Bookstore Merch Ideas: Why the Tote Bag Wins
By The Merch Counter team · Updated · 3 min read
For an independent bookstore, the tote bag is the product. Book lovers carry them everywhere, they hold books, and they advertise your shop to every other reader they pass. Add a tee with a reading-themed line, a mug, and stickers or pins, and you have a complete range.
Why the tote wins
- It's useful. Readers carry books. A good tote gets used for years.
- It's seen. On the subway, at the farmers market, at the library.
- It's an identity statement. Carrying your local bookstore's tote says something about the person.
- It's a gift. Easy to give, no sizes to guess.
Example: $26, you earn $9.80 †.
Other bookstore merch ideas
1. The reading tee. A line about reading, books or your shop's motto, in good typography.
2. The staff picks shirt. A design styled like a shelf-talker card.
3. The book-club shirt. For your book club, with the year or the season's theme.
4. The reading mug. Example: $18, you earn $6.90 †.
5. The crewneck. For cozy reading weather. Example: $45, you earn $16 †.
6. Stickers. For laptops and notebooks.
7. Pins. For tote bags and jackets.
8. An author-event shirt. For a big signing or festival (use your own design; don't use the author's book cover without permission).
Why bookstore merch sells
Readers choose a local bookshop on purpose, and they like to show it. Bookstore merch also lives in the right places: totes on the commute, mugs on the side table next to the reading chair, stickers on laptops at the library.
Design directions that work
- Typography. Bookstores suit good type: your name, your motto, a line about reading.
- Shelf-talker style. A design that looks like a handwritten staff-pick card.
- Your building. A line drawing of your storefront.
- Genre nods. A design for your mystery shelf, your poetry corner, your kids' section.
- Book-club editions. The club's name and season.
Book covers, characters and quotations belong to authors and publishers. Use your own words and your own art.
What you'd earn
Today's catalog at our suggested prices:
| Product | Customer pays | Printing and blank | Our fee (20%) | You earn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eco Tote Bag | Econscious EC8000Tote bags | $45.00 | −$17.75 | −$9.00 | $18.25 |
| Unisex Basic Softstyle T-Shirt | Gildan 64000T-shirts | $25.00 | −$9.63 | −$5.00 | $10.37 |
| Enamel MugMugs | $32.00 | −$12.67 | −$6.40 | $12.93 |
 Unisex Garment-Dyed Sweatshirt | Comfort Colors 1566Sweatshirts | $77.00 | −$30.59 | −$15.40 | $31.01 |
| Kiss-Cut StickersStickers | $8.00 | −$2.95 | −$1.60 | $3.45 |
Today’s catalog at our suggested prices. Larger sizes cost a bit more to make; your dashboard shows every size before you list, and you can price higher or lower.
A launch plan for a bookstore
- Hang a sample tote by the register with a QR code beside it.
- Put a QR bookmark in every purchase for a month.
- Staff wear the tee for author events.
- Launch around a moment: Independent Bookstore Day, a big signing, or the holiday gift season, when a tote makes an easy present.
- Post your staff picks with the tote on social.
Common questions
Can I put a famous book quote on a tote?
Many quotations are still under copyright, which for works created since 1978 generally lasts the author's life plus 70 years. Write your own line, or check that a quote is in the public domain. When in doubt, leave it out.
Should we sell merch in the store or online?
Both. A sample tote and QR code in the store, every color and size online for readers who've moved away.
What sells best?
Start with the tote; for most bookshops it's the product that does the work.
Related: Merch for bookstores
† Worked examples. They use our real 20% fee and suggested 2.5× price on an illustrative cost to make; real costs vary by product, size and print. Bulk-order figures are illustrative too. Today’s numbers for every product are in the profit calculator and in your dashboard before you list anything.