Books

[126celler]

Good Morning All.

I have a question for experienced book sellers.  I recently researched a book series for a friend.  The first book in the series is 2010.  Last book in the series was 2020.  I am wondering if our reading habits are changing. On  Amazon the 2010 book was $3.99 kindle.. Paperback was 19.95.   Checked Barnes & Noble only available online as a kindle.   Even checked eBay and only one book of the series was available.  And not for $4.99 with free shipping.  Then checked  the bulk booksellers and noticed an increase in their prices and notifications under some books that their supply of that genre (historical romance) was limited.  Took a ride to my Barnes & Noble (in CT) and was surprised  at the limited amount of merchandise physically on their shelves.  I could order online and pick up at store or only available as a kindle.  Is this the new trend for reading.  I have about 100 mint paperbacks.  Should I get myself excited.  Anyone else notice this.  

Any info and knowledge shared is appreciated.  

Thanks

[luckythewinner]

Is this the new trend for reading. 

It's hard to make sweeping generalizations about reading habits based on researching one book series.

I have about 100 mint paperbacks. Should I get myself excited.

The best way to answer that would be to research the 100 mint paperbacks you actually have and see if there is anything to get yourself excited about.

[pburn]

I can speak only for myself, but, for the most part, I've stopped buying physical books. The main reason for me is storage. As an avid reader, I read about 100 books a year--more during the pandemic--along with cookbooks, seasonal (mainly Christmas) books, etc. As a result, I've chosen to go electronic. 

I have two Little Free Libraries within 20 yards of my home, and I've been culling my physical books and helping stock those two LFLs.

[pargran3]

I think a lot of  people are reading books  electronically. Not me, but I know people that do. 

Books just do not have the market they did. I started out as a bookseller. The big guys now make that almost impossible for the small seller to compete.

I still buy books. I still read books. I donate them or pass them on to others for the most part nowadays.

[postcardcountry]

I have noticed a number of books (especially in the romance and cozy mystery genres) are available only in "mass market" paperback...the larger paperback which allows them to be priced less than a hardcover would have been and more than the true pocket paperback would be.  The print is also larger, which makes me wonder if this is a 'compromise' to not publishing large print books.

[pburn]

I do buy the occasional book, as well, @pargran3. I should have included that in my reply. I'm in a couple of book clubs, and if the selection is expensive in an ebook format and not available through my public library ebook loan program, I'll head to eBay and pick up a used copy. I just bought a used copy of John Irving's Hotel New Hampshire on eBay for a book club read for just a few dollars. I'll pass it along when I'm done.

I love physical books and never thought I would go electronic, but I was also influenced by the lightening available in the places in the house where I like to read. The lighting made it impossible to read when the sun went down, so ebooks solved that dilemma, too. Now I love some of the Kindle features like  highlighting, notes, bookmarks, the ability to search, etc., and miss those features when I read a physical book. 

[pargran3]

I have a book nook with cozy chair and a true-light lamp. My house has lighting problems also.

I just love having the physical book and I have one with me wherever I go. I do occasionally get odd looks when sitting in the doctor's waiting room actually reading a book! LOL

[evry1nositswindy]

If you have any books by Richard Matheson, message me!

Avid reader here.  I buy books.  I also sell books and they are long tail items, but I don't care.  I just love surrounding myself with books.  One thing I have found to be helpful is listing groupings of books by the same author (lot of 6 by...).  

[m60driver]

I buy and sell books.  I would not get excited over paperbacks unless they are first editions or dating from mid century.  All books tend to be very long tail items and often take many, many months to sell.  But the margins are very high as one can buy them very cheaply at garage sales and estate sales.  Worst case scenario is you sell them at about your cost at your own garage sale.  You are best off selling the books in lots based, number one, on author and then by genres.

[maxine*j]

Americans have never been great readers and, as this recent Gallup Poll shows, they're reading even less:

https://news.gallup.com/poll/388541/americans-reading-fewer-books-past.aspx

And how they read is definitely changing, with more and more reading e-books.  You noted that B&N has fewer books on the shelves these days.  Visit your local public library and you will see the same.  In both cases, they're devoting more of their resources to providing e-books for their customers and patrons.

As a result, publishers are producing fewer "hard" copies of their books, so people who want to read in the old-fashioned way must pay more for their books because the supply is less, new and used.   Print-on-demand has also affected prices, keeping them higher.

As for your "mint" paperbacks, you have to research to know if they have any value.  And, as an aside, "mint" is not a condition in bookselling.  Try "fine" -- opened and read but with absolutely no physical defects.  Books, especially paperbacks, that have been read are seldom in "fine" condition, by the way.

There are still people who collect books, and I think there always will be, but their interest is in incunables, and in important first editions, fine bindings, notable bookplates, and so on.

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[dirk12955]

I don't think there is any tried and true rule for what people who read are doing today.

House full of readers here.    I'm still buying and reading hard copies.   Wife has switched 

to mostly kindle.    Of the grown kids that read,   Most are still with hard copies.

None of the grown kids are book buyers.    They read what I buy.

Grandkids are all reading hard copies from the library.   All  3 of them got that 

from my oldest daughter who is a big reader.

I get new books as gifts from my kids and grandkids.    I buy less current books 

on ebay and pay virtually nothing.   I don't see how a bookseller

can make any money selling common stuff.   

[jewelbiz]

As a long time nyc antique dealer I went into many houses over 5 decades buying books and everything else in the universe there.  I have about 10,000 books here but truthfully as a jeweler dealer, I don’t get too excited with a $12.00 sale and all the work involved!

[maxine*j]

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@pargran3 wrote:

I have a book nook with cozy chair and a true-light lamp. My house has lighting problems also.

I just love having the physical book and I have one with me wherever I go. I do occasionally get odd looks when sitting in the doctor's waiting room actually reading a book! LOL

---

Despite my badly impaired vision, I still read nothing but physical books for pleasure reading, and I read two to three a week.  I agree with you that it is the entire, enjoyable experience that I want:  Computers off, phones silenced, curtains drawn, me in my recliner, feet up, lap rug if it's chilly, tea or coffee or cocoa at hand...  Bliss!  

I also am never without a physical book in my handbag, and while others fidget nervously with their assorted e-devices, the time is passing quickly and quietly for me as I read.

Personal choices, and those are mine.

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[maxine*j]

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@dirk12955 wrote:

I don't think there is any tried and true rule for what people who read are doing today.

House full of readers here.    I'm still buying and reading hard copies.   Wife has switched 

to mostly kindle.    Of the grown kids that read,   Most are still with hard copies.

None of the grown kids are book buyers.    They read what I buy.

Grandkids are all reading hard copies from the library.   All  3 of them got that 

from my oldest daughter who is a big reader.

I get new books as gifts from my kids and grandkids.    I buy less current books 

on ebay and pay virtually nothing.   I don't see how a bookseller

can make any money selling common stuff.   

---

Oh, of course.  All polls have errors built right into them, as any honest pollster will tell you.  And, like you, I know lots of people who reads lots of books.  But, based on my own experiences and observations over a very long life, I still believe I am right in saying that Americans are not great readers and are reading less, as that poll suggests.

You are correct that it has never been possible to make much money selling commodity books, and it became even harder with the advent of the resellling giants who obtain books by the truckload for nothing or next to nothing.

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[2013grotz]

This is pretty much the trend for any kind of physical media.  This includes books, but also CDs and movies.  The question is one of the increased costs that publishers have to produce the physical items, coupled with the number that don't sell.  Basically put, online venues such as Kindle or Spotify or Hulu are more cost-effective on that end compared to brick-and-mortar.  For instance, it really only takes getting the account and prepping the file and you can be a published Kindle author.  There's commissions on any sales you would get that Amazon would receive, but all it takes to get it done is the effort to do it.  As for physical media, you got to have the stores to put it in, and that isn't very cost-effective.  I've personally noticed all the shops close around me and I couldn't shop for it without driving a very long distance. 

Then for the buyer a lot of them just want to see/hear/read the item and don't want to hassle with the storage place or getting rid of the item after the fact.  So online is handy for them too.  Granted I read that physical book sales are up, but at the same time a lot of what is getting sold is either produced on a limited run (custom printing) where you'd have to get it right when it comes out to have it, or is lowest common-denominator stuff that they already know has interest.  On that latter point, the Prince Harry book is a perfect recent illustration - and most of the time this is the only way non-established authors get (printed) book deals these days.

Not to mention, the whole "what do you do with the media item when you're done with it" problem rears itself.  People might wait on that until they move or be more proactive after they finish with the item, but brand new physical media is dwarfed by all the used/recycled content out there.  Of course, that's Ebay (and like outlets), but also thrift stores and garage sales and such.  Frankly there's a lot more physical media content out there overall for sale than there is new media cost.  Hence, a lot of people will avoid new media for the costs and since the supply of it is so much more than the demand, the prices one can ask for them are getting driven down sharply.  There's been a ton of threads/text on this very forum about that.

I guess you're trying to sell your "100 mint paperbacks"?  Mostly they're long-wait items, basically because people look for specific things.  But like I hinted in the previous paragraph, be prepared to be disappointed, even on "New" copies of books.  Good luck on moving them though.