Announcements

 

December 29, 2022

On Thursday, 12/29, we'll have a LOT of books, gifts, stationery, greeting cards, and more at 25% off. Don't miss this rare opportunity--Avid discounts are extremely rare! 

Thank You Sale
In-store customers only.

  • Items with circle decals on the spine and/or barcode are 25% off the lowest marked price.
  • Discounts will be applied at the register. 
  • No returns or exchanges of discounted items allowed.
  • Items without circle decals are regularly priced.
  • No discounts for phone or online orders. 

December 28, 2022

...and we're back!


December 27, 2022

UPDATE: We're going to have to remain closed for most of the day on 12/28. Thank you for your patience while we navigate this small disaster.

Please keep an eye on avidbookshop.com and social media for more updates.


December 26, 2022

Tomorrow (Tuesday, 12/27) we will be offering door and phone service, web shopping, and order pickup.

However, there’ll be no in-store browsing on 12/27 until we’re sure that the water leak from above is fully resolved! We’ll update you ASAP.

Please do come by, though! Booksellers will ready to assist you at the door, on the phone, or online from 11-6.

We aim to reopen the shop floor as soon as possible (& as soon as we figure out what crazy organizational system—or lack thereof—we used when speedily removing all the books from the shelves before they could get splashed on!). We’ll keep you posted. 

Everything is a-okay thanks to Luis’s quick action and our landlord’s prompt response. After a quick survey, it appears that very few items were damaged. Phew!

Full story from Janet, for those who are curious:

Ah, the glamorous behind-the-scenes life of retail. Luis was closing up the shop the day after Christmas when he heard the telltale sound of—no, not a heart, you book nerd!— water dripping. A pipe in the apartment above the shop was leaking. Thanks to Luis’s quick response, very few books were hurt! He called me and I headed over (with my ever-helpful dad in tow).

We put out buckets and bins to catch the water. We rapidly relocated all the books that could even potentially be in the line of water. I kneeled on the floor, rehoming stacks of books Luis was handing me as he said, “Janet! Don’t worry about alphabetizing!” (He knows me too well. It’s true that I felt pained upon seeing how out of order the books were becoming entirely by mine own hand!)

Then we climbed onto ladders, wielding a variety of imperfect tools in the aim of emptying as much liquid as possible from our metal ceiling tiles and insulation.

Winners of the night include:

  • Luis Correa, operations manager and hear-er of the most quiet drips;
  • Duke Geddis, who’s always game to help his full-grown daughters with both fix-it tasks and emergencies;
  • Our landlord Ken, who has been dealing with tenants’ frozen-pipe-related issues for days and still showed up ASAP.

Honorable mentions go to:

  • Mary Carol Geddis and the generosity with which she lets me pilfer towels from from my parents’ hall closet;
  • the huge blue tarps that have been sitting in Avid’s basement since last summer waiting for this, their moment in the proverbial sun;
  • the long-handled hook I recently purchased (designed for taking hanging clothes off of very high displays but used in this case to tip tilefuls of water into buckets);
  • the flattened boxes staff members had been saving for returns but that are now protecting the tops of the shelves from water damage;
  • the paper packing materials used to soak up wayward drops;
  • the plastic garbage can labeled “IAN’S: DO NOT MOVE” that we most definitely moved in service of the greater good.

~fin~

See you tomorrow at the door or online! And don’t forget to save the date: we’re having a half-hinted-at, half-flash sale this Thursday (12/29)—details forthcoming.


November 1, 2022

Avid Bookshop will be closed on Tuesday, November 8, and Wednesday, November 9, for a paid staff day off and a staff development day.


September 6, 2022

Due to a bookseller testing positive for Covid-19, we will be closed on Tuesday, September 6. Browsing and pickup will be unavailable. We're sorry for the inconvenience.


May 29, 2022

Avid Bookshop is open for browsing!

Masks are required to enter the store. They are available for purchase for $1. If you need one, just give us a wave. A bookseller is usually around the front of the store and will help you out.

While we are no longer limited capacity, we still have baskets available for your convenience at the door.

Browsing & Contactless Pickup
Tue.-Thr., 11:00am-4:00pm
Fri.-Sat., 11:00am-6:00pm
Sun.-Mon., Closed


February 11, 2022

Avid Bookshop is open again for limited capacity browsing. Please follow these rules before entering the store:

  • Help us keep track of capacity by grabbing a basket available outside our door. Basket in hand is required for entry for everyone over 12 years old. No baskets outside our door? Please wait for one to become available.
  • No sharing baskets. Every person entering the store needs their own basket to help us keep track of capacity properly.
  • No basket required for rainy day contactless pick up.
  • Help keep each other safe by wearing a mask over your nose and mouth at all time while inside. Please bring your own mask.

We're open for browsing and contactless pick up Tuesday-Satuday 11am-4pm.


December 26, 2020

The shop floor will be closed starting Tuesday, 12/28. No browsers may enter the shop, but we'll continue to offer excellent service during normal hours (Tuesday-Saturday, 11am-4pm, except for Saturday, January 1st, when we'll be closed).

The walk-up station at our front entrance will allow us to wait on customers one at a time, plus we’ll have the red contactless pickup carts out on our patio.

As always, AvidBookshop.com will be available for virtual browsing and shopping 24/7.

This temporary closure is to help keep our community safer: we want to minimize booksellers’ and customers’ exposure to the quickly-spreading, highly contagious omicron variant of COVID-19.

We appreciate your patience and patronage as we navigate the twists and turns of this ongoing pandemic.

Our reopen date is not yet known, but we will of course keep you posted.

Now snuggle up with those amazing books you acquired recently! 

Again, rest assured we’ll be delighted to serve you via our walk-up service, website orders, and phone calls Tuesday-Saturday, 11-4. (We will be closed Saturday, 1/1 in honor of New Year’s Day)


September 30, 2021

 

New browsing and contactless pick up hours!

 

TUESDAY- SATURDAY, 11:00 am - 4:00 pm

 

Please contact us if you have any issues picking up your orders during our current browsing hours.

 


 

August 7, 2021
 

Back to Browsing: How does it work?

  • BROWSING HOURS: WEDNESDAY - SATURDAY, 11:00 am - 4:00 pm
  • You need one basket (located outside the entrance) to browse.
  • One basket per browser 12(+) years old.
  • No baskets available means the store is at capacity. Please wait.
  • It's your turn when you're at the front of the line and a basket becomes available.
  • MASKS REQUIRED
  • Contactless pick up is continuing outside during browsing hours, four days a week, no need to wait for a basket. On rainy days, contactless pickup orders will be kept inside. Masks will be required to pick up orders on rainy days. If you are unable to pick up your orders during our contactless pick up times. Please call 706-850-2843 or contact us.

 


June 14, 2021

Dear Avid Readers,

Do you miss walking into Avid as much as we miss seeing you inside the bookshop? Good news: we'll reopen for browsing on Saturday, August 7th. Until then, we'll continue to serve you via phone, online, or via our walk-up door service. 

We hope nothing will throw a wrench into our plans, but we are prepared to handle unexpected problems as they come. Therefore, the reopening plans as outlined below are subject to change--think of them as the best-case scenario based on what we know now. If we have to alter any of our plans, we will of course keep you posted.  

Please take a few minutes to read the full announcement & FAQs below. 

Subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to recieve updates.

With love,
Janet Geddis, owner/founder
Avid Bookshop

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) about Avid Bookshop's reopening on August 7th


You've been closed to the public since March 2020. When are you reopening so that browsers can come inside?
We'll reopen for browsing on Saturday, August 7th. We'll be open from 11-4 that day.

OMG, I'm so excited. Can we have a party?

We have decided not to host an outdoor party on August 7th as originally announced--it's not feasible for us just yet. But rest assured we plan to host a birthday bash in October when we at Avid Bookshop mark our 10th anniversary! 

Will you limit the number of people in the shop?
Yes. Because we know y'all are as eager to come back as we are to see you, we expect the shop might become overwhelmingly crowded if we don't monitor the traffic flow. We're looking into ways to limit capacity without requiring a dedicated staff member to stand at the door like a bouncer. We'll make sure the system is easy to understand with guidelines posted at the door. 

Will I have to wear a mask to enter?
Yes, and we thank you sincerely for doing so. As a private business, we are requiring anyone over the age of five to don a properly worn mask (one that fully covers the mouth and nose) before walking inside.

Do I have to wear a mask inside the bookshop if I am fully vaccinated?
Yes, the mask rule still applies even if you've been fully vaccinated. 

What if I forget my mask at home? Do you have one I can wear?
We won't be providing free masks, but you are welcome to buy a reusable cloth mask from us at the door (while supplies last). You can also come back another time when you have a mask on.

I don't want to wear a mask, but I want to shop for books. What about me?
We hear you--mask fatigue is part and parcel of pandemic fatigue! We won't be making exceptions to this rule, but that doesn't mean we can't help you find some great books and gifts. You can shop online 24/7 at avidbookshop.com, call our customer service line at 706-850-2843, or contact us. Booksellers will be happy to assist you. 

What will the regular store hours be?
Starting August 7, we'll have an amended in-store shopping schedule. We'll be open four days each week: Wednesday - Saturday, 11am -4pm

Why aren't you opening with the hours you kept pre-pandemic? 
We don't have the ability to keep longer hours just yet. We'll be accommodating not just in-store shoppers but those who rely on us for all of the other services we provide (business-to-business sales, bulk sales, subscriptions, #AvidSnailMail, school sales, special requests, etc.). 

Okay, I get the limited hours now. But I don't get why are you taking sooooo lonnngggg to allow browsers inside again. Can you explain a bit? 
Our goal is to be as thoughtful and deliberate as possible as we welcome browsers back into the shop. I want and need to keep the booksellers' mental and physical health at the forefront of all decisions. We are proud to provide some of the best customer service around, and we want to keep those high standards. But you know all the metaphors (airplane oxygen mask going on yourself first and all that). Providing exemplary, empathetic, and informed customer service isn't possible if the employees are stressed out or overly taxed. One way we are guarding the staff's mental reserves--and, in turn, the quality of service you have come to expect from us--is to start slowly. Our decision to open in August gives us space and time to do this right so that Avid Bookshop is here for the long haul: strong, sustainable, and healthy. 

Okay. Good answer. But I'm still scratching my head a bit about the timeline. I mean, what all do you have to do? Why not just open the doors next week? 
The most thorough answer to this would take too long to type, so I'll try to be uncharacteristically brief. We handed in our #AvidOnPrince keys in early February 2020, right before we had any inkling of how COVID-19 was about to change everything. Starting in March 2020, we began shifting our business model almost daily. (Facebook even featured us as one of the outstanding small businesses pivoting at a rapid pace!) Some staff members had already moved on from Avid before the pandemic started, and others ended up leaving or reducing their hours due to various life circumstances. The booksellers and I have always worked hard, but it's fair to say that, in the last 15 months, we've worked more intensely than ever before. We had to create and then learn completely new systems for recommending and selling books, hosting virtual events, keeping up with web orders, and more. We are pooped. To top it all off, we haven't even had the chance to get acclimated to having a one-store business model again (and we haven't been able to make much headway with the furniture, fixtures, displays, and supplies that we ferried from Prince Ave. to our Five Points basement). 

Oof. Um, this sounds more complicated than I had guessed. Are y'all doing okay? How can we support the booksellers?
If my answer sounds simple, that's because it is: keep buying local first and supporting us financially as you're able. We haven't missed or delayed payroll even once since the pandemic started, and having that financial security (as a business and as a worker) means we don't use our precious energy reserves to figure out how to move money around and establish the order in which we can afford to pay publishers. Don't have any books or gifts to buy at the moment but have some bucks you could pass along to this little bookshop that could? We gratefully accept donations via Venmo (@avidbookshop) or via this direct link to our PayPal. Perhaps you want to buy yourself a generous gift card. Our gift cards never expire, so you can buy one now and treat your future self to some books and gifts next time you need them. 

What else would be helpful for us Avid readers to know?
I want you to know that I am working thoughtfully and diligently to do right by my booksellers and my community (that's you). From mental health check-ins at every weekly staff meeting to professional development seminars to giving staff paid time off (PTO) on top of our usual PTO policies, I'm working very hard to be a supportive boss. In fact, I am giving my staff another paid week off starting July 5th (we'll announce details on our site and via social media), and we're tackling the more complex aspects of reopening by planning as a team. I know you know that we have always had extraordinary staff members (in fact, I get compliments on the Avid team not just in Athens but whenever I attend any national conferences!). The current team has become especially close and interdependent, and it's so rewarding as the business owner/founder to see how smoothly we support each other and anticipate our coworkers' needs. It bodes well for Avid's future and means that, when it's time for us to hire someone else, a new staff member will be welcomed into a genuinely supportive, healthy workplace. It would be impossible for me to verbalize how meaningful that is to me. 

All right, Janet. You really Janet-ed these FAQs with the longest Janet-y answers ever. Anything else you want to say before I close my email? 
One thing I’d ask you to do is to practice presuming positive intent with us and other small businesses. Please know we are making the best decisions for our company and customers. Pair our small footprint (that was nearly halved right when we closed #AvidOnPrince shortly before the pandemic changed everything in the U.S.) with the fact that we, like every indie bookstore at some points over the last 16 months, are now set up as a shipping and order fulfillment center. Our sales floor is not oriented for customers the way it used to be. It’s a mess of desks and boxes and books and invoices and computer cords, a kind of organized chaos. In a trauma-free, stress-free time, it would take us a couple of weeks minimum to get the shop ready to welcome browsers. But to do so in the days of a waning pandemic while staff members are exhausted and while we’re living through a collective trauma we’ve not been able to start processing yet? It's a lot to try to balance. Please know that your continued support of Avid Bookshop (and other Athens businesses that are just trying to make it day by day) will shore us up so that we can reopen when we're able and ready: on Saturday, August 7th. All this is to say we can never know the full reasons behind a business’s policies, but if we shop at the places where we respect the mission, community offerings, and/or leadership, we can feel good about how we, as consumers, are voting with our dollars. I sincerely hope that my booksellers and I have earned our community’s trust and that you support our decisions because we have a decade-long record of trying to do the next right thing. ❤️

What if something unexpected comes up? Will you alter your opening date or guidelines?
We hope nothing will throw a wrench into our plans, but of course we are prepared to handle unexpected problems as they come. Therefore, the above plans are subject to change--they are a best-case scenario based on what we know now. If we have to alter any of our plans, we will of course keep you posted. 


Summer 2021

Avid Bookshop remains closed to the browsing public. To shop, look for virtually any title in print on our website 24/7. You can also give us a call 706.859.2843 or visit our shop door for service Monday-Saturday 11:00am-4:00pm,. For help, visit our FAQ or Contact Us.

We are gradually working toward reopening our shop to browsers later this summer. Make sure to subscribe to our newsletter  to find out as soon as we announce our reopening date. Thank you for your patience and understanding.


 

August 7, 2020

 

Your attention, please: We have expanded our customer service hours! Phone* service and contactless pick-up are now offered 6 days a week (Monday-Saturday) between 11 am and 4 pm. We are not open for browsing for the foreseeable future, but we look forward to connecting with you via phone or social media.

 

*That's right: you can call us at 706-850-2843 and talk with an Avid bookseller who's eager to make book recommendations, answer questions, and more!

 


eas on how we’re going to continue to share our love for reading and Athens while staying safe. Be on the lookout for some fun surprises! Sign up for our newsletter to stay on top of the latest happenings.

 

Finally, we should greatly emphasize that for some of us, we’re entering into a time of great uncertainty. So, we understand if you’re unable, but, if you can spare it, we are also graciously accepting donations in any amount.


Thank you and continue to order online from us! We've been getting so much love!

Love,
Avid Bookshop

 

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