[i] Merchant contains a Used Books module. The system supports Used Book buying and selling, and coordinates everything within your store's inventory database. However, before you can run the Used Books module, it must be activated. To activate the Used Books module, please contact Computac Customer Service. The Used Book module itself is a separate program, apart from regular [i] Merchant. (It can be accessed through the [i} Merchant Modules menu, however--Modules-Used will open the Used Books program.) Though a separate program, Used Books is fully integrated within your regular [i] Merchant database; any sales or purchases, or anything else that affects onhand, sales, etc., will automatically be processed within the main [i] Merchant database).
Prior to running the Used Books module, you will need to establish the Used Book default parameters for your store. You will do that within the main [i] Merchant program--in Store Maintenance.
In the Store Maintenance program:
Select Used Store in the toolbar at the top of the screen. The Store Used Properties window appears. This is where you will set the defaults for your Used Books module. (Keep in mind, these are default values. For any particular used product you wish to buy or sell, any of the defaults can be changed.)
On the left side of the Store Used Properties window are the "POS Voucher" and "Used Buying Settings" sections. On the right side is the "Used Buying Session" section. Let's start with the "Used Buying Session" section, since the default values in this section will determine many important factors within the Used Books module.
In the Default Used Product Category field:
Select the Used Product Category you want to employ as your store's default. The Used Product Category is not the same thing as the Department Category. Rather, it is a parameter unique to the Used Books module. Within this parameter, you establish several factors regarding your buying and selling of used books. So . . . let's take a look at the Used Product Category in more detail.
When you access the properties page for a Used Product Category code, you will see six fields. The first two--"Code and Description"--are the standard code and description fields that every code-driven parameter in [i] Merchant contains. The three remaining fields begin the process of establishing your store's default settings for the purchasing and selling of used products. Let us take a look at them, one at a time.
The Buy/No Buy Code field determines what initially happens when you elect to buy a used book. There are three choices here, and you select one by clicking on the pulldown arrow at the right of the field and then highlighting the choice you want. The three choices are: Buy, No Buy, and Ask Buyer.
"Buy" means that, as soon as you decide to buy a used book in the Used Book module, [i] Merchant will assume you wish to buy it. By assuming this, no detail screen, where you make a decision on whether or not to purchase the book, will display. (You can call up the detail screen, if desired, but it will not come up automatically.)
If you select "Buy," you can still have the detail screen in the Used Book module called up automatically upon buying a used book by setting the Always Show Buy Item on Buy field to "Yes."
"No Buy" assumes you will not buy the used book. If set to "No Buy" here, upon buying a used book in the Used Book module, the detail screen will display automatically, and in the "Buy" field (in the "Buying Terms" portion of the screen), a "No" will appear. You can change this to "Yes" to buy the product, but "No" is the default. If left "No," the system will disallow the buy.
Lastly, "Ask Buyer" will call up the detail screen in the Used Book module when you buy a product. But, unlike when you set the Buy/No Buy Code field to "No," the "Buy" field will not be filled in. It will be blank, and you must determine whether you wish to buy the book or not, and fill the field in accordingly.
The next field in the Used Product Category is "New-To-Used Price Markdown." You will key in a percentage here. Whatever you key in will be your store's default percentage markdown for used books that do not fall under the Rules you establish at the bottom of the window. For example, if you key in 40%, the suggested retail price for a used book will be 40% of the new retail price For example, the retail price for a new book is $10. You key in 40% here. The default used price will be $4 ($10 x 40% = $4). This value represents a default. You can change the percentage for any individual used product that you purchase. Additionally, this value can be further affected by the Condition of the used book. More on Condition in a moment.
Important:
This default will apply only to those used books that do not fall under the parameters of the Rules you establish at the bottom of the window.
There is also the New-To-Cash Offer Markdown field. This is also a percentage that you key in. This represents the cash dollar amount you will pay for the used book. The same principle applies. If you key in 10% here, you will offer a customer 10% of the book's new retail price. For example, the retail price of a new book is $10. A customer wants to sell you a used copy of this book. You will give him $1 ($10 x 10% = $1). This value, too, can be impacted by the Condition of the book in question.
Important:
This default will apply only to those used books that do not fall under the parameters of the Rules you establish at the bottom of the window.
Finally, there is the Industry field. Select an industry to be the default industry.
At the bottom of the window, you can establish a set of Selection Rules for the Used Book module. The Rules can be as broad or specific as you want, and you can create as many Rules as you need. Rules are designed to categorize used books into separate categories, or rules, allowing you to set default percentages for each category that will determine the Used price and offer for each item.
To create a Selection Rule:
Click on the "Add to List" icon at the left of the "Selection Rule" portion of the Used Product Category window. A new row will appear, saying "All Items." This does just what it says--it encompasses all used books. If that's how you want this to be set, leave it alone. However, in the upper part of this window, you already established general default guidelines for used-book buying and selling practices. So it's unlikely you would want to keep this set to "All Items."
So, if you want to limit which used books will apply to a given Selection Rule, there is still work to be done.
Click on "All Items." The Used Price Rule window will open up. This is where you'll define which items will apply to this Selection Rule.
At the top of the Used Price Rule window, there are two options: Query and Filter By. The second option--Filter By--allows you either to view rules only you created or rules everyone has created. A submenu will appear with the word "Me" on top and "All Users" underneath. Simply click on the one you want, and a black dot appears to the left of the selected choice. This is user-definable and up to you. Choose whichever makes the most sense. You can switch back and forth anytime you like, but the system will always default to the way you left it the last time you were in the Used Price Rule window.
The Query option has three choices underneath: New, Delete, and Select.
Choose New to create a new rule. A message box appears where you need to key in the name of the new rule. Click on OK when you are finished keying in the name, then set up the parameters for the new rule. To understand how to do this, just keep reading. (More on Delete and Select in a bit.)
If you want to view a rule already on the system, click on the arrow at the right of the field in the top left corner of the Used Price Rule window. All of the existing rules (or all of the existing rules only you created if you set the Filter By field to "Me") appear in a dropdown list. Simply click on the one you want. Its parameters display in the Used Price Rule window.
If you want to delete the selected rule from the system:
With the rule selected, choose Delete from the Query menu. The rule is deleted.
If you want to select the rule that is displayed in the Used Price Rule window and apply it to this Selection Rule:
Click on the Select button to the right of the field. Once you select a rule, you are returned to the Used Product Category properties window, and the selected rule is listed under the "Selection Rule" field.
Okay, but how do you set up the parameters for a rule? If you want a rule to establish only mass market paperbacks be applied to a Selection Rule, or if you want only Poor condition books to apply, how do you establish that within a rule? It's easy.
To define the selection criteria for the new rule:
Choose the category you want to define in the Select Field field by clicking on the down arrow at the right of the field. A pulldown list of categories appears. Click on the one you want. Once selected, it displays in the Select Field field. For an example, let us say you selected Bindings.
In the Select Operation field, choose Like, equal to, greater than, less than, greater than or equal to, less than or equal to, or between.
In the Choose Value field, choose the value or values that define the selection criteria. With the Bindings example, say you chose "equal to" in the Select Operation field. If you then select MM (Mass Market) in the Choose Value field, the rule will apply to all inventory with a binding code of MM.
For applicable categories (such as Bindings), there will be a binoculars icon at the right of the Choose Value field. If you need to view information on how to select a parameter in a code-driven field, please click here.
If you selected "between" in the Select Operation field, two fields will display under Choose Value. In the top field, choose the start value. In the bottom field, select the ending value. For example, if you selected Grade Level in the Select Field field and you want the rule to apply to merchandise only between "Poor" and "Fair" grades, you would select "between" in the Select Operation field, select "Poor" in the top Choose Value field, and "Fair" in the bottom Choose Value field.
If you choose Publication Date (or any other date category) in the Select Operation field, a calendar will display if you click on the down arrow at the right of the Choose Value field. This is a convenient way for you to select a particular date.
Note:
If you choose Publication Date (or another date category) in the Select Operation field, the Choose Value field will automatically default to the current day's date. If you need to change that, instead of accessing the calendar and choosing a new date that way, you can simply highlight the default date and rekey the desired date.
Once you have set the fields the way you want, click on the Add button at the right of the Used Price Rule window. The criteria you just set will display in the Selected Ranges box. For example, if you selected a binding code of MM, "Bindings = MM [Mass Market]" will display in the Selected Ranges box.
Note:
If you want to blank out the search fields and begin again (prior to clicking on Add), click on the Cancel button. The search fields are blanked out.
Repeat the above process as many times as you want to define the criteria for the rule. Each time you establish a new set of criteria and click on the Add button, the new criteria will display in the Selected Ranges box. The more sets of criteria you select, the more specific the parameters of the rule will be. So, for example, you may set criteria for multiple categories in order to establish a well-defined, highly specific rule. Perhaps you want to establish the rule with the following specifications: Grade Level = Poor, Bindings = MM, Publication Date <1/01/04. Simply define these criteria, one after the other, until all are set. When the rule is established, it will only apply to items that fall under all of these specifications. For example, if an item is in Poor condition (within the range you set), had a binding code of MM (also within the range you set), but was published after to 1/01/04 (as you defined), then the item would not fall under the parameters established by this rule. To establish a less-defined rule, simply remove some of the criteria. There is no limit to the criteria. If you want to define 100 sets of criteria, you can.
To remove a set of criteria:
In the Selected Ranges box, highlight the criteria you want removed and click on the Remove button. The selected criteria is removed from the template.
When you are through creating the rule, select it by clicking on the Select button at the top of the Used Price Rule window. (If you do not want to select the rule, then simply click on the "x" at the top of the Used Price Rule window.) Either way, the rule is saved automatically in your system.
Back at the Used Product Category properties window, the rule you selected (if you selected one) in the Used Price Rule window now appears under the "Selection Rule" field. If you click on the rule, you are taken back to the Used Price Rule window.
You can create as many rules as you want. Every time you create a new rule (by clicking on the "Add to List" icon in the "Selection Rule" portion of the Used Product Category properties window), a separate line is listed under the "Selection Rule" field.
If you would like to delete a rule from the list of rules in the "Selection Rule" portion of the Used Product Category properties window, highlight the rule you wish to delete and click on the "Remove from List" icon--directly to the right of the "Add to List" icon. The rule will be deleted.
When you create a rule, you will establish defaults for the items that fall under the rule's parameters. The defaults you will establish are: New to Used %, New to Offer %, and the Rounding Rule.
Back at the Store Used Properties window, the field beneath Default Used Product Category is "Condition." In the Condition field:
Select the default Condition Code for used products. Condition Codes are likely to be things like "Good," "Fair," or "Poor." In other words, terms that grade the condition of used products. Create as many Condition Codes as you need, then select one to be the default. (The default Condition Code can be changed for any individual used product you purchase.)
One aspect of the Condition Code parameter screen that needs to be discussed in more detail (beyond the basic Code and Description fields) is the Condition Multiplier field. Key in a percentage in this field. This percentage will be multiplied by the used retail price of any product to come up with the adjusted used retail price. For example, a "Good" condition book will cost more than the same book in "Poor" condition. This Condition Multiplier also affects your purchasing price. You are not going to pay as much for a "Poor" book as you will for a "Good" book.
It's a good idea to establish a baseline Condition Code--and this might be the best Code to use as your store's default. By baseline, that is, the percentage keyed in here is 1.00, or 100%. In other words, the used retail price is not affected by this Condition Code. Perhaps the Condition Code of "Good" is a right fit for this.
For a "Poor" book, you might key in 50% in the Condition Multiplier field--though the actual value is up to you. This would mean a "Poor" book will only cost (and sell) half as much as the same book in "Good" condition.
The Condition Multiplier is, therefore, an additional layer of determining the retail price (and your buying price) for used products. Two example follow: One for a "Good" book with a Condition Multiplier of 1.00 (100%), and the other for a "Poor" book with a Condition Multiplier of 50% These tie in directly with the "New-To-Used Price Markdown" and "New-To-Cash Offer Markdown" fields touched on above. For this example, let's assume our default "New-To-Used Price Markdown" is set at 40%, and that our "New-To-Cash Offer Markdown" is set at 10% .
Example #1:
New retail price of book = $10. It is in "Good" condition.
You will buy this book for $1. ($10 new retail price times the "New-To-Cash Offer Markdown" value of 10% = $1. $1 x 100%--the Condition Multiplier for "Good" condition--equals $1.)
You will sell this book for $4. ($10 new retail price times the "New-To-Used Price Markdown" value of 40% = $4. $4 x 100%--the Condition Multiplier for "Good" condition--equals $4.)
Example #2:
New retail price of book = $10. It is in "Poor" condition.
You will buy this book for 50 cents. ($10 new retail price times the "New-To-Cash Offer Markdown" value of 10% = $1. $1 x 50%--the Condition Multiplier for "Poor" condition--equals 50 cents.)
You will sell this book for $2. ($10 new retail price times the "New-To-Used Price Markdown" value of 40% = $4. $4 x 50%--the Condition Multiplier for "Poor" condition--equals $2.)
The next field, back at the Store Used properties screen, is "Rounding." This is optional. Essentially, if you want the final retail price of your used products to be rounded up (or down), you can select a default Rounding Code here. If not, just leave this field blank.
If you call up the Rounding parameter, you will be taken to the Buy Rounding window. Beyond the usual code and description, this window has a "Rules Test Area" that determines how products will be rounded up and/or down. And please note, the rounding applies to the final used retail price after the "New-To-Used Price Markdown" and Condition Multiplier have already been determined. (Rounding only applies to the adjusted retail price of used products, not the buying price.) Let's take a look at how you can set up rounding. . . .
After keying in a code and description for the Rounding Rule in the middle of the Buy Rounding window, you need to establish how the rounding will be handled. Please turn your attention to the table at the bottom of the window. Note the two colums--"Offer Greater Than" and "Round To." To establish a guideline, key in "0.00" in the row underneath both of these columns.
Once you have established your "0.00" guideline row, a new row will automatically appear beneath it. This is where the meat and potatoes of the Rounding Rule really come into effect. An explanation of the two columns--"Offer Greater Than" and "Round To" is in order. . . .
"Offer Greater Than" refers to the adjusted retail price of a used product BEFORE rounding takes effect.
"Round To" will look at the value to the left, beneath "Offer Greater Than," and "round" that value to the value you key in here.
Set up as many rows as you need. You can be as specific or general as you want to be. Let's take a look at an example.
Example:
For the sake of brevity, let's say you have established three rows beneath the "Offer Greater Than" and "Round To" columns. The first row is the "0.00" guideline row. In the second row, you keyed in 0.50 underneath "Offer Greater Than" and 1.00 underneath "Round To". In the third row, you keyed in 1.01 underneath "Offer Greater Than" and 1.50 underneath "Round To".
Okay, let's say the used retail price for a product is 56 cents. Look under the "Offer Greater Than" column. Which row is the first row with a value greater than or equal to 56 cents? It is the second row, with an "Offer Greater Than" value of 50 cents (0.50). So, now that you have found the correct row, look to the right, under the "Round To" column. This value represents what you will round this price to. In this case, the rounding price is $1.00 (1.00). (If the retail price had been anything between 50 cents and $1.00, the rounding price would have been $1.00)
Another used product has a retail price of $1.11. Again, look under the "Offer Greater Than" column. Which row is the first row with a value greater than or equal to $1.11? It is the third row, with an "Offer Greater Than" value of $1.01. Look under the "Round To" column. This value represents what you will round this price to. In this case, the rounding price is $1.50 (1.50). (If the retail price had been anything between $1.01 and $1.50, the rounding price would have been $1.50.)
If you had created 30 rows, the principle would remain the same. [i] Merchant will look at the first row, beginning with the "0.00" guideline row, underneath "Offer Greater Than" with a value greater than or equal to the retail price. And then it will assign that row's "Round To" value to the price.
But what if the retail price exceeds the last row in your Rounding Table? What will the system do then? That is what the "When amount exceeds table Round Up to" field is for.
Of course, if a retail price exceeds the last row in your Rounding Table, you can create more rows in your table until the retail price is included in the values there. Or you can utilize the "When amount exceeds table Round Up to" field instead.
The concept of this field is very simple. If a retail price exceeds the values established in the last row of your rounding table, this fields allows you to set a rounding pattern for these "pricey" items. Simply click on the down arrow at the right of the field and choose how (or if) you want to round these items. Choices include no rounding at all (to the penny), to the nickel, to the dime, to the quarter, or to the dollar.
So, for example, let us say you select to the dollar in this field. Let us also say the retail price of an item is $55.10. But the last row in your Rounding table only goes up to $25. [i] Merchant will not look to the "When amount exceeds table Round Up to" field to determine how and if it should round up this item. Since you chose dollar here, it will round the item to $56. If you had chosen quarter, it would have rounded it up to $55.25. If you had chosen "no rounding," the price would have stayed at $55.10, etc.
If you are at all confused about a row within a Rounding Rule, you can test the Rule. Look at the "Rules Test Area." In the "Price to Test" field, key in a retail price, and then click on the "Test" button to the right. The "Rounded To $" field will fill in with the rounded price. This is a great way to test your Rule and make sure you are clear on how the system is calculating the rounding. You can run a rounding test on as many prices as you like. It is there for your convenience.
Back at the Store Used Properties screen, notice the last three fields in the "Used Buying Session" portion of the window. They are Default Accounting Codes.
There are four fields in the "POS Voucher" section of the Store Used Properties screen. Let's look at them, one at a time.
In the Voucher Service field:
Select the service you want to use for your store's default used book voucher. It should be a balance card--one you have set up previously for the purpose of using it as your store's default used book voucher (used book credit). When a customer sells you a used book, you can give him a voucher, either with cash or store credit. The customer can then use the voucher at the POS as a balance card tender, if he wanted to opt for store credit rather than cash.
In the Round offer to field:
Simply click on the down arrow to the right of the field and choose how (or if) you want to round up the price for used items you buy.
In the Percent Premium field:
Key in a percentage. This value is multiplied by the final cash buying price ("New-To-Cash Offer Markdown" value multiplied by the Condition Multiplier) to come up with the credit price you are willing to give a customer for a used book. For example, if the cash buying price for a used book (after calculating the "New-To-Cash Offer Markdown and Condition Multiplier) is $2.00, and you assign a 25% value in the "Percent Premium" field, then the amount of store credit you will apply to the customer's used book voucher will be $2.50 ($2.00 x 25%). So, essentially, the "Percent Premium" works as a markup field. If the customer prefers to receive store credit instead of cash for the used books he sells you, the credit amount he receives is marked up by the percentage you key in here. And this credit value will print on the voucher you give him. (The cash amount, if the customer wants cash, will also print on the voucher.)
In the Description Percent Premium field:
Key in a free-form description that will appear on the POS receipt when the used-book voucher is credited at the POS.
There are two fields in the "Used Buying Settings" portion of the screen . . .
In the "Used Product Barcode Label" field:
Select the default label type to be assigned to used books when they are created via the Used Books module. For information on creating different label types, please click here.
In the "Always Show Buy Item on Buy" field:
Select "Yes" if you want the detail screen to display automatically in the Used Books Module when you purchase books with a Default Used Product Category set to "Buy" in the "Buy/No Buy Code" field. Select "No" if you do not want the detail screen to display automatically in the Used Books Module when you purchase books with a Default Used Product Category set to "Buy" in the "Buy/No Buy Code" field. (Default Used Product Categories with the "Buy/No Buy Code" field set either to "Ask Buyer" or "No Buy" are not affected, one way or the other, by the value established here in the "Always Show Buy Item on Buy" field. This only applies to books with a Default Used Product Category set to "Buy" in the "Buy/No Buy Code" field.