Kerala   

Treat for bibliophiles, in measure

How would it be to buy books of your favourite authors in kilograms? No kidding! Second-hand fiction, crime thrillers and other titles in paperback are available in grams and kilograms at cheap rates in Kozhikode.

Books of Jackie Collins, Judith Krants and Harold Robbins, to Sidney Sheldon and Jeffrey Archer to even some of the known children’s writers like Enid Blyton are sold for Rs.100 a kg. at the second-sale book centres at the stadium complex here. If the buyers wish to dispose of the books after reading, they can get half the price they bought it for — Rs.50 a kg. “We have buyers from across the State and the business is really good,” says Sujanapal, a salesman at one of the busiest second-sale centres here. The book centres also have second-hand copies of celebrated authors like J.K. Rowling J.M. Coetzee and Gunter Grass in paperback, but they have a “different price”— of course, less than the actual rates. These “parallel” booksellers also have separate sections for second-hand books in technical categories. It includes medical, engineering, computer science and other technical books in addition to NCERT and college textbooks.

They collect it from the clients at 40 per cent of the actual price and sell it to customers at 60 per cent of the printed price, earning a margin of 20 per cent.

Most of the medical and engineering books are costly in the regular market and this is a great relief to parents in the low-income groups. “We have high demand for engineering, medicine and polytechnic books,” says Bavanesh, another salesman.

Some of the bookstalls have separate section for Malayalam fiction and old magazines. “We give discounts on all items,” Bavanesh adds. Most of the old books are sold at 50 per cent discount while the new ones sport a markdown of 20 to 25 per cent.

Some of the libraries approach this second-sale centres for bulk purchases to “fill their shelves for a small-time budget,” while parents and book-lovers in general flock them to slake their varying demands.

Jabir Mushthari

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Port workers to go on strike
e-literacy
Hitting the road to woo domestic tourists
Treat for bibliophiles, in measure
Daily ride
Always at the receiving end
Victim of a protest
Rolling sideways
Scorpio V-Series from Mahindra
Škoda Fabia
Police training centre in Kollam
New rule, same result
Cinema
Miscreants damage ACP’s vehicle
IUML to vote for UPA regime

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu