Overview
Location/Venue – Korum Mall, Thane, Maharashtra – 400606
Date and Time – 29th September, 2023 to 13th October, 2023; from 11:00 am to 10:00 pm
What was on offer? – A wide variety of books to choose from various genres (mainly used/second hand; but new ones also on display)
Website – https://lockthebox.in/home.php
Review
“NOT sponsored/promotional.”
Well, well, well! Yet another ‘Lock the Box’ book fair in the Mumbai/Thane region, and that too within a span of just 2-3 months! And tell you what… I’m all for it! Of course, I visited both of these events, like what do you mean? As a massive bibliophile myself, I just couldn’t miss such wonderful opportunities which have popped up after quite some time, to be honest.
What’s this “Lock the Box” then, you ask? Here’s the info. (from their website) –
The idea is to give all the readers a golden opportunity where you can get all of your favorite reads together at a lesser price. The Lock-The-Box-Sale would have over 1 Million pre-owned books for you and a deal that you have never seen before. Forget about discounts on specific titles, this is even bigger than books-by-Kgs. This is a one-time payment for all the books you can carry in a box.
There is a total of 3 boxes of different prices according to their size of which you can choose any as per the number of books you want. You can collect whichever book you want from our huge collection and put it in the box unless it gets filled. Once the box gets filled and there is no space left for more you can lock the box.
๐ญ. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ โ๐ข๐ฑ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐๐โ ๐๐ผ๐ – It can hold approximately 8-10 books depends upon book size. Make the best use of this box priced at INR 1199 only.
๐ฎ. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ โ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐๐โ ๐๐ผ๐ – Here comes our second box which is comparatively large and can carry approximately 15-17 books also can differ as per book size only at INR 1999. Saturate the box very wisely.
๐ฏ. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ โ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐๐น๐ฒ๐โ ๐๐ผ๐ – This is our biggest and bulkiest box. Costs INR 2999 and can contain approximately 28-30 books or less/more as per book size. Aren’t you already excited to decorate your dream bookshelf?
That’s pretty much all you need to know. And if the bibliophile/bookworm in you is not excited by this, then… I don’t know what to say really (get yourselves checked, maybe?).
Anyways, ‘Lock the Box’ has been one of the best book-buying experiences I’ve ever had (both online and offline included). In my personal opinion, it’s very much near the top of the list when it comes to buying books in India as a whole.
I’ve ordered from them online twice, and was very much satisfied on both occasions. And yes, apart from holding book fair events offline throughout the country, they also operate and dispatch nationwide via their website.
Just a couple of months back, they held a similar event in Mumbai after a very long time, and needless to say, I was super excited for it. Here’s my full review and overall experience of the same – Bookchor: Lock the Box (Malad, Mumbai, 2023) โ Book Fair Review.
But guess what? When they announced that there was going to be yet another event in the a few months’ time… honestly, I just couldn’t wait!
Books that I got my hands on (pics of all attached below!)
Science Fiction
- ‘Foundation’ by Issac Asimov.
- ‘Foundation and Empire’ by Issac Asimov.
- ‘The Naked Sun’ by Issac Asimov.
- ‘Earthlight’ by Arthur C. Clarke.
- ‘The Fountains of Paradise’ by Arthur C. Clarke.
Truth be told, I’ve hardly read any Sci-Fi. And when I found these above titles, I immediately grabbed them without any further delay. Can’t wait to get into them!
Fantasy
- ‘The Way of Shadows’ by Brent Weeks.
- I love me some good ‘ol assassins/thieves type action/adventure stories, and thus, it was a no brainer when I saw this. Check out my review for a similar kind of novel, which I enjoyed immensely – โAmong Thievesโ by Douglas Hulick โ Book Review.
- ‘The Fifth Elephant’ by Terry Pratchett.
- I’ve read only one Discworld novel so far – Hogfather, and I enjoyed it! Having heard a lot of great things about the series, I just had to get more books. Simple!
- ‘Men at Arms’ by Terry Pratchett.
- ‘The Colour of Magic’ by Terry Pratchett.
Seeing fantasy books on any bookshelves will just never get old. The adrenaline rush, plus the dopamine release, is just too much to handle!
Classics
- ‘Around the World in 80 Days’ by Jules Verne.
- How good is this edition though? Love it!
- ‘Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea’ by Jules Verne.
- ‘The Murders in the Rue Morgue and Other Tales’ by Edgar Allen Poe.
- Again, what an amazing edition!
Can never really beat a proper classic, can you?
Mystery/Thriller/Horror
- ‘Miss Marple’s Final Cases’ by Agatha Christie.
- ‘Footsteps in the Dark’ by Georgette Heyer.
- I had never heard about the author before. The title, along with the premise, was really intriguing, hence picked it up. Looking forward to reading it to be honest!
- ‘Burnt’ by Anthony Horowitz.
Absolutely love me some mystery/crime/thriller/suspense/detective fiction, and of course, horror too!
So, the box I got was the ‘Odysseus’ box, priced at โน1,199. But that’s not actually the price I paid. Here’s how – firstly, I got a discount coupon of โน25 by signing in through the website. Secondly, by selling my used books at the venue, I got an additional โน125 off. Hence, I ultimately paid only โน1,049 (โน125 + โน25 = โน150 off on MRP). Thus, if you want to get additional discounts/a few bucks off the MRP, then make sure to –
One – sign in (if new, then sign up first) and avail the discount/get reward coupon, and two – if you have used books that you are willing to sell, then I would suggest you can go for it as well. A small “hack” if you can call it that. You’re welcome! ๐
Basically, to conclude, I got 15 books for โน1,049; which is approx. โน70 per book! Considering the edition/condition of pretty much all the books, I would say that it’s an absolute steal deal!
What was great about it? (or should I say what wasn’t, realistically!)
- First of all, there were a LOT of books on display. And even that feels like an understatement!
- Genres included fantasy, fiction, non-fiction, young adult, romance, crime, children, etc. You name it, and it was there. Very impressive!
- The overall organization was really good. No faults in that whatsoever, in my opinion.
- The staff, and the owner/manager, were all friendly, polite, and very helpful.
- Like the previous event in Mumbai, this again being in a mall meant that space wasn’t going to be an issue (unless you went on the weekends/rush hour that is!).
What could be improved?
Everything was actually pretty much spot on! No complaints from my side on this one.
Other info.
- Majority of the books on show were used/pre-loved. But there was a separate section of brand-new books too, with a good amount of discount on them. Of course, the new ones were not part of the ‘Lock the Box’ scheme, and had to be purchased separately.
- As mentioned at the start, they not only do various offline book fairs throughout the country, but they also have an online book fair via their website with the USP of “India’s largest online book fair”. There are a wide variety of books on display from various genres like – fantasy, fiction, non-fiction, young adult, romance, crime, children, etc. To top it off, you get a discount of flat โน100 on your first order! And don’t worry, the website will add your selected books to the respective boxes accordingly using the book dimensions. And finally, the delivery/shipping is FREE pan India, plus there is an option of ‘Cash on Delivery’ too.
- For the offline events, once you sign in through the website, there is an option for you to ‘Pre-order’ one of the box/boxes online before actually visiting the event physically. Basically, you’re “securing the box” beforehand so as to speak. And plus, you get a discount if you do so as well!
- Also, as mentioned before, you can sell your used books directly at the venue, which will slash off the final price. Here’s how it works – the staff has an ISBN (10/13-digit no. / code present at the back of each book) scanner which determines the value of a particular book when scanned. This is done via their ‘Lock the Box’ app. The value of all the books is then added and deducted from the final price. Of course, the value of each book is less when compared to the actual MRP of that particular book, regardless to say (e.g. – you bought a certain book for โน499, but while selling here, it will show up values ranging from approx. โน10/20-โน100/120 depending on the edition/condition etc.).
- No carry bags/any other packaging is present. Hence, I would suggest that you carry your own.
*Pssst* and as mentioned above, don’t forget to check out the small “hack” before you go!
Final thoughts
An absolute MUST VISIT event for all the bibliophiles/bookworms/booklovers (and whatever other similar adjectives are out there) across the country, and there’s no two-way about it! I’ve been to not one, but two such amazing events in the space of just 2-3 months, and let me tell you very honestly – both were very well organized, and I’m super happy and very much satisfied that I got to attend them. After all, who doesn’t want some great books on their bookshelves, eh? Especially when you’re getting them in pretty good condition (even though being used), and at very low prices at that! You just can’t say no!
Rating: – 10/10! (MUST VISIT!)
