Online stores eat into Koti Sunday book market, small bookshops’ meal

Online stores are making it very hard for book sellers to stay open. Online websites offer books at cheaper prices, sometimes even cheaper than the small shops can buy them.

By Ali Raiyan

Hyderabad: In Hyderabad, small bookshops are in trouble. For a long time, places like the Sunday book market, the shops in Abids and Koti have been important parts of the city. But now, online stores are making it very hard for them to stay open. These online stores sell books very cheaply, sometimes even cheaper than the small shops can buy them.

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“It breaks my heart”, says Srinivas, who runs a bookstore in the city. “People come in, look at books for hours, but then they take out their phones. They find the same book cheaper online and order it as they leave. How can a small shop like mine compete with that?”

But the small shops are fighting back. They offer things that the big websites cannot. They build real friendships with their customers and create special experiences. A shop hosting popular book clubs exemplifies this. “We sell more than just books. It’s an experience. This is why people come,” says a book seller at Abids.

Also, many small shops focus on special books which the big websites ignore. They keep rare Telugu books safe. They find old out-of-print books. They sell books written by local authors that one won’t see recommended online.

Some customers know online shopping is easy, but they worry about losing these special places. “Yes, I buy online sometimes,” says Anjali, a college student. “But local booksellers find amazing books that websites would never show me. Losing these shops would not just be losing stores, it would be like losing part of Hyderabad’s heart.”

The future is unsure, but the bookshop owners are determined. Says Srinivas, “We are lively places where people meet. Every book bought here is a vote to keep these shops alive. We will change and try new things, but in the end, we need Hyderabad to choose us.”

The survival of these bookshops now depends on the people of Hyderabad, the same people the shops have served for so many years.