Second hand books, Amazon and ebooks

[watervole]

I  do wonder how much life is left for charity book shops.

Bookshops are either closing down or stocking more and more stuff that isn't actually books.  Ebooks are taking over more of the market.
Second-hand sales from Amazon, ABE and ebay are massive.

How much demand is there for second-hand books that are not from the Web?

How do your own book-buying habits operate now?

For myself, if I know what I want, I'll go and find the cheapest copy (in acceptable condition) on the Web and buy it there.

However, I still walk into second-hand bookshops if I'm passing one..  The advantage of the physical bookshop is that it can show me the books that I didn't know I wanted because I didn't know they existed.

For now, at least, book donations to charity shops seem to be holding up.  I suspect that selling secondhand books online simply isn't worth it unless you're a professional or have a lot of spare time.  The amount that Amazon will pay you is miniscule.  It's simpler and easier to create space by donating them.

The concern here, of course, is that ebooks mean that there are less physical books to be donated.  This doesn't appear to be a problem yet, but may increase over time.

The recession probably means that many people can't afford new books, so charity shops still win on that front, and have the advantage of no postage costs which makes it easier to undercut Amazon.

Costwise, we're still ahead, and we do tend to score well on old and collectible books.

Thoughts?

I'll be in the Dorchester bookshop tomorrow,  and there's a lot of work to do.  I know sales need to improve (the bad weather in the last month or two has had a real impact), but I don't know what target I should be aiming for.  There's only one bookshop for the hospice, so I've nothing to compare with.

Comments

[pensnest]

I wonder how people will feel about bookshops in a generation or two... My father was completely incapable of walking past a second-hand book shop. I'm much the same, although I don't buy as many books these days (possibly because I already have ALL THE BOOKS). Not sure about my children, though.

I absolutely agree that the advantage of a physical bookshop is that it offers you books you didn't know were available. It's hard to browse that way online, although Amazon are onto a good wheeze by offering the 'people who bought that also bought this' advice. It's been very interesting reading about how sales are affected by the way the books are displayed. I wandered into a 'not a proper' bookshop this morning, one of those that has loads of discounted books (that nobody wants to buy), and it was a bright blaze of colour and somehow not at all enticing. Perhaps I just didn't want cookery books, biographies of people I've never heard of, or thrillers, but it didn't feel right in there.

As for my own habits, I seem to have given up reading novels of late. Don't know why. I'll browse the science section of a bookshop, though, and often find something that looks interesting. Or craft books, or knitting (though I also buy knitting books online, as once you've bought one, Amazon is very eager to sell you more). I'll also buy SF/F books for my son online, by noting down recommendations from wherever I happen to be browsing.

I haven't actually been into the nearest local Oxfam bookshop for a long time, simply because it is located at the other end of town to where I am usually busying myself. A pity, really. I do remember stalking a particular book ('The Heir of Redcliffe' by Charlotte M Yonge) for some years and finding it in triumph in a perfect second-hand book shop, possibly in Bath. I haven't been to our local library in years, though, and therefore don't tend to think of old, out of print books that I want to own.

[watervole]

There's something about the discount bookshops that doesn't invite browsing. And they tend to be very mass market - unlikely to have any niche books.

[vicarage.livejournal.com]

The secondhand market will lag the new book market by a fair margin. You might early visibility due to the VHS/DVD effect of repurchasing e-books, but I doubt it will be big.

Serendipity is not so attractive in an ordinary charity shop with a few shelves of books, you should be better off with a dedicated shop.

Dorchester's tourist traffic would appreciate a bookshop as a destination, and like all tourists play-shopping, probably aren't as price sensitive as locals. Unusual stock would appeal more, but I don't know how you much stock choice you have.

As for me, I read and buy very few books now, all specialist military titles online a few years after publication when the discounts kick in. I don't in charity shops for books. I only want videos, and only one shop in Orpington has them now, one shelf with slow turnover.

[watervole.livejournal.com]

Military items tend to be the best sellers in charity bookshops. We get more specialist stuff than you might expect.

Why videos?

[vicarage.livejournal.com]

Price I guess. They were 50p for a bit, and 25p for the past few years, so completely disposable. I guess the price reflects how keen they were to shift them, so they aren't making much per shelf. Mind you, they get them all back next month, which I doubt is true of books.

If DVDs are £2 and up, I ignore them, as I can rent them from Lovefilm for less than that.

In both cases I only want to borrow, not to own

[naath.livejournal.com]

I mostly buy ebooks these days - there simply isn't enough space in my house for all the books I want to read. I mostly only buy paper books for myself if the ebook isn't available (yet) and I want the book nownownow, for which second hand is obviously not very useful. I've bought some second hand books on Amazon when I've really wanted something and it's been out of print. I rarely shop in second hand book shops - searching them for "the thing I want" is really hard.

I do however have a project of giving away all the paper books that I don't really love to charity book shops. To reclaim house-space.

[decemberleaf.livejournal.com]

This pretty much says it:

"For myself, if I know what I want, I'll go and find the cheapest copy (in acceptable condition) on the Web and buy it there.

"However, I still walk into second-hand bookshops if I'm passing one.. The advantage of the physical bookshop is that it can show me the books that I didn't know I wanted because I didn't know they existed."

Plus one other thing, for me: a bookshop is one of the very few stores I really like to visit!

[helenex.livejournal.com]

I still buy most of my physical books secondhand, and rarely online unless I am specifically seeking out a book that is no longer in print. However my first point of call in that case is usually the library not Abe etc. as my region has a really good free ordering service.
I mostly buy from secondhand bookshops including dedicated charity shops such as Oxfam. In my hometown and when I visit other places I also seek out more general charity shops with a good book range.
I spend 90mins on the train everyday and many of these books are "throwaway fiction" - eventually returned to charity shops for resale. I don't go into a charity shop looking for a particular book / genre - I probably read 15-20 books a month and use charity shops to fill up my forward reading pile. I haven't ever tried to do this by buying books online.

Other ways I buy books are:
Electronic books: mainly fiction, mainly not brand new
Other physical books: some fiction / authors we collect on release, apart from that its mostly cookery / craft books where I haven't mentally made the switch to electronic. My partner also collects books relating to various interests and hobbies and has a wider search area for finding and getting books once he has identified one he wants, including Abe, Ebay etc.

[watervole.livejournal.com]

I must admit that I wouldn't want craft books in ebook form. Though I can't quite work out why. Probably something to do with page layout and the occasional need to make pencil marks.

[reapermum.livejournal.com]

I prefer reading ebooks these days as they're easier to hold, text only on the kindle, anything with illustrations on a 10 inch tablet.

Most of my book collection is second hand . I have a passion for the old Penguin Specials and early Pelicans so I go looking for those in any second hand bookshop I come across. They are out of print and not the type of thing that will get reprinted or converted.

[decemberleaf.livejournal.com]

I wonder what would happen if you offered not just books but turned the bookshop into a small used book/used DVD/used CDBK store? At the public library where I work, we do a brisk business of reselling all three, most of them at very low prices ($1 for a paperback, $2 for a hardcover, $1 for a DVD). We make it easy to drop all of these items off (any time we're open), and donations come in every day. We give donors a thank-you note for income-tax purposes if they wish to have one (they fill in their estimate of the worth of the items); most don't. (We don't use the word charity.) We've found out that people who want a DVD for the evening ahead are likely to stop by, and then to come across a book or BKCD they want as well. They seem to like the combined quick availability of books and DVDs and BKCDs. (Occasionally a DVD turns out to be defective, but most of them take this in stride.) Will this continue if and when even more people have tablets? I don't know, but I've heard even younger people say "Books are better." No way would they give up their tablets and instant access to the internet, and to audible.com (which is expensive), but they seem to know and like the fact that librarians obviously want them to have all sorts of sources. For the moment, they keep coming back.

[vicarage.livejournal.com]

DVDs/CDs would make a lot of sense, as they'd have the same display principles/sizes as the books. (Cassettes tend to be in a scruffy rummage box which lowers the tone, and I fear my beloved videos are just going away)

[watervole.livejournal.com]

We already sell DVDs and CDs and they sell quite well. (though I could use better display units for DVDs if we could afford them)

[rockwell-666.livejournal.com]

If you haven't already thought of/ tried this, you could try contacting local shops of the WH Smiths variety and suggest that if they're planning on upgrading/ changing their display units etc any time in the not-too-distant future, rather than just dump the old ones they could donate them to you.

[eledonecirrhosa.livejournal.com]

If there is still a secondhand bookshop in Bristol, I have no idea where it is - the ones I knew of are all long gone. Unless you count the branch of Oxfam that specialises in books and doesn't sell other stuff.

Selling secondhand on Amazon - it is less the money than the hassle. You have to post the damn things, and when I worked full time then getting to a post office meant Saturday morning or not at all. If I'm going to make £10 from the book, then it is worth the effort. If I'm only going to make £1 then it is not. Plus if your copy of Summer Bestseller is one of 500 on Amazon all priced at £0.01, it is not likely to shift very fast.

I like browsing in charity shops and libraries (and bookshops) to discover authors and titles I never knew existed. Work also have a 'book swap' shelf in the bar (yes, we have a bar on site!). Dump a book you don't want, take one you fancy.

[happytune.livejournal.com]

Love second hand and charity bookshops. There are two charity bookshops on our high street, and a second hand bookshop round the corner. The Age Concern bookshop has diversified into having a tiny (admittedly mediocre) cafe. I really hope they all survive. On the plus side, my 2.5 year old adores charity/second hand bookshops too. 'Oo Mummy! The lovely booky smell!' So there's hope yet!

[rockwell-666.livejournal.com]

As Vicarage has alluded to, books will be in charity shops for a long while to come even if most people go to e-books because generally a lot of people don't like to throw books away, so they'll donate them and there will still be those who like a paper copy.

I, personally, don't yet have an e-book reader, although I do now have a smartphone and have downloaded a free copy of Robinson Crusoe (but not yet read it as I'm currently reading the copy of The Long Earth I got for Xmas)

At some point I may well get a full sized e-book reader because they're becoming much cheaper now and it will clear up a lot of shelf space in my room if I donate my paperbacks :-)

[coth.livejournal.com]

Like several others who commented I buy books in charity shops quite often and return the book once read - cheaper than new bookshops, less hassle than libraries with their fixed loan terms. Still prefer real books and real bookshops. If I was still hoovering up books by the dozen I would be buying ebooks but as it is I keep a couple of ebooks for portability and standby and read real books in bed and at home and on holiday.

I reckon that second hand and charity shops can go on selling physical books for a long time if they get their shopping experience right.

[watervole.livejournal.com]

I think getting the shopping experience right is really important -and I think that's where we're falling down at present. The shop doesn't look inviting, and it's going to take quite a lot of work to fix that. I start tomorrow...

[dumain.com (from livejournal.com)]

I'm trying to switch to ebooks as physical books trigger my hoarding instincts and I'm runnin out of space.

[vjezkova.livejournal.com]

The situation here is similar to yours but there are still some good secon-hand bookshops around. You can see people browsing there just for pleasure and they even buy something here and there...
However I myself order books in e-shops, English books on Ebay...Amazon sells second-hand items but the VAT is awful and sometimes I don´t know if they sell to the Czech Republic.
I hope you will like it in Dorchester.

[coth.livejournal.com]

Like several others who commented I buy books in charity shops quite often and return the book once read - cheaper than new bookshops, less hassle than libraries with their fixed loan terms. Still prefer real books and real bookshops. If I was still hoovering up books by the dozen I would be buying ebooks but as it is I keep a couple of ebooks for portability and standby and read real books in bed and at home and on holiday.

I reckon that second hand and charity shops can go on selling physical books for a long time if they get their shopping experience right.

[catalenamara.livejournal.com]

I'm not buying books anymore, with the exceptions of ebooks written by friends . I'm relying on the public library. For the past five years I've put in such long hours at my job that the only books I've "read" are audio titles I've taken out from the library. I've read perhaps 2 or 3 books a year since starting this job, when before I usually read one book a week.

My work hours were drastically cut in November (and I lost all benefits, including healthcare), so I've started reading real books - again, all from the library. (I'm spending a lot of time looking for new work.)

I am selling my used books on half.com, which I think is only available in the USA. It pays better than Amazon for regular paperbacks.

[coth.livejournal.com]

Like several others who commented I buy books in charity shops quite often and return the book once read - cheaper than new bookshops, less hassle than libraries with their fixed loan terms. Still prefer real books and real bookshops. If I was still hoovering up books by the dozen I would be buying ebooks but as it is I keep a couple of ebooks for portability and standby and read real books in bed and at home and on holiday.

I reckon that second hand and charity shops can go on selling physical books for a long time if they get their shopping experience right.

[glitterboy1.livejournal.com]

I buy quite a lot of books, and the *great* majority are from local shops: second-hand, charity, remainders, damaged books and over-stocks... I'm lucky in where I live, I suppose, in that I have a good number of such shops here. (Not to mention the CUP shop, which has just been having its annual sale of 'damaged' stock.) Some of what I buy will be books that I know I want, and I'm just waiting for them to turn up; others, like you say, will be things that I didn't even know existed.

I buy a very small number from amazon (or, more often, the Marketplace). And then I have another category of buying: occasional Folio Society collectibles, either from them direct, or from eBay.

[julesjones]

I'm buying mostly in ebook now, to keep the book herd from taking over the entire house. But I'm still buying "disposable" books from charity shops and remainder shops, partly because of the serendipity factor. (I am strong, and resist the lure of the Folio Society listings on eBay. Usually.) Some of those I plan to re-buy in ebook if I want to re-read them, having tried them out very cheaply in dead tree form.

And yes, the craft books, and to some extent other non-fiction, I'd much rather have in paper format. They're much easier to use, not least for flicking through rapidly looking for that thing I half remember.