Pet Peeve: Keeping Bibles Behind the Counter

I'm not as hard on Christian bookstores as I used to be. It's a tough business to be in, and the products offered (or not offered) on the shelves are just as much a reflection of the evangelical consumer as the bookseller's personal taste, if not more so. The last thing I want to do here is gripe that Christian bookstores aren't perfect. Of course they're not. And with Internet sales taking a chunk out of the pie and big box retailers stocking more and more Christian books, things are not getting easier. Still, there are some things I would love to see change, and this might be a forum for putting them out there.

More than once, I've entered an unfamiliar bookstore only to find that the books I'm looking for -- Bibles -- are tucked away behind the counter, inaccessible without the assistance of a clerk. If the store isn't busy and the clerk is easy-going, this doesn't present too much of an inconvenience, although I can't help feeling some cognitive dissonance. Bibles behind the counter? You need permission to touch? Doesn't seem right somehow.

Unfortunately, stores are sometimes busy and clerks aren't always easy-going. I remember a big store in Houston that stocked hundreds of Bibles, one of the best selections in town, but kept them in a series of tall bookcases cordoned off from the rest of the store by a tall wooden counter. To take one off the shelf, the salesperson had to walk about twenty feet back. The distance was such that there was no way I could make out individual items.

"Which one would you like to see?" they asked.

In frustration, I replied: "All of them!"

This arrangement wasn't an accident of geography, either. The store had relocated from a smaller building, where they'd had precisely the same kind of hands-off layout. I've seen it in a number of places. I believe the thinking is that Bibles are expensive and therefore shouldn't be on a shelf where they're easy to snatch. Maybe there's a Bible heist ring that boosts deluxe editions when nobody's looking. Perhaps wear and tear is also a consideration: by putting the goods behind the counter, you insure that only serious buyers handle them, which reduces the likelihood of someone damaging a $100 edition.

Whatever the rationale, I wish it would stop.

I bumped into the ultimate example one afternoon while driving from store to store in search of a particular like of study Bible. There was a place on the west side of town I'd never visited before. After ten minutes inside, I still hadn't managed to locate the Bible section, so I went to the front counter and asked. This was Saturday and the place was busy, so I actually had to wait in line a bit to reach an employee.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I just can't find where the Bibles are."

She nodded sympathetically, like this had happened before, and then pointed over her shoulder. On a high, shadowy shelf up behind the register, hanging at about the height that a flat-screen TV would in a sports-themed restaurant, I spotted a row of nondescript Bibles. This actually tapped into two of my pet peeves: not offering quality editions as an option, and keeping Scripture carefully screen off from the public. The lady offered to have one of the male clerks get the step-ladder that was apparently needed to take a Bible down for inspection, but I declined.

Out in the parking lot, I stood a moment gazing up at the store sign. A wave a surreality washed over me. the words read "The Such-and-Such Bible Bookstore," and the logo features an open Bible.

Comments

[DLE]

When I used to sell Bibles, only one Bible publisher offered a sample Bible for use in sales (thus sparing people from needing to open up every freshly sealed one). That was Dake.

To this day, I don't know what publishers don't send out a sample Bible fully tricked out that can illustrate all the features of their top of the line units. They wouldn't even have to be bound in leather but in some cheap substitute, only that it mimic the full look and performance of the super-expensive models.

[J. Mark Bertrand]

I like your idea about sending out samples, Dan. I wonder what kind of "Bible training" the average bookstore employee receives anymore. It seems like every time one of them catches me looking at the Bibles and tries to educate me, I end up having to bite my lip to prevent myself saying, "Um, actually ... "

[DLE]

Mark,

The answer to your question would be "slim to none."

Yes, I'm familiar with the tongue-biting response, too. Sad to say, I've overheard more Bible salespeople say the complete opposite of reality than I've heard them get it right. And I'm not just talking about getting it wrong; I'm talking about getting it as close to 180 degrees from truth as is humanly possible.

What makes it hard for me is that the salespeople eventually drift away. It's nearly impossible for me to bite my tongue and ignore a need when I know someone's going to buy something unsuitable. A couple weeks ago, I witnessed a salesperson continue to pump The Message Remixed to person after person, no matter what the buyer was seeking. And I think each poor soul walked out with that Bible.

My dilemma is always whether to interfere. People tend to go into panic mode if a fellow customer comes over and disputes what the salesperson told them. I try to be subtle by handing them a suitable Bible with "Considering your needs, this is a good one."

[Brian Blair]

Here in the Highlands of Scotland most bookstores and Christian bookstores have very few Bibles to choose from. If you do not want a Good News/NLT or NIV version (all in modern hardback or paperback) then you get nada. Like Christianity in many ways, Bibles have moved online - for reading and purchase.

[Brian Blair]

Here in the Highlands of Scotland most bookstores and Christian bookstores have very few Bibles to choose from. If you do not want a Good News/NLT or NIV version (all in modern hardback or paperback) then you get nada. Like Christianity in many ways, Bibles have moved online - for reading and purchase.

[Bryan]

Wow, I never knew this was a problem in some bookstores. As I was working to get my undergrad, I worked part time in a locally owned Christian bookstore. We sold 8 or 9 different translations from the NASB to the NLT, all on shelves on the ground in the middle of the store for easy access. It would have never occurred to us to take them away from where the people could look at them. Also, we all knew how to shrink wrap, so if you wanted to look at the bible, you were free to open it up and look through it. We would just shrink wrap it again when you were finished. I've always gave credit where credit is due to my boss who was a wonderful person of God, down to earth, and really loved the people she served through the store. Apparently I don't give her enough credit.

[Tcblack]

Aarg! I have nothing to add but my voice of frustration. I can't believe that it is as wide spread as it appears to be.
Fortunately my locale "Christian Bookstore" has lots of Bibles available to the general public. By my count they have a full But they have a full sixty-four linear feet of bookshelves dedicated to Bibles accessible to the public (Four shelves per four foot section x four sections). And the really expensive ones are behind the counter.

[John Weir]

I once had the great pleasure of buying directly from R.L.Allan's premises in Glasgow
and being able to see all their editions (Child in a candy shop comes to mind !)
Also in Glasgow I can heartily recommend their Wesley Owen branch which stocks leather
bound TBS and Allan Bibles and the Free Presbyterian Church bookroom has a great
selection of KJV's.