I am not sure this is correct, but I was told that these display units were called "dumps" because they were temporary and were to be dumped at the end of the campaign.

I agree that dumps are a great way to get folks to notice a book. However, publishers seem to be offering fewer and fewer dumps these days.

We get tons of dumps into our store, and I must say that they are the bane of my existence! They're unwieldy, the cause of many a cardboard cut which is like a paper-cut magnified by a million, and many times I feel as if I need to have an engineering degree to be able to put them together. Yes, they do a pretty nice job of displaying and promoting a book, but in my opinion they are more trouble than they're worth. They clutter up the store, trip up both customers and booksellers, and use space that I would rather use for other things. And don't get me started on standees.

The life for "dumps" is really short (particularly for the big box chain stores). I used to work for one of these stores. Sometimes the dump didn't even make it to the floor and was automatically thrown out. Other times it was soon destroyed by customers and dumped. Best case scenario it remained standing for a month before thrown in the dumpster.

Thank you Josie, for shining the spotlight on book displays.

We're the manufacturer of the yellow "Diary of A Wimpy Kid: Dog Days displays and are appreciative that you liked our display and realize the book marketing knowledge that goes into it’s creation. Our three key management team members have over 100 years of combined knowledge in creating and manufacturing book displays that really do help sell books at retail. It’s always great to hear from a bookseller who likes our products. A good display with a great header stops customers in their tracks to pick up the book and examine the jacket. Once the book is in the customer’s hands, the book will sell itself to the interested customer.

We advocate using high quality displays for many reasons. Booksellers spend a lot of money on their stores; publishers spend a lot of money on the book jackets, so why buy a cheap, flimsy temporary fixture that looks bad. So many of the displays that I see in stores are made with lower quality corrugated, printed with ink that rubs off, or the displays collapse because the weight of the books was not considered. If the display takes up too much space, you’ll never put it up in your store. And you're right, a poor quality display will not serve it's intended purpose and will be disposed of quickly. We design and manufacture our high quality products in our own New Jersey factory (not overseas) and have been providing them to publishers and booksellers for over twenty years.

The paper cut issue also relates to poor quality manufacturing. All of our displays have “turned” edges, so there are no exposed sides to cut anybody’s hands. Yes, it takes more corrugated material to make them, but the displays are stronger and booksellers are happier. And our displays are all designed to be shipped with books inside so assembly is simply squaring up the base, putting the tray on it, and inserting the header. Quick and easy.

Most publishers know that it takes the same amount of effort to sell a display of 12 books as it does to sell one book to a retailer. While not every book belongs in its own display, many titles would sell better if they were displayed at the end of the aisles or near the cash/wrap area. Sometimes counter displays are equally successful in displaying and selling books, but clutter - as you point out - is an issue that each retail bookseller must address individually.

By the way, they're called "dumps" because before we introduced this small footprint style book display - that shows the book jacket - (circa 1980), books were "dumped" into temporary corrugated boxes for sale at the end of an aisle. This kind of display "dump" is still being used for other kinds of products in grocery and drug stores today, but books are primarily sold on shelves or in book displays.

I welcome any and all comments, through this blog or directly to my email, edevos@bookdisplays.com.

The display itself needs to be strong enough to hold the books without tearing or sagging. The Runaway Doll display was great-looking, but the books were too heavy for it and after a short time the middle box just sort of ripped from the main display and couldn't hold much of anything.

Guess this ended up in the "dump"?

When you buy a 48 book Wimpy Kid Display, are you paying the same for the 48 books as if they came in an ordinary carton. Or are you paying an additional premium that reflects the cost of the display?

Anon, you get the same discount, or better (because you're buying in quantity). The publisher absorbs the cost of the display because it's essentially free advertising in the store for that book.

Publishers use displays to promote their books so customers in retail stores see the book jackets. Books in displays sell 30% faster according to our bookstore surveys.

The cost of the display is absorbed by the publisher because of the quantity discount for the number of books in the display. Occasionally, a publisher will offer a free display with a full case of books - which would be used to refill the display.