The Penang Bookshelf's
September 2013 Newsletter
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| From The Penang Bookshelf |
Dear Friend
All Fingers and Thumbs
Although
it did take me four attempts to pass Elementary Maths when I was about
16, I still like to confuse myself with numbers. So I've been doing my
bit at fiddling the books since I last
wrote.
The quest? Where does The Penang Bookshelf's income come from? It was a
bit startling to discover that only 40% of gross income from the last
six months came from those of you who bought directly off the internet.
The rest came from Penang and, significantly, from a sizeable chunk of
you who opted for the 'personal touch' by phone, sms and email to buy
what you'd seen on the internet. The lesson? On the eve of my first
successful British driving test after a scar free five years in the
mayhem of Kenyan motoring, my instructor pleaded with me ", Mr. Knox,
you will pass if you just keep on remembering one word - Courtesy." OK,
maybe I do need to be a bit sweeter. .
Think of a Number...Then Double It
After
three years of fumbling, I'm gradually getting the hang of pricing.
Most of The Penang Bookshelf's inventory has a 30% mark up whatever
stupid price I've paid for the book. But  then you get puzzlers like this one, Musings of J.S.M.R. Mostly Malayan (PB).
As I surreptitiously look over my shoulder I see two other copies for
sale online at present. One's at twice the price of The Penang
Bookshelf's copy and the other at about US$100 more and both are in a
worse condition. If anyone knows what's so special about the book, I'd
love to know. It's probably a case of the blind leading the blind. Yes,
I'll probably settle for something less than advertised.
At least
those two copies were already for sale before The Penang Bookshelf
snaffled up its copy. However in the next case there were no
copies, but additional copies miraculously appeared on Amazon
not too long after The Penang Bookshelf's copy went up online. There's a
chance that one or all of these copies are being advertised by what are
known in the trade as 'scammers,' i.e. they don't actually have the
book in stock, but will buy it off someone who does, if they get an
order. So do be warned. And don't think it's just a US phenomenon. I
think I've spotted at least one scammer in Singapore.
Bestsellers - Changes, But Not at The Top
The Penang Bookshelf's Bestseller List (PB)  has seen a few changes since the last newsletter. Sadly the only two Malay books on the list have dropped out for now but.Malayan Spymaster (PB)
still holds its position on top. Whereas most of the other books on the
list are sold either exclusively to customers at events or online, this
one holds its own amongst both groups of customers.
Made It!
Although
it's chicken feed compared to the inventory of most online booksellers,
The Penang Bookshelf has managed to reach the heady  heights of having a thousand books up online.The results of this frantic effort are reflected in
(PB) and New Arrivals for September (PB) Categories. August was a bit snoozy as I was away in the UK for most of it. I was sorely in need of a pick-me-up from Lupong: The Manang Healing Kit (PB) after that exertion! However resting on laurels is strictly forbidden. A look at our full catalogue gives you some idea of the target.
Place Your BetsThe Penang Bookshelf's Third Anniversary has
come
and gone, but, like public holidays, you don't have to wait long for
another reason to celebrate.The Penang Bookshelf's Third Internet
Anniversary falls on 3rd November. I suppose I should do something about
it. In the past our spurious 'offers' don't seem to have affected sales
patterns all that much. However, this time The Penang Bookshelf's
creative team has decided to copy a recent bank promotion here and give
subscribers to the newsletter a cash back. Of course you have to spend
something first. The tortuous details are on The Penang Bookshelf Blog. I suppose it may appeal to the punters amongst you.
As usual, there's lots more to write, but I've probably tried your patience enough.
With best wishes and thanks,
William Knox
The Penang Bookshelf
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If
you live in Malaysia and want to follow a link to a book, please click
on the main link in each case. If you live elsewhere, please click on
the (PB) link that follows the main link.
News Snippets
So Long, Bibliobimbo!
Since the last newsletter, Teresa, my Penang support, has joined the familiar Malaysian brain drain to 
Singapore. Pity her. I'm already getting the equally familiar reports
of exiles, i.e. that the city state ain't at all like home. And just in
case you're bridling at my sexist portrayal of this wretched escapee,
the term was coined in retaliation against her calling me 'Ah Pek' ('old
codger' in the Penang Hokkien dialect.) I'll be looking for a
replacement in due course. So if you, or anyone you know , is interested
in books, is computer savvy, wants to work part time, can put up with
exploitative wages and believe you can learn something about the book
trade at The Penang Bookshelf, do contact me. Beef cake, bimbos or coffin dodgers are all welcome to apply.
When One Door Closes...
Almost as soon as Teresa was out of the way, The Penang Bookshelf had the good fortune to team up with Leo Books, one of the last independent book stores in Penang. They're based at Island Plaza and 
sell a wide range of popular overstocked, out of print and used books
of all descriptions. What do we do together? Well, apart from giggling
and mutual back slapping, Leo kindly stock some of The Penang
Bookshelf's books in their store, we've had a joint venture at Little Penang Street Market,
and we're planning more joint operations for Penang bibliophiles.
Amongst other things they have played their part in shifting umpteen
copies of Twentieth Century Impressions of British Malaya (PB)
which isn't surprising really. A copy's never been sold to a customer
who hasn't actually had the opportunity fondle the massive tome
beforehand. I've yet to find a way of making it look impressive online.
Do Drop In
There seem to be a growing number of you with the courage and stamina to visit The Penang Bookshelf's  chaotic mess in Batu Ferringhi that makes a feeble attempt to pass for a book shop. An
average of more than one a week has turned up recently. One new
customer flew all the way from KL to visit Penang for a few hours. It
was his first time here, but he didn't come for the food. He walked off
with The Penang Bookshelf's most expensive sale to date. We were even
graced with a party of about a dozen or so from Singapore on a literary
tour of Penang. They begged me for a lecture which made me ponder a
while on the business. Two bits may be worth sharing - a) I prefer
buying rather than selling books and b) as a result of (a) you're
unlikely to find a similarly extensive collection of books for sale on
Malaysia and Singapore anywhere else. However, do remember to call to
make an appointment beforehand.
Postal Pranks
Malaysia's
online selling community had a lovely excuse to moan long and loud
when Pos Malaysia recently had a fairly clumsy attempt at muddling its
overseas rates - and then changed its mind a couple of weeks later. I
was sufficiently shook at the announcement to revive The Penang Bookshelf Blog again. I think so few people had  attempted the fairly hopeless task of trying to make some sense of the news, that the trenchant analysis
(sic) has been the most frequently read post ever! Since The Penang
Bookshelf's growth is attributable to occasional learning from the
horrible self-inflicted messes, we wondered what we could do about this
one. So we're proud to announce an exciting but frustrating partnership
with Pos Malaysia for the benefit of our US customers. We've rounded up a
group of unemployed Mexican gauchos (cowboys) to establish Catapulta
Correo (Catapult Mail?). Mexico, is priveleged to be the only place in
the Americas which can receive cheap surface mail. Honoured gauchos
receive our packages which are then flung over the border to our
grateful US clientele.
Promises are Made to be Broken, No?
Although I keep telling myself that I need to stop accumulating and do more about selling, a life  long addiction to rummaging in second hand bookshops is not that easy to shake off. So here's the latest lot,
mainly from my trusty US support, Craig, who hangs about on the
outskirts of Chicago. New and old stock take an age to find their way
onto the websites, so, if there's anything that grabs your fancy, do
contact me for more information.
Tell Tales Signs
As any seasoned followers of The Penang Bookshelf's haphazard attempts at publicity will  know, a few posts on The Penang Bookshelf Blog
usually indicate that a Newsletter is on the way. Nothing changes. The
only recent post that I haven't referred to is the latest Random Review which has been sitting around half written for a while.You get three books roughly reviewed for the price of one this time,
PaddingI forgot to mention last time that The Independent Online Booksellers Association were kind enough to ask me to write about my experiences. If you haven't read enough already, look here.
The Penang Bookshelf is now a supposedly a Power Seller on eBay. It baffles me since to me the layout is far more confusing than on the main websites, but I'm not complaining.
And finally, on some days books just don't sell so this keeps me creative until the next sale.
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About The Penang Bookshelf
Category Pages - Asian Fiction, Asian History, Asian Religions, Borneo Chinese Ceramics Malaysian Architecture Malaysian Agriculture Malaysian Arts and Culture Malaysia: Cartoons, Malaysian Chinese Community Malaysian Cooking and Food Malaysia: Colonial Biography, Malaysia: Modern Biography, Malaysia - Fiction Malaysia: Journalism， Malaysia: Language & Linguistics, Malaysia: Literature, Malaysia: Malay Community Malaysia & Singapore: 19th Century History, Malaysia: Post-Independence History, Malaysia: Miscellaneous, Malaysian Nature and Wildlife Orang Asli (Indigenous People) Malaysian Poetry Malaysian Politics Malaysia: Religion Malaysia & Singapore: World War II Perak Singapore: Anthropology & Sociology Singapore Fiction
Email: penangbookshelf@gmail.com
Telephone: +60-12-972-6485
Business Address: Aquarius, 4-8-8 Jalan Low Yat,
Batu Ferringhi, 11100, Penang. (The Penang Bookshelf's entire inventory
is available for browsing. Please call to fix an appointment.)
Mailing Address: 36, Cheeseman Road, 11600 Penang, Malaysia
Registered Business No: PG0282219-D
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