Business of old books booming at Nilkhet

The city's Nilkhet area has become a transaction hub of old and rare books as students and academics usually buy and sell different kinds of second-hand ones at competitive prices.
Many shops selling old books at Nilkhet do brisk business round the year, with the exchange of second-hand and low-cost books continuing to rise among the students and other readers, market-insiders said.
Besides text-books, collections of old and rare books, published from both national and international publishers, help the shops of second-hand books draw large number of book lovers.
Mostly students and academicians from Dhaka University (DU), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka Medical College, Dhaka College, different private universities, colleges and schools are the suppliers and buyers of these shops. Director of Islamia Banik Bohumukhi Samity Limited Gias Uddin Mia told the FE that there are 480 book shops at Nilkhet, of which around 85 are shops of old books. Some shops also deal in both new and old books.
While talking about shops of old books, he said students are their suppliers and buyers.
The students collect the books at 20 to 40 per cent of original prices. It enables them to offer incredibly-cheap rate.
Md Jamal Lodi, owner of Memory Books, said they have abundant collections of second-hand textbooks, novels, classics, poetry, translations, plays etc both in Bangla and English. The prices of old books are two to three times lower than those of the new ones.
When asked about sales, he said the sales fluctuate, with average daily sale ranging from Tk 11,000 to 14,000.
"We collect most of these books from the students and a small fraction from other sources at relatively low costs, so we don't hesitate to sell these books at cheaper rates," he added.
Shopnil Mahmood, proprietor of Shopnil Book House, said he sells both old and new books. After selling a new book to someone he gives the buyer an option to sell the same to him at 40 per cent rate after use.
"Though I deal in both new and old books, the old books are sold in greater numbers than the new books due to cheaper rates," he added.   
Jakir Hossain, a student of Dhaka University, said most of the times, he buys books from old book shops as he can afford the price and can also get rare collections. This correspondent found him buying Management Information System, a book, at only Tk 50 but a new one would have cost him Tk 160.
"After the end of my semester final exams, I sell my old books and in exchange I buy required books for the next semester from these old book shops," Jakir added.
While buying books from a second-hand book shop, Sumon Iqbal, a lecturer of Daffodil International University, told the FE that original copies of different types of books are also available at old book shops with cost effectiveness and high quality.
"I searched a lot at most of the new book shops for an Operations Management book by Nigel Slack & Stuart Chambers; but finally I got it at an old book shop with good print quality and at a very cheap rate", he added.
Riyad Hasan, a student of Dhaka Medical College, said shops of old books are very much cost effective as the rates are low to a great extent.
"Today I bought Medical Embryology by Ben Pansky at only Tk 380 but the price of a new one is more than Tk 900", he added.
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