Another Way Amazon Impacts Used Book Buying

by James Wallace Harris, 5/28/24

I was just at my library’s Friends of the Library bookstore, called Second Editions. They sell used books people have donated to the library. It’s probably the second-best used bookstore in Memphis. Today, the place was in a mess. It had just been picked over by an Amazon used bookseller. They had spent over a day scanning every volume in the store that had a barcode and bought nineteen boxes of books.

This is great for Second Editions. The Friends of the Library have two giant, four-day sales every year, and keep a bookstore open in the main library five days a week. Evidently, this still doesn’t put a dent in the donations. The staff today was hauling up cartloads of books to fill in all the empty places on the shelves.

However, I was a little miffed. I went hoping to snag something specific. I often find recent bestsellers in hardback, usually in fine condition for $4 in a dust jacket. I was hoping to snag a copy of A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles because we’ve been enjoying the limited series on TV. I’ve often seen it at Second Editions. But not today.

The cheapest used hardcover copy in very good condition at Amazon, with shipping is $10.74. Those guys who sell used books on Amazon should make a good profit if they found a $4 copy at Second Edition. The cheapest good condition hardcover at ABEbooks is $9.16. The cheapest softcover copy is $7.47. Those usually go for $3 at Second Editions.

Amazon used booksellers buy Friends of the Library memberships so they can go to the preview day sales for members. Whenever my friends and I go to those preview sales we see hordes of Amazon resellers with scanners grabbing everything they can as fast as possible. Us bargain shoppers resent that.

However, I do admire their enterprising efforts. The guys who cleaned out Second Editions were in a truck from Texas and were driving around on a mission. If I were younger, and needed money, I would consider doing the same thing. I used to dream of owning a bookstore.

Evidently, most of these resellers rely on scan codes and software to tell them if the book is worth buying. They ignore books before ISBNs. I admire old-style book dealers like Larry McMurtry who knew the books, their history, and values without a computer.

Still, today, I had a decent haul. All books without ISBNs.

• Letters From the Earth by Mark Twain. Original hardback, but it has no publication information. Wasn’t listed as a Book Club edition. This copy had a worn dustjacket.
• Portnoy’s Complaint by Philip Roth. Book club edition in dustjacket. Very good condition. Cloth binding.
• The Genocides by Thomas M. Disch. Paperback, Berkley Medallion, December 1965. Near fine.
• Sex and the High Command by John Boyd. Paperback, Bantam, September 1971.

I could have easily bought all of these online, but for a good deal more than $7.63 I paid for them at Second Editions.

It’s fun to shop at used bookstores. But I depend on serendipity for what I’ll find. When I want something specific right away, online bookstores are the best.

I guess Amazon resellers are good for local used bookstores because they buy a lot of books. And they are good for book buyers who want specific books. Shopping on ABEbooks or Amazon for used books is like instantly searching thousands of used bookstores all at once.

However, it kind of ruins the fun for us bargain hunters who like to shop locally.

JWH