Not all books in the Harper Collins' book sales are brand new, although they are not second hand books. (Representational Image)
New Delhi:
It is good news for book lovers across the Capital, who can now get their favourite titles at throwaway prices as low as Rs 25.
Leading publishing house Harper Collins, in a first of its kind garage sale, will have over 1000 books on sale at their warehouse in Faridabad on June 24 and June 25 from 10 am to 6pm.
"All paperback titles will be available at Rs 25 while hardbounds can be purchased at Rs 50," a social media post by the publishing house said.
"Not all books are brand new. Although they are not second hand books, some of them might be soiled from being kept in the warehouse for too long or have stickers that we couldn't remove," says Arvind Gupta, head of the warehouse.
Harper Collins had previously hosted a similar sale last year but that was only meant for the staff, Mr Gupta says.
"This time we decided to expand it and give young minds an opportunity to grab their favourite books at throwaway prices," he says.
The publishers are selling all Collector's Editions and Coffee Table Books at Rs 100 and Box sets are set to be available at a whopping 90 per cent discount.
Expecting to receive an overwhelming response, the publishing house has decided to donate 20 per cent of the proceeds from the sales to Friendicoes, a Delhi-based animal welfare NGO.
However, it has set some rules for the buyers to abide by. For instance, a person cannot buy more than two copies of a single title; the sale is only open to individuals and not booksellers or distributors; purchases cannot be returned and payment can be made both in cash and credit cards.
The sale has been planned very strategically where, according to Mr Gupta, an individual cannot purchase books more than worth Rs 5,000.
"With books at Rs 45 - Rs 50 on an average, a person can buy at the most books worth Rs 5,000 which means nearly 100 books, which is a decent buy," he says.
He also says that no person can keep their purchases on hold citing logistical reasons.
"Once you buy the books, you have to carry them with you. You cannot put your books on hold and arrange for logistics. Also, when you come back to a queue you have to be in line. You cannot break into a queue," Mr Gupta says.