The Little Red Wagons

Opening a used bookstore: September 2025—Stef navigates rental heartbreak, battles online listing systems, rides the wave of trending Little Free Library refreshes, makes a huge children's book haul, and prepares to manage books at the Santa Rosa Reuse Fair. Plus: why she needs little red wagons, and some tea about the store from Chapter 1...

In this episode, the rental drama continues. Every week I'm planning, envisioning, falling in love with a space—and then losing it. The heartbreak is real, and it's wearing on me.

The tech struggle is also ongoing. I'm using 'The Art of Books' as my online listing platform (link for other bookstore owners: theartofbooks.com), but the learning curve is steep and progress feels slow.

On the bright side? Little Free Library refreshes are on fire. Like, #trending levels of demand. People are reaching out, the service is resonating, and it feels like the community-building piece of this business is already working.

I also make a massive haul of children's books while attending a Positive Psychology conference in Sacramento—worlds collide in the simplest way, yay!

And I have a request for listeners: I need little red wagons. I've decided they'll make the perfect $1 book bins outside the shop—easy to move, fun to look at, and a pop of color that says "come dig through me."

I'm also gearing up for the huge Santa Rosa Reuse Fair, where the Reuse Alliance diverts tons of waste from landfills by collecting items in the morning and curating a warehouse for people to "shop" for free in the afternoon. I'm in charge of the books—and I get to bring any remaining books home. It's a perfect mix of values and inventory needs.

And stick around to the end, because I share a little juicy gossip (or ☕, if you prefer) about the store from Chapter 1. You'll want to hear this. 

Current Book Count: ~9,000+

Red wagons, reuse fairs, and a little bit of drama. 🐦‍🔥

🐦‍🔥 Follow along as The Phoenix Used Bookshop continues to rise—subscribe to A Bookshop of My Own and get updates at phoenixusedbookshop.com.

Links mentioned:

• The Art of Books platform for bookstore owners: theartofbooks.com
• Sign up for a free Little Free Library refresh: phoenixusedbookshop.com
• Reuse Alliance: https://www.reusealliance.org/