Free English Language Library In Chiang Mai

[tomahawk]

Today I found there is a great lending library and bookstore in Chiang Mai. It is called Raintree and is on corner of intersection of river road and Narawat Bridge,next to police box.It is a Christian bookstore but also has a lending library with as good a selection of English language books as I have found in used bookstores here.The library is open from 10am-12pm M-T,Th-Sa,and 3pm-415pm on Sunday.You can keep books 2 weeks but they are not strict about penalties for overdue books.They also have new dvds and cds you can borrow.

[bassmaster50]

Tomahawk,are you talking about Christian bookstore at bible society?

[Loaded]

Another good option is the AUA library. 400 baht per year but you can borrow upto 4 magazines and 4 books at any one time plus you can borrow DVDs and VDOs. I became tired of the 2nd hand book shops who charge 200-300 baht per read despite bringing the book back within a few days. I remember once buying a book with black and white photos on some of the pages. It was wrapped in cling film. I didn't check before I left the shop. When I got home I opened the book and the photo pages fell out. No problem I thought. When I returned the book to get my 50% 'refund', the owner became quite confrontational and denied the damage was in the book when I bought it. The shop lost a very regular customer and out of principle I wouldn't use these shops to buy my books now. Unnecessarily expensive. AUA is great but I'll pop down to raintree (hopefully they'll allow non-believers to borrow).

[tomahawk]

The bible society bookstore is close to Raintree on same road,but Raintree is right next to police box.It has a woocden sign and paint is faded so it is easy to miss. I have had same problem returning books to used bookstores,which is why I also qiut using them,plus the somewhat arbitrary prices.I know I sound cheap,but the fact is the price of used books here is comparable to the price of used books back in the states.If someoen reads alot,which I do,and doesn't have a lot of money,which I don't,the library is a big help.

[Ulysses G.]

I don't blame locals for going to a library at all, but the truth is that their selections are nowhere near as good as some of the local used book stores and a lot of the books are hardbacks. If the selection were even close, I would be out of business.

Most of us have enough sense to realize that foreign language books in Thailand are very expensive because most of the good ones have to be imported from Western countries and we have to pay for the books at Western prices and then pay for transportation and customs. Everything in Thailand is not cheap.

The truth is that, most of the books in the local libraries would very difficult for a used bookshop to sell anyway - Actually, there are very few that anyone would pay for . For example, it is almost impossible to sell a hardback book for more than 50-100 baht, or so, and they cost well over 1,000 baht new. I guess that some people will read them in a library for free, but most customers in my stores won't buy them at all and certainly not for any kind of a reasonable price.

The libraries always have lots of Tom Clancy and John Grisham and other beach reading books that are a few years old, but they are also very difficult to sell. Most customers are only interested in newly published titles and you hardly ever find them in local libraries. We try to carry the old ones to give people the option, but they usually cost about 100 baht and move very slowly.

I have lots and lots of books that sell for 100 baht each and they are the same type of books that you mostly find in these libraries, and if you bring back the book in the same condition as when it was sold, you get half your money back. Sorry, but I can't afford to guarantee them for the next 100 years.

We do have problems sometimes with customers who bring back books that are damaged very badly, but they still demand we buy the books back for half price. I'm not saying that we never make a mistake, but in general, I take responsibility for the condition of the books in the store, but not after they have been sold. They are second hand and cheaper than new books and they are going to fall apart eventually. If they fall apart on you, I am very sorry - bad luck - but when they fall apart on me, I simply throw them away. Even stores that sell new books in Thailand will usually refuse to replace a book once you have taken it home.

I don't like losing customers, but I prefer to let the unreasonable ones go elsewhere rather than fighting over pennies every time they come in. Most customers seem to realize that we need to make a living too.

If I didn't have my own bookstore, I would use the libraries once in a while to save money because I like to read just about anything - no matter how old - and they sometimes have a few popular books, but most of my customers are only interested in the newest, the most popular or the unusual and they just can't find it in the free places.

Like it, or not, you pretty much get what you pay for.

Edited June 27, 2008 by Ulysses G.

[Ulysses G.]

Thanks fiscalist. You are correct, but many people think they understand how my business works (They think that I get all these great books from customers for a pittance and sell them for top dollar and make a fortune), but they really have no idea. I don't mind explaining the realities for those who are willing to listen.

[anonymouse]

I've got to agree with fiscalist why bother defending yourself UG?

As an ex bookshop owner in Chiang Mai I know how small the profit margins are, Most of these books need to be shipped in from abroad and like any other imported product because of this you have to pay a premium.

You don't see customers haggling over the price of a jar of marmite in Rimping

[PeaceBlondie]

This thread is being closely watched by the moderating team. No insults at sponsors. And all the other forum rules.

I spent one minute inside the Raintree Library about two years ago. Very small place, smaller than any Chiang Mai used bookstore I have been in. Certainly not full of thousands of books the average farang would read.

[slapout]

I visit the used book stores as well as well as a library or two. Some of the used book stores give more for used books than others. If I do not like the offer I go somewhere else. If you feel someone is ripping you off, go to another store or post it on this forum where it is meant to go. Yes I have taken used books home and found that some of the pages are missing, stained etc. I am kind of suspect of those stores who wrap used books and really dont care what their reasons are. I have taken (1 reader paperback) new books in which were new releases and was offered 25& of new price. I go somewhere else, trade with friends or give away, depending on my mood that day. I can be moody as I dont depend on the public for making a living.

[Ulysses G.]

Thanks fiscalist. You are correct, but many people think they understand how my business works (They think that I get all these great books from customers for a pittance and sell them for top dollar and make a fortune), but they really have no idea. I don't mind explaining the realities for those who are willing to listen.

Incorrect. They think you have a small army of young Thai, visiting all the hotels, guesthouses, the railway station, airport etc. to look for books and magazines the people leave behind. So you have them almost for free, because you are far underpaying these poor people.

It is always interesting to hear the latest rumors my competitors have made up to explain why Gecko Books has done so well. A couple of years ago they were telling everyone that we were really selling heroin instead of books.

As far as I know, most of the Thais who sell me books work in guesthouses - that is what they tell me - and I pay them the same as I pay farang customers, but sometimes I buy books from them that I don't really want and can't really use for cheap to make sure that they made something out of the trip. They tell me that the reason that they keep coming to sell at my shop is because I pay them much better than anywhere else and many have been coming for years, so I would guess that it is true.

Edited June 27, 2008 by Ulysses G.

[Steve2UK]

This thread is being closely watched by the moderating team. No insults at sponsors. And all the other forum rules.

Perish the thought that I would get within a mile of discussing a moderator's decision on here - but I'm pretty sure that fiscalist's last sentence was intended as a continuation of the one that starts "They think you have a small army of young Thai......." i.e. "tongue in cheek". The poor chap's only Dutch and doesn't have even an American's grasp of English - pretty good with the irony though! .

[sceadugenga]

I wondered where all those books I've left in hotel rooms all over Asia ended up. I supposed cleaners never have to buy shampoo either, I usually leave a nearly full bottle behind as well.

Libraries have gone high tech now, they cater for internet users as well as readers. I used to love libraries because I got to read books that I would never buy. Books where I was only interested in a couple of chapters about the subject I wanted to know about.

I wouldn't think of libraries being in competition with a used book shop, both serve a different need in the community.

Finally, did you know there was a public library in Vientiane?

The English language section contains books that have been out of print for years, fascinating reading!

[Loaded]

Just so there's no misunderstanding, my experience wasn't at one of Gecko's shops.

And UG is quite right 2nd hand book shops often stock a range of stuff that can't be found in a library in Chiang Mai.

[Mapguy]

Another topic hijacked! Oy!

[bunta71]

Another topic hijacked! Oy!

I'll just take us back on track... Those terrible Christians at Raintree give away a fairly comprehensive book entitled "HELPFUL HINTS for Getting Settled in Chiang Mai" It was quite helpful to me when I moved here and I still refer to it ocaissionally . Even went down to get the lastest copy and passed the other one on to another poster on this thread... true gentleman that I won't mention who had very unselfishly helped me in several ways here in Chiang Mai even knowing my limited ability to speak on American English... No sermon or charge at Raintree for this, just folks helping each other.

[bassmaster50]

I hesitate to get involved in this discussion because I do not wish to interfere with anyone making a living.I have been to a couple of used bookstores here but never to the one mentioned here by name so I cannot comment about that,though I can say I was told they have a very wide selection of books in good condition.I can also say that I have been to the Raintree library and found it had a very good selection,though not as large as most used bookstores.However,I went there looking for 3 specific fictional paperbacks which were published fairly recently and found 2 out of 3,but perhaps I was just lucky.Also there was a very nice farang gentleman working there who offered me coffee and was very helpful.

[Hachi]

I purchased a used paperback novel at a particular used bookshop (not UG's) one evening, on returning home found I had in fact already read that one some time ago (one of a series).

Went back to the same shop to the same female staff member that sold it to me, the following night and told her that I wished to return the book and get another, as I had already read it a while back.

Female staff member very aggressive & rude, snatched the book from my hand and told me "no refund, no swap"!

Maybe wrong time of the month for her I dunno but I was taken aback as I used to be a very regular customer there. She told me to return the next night (again) and plead my case to the owner.

I told her she had lost a regular customer and I would not step foot in her shop again.

And haven't. The owner must have such a huge client base that he believes he can allow his staff to treat customers in that fashion and afford to lose customers regularly.

[Ulysses G.]

One big problem is that so many people try to cheat us on a daily basis, that I can understand how the staff can get hard-hearted after a while, but I see mine trying to be as polite as they can. Scams are the worst thing about having a bookshop.

Almost every day, people buy guidebooks, disappear for an hour, and then come back and demand their money back (they bring the books to a printer and copy the parts they want and usually break the spine while they are at it). Others bring books back after a day or two - or a week or two - and either say they made a mistake or that they "didn't like it" so they want their money back.

Some customers have brought back books that they bought 5 years before and have totally destroyed (we try to date stamp books for this purpose) and yell and scream and threaten if we won't buy the book back for half price. If I point out our signs that clearly say we only buy books back for one month and in the same condition, they say that it wasn't there when they bought it.

Believe me, I can understand how frustrating it can be when you have made an honest mistake, but there are so many con artists on the backpacker circuit, that they make it hard for everyone who comes after them.

Everyone seems to think that having a bookshop is easy and relaxing, but it ain’t.

[Greenside]

An only slightly off topic aside:

I recently came across a Thai secondhand bookshop that carries a bizarre range of old books in both English and Thai - mostly Thai, as you'd expect. The prize of the trip was finding that they sell Nat Geo back copies in Thai (4 for 100 baht) which my family really like to read as it makes a welcome change from the popular magazines to be found in the average bookstall.

Find it on the left as you enter the Big C off the Superhighway near where it joins Mahidol Road. It's on the approach road, close to where the underpass surfaces.

For some strange reason they also have a comprehensive collection of "The Watchmaker" magazine in Thai - an unmissable gem almost certainly unavailable at the AUA or even UG's emporiums

[ovenman]

For some strange reason they also have a comprehensive collection of "The Watchmaker" magazine in Thai - an unmissable gem almost certainly unavailable at the AUA or even UG's emporiums

Do you mean The Watchtower?

[Greenside]

For some strange reason they also have a comprehensive collection of "The Watchmaker" magazine in Thai - an unmissable gem almost certainly unavailable at the AUA or even UG's emporiums

Do you mean The Watchtower?

No, the horological rather than the evangelical magazine. You could always try going door to door with an armful - probably find more people will to talk...

Edited July 6, 2008 by Greenside

[slapout]

There are a few places where you can exchange books free of charge (1 for 1) Seems to be a novel way to bring in new and repeat customers, seems to make everyone involved happy.

[Ulysses G.]

Usually people ruin it by trading absolute crap for the best books that are available (and then going somewhere else and selling them), until the exchange is left with nothing but junk. You need someone knowledgeable to monitor the process and they usually want to get paid for their time.

[slapout]

The places I have knowledge of, seem to be making a success out of it. The locals are not so likely to abuse it as it is a benifit to them, maybe they are not getting the usual types you refer to above. The tourists who have used the system, almost always ask first, from what I have observed they left books they probably purchased for their airplane trip and had finished. Its kind of a honor system and there seem to be quite a large number of honorable people still in this world.