Hey, bookworms!

This is Book Haul #1 of 2026 but technically second because the first one has failed to arrive on time. More on that later.

The History Repeats Itself

Last year, for my birthday, I gifted myself 10 kg of preloved books. It wasn’t planned that way, just happened to have ordered something on a whim. Well… not really a whim because I ordered it after contemplating the offer for well over a year. And the order arrived just before my birthday. We’re calling it my birthday present to myself. How did I like that present? Read more here about that worthing.in book haul.

So, this year, after finally getting a wallmount bookshelf, I started looking for more preloved books.

First stop? worthing.in.

I had some book lots in mind, I chose one after long deliberation. Incidentally, this was a year after my previous order with them. That order hasn’t arrived yet. Four days later, I found another preloved bookstore, another set of books that I liked and… 

Another Preloved Bookstore: Bookchor

I just had to share my latest book purchase from BookChor, and this one comes with a long backstory. Are you ready?

I have tried a few online book stores that sell preloved books, okay? And the best one is out of service. As in, now they sell offline only. That’s a bummer, right?

Mental note: I should probably write about those preloved bookstores some day.

All the other preloved bookstores generally have book lots or surprise boxes, starting from Rs. 99 per book, but I’m cheaper than that. My question always is: why can’t I get it in Rs. 10 or Rs. 20? Basically anything under Rs. 100 but closer to anything under Rs. 50. That’s why the now-defunct bookstore was my favoutite. I got almost-new 54 books for Rs. 1566. 

But I digress. 

What I’m trying to say is, BookChor was the only other bookstore which listed individual books by price, and had nice titles under Rs. 50. So, I spent around an hour to shortlist books and placed an order, just to experiment.

Total books: 11

Total price: Rs 644 

Discount: Rs 100 first-time buyer discount

Rs 10 for POD (because I don’t like expensive experiments)

Total: Rs 554 for 11 books

Per Book: Rs 59.36

Timeline

24-June-2026: Order placed

24-June-2026 to 26-June-2026: 6 messages to remind me what I have in my cart, wishlist, or just that I went to their website. Seriously? 

26-June-2026: Regret message that dispatch is delayed

26-June-2026 to 27-June-2026: 4 more messages, mostly in the middle of the night

27-June-2026: Another regret message

28-June-2026: Another regret message

28-June-2026: Preparing to dispatch message

28-June-2026: Order dispatched (finally)

29-June-2026: Another reminder message about books in cart/wishlist

30-June-2026: Another reminder message about books in cart/wishlist

1-July-2026: 3 reminder message about books in cart/wishlist

1-July-2026: Weekly summary reminder message about books in cart/wishlist, because apparently the 20 messages in 5 days were not enough.

3-July-2026: Order arrived

The Excitement

Most are marked as “Good”, some are “Readable”. I’m prepared for anything. In my previous book hauls, I’ve seen all sorts of books, so literally prepared for anything.

So, this morning, before turning in for my 4 hours of sleep, I checked the order status one more time: Expected delivery date: 4th July 2026.

Ah, well… What can I do but wait patiently?

The call came in when I was talking to my boss (the good boss, not the dumb one who goes like huh? on every sentence)

I excused myself to take the call. One of my book parcels has gone back to Delhi, I’ll share more about that later. It was the delivery guy who confirmed the direction and promised to be here shortly. Needless to say, I couldn’t focus on the discussion anymore. Thankfully, we were almost finished talking and were about to drop.

Then began the wait. I changed, ate breakfast, talked to mum about the weather and in general went about my routine, all the while thinking: atithi, tum kab aaoge?

The Parcel? Not as big as I had hoped.

First Glimpse? Amazing, tempting.

Up close, the stack looked like this:

 

Book Conditions

Now, I hand-picked this lot so I can’t complain about surprises. I’m not too happy about some book’s condition. But let’s look at it objectively

1. Disappointed (4)

   1. Evening Class by Maeve Binchy, for instance, promised to be Good but it’s not. It’s barely readable, like the one you get for Rs. 10 at raddi wala once in a blue blue moon.
   2. Shopaholic & Sister by Sophie Kinsella Rs 49
   3. Resurrection Men by Ian Rankin for Rs 99
   4. True Believer Nicholas Sparks  for Rs 99

2. Too pricey (3):

   1. Lacey The Little Mermaid Fairy by Daisy Meadows Rs. 35: The item I added was 7-book set, I got only one.
   2. Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen Classic Romance Rs 47: It’s an Indian edition, not happy.
   3. Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell YA Contemporary Rs 54: Too short, I guess I missed to check how long the book is. I don’t like to spend money on such short books unless they are for children.

3. Good for the price (4)

   1. Coming Out by Danielle Steel is a hardcover books, pristine, looks like nobody has even touched it. A steal for Rs. 49.
   2. Top Secret Twenty-One by Janet Evanovich: Almost new, a steal for Rs. 49.
   3. Two Week Wait Sarah Rayner Rs 49.0: Almost new, a steal for Rs. 49.
   4. Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding Rs 55: Very good for “Readable” condition

Thing I hated

The Delay

I placed an order Wednesday early morning, the order got dispatched Sunday evening. I don’t think that’s acceptable for people who claim to dispatch within 1-4 hours. More like 1-5 days.

Also, I had requested a video before books were sent, so I’d know if I want those books or cancel it, but they categorically denied. I had not taken a screenshot so I couldn’t argue. If I had gotten a video as requested, I’d have refused to get at least Evening Class by Maeve Binchy. I mean, torn back cover is a bit much.

The Notifications

Oh, the notifications. An average of 3 messages/emails per day for 10 days, you do the math. On top of it, additional contact for they were unable to dispatch the order. Some of these notifications are late at night when I’m trying to shut down. My mobile is on silent, but I’m always on mobile, all through the night, right, so I can’t help but get these notifications. Even after muting the notifications; I know they are messaging, NOT COOL. These messages are reminders about my wishlist, my cart etc. Bhai, mujhe checkout karna hoga toh kar lungi. Get off my back.

 

The order listing

I have never seen such a poorly listed order before, and this is probably the sixth preloved bookseller I’m trying. Why not just list like a table, right?

Because it was difficult for me to read, I asked my assistant ChatGPT to convert it into a table.

Title	Author	Condition	Price INR
Coming Out	Danielle Steel	Good	49.0
Resurrection Men (Inspector Rebus #13)	Ian Rankin	Good	99.0
Rainbow Magic Fairy Tale Fairies Set (7 books)	Daisy Meadows	Good	35.0
Pride and Prejudice*	Jane Austen	Good	47.0
Kindred Spirits (World Book Day 2016)	Rainbow Rowell	Good	54.0
Top Secret Twenty-One	Janet Evanovich	Good	49.0
Two Week Wait	Sarah Rayner	Readable	49.0
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason	Helen Fielding	Readable	55.0
True Believer	Nicholas Sparks	Readable	99.0
Shopaholic & Sister	Sophie Kinsella	Good	49.0
Evening Class	Maeve Binchy	Good	49.0

 

Final Thoughts

Despite all this, I might still order again, for the aforementioned “individual books for good price”. There’s a bookfair which I can’t attend, but I’ve asked someone to get some books for me. I’ll know tomorrow if I get any success there. They have great condition of books, not yellowed or torn at all. If I don’t, I’ll come back to Bookchor.com. They aren’t bad, but my first purchase from them turned out to be a not-so-good experience.  

Until next time, happy reading!