Beloved Local Chain Gottwals Books Has Served Literature Lovers in the Robins Region for Nearly 20 Years
Shane Gottwals was always the kid looking for opportunities to sell something, from lemonade stands at neighborhood yard sales to candy to his baseball team. He devoured children’s books on starting a business.
“It really wasn’t about having the money, but the enterprise of how to buy something for ‘X’ and sell it for more,” Gottwals recalls.
In college, he sold computers built by a friend, and the duo also produced wedding videos and tribute tapes.
He majored in English at Mercer University in Macon. His wife, Abbey, was at Mercer earning a business degree. In 2006, as new graduates and newlyweds, they were sitting at dinner with Abbey’s parents who talked about a small bookshop they owned in Chile where they were missionaries.
“The entrepreneurial bug had never left me, and I thought if we were going to do something on our own and not work for someone else, what else made more sense than a bookstore, which put my English degree and Abbey’s business degree together,” Gottwals says.
“Of course, it’s the most ridiculous way to start a business,” Gottwalls adds. “Neither of us had any experience at all and we had no idea what we were doing.”
Nevertheless, in March 2007, they started selling used books at Gottwals Books, a 1,500-square-foot shop in Warner Robins.
“It was a major risk,” Gottwals says. “Honestly, I think it was my wife’s personality that made it. She just loved everybody and they loved her back and wanted to come shop from her.”
Customer Centered
Abbey’s personalized, friendly service was the cornerstone to the Gottwals Books shopping experience. Staff are trained at the same level of service today. In addition, Shane decided early on that Gottwals wouldn’t fall into the stereotype of the cramped used bookstore where the dusty inventory sat untouched and the pipe-smoking owner focused on stroking his cat.
“Some of our success is because of the appearance of our stores,” Gottwals says. “When you walk in, you feel like you’re in a very nice chain bookstore, but you get the personality and attention of knowledgeable booksellers and owners who live down the street.”
Gottwals Books’ trade-in program is a major component of its success as well.
“It’s a unique mix of value for the customer while not inflating the resale value of the book,” Gottwals says. “One guarantee we have is that any book, new or used, bought at Gottwals Books, if it has the price sticker on the back, can always be returned for 50% of the price in store credit. It’s a really neat program that keeps folks dedicated to our stores.”
Supporting Creatives
With stores in Byron, Macon and Perry in addition to the 8,500-square-foot flagship store in Warner Robins, Gottwals Books sells new and used books along with toys, puzzles, games, and church and educational supplies.
For more than a decade, Shane and Abbey were involved in opening dozens of stores around the country under a franchise model named Walls of Books. Shane says they are now focused on the Gottwals Books stores along with Eventide, an event space nearby.
“It’s on an 83-acre property in Forsyth, and its purpose is to host events connected to the bookstores in some way,” Gottwals says. “Our tagline is that we promote what is ‘good and right and true,’ which comes from Ephesians 5.”
Musicians, poets, authors and visual artists have presented concerts, readings or exhibits at Eventide. “It’s a really neat offshoot of Gottwals Books,” he says.
In addition to Eventide, Gottwals supports community creativity in other ways.
“Local authors are not a big source of revenue for us, but we give them inordinate attention anyway,” Gottwals says. “Even if not many people show up at an event, the exposure means a lot to the authors and hopefully keeps them motivated to produce more work.”
Gottwals is a sponsor of the Perry Page Turners Book Festival and several library programs. “We’re after the same pursuit, which is to get kids inspired to love stories and then create some stories themselves,” he says.
Gottwals Books was honored as one of Georgia’s Small Business ROCK STARS in 2018.
As the company looks forward to its 20th anniversary in business in 2027, Shane and Abbey say they are extremely proud of the strong foundation they’ve built through their four locations and a thriving online presence.
“We’ve got a really good thing going, and I want to make sure we continue to be good for our local community,” he says.
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