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Monday, June 16, 2014

Used books



These are the worst of times and the best of times. If you are looking for used books you are in luck. Prices are low and thanks to the Internet it's possible to find books from all over the world.

If you are in the used book business these are the worse of times. Prices have collapsed. Try and run a business when the absolute lowest price out there, thanks to the Internet, is all that people will pay. Exceptions exist, for rare books with a strong demand. For everything else prices are nearing pulp paper prices.

It's weird when you think about it. Regular paper books, used, are often selling for less than e-books. Something physical, in the real world, is cheap. Electronic media, something less real than vapor, goes for good money. Real books are wonderful. Printed on good paper, they can last for hundreds of years. No special equipment is required to read them.

Some years back my lovely wife and I dabbled in the used book business. Our local area has a low population density with less education than average -not the best book market. Selling books through the Internet seemed like a godsend. We could reach a much wider market. Had we thought about it we would have realized that everybody could reach that same market.

That was then. For a period of time it was a decent part time income. Recently my lovely wife sold some of our left over used books. They went for about a third of what we used to get for them. It was hardly worth the trouble.

On the bright side, I don't mind having a house full of books. Who knows, some day they may even be worth something.

-Sixbears

8 comments:

  1. They might also have some trade value when the grid goes down for good.

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    1. If the grid goes down for good we might be pretty busy with other things -like trying to survive.

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  2. Books are one of those things that you can never have too many of.

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    1. It's bookshelves that are in short supply.

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  3. Yep, when Obama shuts down the Internet that Al Gore invented. . . Anyway, I prefer to read a book that I can hold in my hand and turn the pages by hand. No batteries required.

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  4. Just yesterday I mentioned to my wife that every used book store, with the exception of one, in our area has closed. It's a crying shame. Like you I own thousands of books and will keep 'em...when I get old (chuckle) and finally retire I will have hours of pleasure. Besides, I love the smell of old books.

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    1. I miss used book stores. There are none anywhere close to where I live. Good thing I've got so many yet to read.

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