Why Are Used Book Stores So Expensive In Chiang Mai?

[TheVicar]

I've moved to Chiang Mai from Bangkok, where I lived for 20 years, about 3 months ago. Generally, I'm very pleased with the move and find things much cheaper here (food, rent, transport) but oddly enough, the used English language book stores here seem to be very expensive. Far more so than in Bangkok or in other Asian cities (including Penang and Vientiane).

Let me give you an example. I'm reading the wonderful sea stories by Patrick O'Brian and priced Master & Commander (most people will be familiar with this from the movie). In Chiang Mai, it is selling for anywhere from B220 to B260 for a used copy! In Penang, in Malaysia where rents/electricity and everything are generally more expensive), I found a good copy for R 13 (Baht 130) and was able to bargain the price down to R 11 (Baht 110). None of the 4-5 shops I visited in Chiang Mai would even bargain and several workers/owners seemed affronted that anyone would attempt to challenge their prices! Even the new price of this book is likely only about B500-600 and with a discount card from Asia books, you can get a 10% discount so it would be about B 500 new. So why such high prices for used books in a city where everything else is so moderately priced? In my more than 20 years of experience in SE Asia, this is the pricest town in the whole area for used books: more so than in Penang, Bangkok, Vientiane, HCMC etc. Why, especially since other costs are cheap here?

I realize that people have to make a living and that includes book store owners. There's nothing wrong with that. But charging the equivalent of $8.50 for a used book that looks like a well used book is asking far too much. Nor am I impressed with the line that the bookstore will buy it back for 50% of the price. Of course they will. That's in their favor because they get to keep the original inflated profit and charge it once again.

I'm a member of AUA library but unfortunately their selection of fiction is small. Bangkok also has the wonderful Neilson Hayes library which has two sales (at least) a year and sells used hardcover books in quality condition for only about B 100. Any tips on reasonably priced used book stores in this area? I've seen Raintree mentioned on several threads and will give it a go. I've also picked up a few books at the Saturday morning used market for very good prices but I'm avoiding the used book stores. And please owners, don't give me tired excuses about your costs; I've 50 years experience in business in all parts of the world and know what things cost.

[Riley'sLife]

Maybe it's the Law of Economics, pure and simple......supply and demand?

[jagi00]

Apologies in advance, maybe not spot on topic. Can anyone suggest where I can get the best deal as I want to sell a bunch of paperbacks that I purchased new.

[TommoPhysicist]

Get yourself an e-reader, then you can download all the books for free.

Let me see ..... Master & Commander series, say 20 books, $4 each = $120

Price of a Kindle done already.

Edited October 2, 2012 by TommoPhysicist

[LawrenceChee]

buy a kindle and the initial investment will pay for itself...kindle has some very basic ones on sale now...

[BookMan]

Seems to me like you already have all the answers

[Paagai]

Do any of these book shops offer customers Free water? That's what I'd like to know

Edited October 2, 2012 by Paagai

[Briggsy]

Actually I bought a Kindle for this very reason and for books published in the last 30 years, prices are usually in the 300 to 500 Baht range so the saving is really not very much if any. But they are more convenient than rummaging around in 2nd hand book stores or getting to Neilson Hayes through the downtown Bangkok traffic.

[TheVicar]

Thanks for the ideas on Kindle but I actually like to hold a real book in my hands. And if I am not mistaken, you also have to pay extra for popular books on Kindle too! And of course the law of supply and demand is in effect but so are other economic laws and prices for almost everything else (rentals, wages, transport) are lower in Chiang Mai than the cities I mentioned. So, economically speaking, I would also expect the prices of used books to be too.

[TheVicar]

Out of curiosity, do most people in Chiang Mai agree with me on the prices of used books in the city?

[masuk]

When I knew I was coming to live in Chiang Mai, I already knew about the price of books here.

I got myself a basic KINDLE in Australia, and it came with a CD / DVD with 1300 books loaded. Sure, many are rather old, but a lot of my old favourites were out of copyright and were there to be read.

I was happy to see that the completes series of Patrick O'Brian's works are there, and as most local libraries in my home state have e-books on loan, I have a good few of those too - downloaded 12 today.

Keep in touch and it might be possible that I could transfer these to your Kindle, if you get one.

I might add that a lot of newspapers are also available on Kindle.

[TommoPhysicist]

Out of curiosity, do most people in Chiang Mai agree with me on the prices of used books in the city?

I've not paid for a book since I got an e-reader about 3 years ago.

[TheVicar]

Thanks especiall Masuk and Tommo. I will indeed look into Kindle. I'm surprised that the O'Brian books are there because they are hot sellers still! I love the "classics" so that's another reason to get a Kindle.

But it seems from these comments and my own experience that the prices are way out of line in Chiang Mai for used books especially given prices for everthing else here and given that wages are lower here than in Bangkok by quite a lot. What especially surprised me given how nice most people are in the North is how surly the owners/workers are in the book stores! They do not even tolerate bargaining, in Asia! And no, there is no free water in the bookstores.

[hellodolly]

Out of curiosity, do most people in Chiang Mai agree with me on the prices of used books in the city?

I think they are but I never found a used book store in Bangkok. My memory tells me it is a large city. I buy them for 99 baht here. I will occasionally stop in at one of the bigger shops if I am trying to collect a series.

If money is the object get a Kindle. A friend of mine paid about $5 for all of Dickerson work's I believe they have hundreds of thousands for free. Plus they are easier to travel with.

They have some sort of club you can join and it entitles you the right to take a book out of their library for free with no return date One a month.

I am tech challenged but they just came out with a new one that is supposed to be the best ever. 3G no monthly rates supposedly good to down load in 100 countries.

[TheVicar]

Thanks HelloDolly (and what a nice handle you've got and a great movie that was too). Like you, I'm not tech savvy so that is one of the reasons I've never even considered a Kindle or E reader at least until all of these answers came in. I'm stunned by the almost uniform advice which seems to be: forget the hard copy of the books and get an e reader. I notice that Barnes & Noble also sells its own reader. Does anyone who knows anthing about such things have recommendations on the best e reader?

And shouldn't these greedy shop owners realize they are cutting their own throats by their actions? I agree 99 baht is a fair price but the book shops I've been to in Chiang Mai are really putting unsellable dogs in the bins for B 100. I've seen the same books in them time and again so no one is buying this stuff but they are charging premium prices for other books. Over the years, I've actually enjoyed my interchanges with book owners and sellers because they have largely been thoughtful and kind people who are willing to give in a bit. Here, they don't even want to talk to you. But I have noted that farangs in Chiang Mai really seem to hate their own kind. More so than in other places in Asia. I'm not sure why that is.

[Anonymous1713]

I bought a tablet and enjoy free ebooks now.

[TommoPhysicist]

Thanks HelloDolly (and what a nice handle you've got and a great movie that was too). Like you, I'm not tech savvy so that is one of the reasons I've never even considered a Kindle or E reader at least until all of these answers came in. I'm stunned by the almost uniform advice which seems to be: forget the hard copy of the books and get an e reader. I notice that Barnes & Noble also sells its own reader. Does anyone who knows anthing about such things have recommendations on the best e reader?

Forget B&N, we all have books in Kindle format and are happy to share.

Kindle is market leader by a long way.

Any sort of tablet will also work as a Kindle reader as there is a 'Kindle app' for Android.

[TheVicar]

To HelloDolly, on bookstores in Bangkok, there wasn't much need to look for used ones since I was for decades a member of the Neilson Hayes library. It's in a beautiful, old fashioned building just off Surawong Road (next to the British Club). They have more than 30,000 books in their collection and they are constantly adding things. And as I mentioned in earlier posts, they have at least 2 used book sales a year and you can buy a handful of paperbacks for B 100. I picked up a hard copy of Paul Bocuse's French Cooking, in mint condition and in hard cover, for about B 120 from them not long ago. It would sell for more than 3,500 baht in a book store. There used to be a good used bookstore on Surawong Road near Patpong but it is long gone. There was and maybe still is another over by Bumrungrad hospital. Several shopping malls also offer book sales throughout the year in Bangkok. The prices are far lower than they are here in Chiang Mai. Since I read 2-3 books a week, it can be an expensive habit but it is important in my life.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Get yourself an e-reader, then you can download all the books for free.

Let me see ..... Master & Commander series, say 20 books, $4 each = $120

Price of a Kindle done already.

Ehm, the book the OP mentioned as an example is $9.57 for the Kindle edition. And $10.49 as paperback. Which kind of shows that Amazon is raking it in, too.

So with that, what's wrong with paying 220 baht and then selling it for 110.. Total cost to read it: 110 baht, which is a lot less than reading it on the Kindle at about 300 baht, plus you don't need to buy a Kindle.

Edited October 2, 2012 by WinnieTheKhwai

[TheVicar]

Thanks again Tommo. I'll be looking to pick up a Kindle then. Can I buy one from Amazon here in Thailand or need i go to Singapore, Australia, or the USA to do that?

[CMX]

I re-read the O'Brian series with enormous pleasure. In fact, I'm reading for a third time one with an orangutan in it. However, as I plan to live in other nations every three years or so, I try not to keep books. Thus I return them, and receive back half their original price. In that sense ours are pay-for lending libraries, and I think them worthwhile, if limited in their collections.

I've a Kindle too and I can get with it, and apps for online books for PC, connections offering far more choices than are available in Thailand (in English). But local purchase and re-selling is usually cheaper for a desired title. Incidentally, the Aubrey series is as costly as Winnie points out for your own purchase, via Kindle.

Oh, I forgot to mention that one of the booksellers is online, so one can check availability of a book or author.

Certainly one of the enormous losses in foreign travel is access to a good home library with statewide (in the States) borrowing agreements (free service for residents). To be frank, however, CM is far better off than many destinations in the orient, when it comes to availability, though to be sure it does not have the English speaking demand or supply of BKK - thus our prices, and not bad at that.

Edited October 2, 2012 by CMX

[TheVicar]

Winnie, another poster here, Masuk, has said his Kindle came with all of the O'Brian series (there are 20 books in the series with Capt. Aubrey and S. Maturin). And if you can share with others and download, then even if you don't have something, you'd be saving a lot of money by buying an e reader and teaming up with others who enjoy books.

The problem I had with the bookstores in Chiang Mai was not only their price, but their bitchiness and unfriendly attitude. Especially given how nice everyone else seems to be here. That hadn't been the experience I had in Bangkok (where there was a Thai owner who loved to read in his shop near Bumrungrod and would willingly bargain and talk about books with buyers) and ditto in Penang with a Chinese shop keeper who knew exactly how popular Master & Commander was when he sold it to me for a price well below the price listed on the book.

Also, although you get B 130 back in my example, you lose B 130 and with a Kindle, even if you have to pay, you get to keep your "book". I'd say that's a much better deal (and maybe why the used book stores in Chiang Mai are so empty).

[TheVicar]

CMX, I largely agree with your post and losing books is a prime reason why I want a base. That base is now in Chiang Mai for me.

But I completely disagree with your comment here on the city: "To be frank, however, CM is far better off than many destinations in the orient, when it comes to availability, though to be sure it does not have the English speaking demand of BKK." Penang is better, Bangkok is much better, and even Vientiane has some used book stores that I would love to have here. No, there's something out of kilter with the used book stores here; I suspect the owners have gotten together and decided to make a unified stand (and I note that most prices for used books are pretty much the same from shop to shop).

[femi fan]

Interesting thread topic, even if most have talked about something else!

I've lived here a few years and often use the second hand bookshops. I was interested in reading your opening post thevicar. Mostly my feelings about the bookshops i go to (in and around tha pae gate) are that they are the best i've personally seen for choice. I would add that the choice of books available to me here in chiang mai in these shops far exceeds anything i've seen in england and australia, at least for the books i like to read. Which are varied, but hardly ever any fiction. I love the choice i get here. I don't have any point of comparisons in other asian cities because on my travels i wasn't thinking of books at the time.

As for the prices, sometimes i find three or four books i'd like to buy, and then choose the one that has the best value price. I do think sometimes they seem to be expensive, but other times i grab the book, incredulous that it is available at such a cheap price!

I realise you might be talking more about fiction. If i'm right, here's an idea: no need to go onto e-reading (I too much prefer to read my physical books, and have no wish to contribute to the abandonment of paper books); instead change what you read! Try the shops again by deciding to just look at all the different sections and choose a new one that sounds interesting. I"m sure you'll find a good price book, and often it's almost as if new in condition.

But if you're right that prices should be lower, then i have no problem with that!

[TommoPhysicist]

So with that, what's wrong with paying 220 baht and then selling it for 110.. Total cost to read it: 110 baht, which is a lot less than reading it on the Kindle at about 300 baht, plus you don't need to buy a Kindle.

I have them all on my Kindle, and offered to lend them, so that makes back the price of the Kindle straight away.

[TommoPhysicist]

I realise you might be talking more about fiction. If i'm right, here's an idea: no need to go onto e-reading (I too much prefer to read my physical books, and have no wish to contribute to the abandonment of paper books); instead change what you read! Try the shops again by deciding to just look at all the different sections and choose a new one that sounds interesting. I"m sure you'll find a good price book, and often it's almost as if new in condition.

So you don't care about trees and the environment?

[TravelerEastWest]

In Bangkok I mostly buy books with a discount card from Asia books and sometimes on sale.

For used books I have on occasion bought books from small book stores on Sukhumvit prices not cheap but OK for books that I wanted.

In Chiang Mai I find the used book stores much nicer than what I saw in Bangkok - better selection - better books - nicer stores - mostly friendly staff but some that are bored.

Pricing is slightly higher than what I would like to pay in a used book store but many of the books are basically like new - maybe overstock?

Near Tae Pae gate there are a number of used book stores that are walking distance frome each other - which makes for a very nice shopping experience far better than Bangkok.

I have a feeling that between high rent and keeping a large inventory they don't make a large profit.

Personally I am very happy to support small independent bookstores - if the price was much lower something would have to give - going out of business, smaller inventory, less staff etc...

Now I could be wrong - maybe small book stores are very profitable these days but I don't think so....

If someone has first hand experience of highly profitable small book stores I would love to hear about it.

I know that in America book store salaries have historically been low and the trend is for book stores to go out of business (large and small)

Edited October 2, 2012 by TravelerEastWest

[mickybigears]

Apologies in advance, maybe not spot on topic. Can anyone suggest where I can get the best deal as I want to sell a bunch of paperbacks that I purchased new.

Try Rob opposite corner to the U.N. Irish Pub

[TheVicar]

Thanks for your post Femi Fan which I found fascinating. I've lived in the U.K. and am indeed surprised, nay, shocked that you find the bookstores here so well stocked. Have you never been to Foyles in London? I believe it is the largest used book store in the world with millions of books spread over many floors. Now certainly we are not living in London but tha bookish city isn't far away from most of the major places in the U.K. And even Coventry, in most ways unremarkable except for its cathedral, had, as I remember, some good book stores (was it Brown's?). Ditto with the Sussex countryside.

I lived a good part of my life in university towns (Madison, Berkeley etc.) so maybe I've been spoiled. Berkeley had magnificent used book stores: Shakespeare Books, Moe's etc. Madison too: there definitely was a Browns there. Bangkok too has, I've said, an excellent lending library in the Neilson Hayes and it has several large used book stores that are selling at prices far below the inflated ones I've found here (that's the point of my thread). Penang is about the same size as Chiang Mai, most people speak Chinese and Malay so there is no reason for them to have better book stores (and cheaper ones) than we have in Chiang Mai. And Vientiane is a provincial city, even though it is a capital of a country. HCMC also has lots of excellent English language bookstores that are cheap. So yes, you should get out and travel more and you will perhaps find that your observations about the plethora of bookstores in Chiang Mai stocked well with books is off base!

What I've found curious about the bookstores here is not only their high prices but how unfriendly their owners are. Most book store operators, worldwide, care about reading and are not so profit oriented. The Chinese shop owner who sold me Master and Commander knew all about the story, about the series, and about the book's popularity. He just enjoyed chatting and talking about books and also bargaining. That's typical in Asia with Asians. Here in Chiang Mai, it's all about money and all of the book sellers/owners here I've met are foreigners, mostly Brits it seems. So again, in my opinion, the one thing out of wack here in Chiang Mai that's really noticeable is the used book stores!

[TheVicar]

Femi Fan, I forgot to address this point you made: "I realise you might be talking more about fiction. If i'm right, here's an idea: no need to go onto e-reading (I too much prefer to read my physical books, and have no wish to contribute to the abandonment of paper books); instead change what you read! Try the shops again by deciding to just look at all the different sections and choose a new one that sounds interesting. I"m sure you'll find a good price book, and often it's almost as if new in condition. ..."

That's a very curious argument. Actually, non fiction books are usually more expensive than fiction books (because they often contain photographs, maps, drawings etc.). I love to read them too (and have actually written some). I have a whole library of all kinds of books. So this advice doesn't help when you're looking for books in the O'Brian series.

As to the people who say that books in Chiang Mai book stores are "nicer" or in "better condition" than elsewhere; I think that's rubbish. The copy I bought of Master and Commander in Penang is better than those I looked at in CM, and at LESS than half the price! And I'm familiar with the bookstores near the TP. Gate area; they are the most overpriced ones because that is the heart of the tourist area!