Sales of used books have increased on marketplaces

After the rise in price of new books against the backdrop of an increase in the cost of printing and materials, citizens began to actively purchase old publications remotely. According to marketplace data, sales growth in the category in the first half of the year year-on-year was about 38%, and on classifieds, demand for used books overall grew by 24%.

According to marketplace data reviewed by Kommersant, sales of used book publications increased significantly in the first half of the year year on year. The category of second-hand books includes books published from 1942 to 2010. But many participants in the publishing market argue that only books that are more than 50 years old can be called second-hand books.

Thus, Ozon notes that the growth in sales of the segment for the period was 38% in units, 52% in money, and the assortment in the segment itself grew by 43%. On Wildberries, sales of second-hand books (in units) increased by 300% in nine months. The company clarified that the first experiments of sellers with a similar assortment on the platform began in the first half of 2021, and in 2022, large and medium-sized second-hand book dealers, including regional ones, began to actively enter the marketplace. Wildberries associates the growth in second-hand book sales with both an increase in the range of the segment and an increase in the number of sellers. Ozon and Wildberries did not specify absolute figures.

Avito did not disclose data on the segment, but said that the growth in sales of used books as a whole in the first half year-on-year was 24%: “At the same time, the demand for new books on the platform increased even more noticeably – by 28%, but a larger share Already “read” books take up sales.” Currently, the platform contains about 2.8 million advertisements for the sale of books, of which about 800 thousand are new publications, Avito added.

Avito also recalled that prices for second-hand books depend on rarity, condition and year of publication: “For example, in Anapa you can buy a rare edition of Alexander Pushkin from 1899 for 70 thousand rubles. But on the platform you can find advertisements for 50–100 rubles, books are often given away for free in order to free up space in the home library.”

Often such books are purchased for resale at a higher price, clarifies Kommersant’s interlocutor on the book market.

“Many consumers do not realize the value of a particular publication at their disposal,” he notes. Many books published in 2010 can be found on marketplaces at a fairly affordable price, agrees Kommersant’s interlocutor on the media market. The price of such publications on marketplaces and Avito varies from 50 rubles. up to 800 rubles, Kommersant was convinced.

A surge of interest in old books in the Subscription Editions store was noticed two or three years ago. Then it added a second-hand book department, notes Anna Kanunnikova, manager of the second-hand bookstore “Academy”. According to her, the department’s team subsequently took over the Academy specialized store, which opened in May 2023 on the site of the closed Akademkniga. First of all, buyers are interested in books published in limited editions, says Ms. Kanunnikova. “Average circulation today is decreasing, and sometimes it can be incredibly difficult to find a book published a year ago,” she explains. Thus, the circulation of books and brochures published in the Russian Federation in January-March fell by 23%, to 69 million copies, the Russian Book Chamber reported (see Kommersant on June 5).

Most buyers are now switching to a savings model of consumption, says Irina Antonova, marketing director of the Alpina publishing group. In her opinion, the growth in demand for second-hand books is also associated with conscious consumption and concern for the environmental agenda: “Many consumers are switching to the model of recycling or book exchange precisely for these reasons.”

The former head of the Association of Internet Publishers, Vladimir Kharitonov, argues that books from the “used book” segment are not always rare, but rather second-hand, and therefore cheaper, which stimulates purchases. Earlier, the Rosmen publishing house predicted that by the end of 2023, book prices could increase by another 10–15% due to an increase in the cost of printing and materials (see Kommersant on April 17).

Yulia Yurasova