Local Bookstore Bucking E-book Trend

For more than a decade, has weathered the ever-evolving book market.

The store, located on Scenic Highway in Snellville, is one of those gems that book lovers discover, and then hold on to. It has used books, and hasn’t found the need to do anything else besides that.

Newer devices made popular by the boom of the Internet, such as e-readers and e-books, haven’t made their way to bookstores like Paperbacks. The only here is that feeling of actually reading a book by picking it up and turning the pages.

“Used book stores are different,” said Lori Holcomb, who has been a Paperbacks customer for seven years. “I always find hidden treasures at great prices. Sometimes I find books that are out of print.”

Seth Duckett is the manager of the Paperback store, and said his customers like things they way that they are. His family started running the business in September 2010 when Duckett’s grandmother, Pam DeHetre purchased the store from Helen Lapides, her sister-in-law. It has grown to a locale with more than 60,000 books, most of those being paperbacks.

“E-books became popular before we started running the business,” Seth Duckett said. “From what I have heard from our customers, especially the older crowd, are against them. I wouldn’t know what the people who use them think, because they don’t come in here to buy books. But, our customers that have eBook readers, still come to us.”

Still, bookstores across the nation and Georgia are seeing the aftershock of the e-book boon and also the advent of online bookstores. Notable book retailer Borders is closing several locations in Georgia, including the Suwanee and Mall of Georgia locations. The big-box bookstore fell to a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and officials have sited sluggish consumer spending as the reason. Snellville has a Borders location, but that store is currently expected to remain open.

Mike Edwards, Borders Group President, said in a press statement that the bookstore chain “does not have the capital resources it needs to be a viable competitor and which are essential for it to move forward with its business strategy to reposition itself successfully for the long term.”

Statistics from the American Association of Publishers shows that e-books had the most significant growth in book sales in 2010. E-book sales increased from $166.9 million in 2009 to $441.3 million in 2010, or a 164.4 percent jump. Adult hardcover and paperbacks fell slightly from 2009, and book sales across all platforms increased by just 3.6% in 2010, according to the association. 

At Paperbacks, customers return despite the advent of electronic and digital formats. And, despite the way of Borders, Paperbacks manager Setth Duckett said they have not seen a decrease in sales.

“It is cheaper for (our customers) to pick up a paperback copy for $3, than it is for them to pay full publishing price on the Internet for a digital copy,” he said. “I have not seen a decrease in sales, and I don’t think it has affected us that much. They (e-books and readers) aren’t things our customer base is interested in.”

Part of the reason why Paperbacks continues to weather the changing environment is its loyal customers. Not only can they find paperback books not stocked elsewhere, but there are also hardcover books. The store offers their customers an opportunity to trade in books that they have read for discounted book purchases. Most of the inventory comes directly from customers. There is also a Paperbacks Books in Loganville.

Sandra Johnson has purchased her books from Paperbacks for 15 years. She buys light romances, biographies and Christian books. She is a retired middle school librarian.

“I am a paper fetish person,” she said. “The kids wanted to get me a Kindle but I said no. I like the feel of paper and knowing it is right there.

“When Paperbacks started we didn’t have a Borders or Barnes & Noble on the corner. This was the only place you could go to buy books, besides the grocery stores. Once this opened it was easy to find what you want.”