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Write an Essay, Win a Bookstore

A reader just brought my attention to a contest which is ending soon.

From My Shelf Books & Gifts, a bookstore located in Wellsboro, Penn, can be won in a contest. All you have to do is write a 250-word essay on why a bookstore is important to a community, pay the $75 submission fee, and cross your fingers that 4,000 entries are received. If there aren’t enough entries then all fees will be returned.

The contest prize includes 60,000 books, 6 months’ rent,  and free consultation from current owners Kasey and Kevin Coolidge. It does not include the degrees, certification, or experience you should acquire before buying a business.

"For $75 and an essay, someone could win their own bookstore," Kevin said.

"My husband and I grew up here, and Wellsboro deserves a bookstore," said Kasey. "Kevin thought it would be nice to be able to pay it forward and give someone else the opportunity, especially since starting a business is hard."

The contest ends on 31 March. You can find more information on the bookstore’s website.

Thanks, Dave, for the tip!

Writers Digest

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Comments


rur March 6, 2018 um 4:01 pm

I don’t know whether this has ever been successfully done. I do know it was tried in Roseburg Oregon a few years ago and didn’t work.


Peter Winkler March 6, 2018 um 4:28 pm

$75 x 4,000 = $300,000. This a lottery scam. Nobody would pay $300,000 to acquire a hole-in-the-wall bookstore if the owners put it on the open market at that price. If they get the required 4,000 entries, they pocket a little windfall and stick the winner with a white elephant.


MKS March 7, 2018 um 2:29 am

This is such a strange phrase: " It does not include the degrees, certification, or experience you should acquire before buying a business."

What degrees? What certification? And experience is nice, but it’s not something that can be bought; it has to be, well, experienced. I hope the purchase includes the existing business entity, the customer lists, the name, the advertising artwork, the vendor list, and history of promotions run and their success or failure.

But yeah, it’s a lottery scam to pull $300k less 6 months' rent.

Nate Hoffelder March 7, 2018 um 8:57 am

Acquire doesn’t mean purchase – not exactly. And I don’t see what is so crazy about saying people should learn about running a business before buying one.


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