Comments on: Books: is Oxfam being the bad guy? http://www.nickharkaway.com/2010/02/oxfam/ Website and blog of Nick Harkaway, author of “The Gone-Away World”. Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:29:24 -0700 hourly 1 By: Nick Harkaway http://www.nickharkaway.com/2010/02/oxfam/comment-page-1/#comment-1831 Nick Harkaway Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:39:37 +0000 http://www.nickharkaway.com/?p=2761#comment-1831 Elliot - alas, it ain't so, at least in the UK. I think it's something like three times as many indies closed as opened last year. I don't think "the industry" is cohesive enough to keep quiet about a move online (and Oxfam are also online) - and I have to say that the online trade is dominated by certain other large players. If you have figures for the move online, I'd love to see them, though. Elliot – alas, it ain’t so, at least in the UK. I think it’s something like three times as many indies closed as opened last year. I don’t think “the industry” is cohesive enough to keep quiet about a move online (and Oxfam are also online) – and I have to say that the online trade is dominated by certain other large players. If you have figures for the move online, I’d love to see them, though.

]]> By: Elliot http://www.nickharkaway.com/2010/02/oxfam/comment-page-1/#comment-1830 Elliot Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:35:11 +0000 http://www.nickharkaway.com/?p=2761#comment-1830 Not sure whether this will help your dilema but think you may find that there are just as many indies and used booksellers now as there were ten years ago, well before Oxfam became a serious player in the used books business. Indies etc have just moved online which, is where their consumers have gone. It's quite shameful that the industry is keeping quiet on this fact. Surely they are not hoping to profit from the undeserved negative publicity Oxfam is facing? Now who are the bullies? Not sure whether this will help your dilema but think you may find that there are just as many indies and used booksellers now as there were ten years ago, well before Oxfam became a serious player in the used books business. Indies etc have just moved online which, is where their consumers have gone. It’s quite shameful that the industry is keeping quiet on this fact. Surely they are not hoping to profit from the undeserved negative publicity Oxfam is facing? Now who are the bullies?

]]> By: indigotea http://www.nickharkaway.com/2010/02/oxfam/comment-page-1/#comment-1811 indigotea Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:09:54 +0000 http://www.nickharkaway.com/?p=2761#comment-1811 For-profit general used booksellers may just be a dying species, regardless of their tax disadvantages. In the US, used bookstores don't have a behemoth charitable competitor, but I can only think of one in my metro area that has stayed in business for longer than two or three years. The non-specialized stores I've visited are not well-organized and you have to sift through a lot of romance novels and obsolete computer books before you find anything worth buying. Is it really so different in the UK? Doesn't sound like it. So if they are driven out of business by a competitor that's clean, organized, has good stock, and good prices, I might guess that it's more to do with shoppers choosing a better environment than choosing a charity over a for-profit concern. The comparison in the Spectator article was just silly. If a big charity drives out a local niche charity, the local charity is fooling itself, and had better move on to a better marketing strategy or a different fund raising platform altogether. They need to capitalize on their differences, not complain about being bullied. Believe me, I'm not a laissez-faire capitalist by any stretch. My professional job involves some work with very large non-profit groups, but personally I work as a volunteer with two non-profit organizations and spend a lot of time fund raising. If the big boys in my volunteer segments tried their hand at the type of fund raising I do, I'd be switching my plans or making new alliances pretty darn quickly. For-profit general used booksellers may just be a dying species, regardless of their tax disadvantages. In the US, used bookstores don’t have a behemoth charitable competitor, but I can only think of one in my metro area that has stayed in business for longer than two or three years. The non-specialized stores I’ve visited are not well-organized and you have to sift through a lot of romance novels and obsolete computer books before you find anything worth buying. Is it really so different in the UK? Doesn’t sound like it. So if they are driven out of business by a competitor that’s clean, organized, has good stock, and good prices, I might guess that it’s more to do with shoppers choosing a better environment than choosing a charity over a for-profit concern.

The comparison in the Spectator article was just silly. If a big charity drives out a local niche charity, the local charity is fooling itself, and had better move on to a better marketing strategy or a different fund raising platform altogether. They need to capitalize on their differences, not complain about being bullied.

Believe me, I’m not a laissez-faire capitalist by any stretch. My professional job involves some work with very large non-profit groups, but personally I work as a volunteer with two non-profit organizations and spend a lot of time fund raising. If the big boys in my volunteer segments tried their hand at the type of fund raising I do, I’d be switching my plans or making new alliances pretty darn quickly.

]]> By: uberVU - social comments http://www.nickharkaway.com/2010/02/oxfam/comment-page-1/#comment-1808 uberVU - social comments Thu, 11 Feb 2010 12:55:16 +0000 http://www.nickharkaway.com/?p=2761#comment-1808 <strong>Social comments and analytics for this post...</strong> This post was mentioned on Twitter by Harkaway: Some thoughts on Oxfam Books - please pick me up if I've gone wrong. http://bit.ly/anLdda... Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by Harkaway: Some thoughts on Oxfam Books – please pick me up if I’ve gone wrong. http://bit.ly/anLdda...

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