Scottish bookstore lets people run the shop while renting an apartment upstairs | Hacker News Reader

Scottish bookstore lets people run the shop while renting an apartment upstairs

nytimes.com

116 pointssignor_bosco47 comments

This is a sort of MVP test of the rose-tinted small business dreams we all hold in our hearts. Obviously I'm not the only one who's walked into a musty bookstore and said, "this is nice, maybe it could be me," or wandered into a quaint pub and thought, "maybe I could own a place like this." How great to be able try it out for a few days and instead wistfully proclaim, "I should keep my day job."

I worked in retail for a year or so. Most of the time it’s very boring, because there are always long periods with no customers.

Some of the time it’s frantic, because there are too many customers.

A lot of the time it’s depressing, because a scary percentage of the population struggles with basic adult agency and/or comprehension.

I think everyone should do it for a while.

This is a non-profit, so hopefully it's ran well and everyone is happy. However, as an Australian with friends who've traveled to Scotland, apparently it's quite common for businesses to provide accommodation in exchange for work, and at times this can be really exploitative.

A friend of mine stayed and worked at a remote bed and breakfast in Scotland for a couple of weeks. However, despite the manager claiming otherwise, my friend was often left on their own with no idea how to run the place. My friend was given no training and the manager would tell them he'll be in for the weekend, then simply not turn up.

As a result my friend was stuck looking after the place and missed out on the weekend (and many other days) when they were supposed be out enjoying their travels. It's just worth keeping this in mind, before signing up to something like this - there are unfortunately plenty of dishonest people out there.

It's not for everyone I guess. To me that sounded appealing and adventurous. It's not like, if you screw up, you will be stuck in the aftermath the rest of your life.

If you've agreed to it, sure. However, when someone has intentionally misrepresented the situation to take advantage of you. I don't know how you can possibly end up feeling good about that. Particularly when you've made plans in accordance with the information you've been provided.

> provide accommodation in exchange for work

Here's it's the other way around: you pay for the accomodation + the privilege of running/working in the shop while you stay

I'm dying to know more about how the financial end works. Where do the profits go, and more importantly, how do expenses work? If I'm renting for a week, can I order a bunch of sci-fi (or anything I'm interested in) and leave the invoices for the non-profit to handle? Or is it more that you act as the manager, changing decor, the vibe, etc, but stocking decisions and whatnot fall under the purview of the non-profit.

Pretty much identical to Shakespeare & Co in Paris. I lived above the shop for about 3 months in exchange for working at the shop. Pretty amazing time.

Oh wow when did you do this? Is it something that's still going on?

Apparently, yes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare_and_Company_(books...

The name Sylvia Beach sounded familiar. There's a library-themed hotel in Newport, Oregon named after her, http://www.sylviabeachhotel.com/

I spent a night there before beginning a cross-country trip over US Route 20. Each room has a theme, packed with books. The whole place is packed with books. Many of the guests spend all day reading.

Wigtown is a lovely little place, a locus for eccentric book people. There's not one but two science fiction and fantasy bookshops run out of people's houses there.

There are lots of people who want to run a restaurant. A place where you pay to do it for a week or a month would cure them of that desire.

If they have any business acumen and decent command of the French language they can do it in France. In August, when most businesses shutdown for the summer holiday some owners will leave their bars and restaurants to trusted friends.

I have a friend that occasionally manages a Parisian bar or 2 while the owners are away. Since he gets to live (they usually own the apartment directly above) and work at the bar as well as a cut of the, very meager, profits it's a win/win.

There are lots of people who want to live in their own house. A place where you pay to do it for a week or a month would cure them of that desire.

It is not the same thing but the mentality is the same.

In other UK bookstore news:

"An independent bookseller has been inundated with support after making a desperate plea for customers following her "worst day ever" of sales.

Georgia Duffy, owner of ImaginedThings in Harrogate, tweeted that she took only £12.34 on Monday.

Her plea for support has been clicked on more than one million times and retweeted by more than 4,000 people.

Ms Duffy said: "The response has been phenomenal. I've had people placing orders from all over the country."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-4...

It's very high pressure, but in the right kind of environment also incredibly rewarding. In my experience this goes for most service jobs. The people that you see doing well (personally, less so financially) in this space generally really enjoy what they're doing.

There is a restaurant I have been to with amateur chefs, the time I went it was a school teacher.

Bernard Black, is that you?

Add a dab of lavender to your milk, leave town with an orange, and pretend you're laughing at it.

Same here.

(For those unaware, it refers to Black Books: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Books )

First thing I thought of as well. I wonder if the purveyors are fans of the show; wouldn't that be a treat :)

Exactly.

What are the visa implications of this - i.e., would a tourist need a work permit?

Yes, providing accomodation is a form of payment, so you do need a work permit.

You got it backwards: booking and paying for the accomodation allows you to run the shop while you stay. You pay for both the flat & the privilege of working the till.

Am I the only one who finds it odd the author chose to use "lets"? Not sure why but it really bothers me.

It’s a good play on words from a British English perspective:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/to%20let

From an American perspective who is familiar with that usage, it's not that great. And it really doesn't do justice to the actuality of the situation. "Lets" means "permits" or "allows", but this is an obligatory deal here.

I, too, am intrigued; what bothers you about "lets"?!

It makes it sound optional.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I don't know, I have no good reason it just annoys me. Alternatives that would annoy me less: This Scottish AirBnB comes with a job at a bookstore, or, An AirBnB in Scotland includes running a local bookstore, or, Take a working vacation at this bookstore AirBnB.

I'm with u dude, it's extremely odd phrasing to say that the airbnb "LETS" you run the bookstore when the article makes clear that running the bookstore is a requirement of staying at the airbnb. There's no option described that involves NOT running the bookstore so it seems like an extremely poorly phrased title.

I think it's meant to be parsed more as conveying the sense of opportunity rather than choice. As in "this luxury car lets you experience a comfortable ride."

It doesn't bother me because clearly that is the point of signing up for the accommodations! The whole idea is they allow you to do it if you pay the fee.

I know, you're thinking McDonald's doesn't "let" you eat a burger if you pay for it.

But a burger is a commodity, and easy to get and McDonald's isn't taking a risk letting you into their place.

This person is absolutely dying to run a bookstore for a short time and he gets the opportunity.

Doesn't bother me, but I'm not American. What bothers you about it?

can we get a summary for people who can't get around the paywall?

Archived copy: https://archive.is/RQoAV#0%

http://outline.com

http://archive.is

http://web.archive.org

incognito mode

People downvoting -- do you like it when people post paywalled links?

The HN policy on paywalls is described in the FAQ:

> "Are paywalls ok?"

> "It's ok to post stories from sites with paywalls that have workarounds."

> "In comments, it's ok to ask how to read an article and to help other users do so. But please don't post complaints about paywalls. Those are off topic."

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html

Thanks for at least giving me a straight answer instead of simply downvoting. I do find that policy annoying, though I'm apparently not allowed to talk about it.

Users usually post workarounds in the thread (though not so much when a simple incognito window is all that's needed).

There's more explanation here:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10178989

https://hn.algolia.com/?sort=byDate&dateRange=all&type=comme...

There’s policy and there’s community. People in the community are very opposed to the future we enable when we encourage paywalls.

Some people are, and some people think the opposite.

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