DALLAS (March 29, 2006)—Half Price Books, the nation's largest new and used bookstore chain, will launch a new in-store campaign on April 1 aimed at motivating shoppers to sell their books, movies, music and games at any of the company's 85 locations. The five-month "Love, Cherish and then Let Go" campaign kicks off with a free tote bag offer during the month of April, along with several in-store pieces designed to pique customers' interests about selling to Half Price Books.

The campaign is designed to appeal to the shopper who needs motivation other than cash to sell their merchandise. To achieve this, primary messages draw on customers' new and emerging tastes and interests, encouraging them to "let go" of items they no longer need or use in exchange for something that is more pertinent to their current lifestyle. Secondary messages educate customers on other merits of selling books, such as saving landfill space, clearing off cluttered shelves and cupboards at home and informing them of Half Price Books' extensive donation programs, where a great deal of unsold merchandise is given.

"We feel that the most avid readers and those seeking cash already understand our buying process," said Kathy Doyle Thomas, executive vice president for Half Price Books. "We needed to reach out to other shoppers and inform them why it's worth it to pack up old items and bring them in."

To target specific shoppers, mock DVD and CD cases, along with genre-specific shelf signage for books and LPs were created and will be interspersed with merchandise throughout the store. As browsers pore through DVDs, for instance, they'll come across a DVD entitled "You Know That Movie You Slept Through Twice? Sell It for an Eye Opener." Small signs among bookshelves target genre readers, one announcing, "Suspense Killing You? Sell Your Thrillers," in hopes of getting a mystery reader to part with long-ago read tomes.

Approximately 50 percent of Half Price Books' merchandise is used, while the other half consists of brand new remainders, hurts and other overstock the company purchases all over the world. Additionally, Half Price Books makes a cash offer on all of the merchandise a customer brings in, rather than picking and choosing certain items from the lot. What the company cannot sell is either recycled or donated to various organizations whenever possible.

"The 'treasure hunt' concept is what differentiates us from other booksellers," Thomas said. "In order to continue to be a front runner in this category, we need to continue to get great merchandise cycling through the store. Whether customers shop here or somewhere else, we want to get their merchandise on our shelves."

Additional pieces of the campaign include employee t-shirts with the slogan "Love, Cherish and Let Go" on them, informational mats at the cash register counters and message-related bookmarks for customers.