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Customer Loyalty Fuels Sales for Charity Book Sale

Despite heavy competition, the 59th Annual Greater St. Louis Book Fair raised $281,340 during its four day run May 1st - May 4th at West County Center. That's about a 7.8% increase over last year's sales, an achievement co-chair Joni Karandjeff attributes to the organization's uncommon reputation and loyal customer base:

"The Greater St. Louis Book Fair is known for its huge quality inventory, bargain prices, clean environment and experienced volunteer staff. Many of our patrons are repeat customers.Each year, we see more and more familiar faces."

Established in 1950, the Greater St. Louis Book Fair quickly became a favorite spring tradition for book lovers and collectors.Many customers have attended the Fair since childhood, and now share the tradition with their children and grandchildren. Some customers travel hundreds of miles to participate, motivated by previous discoveries of bargains and treasures.

"We met customers from Des Moines, Indianapolis and Louisville. People drive to St. Louis from all over the Midwest just to attend this event." said Fair co-chair Lynne Weis.

Recently, however, Greater St. Louis Book Fair has faced increased competition from online retail and auction sites, as well as from smaller neighborhood book sales. This year, for example, book sales were held the weekend prior in nearby Kirkwood and the same weekend in Webster Groves. Volunteers worried that online and local competition would dilute attendance. But, thanks to its loyal following, the Fair actually saw an increase in both attendance and sales.

"We are so proud and honored by the tremendous turnout," says Karandjeff. "Our volunteers and corporate sponsors - Macy's, First Bank and West County Center - worked very hard to ensure customers had a quality shopping experience. It's a win for book lovers, and it's a win for the community since proceeds help support local education and literacy programs."

About Greater St. Louis Book Fair - Greater St. Louis Book Fair is one of the nation's largest and oldest charity book sales. Since 1950, the Fair has been a favorite spring destination of avid readers and serious bibliophiles. Items are donated by book enthusiasts who have well-loved material they no longer read or can no longer keep. The Fair collects these items and then sells them back to new readers at low prices. Proceeds are then used to promote education and literacy in the St. Louis community.For additional information, visit www.stlouisbookfair.org.

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