These are tough times for certain kinds of booksellers. Australia’s largest online book retailer, Booktopia, which was founded in 2004, entered voluntary administration last week, admitting it had been trading at a loss for more than a year. On Wednesday it announced it was axing 165 staff, leaving a skeleton crew to pilot whatever remains of the business. Customers with books on order are in limbo.
It comes after the shuttering of the huge, largely UK-based online book retailer Book Depository. Offering more than 20 million titles, it was a popular option among Australian book buyers, thanks to its free delivery. Amazon – its parent company of more than a decade – closed the operation after flagging large-scale cuts in the company’s headcount.
But the news is not so gloomy for Australia’s independent book stores, says Robbie Egan, CEO of the Australian Booksellers Association. He says the collapse of online giants is “casting a pall” over the local industry, but the indie sector is holding up well, with book sales down only 2%.
“Bookshops are working their arses off and they are doing well in a brutal environment, with interest rates going up and cost-of-living pressures.”
Egan says sales data in the book sector is tightly held by each company, but his association can estimate 15 to 25% of book sales are flowing through the smaller, independent booksellers. There are about 400 to 500 independent bookstores in Australia and they have strong businesses, he says.
“Everyone benefited from a resurgence of reading during the pandemic, especially during the lockdowns in Melbourne and Sydney where people went berserk ordering books online.”
Egan says research shows people still go to a bricks and mortar bookstore without a purchase in mind. “People want to browse and they want a personal recommendation.”
Tough times, though, are ahead. “The booksellers haven’t yet felt the brunt of the interest rates. We know it’s coming,” he says, “but I feel quietly confident we will do OK.”
An online buying guide for Australian bookworms
1. Dymocks
The Australian chain has been kicking for 145 years, and it’s still family-owned. The website is deep, easy to use and covers its gifts, games and toy lines. It also lists in-store literary events (book readings, signings and meet-and-greets) and breaks down books into friendly categories.
Deliveries start from $9.99 for one item, with $1.50 extra for each item (up to five items) after that. Books in stock in Dymocks’ Sydney warehouse are dispatched the next working day.
2. QBD (Queensland Book Depot)
Founded in Queensland in the late 1800s as a seller of religious tomes, QBD now claims to be Australia’s largest specialty book retailer. The site is easy to navigate and offers the usual bells and whistles plus a little more in the form of a video book club with Channel 7 personalities Lee Carseldine and Victoria Carthew, as well as order tracking and lists of in-store events.
Delivery charges are capped at $8.95 nationwide and VIP members receive free standard postage year-round.
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3. The Nile
Amazon springs to mind too easily these days, but there’s always The Nile. A “family-and-friends-led enterprise”, it doesn’t have the profile of some of the bigger corporates but the site is easy to engage with and the pricing seems comparably sharp.
Shipping costs start from $5.99 and are calculated based on the size and weight of your order and where it’s heading. “Change of mind” returns are accepted within 30 days of delivery for most items if in the same condition they arrived in.
4. Brotherhood Books
A social enterprise of the Brotherhood of St. Laurence, Brotherhood Books has more than 40,000 second-hand titles available at any one time. It mightn’t have the latest or exactly the edition you are after, but your purchase goes toward the support of their community and outreach projects. You’re also helping to keep pre-loved books out of landfill.
Shipping is free with all orders more than $40.
5. Your local bookstore
The pandemic forced suburban bookstores to reassess their business and sharpen their internet presences. These days, some of Australia’s best known indie booksellers – Gleebooks and Berkelouw in Sydney, Avenue Books in Melbourne, Avid Reader in Brisbane, and the big national independents Harry Hartog and Readings – offer online experiences at least on a par with major competitors.
For niche and out-of-print titles, rare and secondhand books and university textbooks, they’re unbeatable (in terms of range at least) and when you reach out with a question, you can chat to someone who is passionate and book-smart. Some (Berkelouw, for example) also buy books, allowing you to free up shelf space for new reads.
Another option is Kinokuniya, the Japanese behemoth that excels in art, design and photographic titles and Asian-language publications, including manga.