Business booms for online platforms

After squeezing herself into an overcrowded subway car at Beijing South Railway Station at 9 am, Gao Xiang, 25, took The Art of Loving by psychoanalyst and social philosopher Erich Fromm out of her bag to read, despite not having a seat.

Thirty minutes later, when she got off the subway at Xizhimen Station, Gao had read 20 pages of the book. Commuting to and from work on the subway has provided her with a regular reading session since she graduated from college in 2016.

She bought The Art of Loving on Duozhuayu, an online usedbook recycling and selling platform, and plans to sell the book back to the platform after she has finished it.

Young readers have become a major book-buying force in China, and they are raising the circulation of used books.

Gao, a project manager in foreign trade, initially planned to spend 100 yuan ($14.55) a month on books. But for the past three months, she has spent more than 500 yuan each month, accounting for about 7 percent of her income.

"I used to buy new books on online platforms such as Amazon or Dangdang. Since my friends recommended that I use Duozhuayu two years ago, it has become my main platform to buy books," she said.

Gao thinks used books are reasonably priced and generally in an acceptable state, since the platform refurbishes them and uses labels to state their condition.

"There are different versions and conditions of books, with a range of prices. If a book has stain marks or something written on it, you will know about this before you receive it," she said.