Shop space sought to help preserve pages

ON the cusp of their first-year anniversary, the owners behind local second-hand book business, Book Bounce, are looking to expand their operations.

About 8000 pre-loved paperbacks are being stored between founders Garrison McErvale and Josh Dunbar’s houses, with the latter saying their two-man enterprise can’t keep up with the demand.

“I’ve got one bedroom I can’t go in anymore, most of my laundry is full…and the right hand-side of the garage. Garrison’s back shed is completely filled,” he said.

“This has taken off so much since we started. We get between 10 and 20 boxes of books on Garrison’s doorstep each week and we offer free pick-up.

“The momentum is growing and we need our own space to accommodate.”

The pair’s books are currently sold either online or at markets, with Book Bounce featuring in last year’s Clunes Booktown and Smythesdale Country Market.

Specialising in used books sourced mainly locally, Mr McErvale said a proper retail space would serve as their “central hub” for collection and retail.

“Ideally, we’d love to get a space we can run our shop from with room for storage so it’d be two birds with one stone,” he said.

“Even if it was a shop-front we can fit a couple thousand books to circulate and it would give people a drop-off point.”

Both self-proclaimed avid readers, Mr Dunbar said Book Bounce was established with a key goal in mind.

“I go to a lot of garage sales and deceased estates with huge skips of stuff, perfectly good things that people just throw out,” he said.

“One day I was driving and saw this sign advertising boxes of free books. I thought surely we could do something with these, so Garrison and I started this.

“Our aim is to stop the stigma that a book is ruined if it has a creased cover or a small page rip.

“We want to teach people, especially kids, that these things can be well-used and looked after and they’re still perfectly fine.”

Another goal for the Book Bounce team is to acquire a van to accommodate larger pickups.