A sad chapter for secondhand bookshops

Secondhand bookshops had been disappearing for years before Oxfam was rather illogically accused of forcing them out of business (Oxfam chain's growth is driving us to the wall, say independent stores, 4 August). High business rents and the ease of selling books online have seen the closure of real bookshops – it's hard to see how the death blow was delivered by Oxfam. I also don't regard the "chains, with their 3-for-2 offers" as direct competition, because they don't offer the out-of-print books found in secondhand shops.

I deeply regret the slow fading of real bookshops, and the opportunities for browsing, touching, smelling and making serendipitous finds that they afford. Oxfam is to be commended for maintaining a presence when others have withdrawn to the virtual world.

Bill Evershed

Kidlington, Oxfordshire

As a volunteer in an Oxfam bookshop I was dismayed to see us referred to as "the Tesco of the second hand book world". Marc Harrison says he was selling paperbacks for £2 and hardbacks for under £5. Oxfam shops will be doing the same. Surely this should just engender healthy competition? At a time when new clothes are so cheap, second-hand items are no longer attractive. Why would you pay £2.99 for a T-shirt at Oxfam when you could get a new one for £1.99 at Primark? Hence Oxfam's focus on books. One reader complained in your Money section (Your shout, 1 August) that charity shop books were too expensive. This week's article appears to accuse us of selling too cheaply.

Avryl Allen

Carlisle, Cumbria

As someone who gives all of his used books to Oxfam I would expect the charity to get the best possible price. To do otherwise would be a neglect of Oxfam's beneficiaries and its donors.

Will Nutland

London

I am a book dealer in Bonn and pay a very high rent for a shop in town. I have also started selling on the internet – not because I want to, but for simple reasons of survival. I am well aware of the competition from charity shops: professional bookselling-links take them in and they are incorporated as "professional book dealers" which is both unfair and untrue. A real book dealer who works conscientiously and professionally can only feel unhappy about that state of things.

Catherine Clement

Bonn, Germany

As an Oxfam bookshop volunteer, I wish to refute the allegation that we lack expertise. Concentrating on classic literature, I even alert customers when a desired item becomes available. Other sections are similarly serviced. All books donated here are offered for sale in the shop before they are advertised online.

Eva Lawrence

St Albans, Hertfordshire
https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2009/aug/06/books-oxfam-sales-business?view=mobile
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