Oxfam 'the Tesco of the bookworld'?

charlottestar · Oxfam 'the Tesco of the bookworld'?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cultur...-bookshops-booksellers-claim.html

I like Oxfam bookshops but I can see how they might be damaging to independent 2nd hand sellers. Bookselling...a pretty tough world!

wonderlake

We have a few charity shops on the high street here - Oxfam is good, but dare I say it - the books in there sometimes can be on the expensive side (!). They do always have something I or OH wants, but it can be a dead do sometimes. I think they have more 'literary' fiction than the others.

The others are cheaper, but more likely to have just titles along the lines of ex-Tesco Top 10 paperbacks ...

We also have an independent 2nd hand bookshop - again 'expensive' for what they are, sometimes the quality can be a bit off... maybe I should consider haggling ?

On balance if the 2nd hand bookshop and Oxfam had identical books, then I'd obviously get it from the charity shop...

When the local 'General Store' closed down (couldn't afford the rent anymore), a Charity shop replaced it...

blueflower

All the charity shops in Kendal are expensive when it comes to books. I read on here about the bargain buys at charity shops and think I wish.

As far as I am aware there is only one second hand book shop and that has more rare books etc.

I think the spokesperson in the article is right and there has been a downturn in people buying books either new or secondhand so I think the secondhand would still be feeling the pinch even with competition from charity shops.

eightlegs

I agree Gwen, I think the secondhand book shops would still be feeling the pinch without Oxfam bookshops, just as the independent book shops are with their new books trying to compete with the likes of supermarkets and even WHSmiths/Waterstones 3 for 2 deals etc.

But I can see the a place like Salibury having a large Oxfam specialist bookshop will take trade directly from 2nd hand bookshops. And I bet they do target towns with healthy book trades already. I wonder whether they are subject to the same planning restrictions as regular shops, ie are they just seen as a charity shop or as a book shop in direct competition with retail and specialist 2nd hand book shops?

charlottestar

I think they get charity shop status which means they get special rent rates and they're not subject to the same restrictions as other shops which must be slightly annoying for independent shops because Oxfam can open up shops on high streets and get more business I suppose where independents can't afford the rents.