Plot Twist! Srinagar bookstore gets creative with sales

Srinagar, Feb 25: An iconic Srinagar bookstore is turning pages on traditional book buying, introducing a creative new sales model allowing customers to pay by kilogram. Best Seller, located in the bustling Lal Chowk centre and run by Sani Yasnain and his father for over 30 years, has implemented the innovative “pay by weight” method commonly seen in some large Indian cities but never before tried in the Valley.

“I wanted to do something different for the real book lovers here,” explained Yasnain about the decision to break the standard convention of book purchasing. Under the new approach, customers can fill a bag with books of their choosing and the final price is determined by the total weight on a scale at the register. The ecosystem-conscious initiative comes with potential savings for voracious readers.

“Students would reach Delhi to get books at cheaper rates as there is a culture of selling books by kilograms rather than per copy. We studied the model, and after learning from our readers, we introduced this model recently. The response has been good, and students don’t have to go all the way to Delhi to get their favourite books now,” Sani said.

Sani has been running the store that his father Sanaullah started over three decades back near the famous clock tower in Srinagar. He said that for a few weeks, they have kept a dedicated section of books, which are sold for Rs 500 rupees per Kg. He has kept a digital weighing machine at the shop, a rare thing at bookstores to sell books.

“Thirty to forty per cent of books in this section include those written by foreign authors. This model of selling books makes it possible for readers to have books at very affordable prices, which is not possible otherwise,” he said

Sani said that since the trend of reading books via online mode on PDF formatted and buying books on e-commerce websites, the local bookshops have faced a blow for the past few years. “These out-of-the-box ideas will help booksellers to keep the business going while helping readers to get their hands on the best books at low prices,” he added.

Many young readers were thronging the bookstore to have a taste of buying books per KG. These readers said that new ways to introduce books at cheaper rates will add to the reading culture of Kashmir.

“We have been coming to the bookstore for a long time, and we are glad that, like Delhi, we now have the option to buy books per kg. People are reading from online sources and PDF files but the feel of having a physical book and having your collection is very profound. We hope that all kinds of books are introduced in this section and readers get more options,” a young group of students at the bookstore said.

The owners of the store said that they are planning to get more books in this section that will be good for people who want academic and nonacademic books.

“We are continuously talking to our readers and asking for suggestions so that we can make this section better. The response has been good, and we hope that it will continue. This is our small step to do our bit for our students and readers in general,” Sani said.