Chennai: It is not often that a bibliophile gets to be awestruck. Bookchor works to bring such moments into the lives of those who are passionate about books. Their ‘Lock-the-box’ warehouse sale in Chennai went on for three days and proved fascinating for book lovers.
“We did not expect this kind of overwhelming reponse from Chennai”, says 24-year-old- Alok Raj Sharma, one of the co-founders of Bookchor. “The idea of a secondhand bookstore stemmed in our minds since college days in Delhi. We had always searched for secondhand book stores. Albeit finding so many of them, we had always found something amiss. The whole idea of Bookchor started there. A platform of secondhand books, in good condition, that can be bought and sold; a paradise for any avid reader out there”, says Alok.
“Bookchor is a tale about friendship and the passion that we all share for reading. However much the technology has developed and no matter how many kindles you own, the feeling of a book is vividly different experience altogether,” says the tenacious 24-year old.
For Chennaiites, the concept turned out to be quite novel. “I have followed Bookchor app for a while now, were quite excited when they put up posters in facebook and instagram, seeking volunteers for their warehouse sale in Chennai. This is the right place for anyone who loves books. It is a heaven on earth as everything you do includes books. There is so much effort behind each gesture of the organisers and they are indeed the best people to work for. They keep refilling the stock every hour, making sure that no one returns home disappointed”, says Vaishali Subramanian, an enthusiastic Chennaiite who was one of 25 regional volunteers in the exhibition.
People who want to sell secondhand books can approach the organisers through the app and earn loyalty points for the same, which they can use for purchasing through the app. In Delhi, they have runners with whom you can schedule an appointment and keep the books packed, which they will pick up from you or you can drop it off at any Bookchor outlets.
Lock -the-box sale is a unique idea where a reader can buy any of the three boxes; Odysseus, Perseus and Hercules. The Odysseus box can fit 8-10 books and costs '999. The Perseus box costs '1,499 and can hold between 15-17 books. The largest, the Hercules box, is a Herculean task to carry, as it costs '2,499 and can hold 30 books, depending on how well you can pack.
And if you run out of space, you can always buy another box. The only condition is that you should be able to seal the box somehow. It easily comes to double the worth of the money you spend. One should have an open mindset while attending their sale, because in a selection of 4 lakh books, you may find it difficult to be specific.
“I found many new authors, was pleasantly surprised by the colossal collection that they have here, and I chose to go by my instinct and book descriptions rather than looking for something in particular,” says Remya Narayanan, a literature student. The little ones were delighted too, as Shashikala ,the mother of 7-year-old Ved pointed out, “the selection in children literature was mind blowing. Good stuff for children are always so hard to find and I am unable to make my son stand still”, says a smiling mom.
The Indian books stock were also very low, to which the troubled founders admit that it is very difficult to procure second hand books in India, as the Indians find it painful to let go of the books they have in their collection. There were complaints that the poetry section was not well stocked and the organisers are promising to look into it.
With another sale just around the corner In Hyderabad , Bookchors are running around to make sure that nothing goes south. “Chennai will see us again at the beginning of next year, as our schedules are packed for the rest of 2018,” answers Alok to the keen readers that quizzed him.
