Used Bookstores Have 10 Years to Live
Entrepreneur magazine, in the MSNBC article 10 businesses facing extinction in 10 years, says used bookstores have at most 10 years of life left, thanks to the Internet:
Used bookstoresThey’ve been closing fast, and those that are still open are relying on what’s making them obsolete: the internet. A used bookstore used to be the place to find that beloved, out-of-print children’s book you used to read 17 times a day until your little sister flushed it down the toilet. Now you just type that title in a search engine and order it within minutes.
Odds of survival in 10 years: Some of them will still be eking out an existence, but the handwriting is on the wall.
Sadly, this is probably true. Some will say good riddance (Amazon fanatics? Publishers who see used books dinging sales? Hunters and not Gatherers?) but personally, I love trolling used bookstores for hidden treasures. Even when I find nothing it re-ignites my love of reading. I suppose I should enjoy it while I can…
Related posts:
- The Difference Between Mom & Pop Bookstores and Chain Bookstores
- How Bookstores Die
- How do bookstores survive?
- Bookstores Suck
- Twenty Years Ago the Classics Were Different
Filed under: Books
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I used to trawl through used bookstores, but I was looking for very specific titles rather than armloads of specials and I usually (make that always) came away disappointed. The internet changed everything for me, and I haven’t entered a used bookstore or attended an ex-library-book sale in over a decade.
One of the books I was searching for was part three in the Martin Magnus series by William F Temple. These were first published in the early 50′s and then re-released in the 70′s. But the 70′s publisher only put out the first two and not the third, the sadistic bastards.
Thanks to the internet I finally got hold of a 1950′s edition of Martin Magnus on Mars, but I’d still be looking two centuries from now if it were down to used bookstores. (I only know of two other copies – the author’s widow has one, and the British Library has the other.)
Long live the internet, ebay and abebooks.
Just to clarify – although I’m also a gatherer, these days I only browse for new books.
My recent experience in a used book store, and why I agree with this sentiment:
“That book? 5 cents”, says the guy wearing a tie-dye shirt behind the counter to my inquiry of how much a copy of .
“Great I’ll take it”, I reply.
“No, if it’s one of ours it’s $10, if it’s one of yours it’s 5 cents.”
Dumbfounded, I leave.
Interesting. I used to patronize two local bookstores in the Jackson, MS area. I loved it – lots of odd finds and neat, neat stuff.
Then the neat bits began drying up.
And they became increasingly picky about what they would accept. No hardcovers. No esoteric SF. Credits only in the category brought in. No media fiction. And on and on.
Then I discoverd Half Price Books while visiting the in-laws in Texas. I was in love – lots and lots of neat books, great selection and a willingness to take whatever I brought in (my sister-in-law had a stash for me to take in). This is the future of the used book store folks.
Then I got back home and the contrast was that much worse. And there was no way I’m dragging the books I’ve read out to Texas once a year. Especially to get more books.
Is it any wonder I moved over to paperpackswap.com? No restrictions on what’s acceptable, a book credit is a book credit, the only costs the postage to send books to others, plus I’ve been making a dent in my “I want to read it” list. I love it. And if you join – could you mention me as the referring member?
I don’ t know about that. Where do you think Amazon is getting those used books you can find? Used bookstores. And honestly, so long as I have to pay a $3.99 handling fee PER BOOK, even when I go out of my way to find copies of the books I want from one store, I think that their estimate that they will be gone in 10 years as highly exaggerated.
Simon,
Yep…when hunting for a specific title, online is the way to go. I suspect the majority of book shoppers (like those looking for the latest Oprah pick or beach read) are like that, thus my (current) pessimism on the future of the mom & pop bookshop.
Scott,
Your “copy of…” what? Perhaps the latest Star Wars media tie-in?
Also, I’m not quite sure the point you make as to the reason you don’t shop at used bookstores. Because of the markup? Because of the employee’s shirt? You’ve said before you’re not a browser, so yes, I can see how used bookstores would not be a place you’d patronize.
Trey,
Don’t get me going on and on about HPB. We have 8 stores (8!) in the Houston area…as well as 1 that’s ninety minutes away, plus 6 more in Austin, 2-and-a-half hours away. Not that I’ve made day trips to Austin to buy used books or anything…
I was thinking of just setting up a direct deposit with them.
Ed,
I think the used books from Amazon are from independent vendors, no? Amazon gets their cut, to be sure, but I believe this is just a way for used bookstore to latch on to Amazon’s popularity.
B&M used bookstores are probably following in the same footsteps as B&M new book stores, video stores and music stores. On-line sources have been replacing them.
I still buy plenty of used books – they just tend to be Powells, Amazon, etc. used rather than B&M stores.
Of course, I can often find on-line new book discounts that are close to the price most used B&M stores charge for used – which doesn’t help their cause.
The annoying thing with some on-line sources is when they try to charge collectors prices for books that aren’t as much rare as just out of print.
Bah, how did that happen? I meant to say Emphyrio (by Jack Vance).
A 200x markup seems a bit unseemly.
John,
I know several of the more local stores here in NJ work through Amazon. I’m pretty sure that Amazon itself doesn’t actually sell the used books, most of their stuff is actually shipped and and delivered by distribution houses such as Baker and Taylor.
I think more than a place like Amazon having a major impact, you’ll find two other details. The book exchange sites, that enable people to trade books for far less expense than they might spend in the used book stores, and the eventuality of electronic books. I don’t think paper books will go away for good, but electronic books will put a dent in the amount of paper books available. Over time, people will eventually adapt. I suspect a gradual change, one that grows up with kids more used to reading and working off screens than paper. Once schoolbooks become practical in electronic format, and kids can lug around one device to and from school instead of all the heavy books, and having to change them between classes, etc, you’ll find a generation of people who think of books as electronics, not bound paper. That’s the long term deathknell of used bookstores.
Thanks, Ed. Insightful! I think I agree with all that. I like the term “eventuality of electronic books”, which sums it up nicely. I also agree that (1) the newer generations will lean more towards eBooks, spelling a declne that will take years and years, and (2) we will not see the total demise of the paper book. Yet I do still see some used bookstores surviving — chain stores like Half Price Books, but not so much the more charming mom & pop stores…but then again, I was never a good prognosticator of future trends. Except for Numa Numa Kid. I totally called that. (H)
I recently bought 4 books from Amazon and I had an interesting experience. My intention was to purchase them all used from their merchants, but quickly realised that it would be cheaper if I bought them new from Amazon and qualified for the free super saver shipping, than to pay $4 shipping per book if I bought them used.
It’s too bad though as I’ve actually bought a couple of used books before and always found them to be in pretty good condition.
It’s too bad there aren’t any places here in Trinidad where I can trade or sell my growing collection for some new ones though.
I love a good used book store, but they are few and far between. I got spoiled living in the Berkeley area, where there is a high concentration of bookstores with great selections of both used bestsellers and more esoteric books. I could spend the afternoon browsing and always found interesting books that I had previously been unaware of, books I’d never buy via Amazon, since the shipping is so expensive. Now I live in Southern California, out in the ‘burbs and the one local used book store is tiny and mostly filled with romance novels. And that’s self perpetuating – there aren’t books there I’m interested in reading, so I don’t sell my books there, so the selection never changes.
I doubt, though that used book stores in some form will ever go extinct as long as there are books printed on paper. They just will reflect what the most voracious book buyers are reading.
Tony, I was mainly focusing on brick-and-mortar stores, but your experience does seem to indicate that used bookstores are a better value in person than online. Of course, then you are limited to local availability. You pay for the convenience of global shopping.
Peggy,
Yep, all bookstores are not created equal! Most of my browsing in the science fiction sections, and some stores’ selections are downright depressing. I tend not to re-visit those stores that often, if at all.
Wow! Active topic!
I love used book stores.
Around here, we have Book & Music Exchange, but sadly their stock of used books is either “bestsellers” of any genre, or the crap that no one wants – and not the in-between stuff that makes up the meat of what’s good to read.
Now they usually do have lots of other stuff, DVDs, comics, video games, heck – even swords…
Plus locally, I’ve got a place called “Book Broker” that is pretty much the same kind of store, but it’s local. Tons of used books of most fiction genres, plus all the above mentioned extra (but no swords
We had a used book store years ago that had all kinds of books, including non-fiction, research books, and other esoteric stuff – it was a great store (in an old converted 2-story house), but sadly it didn’t last long.
Our local library system has a yearly book-sale to clean out their inventory. It’s a great way to pick up all kinds of stuff.
I had a neat independent UBS near to where I and my friends live (who introduced me to it). A year or so ago, one of the owners died, and the store suffered, moving to a smaller space, further away. This made it less convenient to patronize the store, although we still did.
Some months ago, we discovered that the store had closed without any fanfare, leaving us disappointed on a number of levels–we all had a fair amount of store credit.
One of the things I do with used books is donate them to the United Way once a year at work. The UW holds a media sale at the bank, with all the proceeds going to their charitable efforts.