Used bookstores now function as a warehouse for online selling. It’s a shrewd decision for used bookstores to join Amazon’s marketplace program, because not only do they retain their status as a real store where people can freely browse through books and casually find an unexpected treasure, but these same bookstores now become a warehouse for selling books online.
Many people talk about how it would be neat to make a living from selling things online, but in order to do that, you need to have a large inventory of merchandise to sell. Whattya gonna do? Have your entire living room filled with boxes while you wait for people online to buy the stuff? ugh. Used bookstores have just that resource of space and merchandise to move.
So next time you visit a bookstore, it’s now also a warehouse. oooo! it’s the underground for internet selling. A behind the scenes glimpse!
they are tapping into an additional market. people who don’t normally visit used bookstores, but who DO shop online and search for specific titles. and why shouldn’t they buy a used book? as long as it’s in good enough condition and is cheap, it’s all the same.
in the store, you get to see the actual book – check out its content, and its condition [always test the binding!”>. so in that sense, buying in the actual store is good. you’re at the mercy of the seller’s description when you buy online. usually i’ve had good success buying used books online [from Amazon”>, but my latest purchase has a compromised binding, so i’m not too happy about that.
yeah, i recently bought a used book online. Not only did it come two days after my book club meeting on that same book, but the book actually physically smells, and has icky stains on the side pages. Anybody want a smelly stained copy of A Wild Sheep Chase
don’t get me wrong – i’m a huge fan of Amazon Marketplace! usually my book purchases from there turn out fine. but you take a risk buying anything online.
i concur. there are many a fine item to purchase from the marketplace of amazon.
i am addicted to used books. although i am a recent obsessive purchaser of used books online thru Amazon, my first used-book loves are still the bricks-and-mortar stores: –Bookleggers –Gallery Bookstore –Bookworks