The demise of the second-hand bookshop
The big second-hand bookseller in my town has a huge collection and several locations in multiple metro areas. Yet they have no way to search for a specific title!<p>I was shocked. If you have no idea of your current inventory and sales history, how do you know how much to pay for people&#x27;s books? Their books are about $0.50 a title -- I would gladly pay that price for a book I would otherwise get from the library if I knew it was available. They would be able to do a serious business selling required titles to local college students. And they could have a robust online presence through 3rd party sellers like Amazon and Ebay.<p>Yes, some beloved used bookstores are falling victim to &quot;market forces&quot;. But if those same market forces inject some modernity into these businesses that badly need it, I&#x27;d be very grateful.