Used books, Internet: a good combo

On a street uphill from Geumho Station in central Seoul, four small shoebox bookstores stand side by side and share a rather quirky name, "Goguma," or "Sweet Potato." And, appearances notwithstanding, business is good.

High stacks of books and magazines clutter each store, and visitors and passers-by alike cannot but wonder what they might find inside. Rows and rows of books fill the bookshelves up to the ceiling: past issues of magazines, children`s books, foreign books and various collections of discontinued or rare books. Take your choice.

"I am not sure how many books I have as I still have some unsorted in the warehouse. But last time I counted there were about 300,000," said Goguma`s owner Lee Beom-soon, an understandable trace of pride in his voice.

He opened the used bookstore 20 years ago as "Joongang Bookstore," and it is now the fourth Sweet Potato shoebox. Lee acquired the three stores below it as his book collection expanded.

It all grew from Lee`s passion for books. When he discovered it was also a serious business and it was too late for him to get out from under the books he loved, he saw potential in using the Internet.

In 1997 he launched an Internet search engine for his bookstore. "At that time, not many people were familiar with the Internet, let alone an online bookstore. I myself was stunned by the whole new concept but somehow I thought this was the way to go," said Lee.

After eight years, the Web site now is a major channel for booklovers to find what they want.

"It is amazing how fast the online business grows. This, however, also shows how many people have been deprived of the chance to purchase used books," he said, noting that people living off the beaten track in areas far from the capital are the main beneficiaries and the most frequent customers.

People looking for discontinued editions or rare books also take advantage of the Web site. There is no need to rummage through the heaps of books in the four bookstores or to leave empty-handed.

Anyone who is looking for a particular book from years gone by can seek Lee`s help from a section labeled "A book from the memory."

"About 50,000 to 60,000 customers visit the Web site every day and we have been able to compile a database which covers about 400,000 books," he said. "Now the online sales make up 70 percent of my total."

Following his lead, the number of online used bookstores has been growing and some offline stores are even opting to close their doors and sell only via a Web site to save costs and increase sales. There are about a dozen well-established Web sites devoted to used books and Goguma is one of the three major online stores.

Lee and his 13 staff took more than four months to build up the store`s database because, he noted, unlike brand new books which only require a single record, "used books need a human touch."

"First you collect books, then sort them according to various factors, such as condition and the publishing date, which is the key step in dealing with used books," he explained. It also requires "a certain extent of expertise and good eyes." Next comes cataloguing and maintaining the database.

Books are also filed according to subject and even countries of publication so customers can cross reference easily. "We do our best but it is not easy; as you know online also means simultaneity."

Ensuring the database is kept up-to-date also means higher costs, Lee acknowledged, but books are his livelihood, and his life, and he`s not going to change.

"Some forecast the end of books in paper, but so far it has not happened. And I personally think that it will not happen in a very long time, if ever. There might be changes in some ways but the books themselves will stay with us," he said.

(glamazon@heraldm.com)





By Hwang You-mee