Used books store offers readers new titles on every click

When Morris Munene, 21, learnt about an online platform where he could buy and sell used books, he registered without a second thought.

The Fourth Year Computer Technology student at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) says he is an avid reader of fiction and motivational books. 

That is how he chose Bookika, an online platform that allows buyers and sellers of books to meet and transact
“This is a nice way for avid readers like me to dispose of books after reading and getting other titles hustle-free,” says Mr Munene.

Janet Ndung’u, 32, runs a mini bookshop in Utawala. She joined the Bookika platform in March and started posting books and reports developing a clients’ wish list, something that has greatly boosted sales.

Obed Makori and Mary Gitau, the founders, launched the platform to especially ease pressure on parents when every start of year.

During such seasons, parents and guardians are known to complain about the high cost of books and the hustle of finding them in bookshops.

Concerned by this cycle of events, Mr Makori, 33, set out to develop the platform to possibly lessen the hustle and bustle.

After months of design headache, Bookika went live in February, offering parents a platform to post books for sale when their children no longer use such materials.

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“By posting books that their children no longer use, parents are saving each other the hustle of moving from a shop to another in search of book titles that are probably out of stock,” said Mr Makori, a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology graduate from JKUAT.

Upon developing an interest of what is on offer, the registered buyers can access details of the shopkeeper and their location.

They need to feed the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) onto the platform and an image of the book will pop up accompanied by the offering price.

“From here, the seller and buyer can start transacting business. This is meant to protect our online shop operators from jokers and predators out there who might want to con our sellers,” he said.

While the original idea was to get parents to sell old books, the platform has since expanded to incorporate small-scale sellers such as street book vendors, bookshops and publishers.

Bookika allows these different categories of sellers to set up online shops where they can engage potential buyers on the available book titles.

“We realised along the way that bookshops could also set up on the platform online shops to tell customers of books available,” he said.

Individual sellers are allowed to post up to 70 book titles and pay Sh400 registration fees and Sh300 annual renewal fee while a small-scale seller (street vendor) can post up to 2,000 titles and pay Sh8,000 for registration and Sh1,000 renewal fee.

Bookshops are allowed up to 30,000 titles at Sh35,000 registration fees while renewing with Sh25,000 annually.
Publishers are allowed unlimited titles at Sh100,000 and a renewal fee of Sh70,00.

1,300 titles

A seller setting up own shop on the platform is given a backend that allows them to set preferences.

They can set photos, control the information they post about themselves, share pending orders and post the date certain books were sold.  “Essentially, the backend allows them to do an analysis of their shop, meaning that the platform can be used exclusively for stock-taking,” he said.

Only one name of the online shop owner/operator is available for viewing. Barely four months into the business, Bookika has registered 250 individual sellers and five mini bookshops with an estimated 1,300 titles.

“This shows the gap and thirst in the market that Bookika has striven to fill,” said Mr Makori, who is pursuing a Master of Science degree in Finance.

Categories featured on the platform include academic, life, motivational and professional books