Inquiring Minds: Used Books

[rolanni]

I'm hoping that the essay question and comments are large enough. If not, please do answer in comment.

Thanks!

[Poll #861037]

Comments

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

gee, which newsletter did you recently receive?

::hums tunelessly::

[bride.livejournal.com]

I try not to buy books at all. I try to borrow them from the library.

[queenoftheskies.livejournal.com]

I buy new and used books both.

I'd rather have new books, but books that are out-of-print or I can't find anywhere, I buy used if I have to.

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

As I recall, the first Liaden books I was able to find were used, and out-of-print at that.

[elbales]

If I see a new book by an author I really like, I will buy it new. I had to buy Conflict of Honors used because it was already OOP by the time I got around to buying it, but all the MM titles I've bought new, some in hback. I don't know if you keep a database of past purchases from SRM by customer name, but I've bought a lot of your titles recently 'cause I'm jonesing for anything Liaden. (I dig Jen, though. Want. More. *waits eagerly*)

If I see an new, interesting-looking book by an unknown, I will probably look for it at the library; if it's not available (e.g. it's mass-market or non-A list), I may or may not buy it new. If I happen to see if around later, used, I may or may not buy it.

I buy OOP stuff used. Obviously.

Is this stuff useful, or am I just maundering on?

[liviapenn.livejournal.com]

Just passing by on friendsfriends... It's hard for me to answer this poll; it's not as easy as "yes" or "no" in many of these cases.

I *do* deliberately buy used books most of the time, because (1) I don't have a ton of expendable income to buy books with, (2) probably at least half the books I buy have dead authors, so in that case, no, I really *don't* care that they get no money from the sale, (3) I have a thing about supporting independent bookstores, most of which specialize in used books, and finally (4) I don't feel guilty about going to the library, so why should I feel guilty about buying used books?

On the other hand, when there's an author I know I want to support, I've been known to buy multiple new copies of their books and give them as gifts, so it's not that I'm unaware that my purchasing habits have power. It's just that sometimes, there are factors that I care *more* about than supporting authors.

[(Anonymous)]

Gee, is someone (not you) getting pissy about used books?

Most of the used books I buy are no longer in print and/or no longer in hardcover (I replace certain favorite paperbacks with hardcovers when I can find them, because the HC last longer). As long as I can't find any new books that look interesting, I'll fill in my time with used.

As for the lack of royalties, the author got royalties when the book was sold new. Friends I know who buy new and later sell to used bookstores usually recycle the money they get for the used ones back into buying more new. It would be like the auto manufacturers objecting because they don't get a cut of the sale price when someone sells a used car to trade up to a new one.

The poll is messed up, at least for me. I see the poll results, but no way to fill in the poll, even when I click on the "Fill In Poll" link. Dunno what's going on.

[adina-atl.livejournal.com]

That was me, by the way.

[malkingrey.livejournal.com]

I don't buy used books now because (1) there's no place within an hour and a half of here that sells them, and (2) by and large, I can afford not to.

On the other hand, I remember very well how much I depended on used bookstores when I was a teenager in darkest north Texas, and a college student in deepest Arkansas. And those sales weren't lost hardcover sales, or even lost paperback sales -- given the state of my budget at the time, the choice wasn't between an expensive new book or a cheaper used one, it was betwen a used book or no book at all.

[trolleypup.livejournal.com]

Ditto.

I will admit to buying ARCs off eBay simply because it is the only way I can get the words in front of me earlier. I would be perfectly happy to pay the author(s) for ARCs, if they offered them. Heck, I'd buy the galleys[1].

I can't say I'm consistent about this, but if a favorite author has a "Contribute Here" clicky on their website, I'll click through from time to time. And if I'm going to dinner with an author, I will enter the competition to pay.

[1] And just did...in a charity auction.

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

^^ What she said. When I was too poor to buy books, I borrowed them from my friends; that didn't pay royalties to the author, either. MZB got not a penny from me in my college years, but she made up for it later.

[torrilin.livejournal.com]

Up until this may, I could mostly afford not to buy used. Partner and I are unemployed so now used is our only option. It's not fun.

[xinef.livejournal.com]

I generally buy new books, ie released in the past 2-5 years, new. I generally buy older books, ie >10 years old, used, esp if I'm not likely to reread the book many times. In between varies with factors including availability new vs used, cost, how much I think I'm going to read the book, etc. So my answer to question 3 (Do you deliberately buy used books rather than new?) depends on context. And I rarely get rid of any book that I've purchased!

[rocalisa.livejournal.com]

I would prefer to buy all my books new and see the authors get the royalties but I simply can't afford it.

I'd prefer to buy a new author second hand to try them out, but if I really like an author I'll do my best to buy new whenever I can.

There are too many books coming out now to afford them all new.

[rahaeli.livejournal.com]

*insert rant about how publishers need to get off their asses, enter the digital age, and start offering OOP stuff as online downloads for a couple of bucks so I can actually GIVE THE AUTHORS SOME MONEY*

[elbales]

Word.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

More than 90% of the fiction on my shelves was bought used. I am more likely to buy new books for a gift, where the book is in print, except for my closest friends -- I know they would rather have more books. Well over 95% of my reading is books I've bought used and library books. I don't resell my culls at online auction. I resell them at my local bookstore, which is vastly more convenient for me to deal with than UPS.

[tardis1963.livejournal.com]

You don't mention remaindered hardback books in the survey. What about authors who sell used books?

[houseboatonstyx.livejournal.com]

Ideally, I'd rather buy an ebook direct from the author's website with no middleman, and save my bookshelf space. If no ebook was available, next preference would be to get a used copy and donate some money directly to the author at the author's site: some amount more than the royalty he would get on a new purchase.

Of course this would be different with self-publishing authors.

[ellarien]

I'm fortunate enough to be able to afford to buy plenty of books new, but not everything I want is still available. I've been known to buy lightly-used hardcovers of books I really liked to replace paperbacks I bought new (which then went for trade credit at my local used bookstore), and to buy new reissues of things I originally bought used (ditto, if the store will take them.) I've also bought new hardcovers of new works from authors whose work I've enjoyed in used form, when the opportunity arises.

My culls, maybe two or three dozen a year, go for trade credit at the used bookstore if possible (the staff there are a bit picky), otherwise as thriftstore donations.

[benbenberi.livejournal.com]

I prefer new books, generally buy used only if the book is o-o-p/otherwise unavailable or if I'm sampling an unfamiliar author or want a cheap (expendable) second copy. These days, that's probably 2-3 used books/year. Books I'm purging from my collection I sell for cash when possible, or else I donate them.

[windrose.livejournal.com]

I worked for many years in a used, rare & antiquarian bookshop that specialized in scholarly nonfiction. A good portion of the NF books in my library came from there, as well as from other used bookshops. Used bookshops are the kinds of places I haunt for rare and out-of-print pieces; otherwise, I buy things new, especially fiction. If I come to a fiction author late, I might search a used bookstore for earlier works, but only if they are not available in print.

I don't sell books online, I go directly to the used bookshops in the area. My former boss was the VP of the Florida Antiquarian Booksellers Association, so I know damned well how to grade, catalog and price used books, and can tell if someone is trying to rip me off. That's actually one way I determine if a used bookshop is going to get my business or not; they may have glorious books on the shelf, but if they try to screw me when I sell things, they will not get my business. It's one of the reasons I would rather gnaw open my own wrists than shop at Bookmans in Tucson, they're freaking pirates.

Everything else goes to the local Friends of the Library book sale, or other charitable groups that accept books.

[papersky.livejournal.com]

When you're only paying a dollar for a book, you can afford to take risks and try previously unknown writers.

There are a number of writers on my shelves where I bought the first book used for very little, went on and picked up the others in British paperback, couldn't wait that long and bought more as they came out in US paperback, and eventually caved in and started buying the hardcovers.

In fact, this is such a pattern for me that I'd be a terrible hypocrite if I ever said a word against either second hand books or libraries. And anyway, I already got the royalties when someone bought it the first time -- and they didn't even like it!

The things I buy second hand tend to be out of print treasures and new-to-me writers. Oh, and copies of OOP much loved books I already own and want to give people.

[queenmaggie.livejournal.com]

I buy out-of-print books used, or books that have been recommended by Amazon, but I don't know the author or if I'll like them. When a favorite author comes out wqith a new book, I usually buy the hardcover.
I've been wondering...is it better for the author's sales or income to buy direct from a website or to go through the big stores (like Borders or Amazon) so that they get seen by the powers as good sellers?

Yesterday... Oi!

[lavenderbard.livejournal.com]

My husband buys new... I buy used. He picks up the favorite authors' latest and occasional interesting looking newcomers, and I fill up on the backlist. We get a lot of stuff out of the library, and only rarely end up owning anything we don't want to read again. When we do, we trade them in at the used bookstore for credit.

I find yes/no questions hard to answer. Any answer I choose is at least partially wrong. :)

[orlacarey.livejournal.com]

I tend to buy books by favorite authors or series new. However I also tend to lose books - 2nd or 3rd copies may come from used bookstores. Out of print I look online (bookfinder, et al). I am also rarely without a book to read and if I'm "out of book" and pass a used bookstore I might stop. For the most part though, 90% of my books are new when I buy them. However this is really screwing with my budget so I've recently gone to the library a lot more. I still buy "favorite" books though.

[herefox.livejournal.com]

To elaborate on my answers, for the most part I buy my books new. Generally the books I get used are either out of print, guilty pleasure books that I know I'll probably hate myself for in the morning after having read them and the occasional book that looked interesting in the bookstore but I couldn't decide if I wanted.

I also buy used books occasionally to fill in gaps in my collection where I own all the books but one hardcover and the like.

[(Anonymous)]

I couldn't get to the poll either.

Count me in as buying mostly OOP or new-to-me author books used. This is especially true if I'm coming late to a series and am not sure if I'll like it. I buy the first book or two used, then will buy others new if I like it. And I'll buy major-author books used to save money; I can't believe my royalties make much difference to, say, Nora Roberts. But I am aware of the need for numbers/royalties for newer authors and favorite authors, and buy new where I can. There are a limited set of authors I buy in hardback; I may read a new release from the library and buy it when the paperback comes out.

The books I don't keep, I usually donate to our library's used book sale.

I bought Parters in Necessity in paperback from MM because the hardback was expensive and I hadn't read any Liaden books before. (I was interested because AlexLit kept recommending them to me.) I was delighted to find the hardback in a used bookstore later ... wouldn't have bought it new, but was glad to have it for the durability, as I'd already reread the paperback several times and it was getting a little beat up.

[msmemory.livejournal.com]

If it's a current in-print title, I buy new. However, I look for a lot of titles that are old, obscure, or out-of-print, so used is my best option. I did go through a phase of trying to replace mass market paperbacks with used hardcovers, for longevity and shelf beauty, but lately I've been conserving shelf space by purchasing paperbacks except for certain authors whose works I collect in hc/trade/first edition.

I think it might have been informative to break out fiction and nonfiction in your poll.

[sraun]

Do you believe that sales of new mass market paperbacks are suffering because of the availability of cheap used hardback or trade paper books?

I refused to answer this question, on the grounds that I hadn't ever thought of it before, didn't have any data, and haven't the faintest idea.

[celticdragonfly.livejournal.com]

Boy, what an implication of "if you buy used books, you're a nasty meanie who doesn't like authors". Thanks a lot.

Most of the books I'm likely to buy used are out of print books. Like, say, the rest of the Liaden books I'd like to own - that I've spent several cons searching booksellers for any copy of.

If there was print-on-demand, for a reasonable price, I'd far prefer that.

The other likely use for used books is to buy a couple starter books of some series I like, and give them to someone to hook them on the series or author.

[oberon.livejournal.com]

On a related note, I recently purchased (new) several Baen books at a ridiculously low price, they were 'special edition' versions.... same as the regular MMP, but low-priced 'the first taste is free, then you're hooked' kind of books. Baen in particular has had an ongoing Free Library E-book program running for years now to attempt to buck conventional wisdom and offer up one book of a series free in hopes that it will improve sales of paper copies for the series. Doesn't seem to have hurt them so far. I guess my point is that with several billion potential readers / sales opportunities, a few thousand used books don't count as 'lost sales' when they've already been sold once, they count as 'free advertising'.

Does the polling feature of LJ not work with Opera?

[(Anonymous)]

I read your blog every day or so, yet the last 2 polls have been available as results only. Does the feature not work with all browsers? Does it stay open only a limited time? Could you send an announcement to the Liaden list in the future?

I buy used books.

Currently, in the '1 to 6 a month' range.

Wny? I'm on welfare; circumstances dictate that I be frugal.

I feel I buy used for the same reason I don't have HBO; eventually, those movies will show up on cable TV where I can watch them at my convenience.

Well, I'd be surprised if they did.

Only in a distant, theoretical sense.

I think sales of new mass market paperbacks are affected mostly by the current economy & a possibly incorrect perception about the division of book sales between paperback & hardcovers. If you can buy a hardcover, you don't need the paperback, & vice versa.

No, I don't sell anything on auction sites, but if I did, I doubt I would sell books because I only tend to buy books I want to hang onto. My books have gone their seperate ways from me only on occasions dictated by circumstance, not because I got tired of them. There are some books I still regret not having from days gone by.

Re: Does the polling feature of LJ not work with Opera?

[tardis1963.livejournal.com]

I suspect the polls only work for people with LJ accounts.
Until I opened my account I couldn't participate in them.

Ninety five percent of the used books I have sold over the last two decades have gone to Glen Cook, and most of them were out of print copies of his own books which I sold to him at cost.

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

I think this may be the largest response I've seen!

Seems to be a definite point of interest to your readers.

Mike

[kk1raven.livejournal.com]

I buy used books because the cost of new books has gotten too high for me to afford to buy many of them, because a lot of books aren't available new, and because they're a good way to take a look at an unknown author's work without investing much. I almost never buy new books at full price. I try to save new-book buying for times when I have good coupons from Borders. 20-30% off makes the prices considerably easier to manage. If Borders doesn't stock the book in question, that doesn't work though.

I buy very, very few new hardcovers apart at regular price, or close to it. Given the amount of disposable income I have, spending that much on a book is hard to justify. Your books are one of the exceptions. (I really want trade paperbacks rather than hardcover, but I don't have the patience to way for them, so I've been splurging and buying hard covers.)

I really don't think used books, hardcover or paperback, cause authors to lose a lot of money because I don't think the people who buy them would go out and buy the books new in most cases anyway. A lot of the used books I buy come from library book sales, and I buy a lot of questionable books that I wouldn't have otherwise bought because doing so is a way of supporting the libraries. Very few of those books are anything I'd have bought new, at least not without reading it first. Remaindered books might cause more loss of money to authors. I am right in thinking you don't get normal royalties on those, aren't I? I will admit to buying remaindered hardcovers instead of new paperbacks in some cases.