earn
The products that suit a bookstore best, at our suggested prices. You set the price; the dashboard shows what you earn on every size before you list.
| Product | Customer pays | Printing and blank | Our fee (20%) | You earn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eco Tote Bag | Econscious EC8000Tote bags | $45.00 | −$17.75 | −$9.00 | $18.25 |
| Unisex Basic Softstyle T-Shirt | Gildan 64000T-shirts | $25.00 | −$9.63 | −$5.00 | $10.37 |
| Enamel MugMugs | $32.00 | −$12.67 | −$6.40 | $12.93 |
| Unisex Garment-Dyed Sweatshirt | Comfort Colors 1566Sweatshirts | $77.00 | −$30.59 | −$15.40 | $31.01 |
 Kiss-Cut StickersStickers | $8.00 | −$2.95 | −$1.60 | $3.45 |
 Set of Pin ButtonsPins | $20.00 | −$7.73 | −$4.00 | $8.27 |
Today’s catalog at our suggested prices. Larger sizes cost a bit more to make; your dashboard shows every size before you list, and you can price higher or lower.
Book covers, characters and quotations belong to authors and publishers. Use your own words and your own art.
Ideas to start with
The tote bag
The bookstore product. Useful, seen everywhere, and easy to give.
A reading tee
Your shop’s motto or a line of your own about reading, in good type.
Book-club shirts
For your club, with the season or year.
Your storefront in line art
A drawing of your building, on a crewneck or mug.
Stickers and pins
For laptops, notebooks and the tote they just bought.
How to sell it
- 1Hang a sample tote by the register with a QR code beside it.
- 2Slip a QR bookmark into every purchase for a month.
- 3Staff wear the tee at author events.
- 4Launch around Independent Bookstore Day or the holidays.
What we handle
- Printed to order, usually within 2–5 business days
- Shipped across the US, with tracking emails in your shop’s name
- Checkout, payment and sales tax handled
- Misprints and damage reprinted or refunded at our cost
- Your own shop at yourname.themerchcounter.com
- A QR counter card and stickers, ready to print
Questions bookstores ask
- Can I put a famous book quote on a tote?
- Many quotations are still under copyright. Write your own line, or make sure a quote is in the public domain.
- What should a bookstore sell first?
- The tote bag, then a tee and a mug.
- Do readers really buy bookstore merch?
- Bookstore totes are one of the most familiar kinds of shop merch there is. With no inventory, the only way to find out for your shop is to list one.
Guides for bookstores
Merch ideas
Bookstore Merch Ideas: Why the Tote Bag Wins
Independent bookstore merch ideas — tote bags, tees, mugs, book-club shirts, stickers and pins — with example prices and how to sell them.
3 min read
Merch ideas
Holiday Merch Ideas for Small Businesses
Holiday merch ideas for local businesses from Small Business Saturday to New Year, with gift ideas, a planning calendar and how to set order-by dates.
2 min read
Guide
Merch Ideas for Every Kind of Local Business
Merch ideas for coffee shops, breweries, gyms, restaurants, bakeries, studios and bookstores: what to make, what sells, and how to launch with no inventory.
6 min read
Open your bookstore merch shop
Fifteen minutes, nothing up front, and a link you can share tonight.
Open your free shop