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Press & Media >Traverse City Record Eagle
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Apr, 2009
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Readers find ways to economize
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By MARTA HEPLER DRAHOS
mdrahos@record-eagle.com
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TRAVERSE CITY -- Michele Kossack didn't need a recession to change her book-buying habits.
The part-time Williamsburg resident has been buying and trading used books to save money since "forever."
"My mother used to work for Salvation Army. It's something we've always done," said Kossack, a customer of The Bookie Joint on Union Street in downtown Traverse City. "I agree with being thrifty as much as you can. I was 12 before we had a home with running water."
People like Kossack and her husband, Tom, have been the bread-and-butter of libraries and used bookstores for years. But thanks to the recession, more and more retail book buyers are discovering cheaper alternatives.
Gloria Veltman has seen an uptick in business at her used bookstore So Many Books, So Little Time. Tucked away at the far end of Front Street Commons, formerly the Arcade, the store stocks about 12,000 used books.
"I think the economy has had a positive influence because people who last year would pay $8 for a paperback now are more open to buying used," said Veltman, who carries everything from collectibles to "something to just sit and read."
"And some people who are laid off are reading more," she said. "One woman who comes here is reading four books a week as opposed to one book a week."
Jann Norton not only had more new customers in 2008 but now is seeing an increase in return customers. The 12,000-square-foot Bookie Joint operates on the trade credit system, meaning customers bring in their used books and get credit for others.
"I've been pulling cards of people who haven't been here in three years, five years, and they were telling me they've been buying books at the grocery store three at a time every time they went grocery shopping," said Norton. "Now they're going to rethink that. They're going to start coming once a month and buy a bag 'cause mine are half price."
More people also are selling their old books to make it through the recession, Norton noted.
"Every day I get calls," she said, adding that she rarely buys books.
Mitchell Silverman, founder of the online barter community Bookins.com, said his business has grown by 25 percent since the recession.
"The key was to make bartering simple," said Silverman, who has 40,000 traders. "Our site is so simple, in fact, that you never have to contact anyone; our system does the work. We even provide postage, which is printed from our Web site."
Customers of the 5-year-old trading engine enter the ISBN or UPC code from the back of the book or DVD they want to offer, then choose items they'd like to receive. The system sets fair values for each item, finds trading partners and automatically arranges for shipments. Shipping is free for outgoing items and labels with prepaid U.S. postage can be printed on regular paper from the Web site. Flat rate shipping for each item received is $4.49, regardless of weight.
The recession also has been a boon for libraries across the region, from Cadillac Wexford Library, which reported a 39-percent spike in visitors in January 2009 compared to January 2008, to Glen Lake Community Library, which saw an increase of about half that.
"Our business has been generally pretty steady," said David Diller, director of the Glen Lake library that serves an affluent community in Glen Arbor, Empire and Kasson townships. "However, this past winter we have noticed that our circulation is up 15 percent over a year ago. It's hard to say what else would account for that. Winter was harsh this year, but my hunch is that people are economizing a bit and one way is that people aren't buying as many materials.
"We don't wish hard economic times on anybody," he added, "but we have some great resources and we like to see people use them."
Historically, the tougher the economic times, the busier the library becomes, said Pamela Grudzien, chairman of the 700-member Michigan Library Consortium. People borrow books and DVDs instead of buying them. Parents take their children to the library for recreation. People who are unemployed or facing unemployment use library computers to update their resumes and apply for jobs.
"I know that several members on the MLC board have been talking about special programming and resumes and how to look for jobs," Grudzien said. "The public libraries are really tuned into their communities and the needs they have and tailor their services to (those needs)."
Veltman is busiest in summer and expects to have even more customers this season, with book club readers and students looking for certain books they have to read by fall.
"Starting in June I get everything from kids themselves to grandparents to buy them," she said. "The libraries in a time of economic need can't afford to buy two dozen copies of a book because some English teacher decided to make it (required reading)."
Like most librarians and used booksellers, Veltman said she hopes the trend won't end when the economy takes a turn for the better.
"I hope the people who have discovered this alternative will continue to buy used books," she said.
http://www.record-eagle.com/features/local_story_118063011.html
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