Many students are spending sleepless nights preparing for different common entrance tests and regular academic examinations, yet there is no hustle and bustle at Alankar Centre, which is a hub for bookstalls, which offer books on rent.
Given the examinations schedule, especially entrance tests, one expects high demand for book at these stores. On the contrary, many store owners lament that the trend of purchasing books or taking them on rent is slowly but surely diminishing.
There was a time when Nagoor Basha of Sai Alankar Book Centre used to look forward to the summer season in anticipation of good business. He used to place orders with publishers for different academic and competitive examination books well in advance. But all that is history and Mr. Basha is now worried about the slump in book sales and rising losses.
“Everything is available at a click of a button on the internet. Students, especially those pursuing engineering and medical courses visit our stores only when they do not get desired information or books on the web. In the process our business has taken a beating,” bemoans Mr. Basha.
There are close to 10 bookstores, which offer books on rent at Alankar Centre and another few at Eluru Road and many have been in the business since decades. The USP of these stores is to offer books on rent at 40 per cent of the book cost. However, students need to deposit the entire book cost as security and after the semester or examinations are over, the deposit is refunded after deducting the rent amount.
Earlier, students from neighbouring towns and districts used to visit the stores for books but thanks to online portals, which offer books on huge discounts, even their numbers are coming down. Except for few, many prefer to buy books online, adds Ramesh of another book store.
‘Sales down’“This apart, course curriculum of many professional courses is being revised frequently. We are finding it difficult to stock enough books. Every year sales are going down by 20 to 25 per cent,” adds Mr. Ramesh.
