Today we’d like to introduce you to Bret Eborn.
Hi Bret, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Eborn Books was founded in 1989 in Layton, Utah. We have had store locations in Layton, Roy, Taylorsville, West Valley City, Ogden, Taylorsville, Sandy, Provo, and in Nauvoo, Illinois. We sell used, rare, and out-of-print books, and we publish some books , most of which have been LDS books, children’s books, history, biography, or Utah-related. A few years back we started franchising, and there are currently franchise stores in Ogden, Layton, Sandy, and Provo. Our main store, which was at 254 S. Main Street in Salt Lake, was the largest bookstore in the State. The owner of the building eventually evicted all the businesses in that building, which included us and City Weekly, and others, so he could renovate. But he never did renovate and the building is currently vacant. We moved our estimated 1 million book inventory to a warehouse in Tooele, from which we now sell books on the internet, and to our franchise stores. We sell some on amazon and ebay, but we now mostly sell on our website: www.ebornbooks.com. In a strange way, we are still Utah’s largest used bookstore.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Moving from one location to another was always a challenge, but the move from downtown Salt Lake to our warehouse in Tooele was the largest challenge.
We’ve been impressed with Eborn Books, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
What we are most known for is our huge selection of used and rare books. Because we operate mostly in Utah we probably have the world’s largest selection of used and rare LDS books, but we try to maintain an inventory of all subjects. What we hope we are known for is fair prices and a huge selection.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I don’t think most of our customers realize the extent of Eborn Books. Most may just be familiar with their local store, and not the entire network of stores and warehouse. If they walk into one of the stores and can’t find what they’re looking for, they need to ask an employee to check the website, www.ebornbooks.com, to see if the warehouse has what they’re searching for.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ebornbooks.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EbornBooks?ref=embed_page
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYw5Vh7oZLg
