One of the problems with secondhand books is the enormous
amount of cookery books that people got for Christmas and don’t really want.
Figuring at the top of this list are the ones by celebrity chefs, the ones
where the meals look like they wouldn’t feed a small child, and the ones that
seem to have been put together for the modern sale – you know what I mean it
was for sale at £14.99 in our branch in Aberystwyth but only ever seems to have
appeared in most places at £3.99.
Now for the most part secondhand bookbuyers are only buying
for themselves and when it comes to non-fiction like cookery they are buying
because they have a serious interest in the subject.
Of course there is the internet where there are probably
millions of recipes, including millions that don’t work properly, so I guess
the main reason that people buy cookery books today is because they have
confidence in the author and know that if they try to cook something they
haven’t cooked before they have a reasonable chance that it won’t turn into a
culinary disaster.
Buying cookery books on the internet is also a of a
nightmare, the browsing aspect is nearly impossible due to not being able to
see the wood for the trees and even if you know exactly what you want it is
either an expensive process or very difficult to tell the condition of the book
if you are buying a secondhand copy.
Selling cookery books on the internet is also difficult as
most secondhand cookery books are available on Amazon for a price including
postage that is less than the cost of posting them.
In my bookshop I apply the normal maxim of looking books up on the internet and making sure the ones I am selling are cheaper than you can buy them online and with cookery books I am – have to be – very selective about which ones I stock, the pictures of the cookery books on the shelves in my bookshop today show you what happens.
I always really enjoy reading what you have to say about your business.
ReplyDeleteI think cos I run a business too and because I buy books.
I often wonder how you make a living as the price of books has plummeted through my lifetime and they are so cheap now - readers are almost paid to read them!
Then I can can compare again to the world of plumbing where there are people who seem to be working for rates that are so low the only way we could complete is to ofer to do the work for free!
I guess you and I are really making our livings from focusing on that niche group of people who want that special thing we can deliver better than our competition.
I have considered selling my unwanted books over the www but as you have said before - it just ain't worth it, once postage is included.
So I usually just give them away - some to you!
Anyway, always interesting to read about your shop and your business.
I am wanting to buy some classic children/YA fiction for my family or am I reliving my childhood? So I will perhaps pop in this week.