Loop Bookstore With a History Fights Misperception

Don’t walk into Subterranean Books, in the Delmar Loop, looking for used books, because the shop sells only new. But it has a history of selling used books, which is a problem, manager Alex Weir said.

“We got out of the used book business at least six to seven years ago, but they never really did anything to really spread the word,” he said. “And of course, it still looks like a used bookstore.”

The shop prior to Subterranean sold used books in the space.

“It was called A Collector’s Bookshop,” Weir said. “It was probably a used bookstore before then, so we understand why people equate it with a used bookstore space.”

Weir said they try to carry as much as they can in the space they have. He said they sell more fiction and literature than anything else, but the second floor is all nonfiction.

How has the store survived in the days of Amazon.com?

“If Amazon didn’t exist we would probably have oak paneling, and we’d all be making much better money,” Weir said.

“We tell our customers if they spend their money here it stays in St. Louis,” he said. “If they deal with Amazon it gets shipped out of state. A lot of people understand that so they give us their business.”

He said e-book readers have taken a slice of their business, but points to boxes of new books just arrived.

“We’re still here. These are all physical books that came in today,” he said.