Online, second hand, and environmentally ethical
Bookworld.ie is part of a virtuous cycle in the book industry. It works with Irish charity shops, buying the thousands of surplus books that would otherwise end up in landfill. In this way the charity not only saves on the cost of disposal, but makes additional revenue—and customers of Bookworld can buy quality books at low prices. Everyone wins, not least the environment.
Co-founder Peter Maguire says that he always dreamt of opening a bookshop, but that the pandemic gave him the motivation he needed, turning what was just an idea into reality, faster than he could have thought.
Five months after launching in January this year, Bookworld.ie already offers over 24,000 books through its website and over 10,000 of those are priced at €2.50.
Peter says returning customers are testament to the quality of the books: “There is a quality measurement, we try to provide at least an 8 out of 10 for quality, with a little bend of the rules for classics, within reason. We believe we are hitting the right notes because our repeat business is fantastic.”
Mystery boxes
Along with free delivery with purchases over twenty euro, another idea from Bookworld is the Mystery Box. Peter says that the idea came from customers sometimes being overwhelmed by choice:
“We began offering a mystery box because so many people messaged to say they found it hard to choose from such a wide range of books. So, we gave them the option of letting us choose for them.”
Mystery boxes are available for €24.99 for 10 books from your chosen genre, including delivery—with a guarantee of 9/10 for quality, or what Peter calls ‘practically new.’
Environmentally ethical
The books people purchase from bookworld.ie are saved from landfill. When a customer buys a book, Peter says, they might pass it on to a friend, or it might even end up back in a charity shop—where the cycle can continue again. Peter is passionate about this side of the business:
“It’s incredible to think that all these thousands of books would have disappeared if our website hadn’t been born. We are constantly looking for ways to reduce our footprint. Packaging is at the top of our list for improvement, and we have set deadlines to hit those targets. We all have a part to play and our business is an example of what we can do to help.”
Visit BookWorld.ie to find out more – and keep an eye out for our books giveaway with BookWorld, coming very soon!
