Today we’d like to introduce you to Ricardo Sweatt Rodriguez.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My passion for rare books began in 1989 after being introduced to the field by my former high school English teacher, and previous Out-of-Print Bookstore owner, Donald James Ryberg. The Out-of-Print Bookstore was founded in 1977 by Arvena Flury and was sold to Jim Ryberg, her store manager & book buyer, in 1985. The Out-of-Print Bookstore had two locations in Houston – one in West Houston and one in Rice Village.
In 2003, one of our clients purchased out entire inventory of 20,000 books and, at this point, Jim decided to retire. I then acquired the book company and being that the company was now without inventory, and given trends in the book industry, I decided to expand the company search-service. Focusing on an online presence, the company now solely specializes in the acquisition & sale of rare and out-of-print books on behalf of our clients. We currently receive 3,000-3,500 search requests each year from around the country.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
For the most part, business has been smooth sailing from inception. The only minor struggle along the road unraveled around 2010-2011. As we’re now an online company, our main avenue of advertising is via an AdWords campaign.
However, beginning 6-7 years ago, our AdWords campaign took a severe downturn in performance – meaning we were suddenly experiencing a significant reduction in new clientele inquiries via our campaign.
This was a direct result of the AdWords company restructuring their cost-per-click & bids-per-keyword platforms. Furthermore, other business owners, outside of the book industry, also informed me they were experiencing a similar scenario with their AdWords campaign.
After several months of tweaking our campaign, to no avail, we finally switched to Bing Ads and saw immediate positive results and so far, has been an excellent ROI.
Please tell us about Out-of-Print Bookstore.
As we specialize in locating rare and out-of-print books, I am constantly reminded of how much joy we bring to our clientele. When a customer is reunited with a book they once had as a child or when a retired military veteran gets their hands on a regimental history of their battalion, as just two examples, the gratitude extended to us for our service reminds me that we don’t just sell books – we sell memories. This sets us apart from other companies – and I’m grateful for the difference.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I was fortunate to have been introduced to the antiquarian-book field while I was in high school. After graduating, I worked part-time as a contract book-scout for the Out-of-Print Bookstore before working for the company and, as fate would have it, finally owning the company.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.OutofPrintBookstore.com/
- Phone: 713-526-8616
- Email: info@outofprintbookstore.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OPBooks/
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