Shop for used books in Kuwait
Q8Books is a %90 driven used book store located at Al-Salam Tower nearby Salhiya Tower. The store is not %100 online driven, but through their site you can see a large portion of the used books they have. The store which have opened back in 2003 claim to have a collection of 12,000 books on the shelves available for selling.
So how does the store works? Simple. You have some used book you want to sell. Take it to them, or if you have over 100 book they could also come and ship it. They will value the quality of the book and offer you a price for it, given the book is in a good usable condition. Another option that is available is the “sell through”, where they post your book and you get a percentage of the sale price (if it sells!). Commission goes down if the book takes longer to sell in the latter case. You can call it a storage charge for books that doesn’t sell quick.
If you want to buy a book, you can fill up a form online to RESERVE the book for 5 days under your name. You will have to go within that time to purchase it.
I am not sure how good that idea is selling inside Kuwait. How many readers we have is a considerable question. We are not a reading society that much. We do buy a lot but we don’t read. So I’m not sure about second hand books. Another thing is, for people who have Aramex shipments all the time, most novel books are available for sale through Amazon resellers at 1 cent! I felt awkward however about Q8Books using the same submit buttons from Amazon. I thought for a second they are affiliating with them, but no it’s not the case.
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Jacob said,
August 7, 2007 @ 11:02 am
True! Used books are available for 1 cent on Amazon and a few other online bookstores in America. Then again, you pay around 2.50 US$ or more to ship each book to your Aramex designated post box. That takes a week or more. Aramex courier (if you have an account with them) will cost 2.500 KD for two books – assuming that they are mass paper back books. Then you wait for another week or two for these books to reach you. Now, if you work out your maths it would be something like this
Cost of Book – 1 Cent
Post & Courier – 5 US$
Waiting time – Two week plus
No buy back policy offered. If at all they do you will get half of 1 cent! Whatever that is.. Of course you have to spend another 5 dollars to send it back..! Better to bring it down to Q8books and trade it for a small value.
The other option is driving down to Kuwait City and to Q8books
Book Cost – 5.50 US$(the average cost of my paper backs which is about 1.800 KD)
Parking cost – 100 fills!
Waiting time – None!
Buy back offered.. So you get half the value back upon return. Unless your child used it as a painting board or the family dog took it for walk!
And if you are lucky, you may even be offered a free cup of tea or coffee even!
Yes. Reading is on the decline in Kuwait. I guess most of them are glued to the TV, internet, or playing video games! Yet, there are enough readers to have kept Q8books afloat for the last 4 years. Thanks mostly to a few loyal customers and also to the many who have liberally donated books too.
There are just less than half a dozen exclusive bookstores in Kuwait. Q8books is unique because it stocks new, used, and some out of print books as well. Besides, it is probably the only used bookstore in the Gulf that is online. Come to think of it, except for Magrudis in Dubai which has a few books online, there are no other new bookstores that are online either. Probably, the best thing about Q8books is that you can actually sell or trade your books there. Now, how many bookstores in Kuwait will do that? NONE
As for the author’s comment on if selling used books is a good idea in Kuwait – I can vouch first hand for it. Unlike most others things, there is very little differentiation made between reading a new book versus a used title. Actually, Kuwait could be one of the very few countries in the world where there are no public English language libraries accessible for the wider population. This in itself is such a shame. There are countless expatriates who make up for more than half the population in Kuwait who wish to read – and read inexpensively. So, in that sense atleast Q8books has come half way to meet the needs of such people. So, other than the immeasurable joy of serving people this way, and if the rent is paid for – then, truly it is all worth it.
Q8Ba7th said,
August 7, 2007 @ 11:27 am
@Jacob: Thanks for writing this informative comment and pleased to have the author comments on board. This gives some more trust in that there is someone following up on the site. Sad thing is, many great sites in Kuwait I come across are not updated. Which is why I suggest you add the Book Add date to inform customers how recent the book being added is.
As for the cost breakdown, I understand for individual books from Amazon it’s not a saving. That’s why I said “people who have Aramex shipments all the time”. Those people will only pay for local shipping US as most novels are less than 1/2 Kilo and will not add to the Aramex shipping cost. Also, some shipments make it to Kuwait in 1 week time or juts a bit more. If he is only buying this book, then your calculation is very much valid it’s not worth it.
I am really impressed if the idea is selling however, even if for only limited customers. Online and book business in Kuwait are both not having great success in most occasions. Exceptions apply ofcourse. It’s really sad good libraries are limited and expensive in Kuwait that I stopped shopping for books here. The only time I visit library is to see what’s available. Most of the time it’s either old or expensive book. I end up buying online.
Thanks again for taking the time to write down your comments, I may give your store a visit someday. It is our objective from this site to shed the light on available online services and businesses in Kuwait like yours.
Jacob said,
August 8, 2007 @ 10:24 am
Hie Q8Ba7th,
Q8books is regularly updated. This happens atleast once a week. If I am busy or lazy, then, it could takes 10 day to two weeks. Actually, on the left side menu bar there is a “just added” link. This is the best way to find out which new books have been added to our catalogues. The way I see it, readers just want to know what kind of books are available and not very particular about when it is added. As long as the books are available at the store.
Unlike many other online stores and websites selling stuff in Kuwait, Q8books is first and foremost a bookstore which has a website to compliment itself. So, without ever having to go online, you can always visit the store and physically check out the books. Since Kuwait is only a few miles apart, there is not reason to add a shopping cart and gateway to the site. Besides, shopping is, and will probably continue to be the foremost source of entertainment for most people living in Kuwait! It is unlikely, that the trend would change towards sitting in front of the computer to do shopping. This is perhaps one reason that many online stores have been unsuccessful in Kuwait. Moreover, there are very few websites (those selling or displaying consumer products) in Kuwait who have been active for the last 5 years or so and kept current. Fortunately, Q8books is one such store inspite of it being run by just a one man army!! Our website is an ad free site except for some post it notes. There is not much clutter and so the browsing is more focused as well. Ofcourse, having said all this, it is important to say that the website and the store is a pet project and so may lack the fineries that are found on other small online bookstores.
Yes. As your rightfully remarked, new books are indeed expensive in Kuwait. It is further compounded by the lack or libraries and used books stores. For many years I was faced with the same problem and finding no solution, I set out to start such a store where one can find books more modestly priced and also avail a right-to-return policy. After all, once a book is read, in most cases it sits on a shelf collecting dust!
You are welcome to step into the store anytime.. atleast for a cup of coffee! By then I hope to figure out how to pronounce “Q8Ba7th”!
Cheers..
Q8Ba7th said,
August 8, 2007 @ 12:18 pm
Thanks. I should give it a visit some time soon.