Aid agency Oxfam has caught a lot of flak in the UK for its high-profile, sophisticated and in some eyes over-aggressive second hand book sales policy. One web page, capturing the debate neatly, is entitled starkly “Oxfam is destroying the second hand books industry.”
“Many have become disillusioned with Oxfam as a charity,” the page begins, asserting that their bookstore chain “is bigger and more recognisable than individual second hand bookshops. Moreover, it has the advantage of being a charity.” The ”unfair advantages” it lists include: “As well as receiving an 80% business rate reduction, Oxfam bookshops are also mostly staffed by volunteers and their produce is entirely donated to them. They also make money on other produce such as fair trade goods, music and DVDs. They effectively do not need to pay to keep themselves in business.” And it adds the accusation that Oxfam is: “acting too much like a business and not like a charity.”
The page does list the counter-arguments in Oxfam’s favor as well. I went to check out the situation myself at Oxfam Books in Hampstead – admittedly one of the most bookish and intellectual milieux that you’re likely to find in the whole of London, if not the UK. The frontage is as slick as any retail book chain.
And inside, among the neat and well-organized displays of the busy store, you find cabinets full of rare editions priced accordingly, though I wouldn’t be surprised if some of these were diverted from other Oxfam stores to the Hampstead flagship.
So if the Hampstead store is representative, Oxfam does run one of the most polished and professional second-hand bookselling operations I have seen. Added to which, they receive their stock almost entirely from donations instead of purchases. What you feel about that depends on how well you feel they use their money, but they do seem to be exploiting their advantage to the max.
Since the used book industry is doing the same thing to the publishing industry, all my tears are of the crocodile sort.
What is funny is how the old players in the book industry – publishers and stores alike – WHINE when new players beat them in the game. The sense of entitlement is ridiculous!
One could make the same objection to Goodwill, Salvation Army and other charities in the US who receive used goods at zero cost, have non-profit status and are staffed by volunteers and low paid individuals recovering from their misdeeds or misfortune.
Business folks are very quick to complain of “unfair competition” as well as taxes to support social agencies with the same goals. With neither or those in place, we’d all be doing our high wire acts without a safety net. It’s just myopic.
Oxfam is now run by people with a hatred of Israel which is just another heavily disguised form of antisemitism. I will have nothing to do with them. Fortunately, they know so little about the book industry that they often make mistakes so I visit their bookshops to see if they have massively underpriced anything like the Spanish legal dictionary that I picked up for three pounds when it is worth over £100.
I know of instances where Oxfam has sought the (free) expert knowledge of local booksellers to price rare books for them and then promptly put them out of business 6 months later.
One might also ask exactly how much goes to “charity”, how much the CEO pockets per year, and how much is spent on admin…….I think most people will be quite shocked….Never have and never will support this “charity”.
As Paul says, how much is spent on admin & CEO, i used to know someone who worked for them, not only highly paid, but “working” meals at top restaurants, once or twice with champagne at a top nightclub, sometimes invited on free trips around the world, expensive Christmas parties etc. etc. all paid from donations. He had to leave after a few years as he became “guilty“ the about the way some in the charity seemed to throwing money around. I will never give again to big charities, only to small local ones.