Merchant Spotlight: Discount New Age Books

Q: What is the story behind New Age Discount Books?

Ed Mondazzi: The book business is a lot larger than the average person is aware of in this society. Sonja and Ed Mondazzi took a pointed look at a trend in self help, personal development and the growing need of people to take control of their health and well being. The group of books written in this category was and is still referred to as new age in Interest. Years past families were closer, food seemed more pure and simple. With parents living longer and retiring instead of living at home to care for the Grand Children a new stress was added to the family requiring self help literature to help individuals through this time. Organic food, health food and other buzz words were added to our culture requiring an explanation to help sort out all of this new age of food. Discounting the books came from the experience Ed and Sonja Mondazzi got from owning other businesses.

Q: How has your online store complemented your Windsor, CT location?

Ed: Making available a book store on the internet has brought everyone to the book store in good and bad weather, from distances too far to travel and to the old and frail. It's nice being able to take orders 24/7/365 from across the US and around the world. While most book stores in America have closed, we've expanded a few times since 2004 and the majority of our business has been online for many years now.

Q: What makes it possible for you to offer specialty books at such a low cost to customers?

Ed: I have been asked by a very notable publisher to write a book on exactly this point. To surrender my trade secrets would not be good for us at this time. We're happy we can offer these books affordably to individuals in all income brackets so they can benefit in the different aspects of self improving themselves.

Q: As store mascot, how does your cat, Buddy, add personality to the business? What inspired you to make him a central part of the website?

Ed: Arguably people like animals more than people. Individuals will spend more money on their pets than themselves. This aspect of our American way of life makes the connection to Buddy and their own lives. We have 4 cats at home and with Buddy, we have a whole family.

Q: How have customers been receptive to Buddy, both on and off-line?

Ed: Buddy often receives gifts from clients from all over the United States. Some of these same people have come to the store looking for him first and then shop. Customers will often leave notes on their orders asking us to pet Buddy for them, send him emails and when we do shows, we often have customers asking us how Buddy is doing.

Q: How effective have your pages on social media platforms (MySpace, Twitter) been? What kind of feedback have you received through these mediums?

Ed: Buddy has been tweeting for a little over a year and has a decent following of 600+ at @MondazziBooks. He tweets about new inventory, specials and posts, and retweets quotes and cool messages. He doesn't have a lot of interaction with customers, but does have a few fans and customers that retweet his messages and sing the praises of our books and customer service. One customer retweeted Buddy's message on June 29th when Amazon.com was having problems with their site... and on July 3rd was excited when they got their order.

Buddy has a presence on MySpace, but the site isn't as popular as it once was. Twitter and Facebook seem to be where it's at. To that end, Buddy setup a page for the business at http://www.facebook.com/MondazziBooks just a few weeks ago. Between the social media sites, his blog at http://discountnewagebook.com and of course working in the warehouse, LOL -- he's one busy cat!

Q: Who are your typical customers? What are they expecting from the products you offer?

Ed: I always say females are smarter than males. Our client base is predominately woman. They are always looking for information and books are the best source.

Q: Which book genres would you say receive the most attention on your site, and why do you think this is?

Ed: This has changed over the years. The biggest subject now is Raw Food information. People are looking to become healthier and Raw Foods is getting a lot of attention as a vehicle to acquire this goal. In the past Feng Shui and World religions were big and now 2012 books are doing very well.

Q: Where would you like to see change or growth in your store in the next 3-5 years?

Ed: The goal is to stay alert with trends in our society. Staying light in topic so not to have old inventory is always a goal. Being ready to make a change on a week's notice is key to staying solvent.

Q: What else can you share with us about Discount New Age Books or your cat Buddy?

Ed: Our staff is outstanding. All of the team players at Discount New Age Books, at least in part, walk the talk of one or more of our subject areas. They are friendly and all enjoy their work. One staffer says 'This will be the best job I ever had.' He's been here 8 years.