Book Exchange Shops

[getgoin]

The title of this thread is misleading. First of all there are no book exchange shops in Chiang Mai. So, yes, it is disappointing, I guess, since there are none.

Not surprising though...how can a "Book Exchange" shop make any money?

Maybe the topic title needs changing to reflect exactly what the thread is about?

I can change it to "second hand book stores" (I think?)

What d'ya think?

I think you should leave it. The title is correct. The Book Exchange Shops are disappointing. There are none. In fact, everyone who is talking about second hand book stores that buy back books is off topic and their posts should be deleted and the scribbler should be given a week long vacation. Just kidding. Maybe start a new thread rather than bringing back these year or two old ones.

[ThaiPauly]

The title of this thread is misleading. First of all there are no book exchange shops in Chiang Mai. So, yes, it is disappointing, I guess, since there are none.

Not surprising though...how can a "Book Exchange" shop make any money?

Maybe the topic title needs changing to reflect exactly what the thread is about?

I can change it to "second hand book stores" (I think?)

What d'ya think?

I think you should leave it. The title is correct. The Book Exchange Shops are disappointing. There are none. In fact, everyone who is talking about second hand book stores that buy back books is off topic and their posts should be deleted and the scribbler should be given a week long vacation. Just kidding. Maybe start a new thread rather than bringing back these year or two old ones.

Feel free to do so if you wish

[Ulysses G.]

Maybe you should go on a speed reading course if you had taken it back within a month you would have got 50% back on it

I'm guessing that the bookshops in CM are struggling as much as the other business's in town, nobody wants a surfeit of unsellable stock in these unpredictable times. Did you try selling the book at any of the other bookstores in town?

We have had to be more strict about buying and returning books since the disaster in Bangkok a few months ago as we have tons of good stock and far fewer tourists than at any time that I can remember. However, we are still honoring our one month commitment to buy back books in same condition - and usually will stretch it to two or three months or more if the book is not damaged.

The original reason for the policy was to get customers to return books while they are still popular and can be sold for the same price, not to have them returned when we are swamped with that particular title and will probably never sell it at all.

If it is something that we actually need, we will usually buy it back at half price as long as the typical price that we sell it for has not gone down. If the price has been lowered, we will usually give half of that.

A lot of people do not seem to realize that every book shop is overloaded with many formerly popular titles that many customers have already read and most shops will not buy these books at all. If you are offered 30 baht for a book, you can be pretty sure that it is not worth any more than that and you can put it back on your shelf if you do not agree.

By the way, we have more than 14,000 of these titles selling for 20-40-50-60-100 baht, so there are plenty of good, older, inexpensive books, if that is what you are looking for.

Edited August 9, 2010 by Ulysses G.

[Ulysses G.]

I do understand that a book will be worth less after a few months. But the lady at the bookstore shouldn't have told me that she wouldn't be able to sell it anymore, give me 70 baht, and later put it back on the shelves at the same price I bought it.

"The lady" has nothing to do with pricing books. I price almost all of them and - if indeed - the book is the exact same one that you sold, I would guess that she turned it in without marking the price that she paid for it and I thought that she had paid half price and put it out again without lowering it.

We buy something like 500-1,000 books every day from customers (during normal times) and the staff often neglect to write what they paid on the book when they are busy (they mark it on the bought and sold sheet, but it is hard to refer to during working hours as it is likely at a different location), so probably a lot of mistakes are made, but we have already paid for the books and just mark them in the most convenient way for running the business - no dishonesty is intended.

Edited August 9, 2010 by Ulysses G.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

I wonder if you could automate pricing through a check on Amazon, looking at ratings, rankings and popularity, and age of the book, and the original selling price.

Probably not because you still have to apply your typical Chiang Mai demographic to the demand as well. Interesting project though.

Edited August 9, 2010 by WinnieTheKhwai

[Ulysses G.]

I wonder if you could automate pricing through a check on Amazon, looking at ratings, rankings and popularity, and age of the book, and the original selling price.

Probably not because you still have to apply your typical Chiang Mai demographic to the demand as well. Interesting project though.

Many books that are popular on Amazon are not popular in Thailand and vise versa.

One thing to remember is that 95% of customers are only interested in the newest and most trendy books in stock - probably 5% of the books on the shelves - and if they sell these books they often ask for almost as much as they paid for them new - which does not work from my point of view. For example, every day, I get 100 people who ask for one of the Stig Larson novels, but I am lucky to have 3 or 4 of his books in stock at a time. There are plenty of good, inexpensive used books for sale in Chiang Mai, but is very difficult to find very many of the most popular ones selling cheaply.

By the way, I have plenty of children's books in stock, but like with all books, certain ones are much more popular than others.

[billd766]

Maybe you should go on a speed reading course if you had taken it back within a month you would have got 50% back on it

I'm guessing that the bookshops in CM are struggling as much as the other business's in town, nobody wants a surfeit of unsellable stock in these unpredictable times. Did you try selling the book at any of the other bookstores in town?

We have had to be more strict about buying and returning books since the disaster in Bangkok a few months ago as we have tons of good stock and far fewer tourists than at any time that I can remember. However, we are still honoring our one month commitment to buy back books in same condition - and usually will stretch it to two or three months or more if the book is not damaged.

The original reason for the policy was to get customers to return books while they are still popular and can be sold for the same price, not to have them returned when we are swamped with that particular title and will probably never sell it at all.

If it is something that we actually need, we will usually buy it back at half price as long as the typical price that we sell it for has not gone down. If the price has been lowered, we will usually give half of that.

A lot of people do not seem to realize that every book shop is overloaded with many formerly popular titles that many customers have already read and most shops will not buy these books at all. If you are offered 30 baht for a book, you can be pretty sure that it is not worth any more than that and you can put it back on your shelf if you do not agree.

By the way, we have more than 14,000 of these titles selling for 20-40-50-60-100 baht, so there are plenty of good, older, inexpensive books, if that is what you are looking for.

I have only been to your shop the one time and then I bought about 20 of your cheaper books but some were marked as returns.

I actually find your books very expensive if I add in the 800 km return trip on my motorbike and the hotel room but other than that I most certainly will come back up again to get more books when I can.

Your prices are very reasonable and you also have a larger stock than most other bookshops I have visited in Bangkok, Pattaya, Nakhon Sawan and Chiang Mai.

All I need to do now is to try and convince you to buy me a "free" lunch and my day will be made.

Edited August 9, 2010 by billd766

[Gonzo the Face]

Maybe you should go on a speed reading course if you had taken it back within a month you would have got 50% back on it

I'm guessing that the bookshops in CM are struggling as much as the other business's in town, nobody wants a surfeit of unsellable stock in these unpredictable times. Did you try selling the book at any of the other bookstores in town?

We have had to be more strict about buying and returning books since the disaster in Bangkok a few months ago as we have tons of good stock and far fewer tourists than at any time that I can remember. However, we are still honoring our one month commitment to buy back books in same condition - and usually will stretch it to two or three months or more if the book is not damaged.

The original reason for the policy was to get customers to return books while they are still popular and can be sold for the same price, not to have them returned when we are swamped with that particular title and will probably never sell it at all.

If it is something that we actually need, we will usually buy it back at half price as long as the typical price that we sell it for has not gone down. If the price has been lowered, we will usually give half of that.

A lot of people do not seem to realize that every book shop is overloaded with many formerly popular titles that many customers have already read and most shops will not buy these books at all. If you are offered 30 baht for a book, you can be pretty sure that it is not worth any more than that and you can put it back on your shelf if you do not agree.

By the way, we have more than 14,000 of these titles selling for 20-40-50-60-100 baht, so there are plenty of good, older, inexpensive books, if that is what you are looking for.

I have only been to your shop the one time and then I bought about 20 of your cheaper books but some were marked as returns.

I actually find your books very expensive if I add in the 800 km return trip on my motorbike and the hotel room but other than that I most certainly will come back up again to get more books when I can.

Your prices are very reasonable and you also have a larger stock than most other bookshops I have visited in Bangkok, Pattaya, Nakhon Sawan and Chiang Mai.

All I need to do now is to try and convince you to buy me a "free" lunch and my day will be made.

......at ThePunPun , he gets a discount

[CMX]

Just by way of comparison, I can get Stiggy books involving his punk rocker savant with a history of violence (today's sort of popular hero) for $8.00 U.S. for my Kindle. After reading, it's air.

Which means that if I could catch it at a bookstore for baht 500 and sell it back for 250, I would be ahead. However, second hand bookstores do not demand 500 baht in the first place, and a paper is paper book-satisfying. We are sitting in the cat bird seat here, particularly when we consider that we can google catbird seat.

For occult tastes, it is true, we have to pay a lot or move. In the United States, much of Iowa is similar, Nebraska and S. Carolina as well. Well, it goes on... And Alaska, of course....

[fridgemagnet]

Well, second hand books are expensive in Thailand, generally.

What I dislike is getting caught by pirate copies of books, sold at high prices, when I know how little they cost to copy here. Vigilance, and good eyesight, needed for this, but I'm not much good at either.

Edited October 17, 2010 by fridgemagnet

[Ulysses G.]

English second hand books are sometimes expensive in Thailand because the Thai people usually read Thai and there are not lots of sought after titles available for almost free like in a Western country with millions of Western readers.

We write "copy edition" on books that are not originals and sell them for much less than the real thing. Only one book store that I know of in Thailand is making their own pirated copies and it is not us. Most are carried into Thailand by customers from Vietnam, India and Cambodia as that is where they are made.

I'm sure some people are very disappointed right now when they try to sell books as most stores have lots and lots of extra inventory because things have been so slow after the redshirt's actions in May, but a new and popular or an old and popular title is still going to fetch a decent price.

Edited October 17, 2010 by Ulysses G.

[Ricardo]

I wonder if you could automate pricing through a check on Amazon, looking at ratings, rankings and popularity, and age of the book, and the original selling price.

Probably not because you still have to apply your typical Chiang Mai demographic to the demand as well. Interesting project though.

Many books that are popular on Amazon are not popular in Thailand and vise versa.

One thing to remember is that 95% of customers are only interested in the newest and most trendy books in stock - probably 5% of the books on the shelves - and if they sell these books they often ask for almost as much as they paid for them new - which does not work from my point of view. For example, every day, I get 100 people who ask for one of the Stig Larson novels, but I am lucky to have 3 or 4 of his books in stock at a time. There are plenty of good, inexpensive used books for sale in Chiang Mai, but is very difficult to find very many of the most popular ones selling cheaply.

By the way, I have plenty of children's books in stock, but like with all books, certain ones are much more popular than others.

I'ive got no idea, who this Stig Larson is, does this mean I've finally risen sunk to become part of the "typical Chiang Mai demographic", can you advise ?

Edited October 18, 2010 by Ricardo

[Ulysses G.]

He is by far the most popular author at the moment (even though I did not spell his name correctly) and has written 3 mysteries that are a bit unusual ( l am enjoying the first one - which I am in the middle of).

I am told that he he wrote them, delivered them to his publisher and then dropped dead before ever realizing how popular they have become.

http://en.wikipedia....i/Stieg_Larsson

Edited October 18, 2010 by Ulysses G.

[ThePunPun]

Dropped Dead ????? So the pen is as mighty as the sword...... or was it poison pen written

Food for thought ..... food for thought .,,,,, time for brekky

[chiangmaiexpat]

I have bought only three or four copies from Chiang Mai second hand bookshops in the last five years. In the same time, I have bought hundreds of books over the Internet. On the net, I can find the titles I want, I get better prices (even with shipping), and I don't have to endure the hazardous dust and mildew concentrations in Chiang Mai book shops. I collect antiquarian bound copies of classics, something that seems to be almost absent from the local stores. I found combing through their stocks futile enough not to attempt it anymore. I am sorry not to be able to report anything positive, but that's just my experience.

Cheers, CMX

[angiud]

Sure, leather-bound, first editions, signed..... In Chiang Mai.....please.

They are talking of pocket second hand books.

[Ulysses G.]

I collect antiquarian bound copies of classics, something that seems to be almost absent from the local stores.

You are right about antiquarian bound books, but there would be pretty much no market for them here, so no one wants to carry them. It is almost impossible to even sell even recent hardback books - no matter how popular.

[Mestizo]

I wonder if you could automate pricing through a check on Amazon, looking at ratings, rankings and popularity, and age of the book, and the original selling price.

Probably not because you still have to apply your typical Chiang Mai demographic to the demand as well. Interesting project though.

Winnie,

Here is a very interesting read:

http://www.slate.com/id/2268000/pagenum/all/#p2

The guy took a barcode scanner, an old PDA, and database he downloads nightly, which contains the price range on Amazon Market, the sales rank, etc. He then configures the application on the PDA with predetermined price points/ sales rankings. When he goes out to buy used books to resell, he simply scans the barcode and is returned a BUY/REJECT notification on the PDA. Interesting concept.

-Mestizo

[Jingthing]

The amazon used book US market is not the same thing as the Thailand used book market. Very different market forces apply.

Next ...

[cdnvic]

Name calling is immature and makes your posts disappear as one poster above has learned.

[bangkokcitylimits]

Once I was cleaning my overfull bookshelf and took a full bag with a nice selection of travel and design books and novels to sell them for little to a 2nd hand bookshop, but all they responded quite arrogant with a 'sorry we don't buy', well walk to heII then with your stinkshop, I'd better make some friends happy with it.

Edited October 18, 2010 by bangkokcitylimits

[sticklee]

Has anyone considered (or maybe there already exists) a 'book club' where interested persons could meet to exchange books and other printed material? Maybe once a month at a convenient location???

[orang37]

Sawasdee Khrup, TV CM Friends,

We've had nothing but good experiences at Chiang Mai's many second-hand bookstores ! In the main we've hunted and bought, and sometimes returned, at Gecko, Backstreet, and Shaman.

In every case found staff polite, helpful, and business policies clearly stated about return.

What we collect is rather specialized ("post-modern" literature, contemporary books on evolution, neurology and cognitive science, psychology, consciousness from a scientific perspective ... books of any age on ... S. E. Asian history, archaeology, ethnography, books on Asian "sacred art"), so we go on the "hunt" with few expectations.

The fact that hard-bound editions are often cheaper here (with the very understandable exception of first-editions in mint condition) is, for us, a real plus: our old human's eyes like the larger type, and the visceral "feel" of hard-bound. Most of the hard-bound we find we want to keep, but have no problem that if returned the "hit" for return may be higher than for a popular title. Just market economics.

Since inventory can vary widely, we usually go for a serious hunt about once a month. One bookstore may have acquired a "treasure-trove" of a certain type of book in any given month.

best, ~o:37;

[neilrob]

I've had very good experience at Backstreet Books. The nearby competitor I have found much less pleasant to deal with and now stick to BB.

[philw]

I've had very good experience at Backstreet Books. The nearby competitor I have found much less pleasant to deal with and now stick to BB.

Happy to agree with you.

How long before our posts deleted ?

[Dante99]

I've had very good experience at Backstreet Books. The nearby competitor I have found much less pleasant to deal with and now stick to BB.

Happy to agree with you.

How long before our posts deleted ?

I have had good luck with Backstreet Books and a friend said he and his son did too recently.

[butterisbetter]

I've had very good experience at Backstreet Books. The nearby competitor I have found much less pleasant to deal with and now stick to BB.

I've been using Gecko since I came here over 5 years ago and have never had any difficulty there at all. not only that, they have cats!!! friendly cats. well, at least forbearing cats. they allow me to pet them without complaint.

[venturalaw]

I've had very good experience at Backstreet Books. The nearby competitor I have found much less pleasant to deal with and now stick to BB.

I've been using Gecko since I came here over 5 years ago and have never had any difficulty there at all. not only that, they have cats!!! friendly cats. well, at least forbearing cats. they allow me to pet them without complaint.

Have to agree. Most importantly to me is the fact that the owner at Gecko is extremely knowledgeable about virtually any category. He can make recommendations based upon one's stated interests. He has been right on the mark every time I asked. Plus, he cares and knows virtually everything there is to know about Thailand having lived here many years. Therefore he has been my go-to guy when I have a question about travel too. After the first time I went to Gecko he remembered what books I enjoy and sometimes sends me a PM to let me know if a new title has come into his store that I might find interesting. Some memory! Anyway, I'll never shop for books anywhere else.

Edited October 19, 2010 by venturalaw

[uptheos]

I've never had a problem dealing with Backstreet Books or Gecko, but Gecko certainly has a much better selection.

I would like to add that Gecko has bought a lot books from me at a fair price, which Backstreet didn't want to buy at all.

Edited October 19, 2010 by uptheos

[anonymouse]

I've never had a problem dealing with Backstreet Books or Gecko, but Gecko certainly has a much better selection.

I'd agree that Gecko has the best selection, I also have found that if you are seen talking to George in Gecko and then visit Backstreet the Irish owner will throw you out - strange but true