used bookstores chiang mai?

[kharmabum]

last time i was in chiang mai, 2 years ago, there were a few used bookstores around(geckos, backstreet books, lost bookshop, on the road books)... not nearly as many as a decade ago, there used to be 10 used bookstores easily. so my question is are they still around? are there any new places i don't know about? if so, where are they? do any take trade ins? if not for cash, then at least store credit?

thanks

Edited June 4, 2016 by kharmabum

[FolkGuitar]

Used bookstores are fading fast. It's a dying industry thanks to e-readers and pirated e-books.

The best run shop in Chiang Mai is now 1/4 it's size and under new ownership. It will probably close soon.

Sure, there are still people buying used books, but not the way they did five years ago.

[JaseTheBass]

Used bookstores are fading fast. It's a dying industry thanks to e-readers and pirated e-books.

The best run shop in Chiang Mai is now 1/4 it's size and under new ownership. It will probably close soon.

Sure, there are still people buying used books, but not the way they did five years ago.

Tell that to Waterstones. Printed books are on the up as many people return to what they've been missing for the last few years.

[neilrob]

Whatever, Backstreet/Lost book stores are still great. Difficult to imagine anything that cannot be found somewhere in their stacks, they have so very many books.

[FolkGuitar]

Used bookstores are fading fast. It's a dying industry thanks to e-readers and pirated e-books.

The best run shop in Chiang Mai is now 1/4 it's size and under new ownership. It will probably close soon.

Sure, there are still people buying used books, but not the way they did five years ago.

Tell that to Waterstones. Printed books are on the up as many people return to what they've been missing for the last few years.

No need for me to tell them. Borders can tell them, Bankrupt. Kinokuniya can tell them, Reorganized. Barns & Noble can tell them. Reorganized. Brentano's can tell them. Bankrupt. Walden Books can tell them. Bankrupt.

In 1991 there were eleven major chain-store booksellers in the US, with 3,293 outlets. By 2011, there were six retailers left with less then 2,200 outlets. One thousand retail bookseller outlets closed their doors. One thousand! And that's just in the US. In Japan, three major bookstore chains 'reorganized,' redistributing floor space to goods other than books.

Waterstones IS doing well. I guess the Brits just don't read enough to make e-books so important there...

Here in Chiang Mai, second-hand re-sellers are not planning expansions... Gecko, with its four retail outlets closed three of them and reduced the size of the fourth one dramatically and sold out. He got out while he still could. Some of the others... well... let's just watch and see.

[JaseTheBass]

Yes. The major British bookseller is the only one doing well - must be because the Brits don't read so much...

[FolkGuitar]

Yes. The major British bookseller is the only one doing well - must be because the Brits don't read so much...

No, they read. But not enough to make e-books the number one seller. It's the electronic version that is killing booksellers that sell paper books. In fact, people are reading more than ever before, due of the convenience of e-books. You can carry a hundred books (or a thousand) in a device that weighs less than a single large paperback, bringing them all from home when traveling, eliminating the need for the tourists to buy so many used books.

[kharmabum]

so the gecko guy sold his buisness? is the main store still there, but under new owner? i remember a few years ago he closed one of his stores that i think was called mango books and turned the space into a deli. i think the butter is better guy was in on it too. great food, but it was gone the next time i came to town.

so i gather that backstreet and lost book shops are still there? they might be the best used bookstores in Asia. how about on theroad books? still exist? am i forgetting any? do they still take trade ins?

[JaseTheBass]

Yes. The major British bookseller is the only one doing well - must be because the Brits don't read so much...

No, they read. But not enough to make e-books the number one seller. It's the electronic version that is killing booksellers that sell paper books. In fact, people are reading more than ever before, due of the convenience of e-books. You can carry a hundred books (or a thousand) in a device that weighs less than a single large paperback, bringing them all from home when traveling, eliminating the need for the tourists to buy so many used books.

The UK publishes 3 times as many books than the US per capita and an hardcopies are becoming more popular again as Brits value the experience of reading a traditional book more than the '2D' experience when using an eBook reader or other hand held device.

[FolkGuitar]

Yes. The major British bookseller is the only one doing well - must be because the Brits don't read so much...

No, they read. But not enough to make e-books the number one seller. It's the electronic version that is killing booksellers that sell paper books. In fact, people are reading more than ever before, due of the convenience of e-books. You can carry a hundred books (or a thousand) in a device that weighs less than a single large paperback, bringing them all from home when traveling, eliminating the need for the tourists to buy so many used books.

The UK publishes 3 times as many books than the US per capita and an hardcopies are becoming more popular again as Brits value the experience of reading a traditional book more than the '2D' experience when using an eBook reader or other hand held device.

Yes... Thank you for validating what I said. Change can be just so trying for many people.

Edited June 4, 2016 by FolkGuitar

[FolkGuitar]

so the gecko guy sold his buisness? is the main store still there, but under new owner? i

Yes, he closed his satellite shops and reduced the size of the main store to 1/4 it's original size, He sold everything and moved back to the States. In a message he sent to me a few months ago, he intimated that anyone considering staying in the used book business in Thailand may well be barking at the moon... He had what many consider to be the very best used book business in Chiang Mai for many years. He had stiff competition from Back Street Books, but still managed to run a very profitable business for many years. He got out before he went under... a smart move on his part

[Lowriesuzanne]

Just download to your iPad. At Amazon you get lots of good deals.

[Ricardo]

I'd suggest that the rise & rise of Amazon, for buying/trading books, has been responsible for the close of many traditional book-retailers.

So we're not reading less, just changing the way we buy books, for example I got two new books for seven-quid in Asda last month, and another two for fourteen pounds (including a good discount) in W.H.Smith's. How can a dedicated bookseller survive, when the top-selling books are being discounted, like that ?

[fredge45]

The lack of reading by my fellow 'mericans is evident from their selection of the Republicker Presidential candidate! Faux Noise babbles on...

[FolkGuitar]

I'd suggest that the rise & rise of Amazon, for buying/trading books, has been responsible for the close of many traditional book-retailers.

So we're not reading less, just changing the way we buy books, for example I got two new books for seven-quid in Asda last month, and another two for fourteen pounds (including a good discount) in W.H.Smith's. How can a dedicated bookseller survive, when the top-selling books are being discounted, like that ?

Combine this with the fact that a major percentage of paper books sold in Asia, North America, and on-line today have been pirated and reprinted in Cambodia, undercutting the prices dramatically. And the fact that e-books are so readily available to anyone with an internet connection, and it spells DOOM for the brick-and-mortar shops.

[bazza40]

There's a secondhand bookshop in Rattamanka Road in the Old City near the moat ( Loi Kroh Road side ). Another in Thapae Road. In Chiang Rai, one in a soi leading off Jedyod Road at the temple.

There are still people who like the feel of a physical book in their hands. Be that as it may, other posters have commented on the fact one can carry up to a thousand books in one small device.There's also the point eBooks are usually cheaper and far more profitable -publishers don't have the cost of ink, paper, manufacture and distribution to think about. And eBook sellers don't need a bricks and mortar presence to display their wares.

I used to shell out money to airlines for excess baggage, due to the books I was carrying. Those days are past, thanks to my trusty Kindle.

[Sparkles]

so the gecko guy sold his buisness? is the main store still there, but under new owner? i

Yes, he closed his satellite shops and reduced the size of the main store to 1/4 it's original size, He sold everything and moved back to the States. In a message he sent to me a few months ago, he intimated that anyone considering staying in the used book business in Thailand may well be barking at the moon... He had what many consider to be the very best used book business in Chiang Mai for many years. He had stiff competition from Back Street Books, but still managed to run a very profitable business for many years. He got out before he went under... a smart move on his part

Simply not true. Backstreet Book for example still has 2 floors of books far more than Gecko's main store, almost next door, ever had and boxes of new titles arriving regularly.Lost Books and On the Road are also bookshops that are doing well.How do I know? well myself and many other are regular customers, you are obviously not or you would see new stock arriving and many people inside the stores.Gecko was popular with fellow Americans but for years he never bought in new titles and wanted books returned within 4 week for the 50% refund,big turn off.The other don't,return at you leisure. George and Rob owners of the 3 biggest remaining well known shops both had really good high seasons and not everyone is turning to E Books. You also haven't factored in the huge increase in Expats moving to CM, many are retirees that still like the "feel" of a book.

[FolkGuitar]

Please see me (and this thread) in two year's time. Set your calendar.

If he's still in business, I'll be happy to apologize to you and say that I was wrong. Otherwise, you may do so to me. Sound fair?

There are camera stores everywhere that still have huge stocks of unsold film cameras because they didn't diversify at the right time, clinging to the idea that 'there are still people who prefer film.' Time 'told' for them. Time will tell for the book business.

Edited June 5, 2016 by FolkGuitar

[anto]

As some pull out ,whats left will have increased business for awhile ,but that will drain away .Second hand books are just far too expensive in Chiang mai .When i visited Manila prices were really cheap for s/h books in English there .

That new book warehouse 100 m down a little lane way from Central festival is for sale already after just about a year being open .

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Not saying that real books aren't disappearing, but my daughter is 10, reads really a lot but greatly prefers a real book over the iPad.. (And she really likes the iPad for everything else)

This topic actually made me wonder if I should give the used book shop another chance, although they probably don't have a lot in the 'young adult fiction' segment.

[JD77]

I live in CM..There are still half a dozen book stores..pretty well stocked ...but before buying ,look online to see if you can read the book you want for free. I bought ''Private Dancer'' then found later that I could've read it online for nothing.

[scottiejohn]

Waterstones have recently announced that they will close their on line eBook service from 13 June and that they are transferring their 'stock' to Kobo.

They said in October 2015 that they were stopping selling Kindle in its stores, following sales figures it described as pitiful.

Physical books sales rose by three per cent in Britain in the first half of 2015 compared with the same period a year earlier.

[Gillyflower]

I buy a lot of books (luggage weight allowing) in CM, but I buy even more from the UK. I deal with Abe and mostly The Book Depository. The latter send books POST FREE all over the world. and that counts for a lot.

In my very small town in France, there is a second hand bookshop, been there for years. The town is full of closed shops (including bars), but the Book is still there. There is a bookseller that comes for the Saturday market. I've known him for over thirty years.

So somewhere, some people are still reading books.

[F4UCorsair]

Was Geckos owned by George?

[TheSiemReaper]

There are 8 full on second hand bookstores, that I can think of, in Chiang Mai. I have no idea what they "used to be like" (something I suspect which varies from person to person) but they are without a doubt, between them, the best secondhand bookshops I have come across in nearly 20 years in Asia. The e-book vs paper book argument is daft; I'm a huge fan of e-books (you will pry my Kindle from my cold, dead hands) but I'm also quite happy with paper too (my book collection grows alarmingly quickly, unless those books are mating - much of that is due to this town's secondhand bookshops).

Amazon is opening physical bookstores. Amazon's own figures for e-book sales show a plateau has been reached and that "real" book sales are on the increase. It turns out that there's room for both in this brave new world; just as there is room for Spotify and vinyl collecting (which is huge business now even if it's not at the peak glories on the 1970s when there were no other choices available).

Borders failed because it spread too far and too wide and way too quickly for its own good; when the economic storm hit back during the real estate collapse - it couldn't hold on. Many other once successful retailers have failed for much the same reasons both in the US and in Europe. It has very little to do with the overall popularity of the written word.

[sawadee1947]

so the gecko guy sold his buisness? is the main store still there, but under new owner? i remember a few years ago he closed one of his stores that i think was called mango books and turned the space into a deli. i think the butter is better guy was in on it too. great food, but it was gone the next time i came to town.

so i gather that backstreet and lost book shops are still there? they might be the best used bookstores in Asia. how about on theroad books? still exist? am i forgetting any? do they still take trade ins?

yes, I sold a pile of books a couple of weeks ago. Paid before hundreds of Euros, got 3 thousand baht back. To be honest: I'm happy without all that paperbacks. And former times I bought second hand. Sometimes I imagined how many people got that in their filthy hands coming just from the loo.

So I welcome the e-reader.

[Atum]

Yes. The major British bookseller is the only one doing well - must be because the Brits don't read so much...

No, they read. But not enough to make e-books the number one seller. It's the electronic version that is killing booksellers that sell paper books. In fact, people are reading more than ever before, due of the convenience of e-books. You can carry a hundred books (or a thousand) in a device that weighs less than a single large paperback, bringing them all from home when traveling, eliminating the need for the tourists to buy so many used books.

The UK publishes 3 times as many books than the US per capita and an hardcopies are becoming more popular again as Brits value the experience of reading a traditional book more than the '2D' experience when using an eBook reader or other hand held device.

Yes... Thank you for validating what I said. Change can be just so trying for many people.

He said the exact opposite of what you said - and you think that validates what you said? What?

[Pyloszeus]

Not saying that real books aren't disappearing, but my daughter is 10, reads really a lot but greatly prefers a real book over the iPad.. (And she really likes the iPad for everything else)

This topic actually made me wonder if I should give the used book shop another chance, although they probably don't have a lot in the 'young adult fiction' segment.

Just a thought, from 1986 to present day there has been around 22 used bookstores in Chiangmai. Now there is 6 used bookstores. I could be wrong but as it stands at the moment, there is Backstreetbooks, Gekko Books,

Gecko Books, On the Road, The Lost Book Shop and Shaman Books. Stand to be corrected here.

The oldest is The Lost Book Store must be hitting 25 years or more, Backstreetbooks 15 Gekko is a revamped

Gecko under new owners. 16 years, Shaman 12, On the Road 10. gecko Books new owners, ratchamanka Rd, 10 years or so. At one point I think there was 17 operating at one time. Tough to sustain that anywhere. FolkGuitar could be right another few might go, but not the ones he thinks ?.

Sorry to see any store shut up shop. Its a tough game and the operaters in Chiangmai are getting old as well, all Farang owners here are in there 60s.

A few of them are getting into Teens and Kids books so you might be lucky Winnie.

Do hope all the above survive, but some have been going a very long time. The rent in 1990 would be a fraction of what they are now and yet there is still long runners here. You would have to wish them all the best of luck as they bring something positive to the Town.

new on here not new in town

[gobs]

He said the exact opposite of what you said - and you think that validates what you said? What?

Yeah, it's part of the great fun here on TV.

Nothing really serious on TV. Don't worry too much...

Missleading posts and answers all over the board, but great fun though!

[FolkGuitar]

Just a thought, from 1986 to present day there has been around 22 used bookstores in Chiangmai. Now there is 6 used bookstores.

For simplicity's sake, I'll just accept your numbers as correct. Give or take one or two really doesn't matter...

The idea that it's gone from 22 retail outlets all the way down to 6 is the significant part of the statement. This isn't just a temporary downturn. And it's not limited to Chiang Mai. It's world-wide. It's a downward trend and we will see more go out of business in the next year or two. It's too bad, as I really used to enjoy wandering through the stacks in used bookstores all over the world. Most are gone now.