Yes, many Malaysians looked forward to driving over to The Mines’ Convention Centre in the wee hours of the morning to select boxes of books. But things are different this year, as expected.
Fret not, this doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to get your hands on some terrific titles to pore over, as the big book sale will still run from Nov 4 to 11. With over 40,000 book titles up for grabs, you can also get to tick off this year’s Christmas gift list while you’re browsing.
“But wait, what about the pandemic and the Conditional Movement Control Order?” you may ask.
Not a problem. To adapt to these challenging and certainly different times, the BBW book sale has drastically changed its operations and will now be conducting its sales on a new e-commerce platform.
It is a move to keep Malaysian bibliophiles safe as they purchase new books to read while hunkering down in the safety of their homes.
This isn’t the first time BBW Books has moved its sales online though. Their first online sales event took place in Thailand, but this will be the first time Malaysians will get to enjoy shopping for books remotely.
Speaking to FMT, BBW Books co-founder Jacqueline Ng said, “The safety of our shoppers and staff is our main priority. When the pandemic struck earlier this year, we didn’t want it to hamper our ongoing mission of building a new generation of readers and spreading the joy of reading.
“With our new e-commerce platform, everyone in Malaysia can buy books at this year’s Big Bad Wolf Book Sale safely, no matter where they are.”
This new e-commerce platform is highly accessible to all Malaysians, allowing consumers to browse through the catalogue which features tens of thousands of titles.
Andrew Yap, also a BBW Books co-founder, explained that when the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic struck Southeast Asia, there was a BBW sale going on in Jakarta.
They immediately put a stop to the ongoing Jakarta event and cancelled a planned sale in Penang, even though the organisers had spent months preparing.
“It was a very tough time for us,” he said, before adding that revenue plunged to meagre levels with BBW Books staff being at a loss for what to do next.
Ultimately though, there was a silver lining to BBW Books’ pandemic woes as it accelerated prior plans to open an e-commerce website to conduct sales.
As Andrew noted, “the timing was perfect.”
Switching from physical sales to an online platform was no easy task though, as everything had to be rushed. Andrew compared it to building a race car without testing it.
“Moving online was a nightmare,” he bemoaned.
Everything had to be done on-the-go and it took about two-and-a-half months to finally put together a website that was stable, user-friendly and accessible.
It did not help that they were not online experts and everything simply had to be picked up overnight.
Still, Andrew is positive that the team’s efforts will pay off and that Malaysians will be able to shop for books online with ease, comfort and safety.
He also added that there is indeed a bright side to things, as more people are picking up books to stave off boredom at home.
“Perhaps now is the time to build back a new generation of leaders and to bring back the lost generation of readers,” he suggested.
First established in Petaling Jaya in 2009, the BBW Books sale has travelled to 12 countries to sell books at bargain prices.
And really, who could resist these unbelievable prices, since shoppers can save up to 90% off the usual retail prices?
The selection of books this year is as diverse as always, with genres ranging from romance novellas to cookbooks, and graphic novels to architecture guides.
Parents should also check out the impressive array of children’s books, given how schools are mostly closed at the moment and kids will be idle at home.
With everything conducted online, shoppers can rest easy when it comes to deliveries, as the BBW Books sale ensures that everyone will get their books shortly after purchase.
West Malaysians will receive free shipping for orders above RM180, while East Malaysians can enjoy 30% off the shipping fee for all orders.
In addition to that, shoppers will have access to unbelievable discounts, such as RM5 off with a minimum purchase of RM80, or 10% off their total bill with a minimum purchase of RM300.
Visit https://bigbadwolfbooks.com/my to get the latest deals and promotions on over 40,000 book titles, starting from Nov 4-11.