The murder of the bookstore

December 21, 2014 12:46 am | Updated 12:46 am IST

openpage ebookstores colour 211214

openpage ebookstores colour 211214

Early one morning I was at the Bengaluru airport to fly to Patna. Now, when the last time I boarded a flight from there I found a pretty good bookstore near Gate No. 1, and since I was travelling alone I was looking forward to spending some quiet time in that bookstore.

I checked in, only to meet a surprise awaiting me. The bookstore was not there. I rechecked the door number; I was at the right place. Instead of that bookstore there stood now an antiques shop. For a moment I thought I was mistaken, but when I moved around that new shop, I realised that when I came last time the bookstore stood at that very place. I tried spending a few minutes there, but then my curiosity got the better of me and took me to the manager of that shop. And I hesitantly asked: “Excuse me! Wasn’t there a bookstore here, months ago?” He gave me a weird look and then replied grumpily, “Oh! That has been shifted to Door No. 15.”

So, then began my journey to Door 15. Now, being a classic young Indian boy, I didn’t bother to ask for directions. I found almost all gates but 15. It was as if such a door did not exist. After a good 20 minutes of buzzing around I finally found that door. It was almost at the end, after a sharp turn. I wondered how on earth people would board their flights from this door. Anyhow, the bookstore stood there right in front of me now. But, it was not that same bookstore. It used to cover much more space, now it was confined to a small corner. It looked more like an unwanted child.

The bookstore was ‘dying’. There were a few book-lovers already there flipping pages of different titles. Now, since I had no option I decided to stick to this early morning prize of mine. Soon, I narrowed it down to two books. While I was about to move to the counter, a thought crossed my mind. I took out my phone and checked online reviews for the two books. My browser took me to two popular ‘online stores’, and apart from reading reviews I noticed the books were each around Rs.30 cheaper if ordered online. But what if I forget titles by the time I reach home: I bookmarked the two order pages. I don’t know but a guilt feeling started growing as soon as I decided not to buy those books there and instead order online (and save Rs.30).

Then, a flash of light drew my attention. A girl was taking pictures of cover pages of books she liked. I went to her, and asked, “These are cheaper online, aren’t they?” And she smiled back, as if she found a partner in crime. “Exactly! That is why I am taking pictures, to order online.”

Soon, I realised it was not just the two of us. The counter was empty, and most people in there were looking into their smart phones, probably cross-checking prices. Nobody was buying. The manager didn’t look too happy.

The bookshop wasn’t dying; it was being murdered, slowly, by people who once probably loved it. If sales go down like that, then one day probably there won’t be a bookstore even at Gate 15.

And this is not an isolated case. Bookstores across the country face the same fate. And should we let them die? Is it time now for them to go and make space for ‘e-sellers’? But is this fight fair?

Firstly, these online stores offer great discount on books (and other stuff too), which is hard to get or even ask for when buying from a bookstore, the trick being the huge back-funds these online retailers receive. Hence they can afford to sell books cheaper than bookstores.

Secondly, isn’t this trend a kind of ‘unhealthy competition’, that is, elimination of competitors by pricing products way lower than them?

This brings us to the third point, which is the news about the boycott of the new book by the Indian President by several bookstores that are not happy with the ‘self-oriented’ (read selfish) decision of Rupa to give an online retailer (Amazon) exclusive rights to sell the book for the first three weeks.

Now, bookstores have loyal customers who come looking whenever a book is released, and they expect every time to find that ‘new’ book. And bookstores rarely disappoint them. Now, is it fair to give a particular e-retailer exclusive rights to sell a book? Well it might be legally, but is it justifiable ethically, and isn’t it creating an uneven ground for similar products?

So, are we slowly moving towards a kind of “genocide of bookstores”? We can expect resistance for a few years and may be decades, but for how long can one fight a rigged battle? The need is to come up with proper regulation of the ‘e-bazaar’, which sells products at extremely uneven rates compared to the physical market. Such price fluctuations might lead the market into serious trouble one day or the other. Technology is a good thing and e-shops bring the whole market to our living rooms, but they will never give you the joy of walking around a bookstore, filled with the smell of new books.

And, well! That day I decided not to save Rs.30.

poemsagar@gmail.com

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.