Saeed Book Bank Could Close and People Have Mixed Feelings About It

Check out what people are saying about the famous book store.

Saeed Book Bank

Book lovers in Islamabad and Rawalpindi take note.  The famous Saeed Book Bank is closing down soon.

Many people are of the view that even as it closes down, its owners need to self-reflect. Blaming young people for not reading is neither here nor there. This explains the mixed emotions to the news:

“There’s no habit of reading in Pakistan. People will buy a hundred thousand dollar smartphone but when it comes to books they’ll buy pirated copies.”

Many folks opine why no one buys books from Saeed Book bank any more. This megastore gained traction by providing used books at affordable prices at the beginning. It is no less a local landmark for twin cities’ residents. In fact, its the largest bookstore in Pakistan.


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Some people argue that the store just couldn’t evolve with time, and that’s what has become their undoing.

 

Others say the overpriced books, even elevated prices of old and used books, not to mention the customer service (or lack of really), are the real reasons.

https://twitter.com/guldaar/status/1182964605489942529

Owner of Saeed Book Bank Speaks Out

The bookstore owner Saeed Ahmed has other ideas. He said they’ll close down the bookstore and rent out the building to a bank to generate revenue.

Netizens aren’t about to let this man play ‘we’re all about the books‘ card. So they narrated their experiences with the store over the years.

 

Let’s not forget that time they refused to help the National Book Foundation. This thread goes in-depth regarding it:


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It may not just be the bitter experiences and a lack of a loyal buyer base, paired with inflexibility that’s leading to the store being closed down.

Its true that people would rather just read online and buy those books there too. Even in this regard, Saeed Book Bank’s e-store falls short. Meanwhile, stores like Readings are blooming for doing this right.

Not to mention the fluctuating prices paired with bad customer service are another deterrent.