Hours: Tuesday–Saturday 10:00am–6:00pm | Sunday 12:00pm–5:00pm | CLOSED ON MONDAYS  

 

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Consignments

Red Balloon Bookshop’s consignment program allows us to carry and feature a much wider variety of self-published and print-on-demand Children’s book titles than we could through traditional purchasing. We are especially interested in carrying new and exciting titles from diverse local authors.

 

GENERAL CONSIGNMENT INFO

Red Balloon Bookshop welcomes submissions of published Children’s books from local Minnesota-resident authors. Exceptions may be made for authors from the Midwest states if the book has a particular interest to children and/or Minnesotans.

  • We pay 60% of the retail price for a consignment book.

  • Red Balloon Bookshop agrees to carry books on a consignment basis for a minimum of 4 months. It is the consignor’s responsibility to contact the store to see if we have sold their title and need additional stock.

  • We ask that you drop off an invoice when you drop off your books. If you do not provide an invoice, one will be issued from Red Balloon Bookshop. 

  • We will only pay out for complete invoices and send out payments three times a year. If an invoice contains three books, we will issue payment when all three books have sold. We will pay only for items sold - items damaged/stolen are the sole financial responsibility of the consignor. We issue consignment payments in January, May and September.

  • If there is a 4-month period without sales, we will contact you to pick up your books. If you prefer, we will donate or give away unsold books.

  • If we decline to carry your title, or if we are returning you books because they have not sold, books must be picked up within 30 days of notification. Books left longer than 30 days will be donated to schools or other non-profit organizations.

  • We do not accept new consignments between Nov. 15 - Jan 3.

 

STANDARDS FOR FINISHED BOOKS

  • Professionally published - cover art and illustrations should be of similar quality to traditionally published books

  • Printed with a bound spine displaying the title and author's name (no spiral-bound or stapled books)

  • International Standard Book Number (ISBN) on cover

  • Retail price printed on cover

  • Dimensions common to current trade publications for hardback/paperback books

 

TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL CONSIGNMENTS

  • Encourage friends, family, and other contacts to purchase your book at Red Balloon Bookshop.

  • Contact your local media and mailing lists to announce that your book is available at Red Balloon Bookshop.

  • Send out press releases, review copies, and other promotional materials.

  • Get involved with book clubs, libraries, and other community organizations. A wide array of author-coordinated promotions will yield greater success.

  • Actively post on social media and tag Red Balloon Bookshop as a carrier of the title.

NOTE: If your title is available through Ingram, it does not qualify for Consignment. If you’re still interested in us carrying your book, we would recommend having family and friends order their copies through us, either over the website or phone. You can check your ISBN in our search bar.

 

Interested in participating in our consignment program?

Please email Jaya at consignments@redballoonbookshop.com before sending any items to the store. Allow at least one week for all responses.

We look forward to hearing from you!

 

*** Please note that the Consignment program is for authors/illustrators/creators only. Small press publishers should NOT reach out to consignments, but rather should send along a catalog to the store's address. Thank you!