Have you read Shantaram too? Or been to this market? If you like counterfeit tours, check out India's most notorious black market ua-cam.com/video/NXnh4Obknvo/v-deo.html. The location of the book market is Flora Fountain goo.gl/maps/Gnuc1yfet1PtuvKUA.
Hi Karl. Don’t worry :p, the missing pages in Shantaram were probably those bloody boring,endless aphorism drenched conversations between Lin & Carla. 😂 I recently visited Mumbai after many times entering India via Delhi. Man, I loved it so much from Irani chai, to the food and incredible people.
Hi Karl, i didn't watch your channel. Long time, your comment from linus last video reminds me you I don't know what happened, but youtube doesn't show me your notifications anymore.
When I was a student I didn't have a lot of place to store my books so I would keep on returning the books for years 😅. It's what kept me into reading.
Previlaged New Zealander cannot understand the piracy of book, this first world crooks cannot share there wealth looted on the name of visa as gate for stop to non western world and than loot resources of their on name of business.
As an avid reader and broke teenager I used to love going to the secondhand bookshops and the Churchgate street shops in Mumbai -- it's where so many of my books came from. It's also a wonderful feeling to be able to pass on the books to others after reading. Books should not cost the earth, and knowledge should not be gatekept from people who truly desire to learn. It's lovely to see these are still around by the way.
Tbh for books that expand someones knowledge and aims to teach them something new i totally agree but i would not want a creative project to be resold for basically nothing so I’d rather not have these exist, especially with all the knowledge you can get from the internet. Theres free courses for everything basically if you know where to look, but i dont think its worth having someones creative endeavors dragged through the mud by not only not paying them but also stealing that persons work and making a profit off it. Knowledge is already extremely accessible but most of the books i see being sold arent there to help students or anyone get smarter. 99% of these books are the result of someones creative mind and not the will to spread knowledge or wisdom. These books are about the journey they take you through and most of the time they try to make you think and leave more questions than answers. So while some of these shops do something i am totally for and that is provide knowledge to people for basically free (would be even better if it was), 99% of what they actually do is steal someones creative work and make a profit off it
I had been to a place in Kolkata when i was 7 year old, I was a book worm back then, even now. They used to sell copys of books and not only inspirational and story, they used to sell books like hcv and other great guides. Dictionaries, encyclopedias many more at prices lower then 200. They were off course fake, but the encyclopedia I bought was on to the point very correct. I still have it now, even if I google about a topic let's say flower, rufflasia the information on book and intrnet was always same. You can actually find books if you know your way
One of the reasons for the publishers to sell lower cost "Indian Subcontinent" copies of their books is to compete with the counterfeiters. By lowering the price, they manage to sell sufficient books to be profitable in the Indian market. So, indirectly the counterfeiters have helped make the original copies more affordable too!
It's not really a "lower" price per se. The foreign publishing houses kind of outsources the job to Indian publishing houses like Rupa to print new cheaper editions with Indian resources without compromising on quality.
@@unrealbot3027 The exact same book (even the same book cover art etc.) usually costs anywhere between 20 to 40 dollars for fiction and non-fiction titles overseas, which are available in India for anything between 200 to 600 rupees. The text books cost even lower at around a few hundred rupees, which may be over 100 dollars overseas. So pray, do tell how it is "not really lower" price?
Actually, this market could be beneficial for those who can't afford expensive books and don't much care about the quality, to those who just wanna read a good book.
Yeah I've seen markets similar to this. But I don't think I ever got a fake from one. One time I even got a real copy of a Christmas Carol from 1994 in crisp quality like the book was never opened, it had some sort of cutting damage over the top and the pages were VERY yellow but the binding and print quality was good. This was in Madurai btw To me it doesnt matter anyway fake or not as long as the pages aren't fucked up and the binding is good. Because it's still the same story.
They really help students. I remember buying from these as some of the foreign editions - like irodov's physics - were expensive. But never bought after I started earning. You'll be surprised in a few places like Hyderabad, some of the competitive exams books are really cheap and help students a lot. Not all books are found here though. It's okay to have such places !
Too bad about the missing pages and the low quality printing. It's still good to see international books make it to Indian readers this way, so everyone can read whatever they like.
honestly, the quality of the print is typically not too bad (obviously not as good as the original) and personally i have never bought a book with missing pages.
As Indian not-so-rich kids, we all know, these 'counterfeit' books are the ones who shaped our future. These are not counterfeit books, these are lifesavers.
They do have habit of reading in India, good that they have places with lots of books. Here in Brazil we dont even have black market of books because theres no demand, no ones read it and the ones who read pay full price
A few years ago, a publisher company filed a case in an Indian court asking to take action on counterfeit and illegal publishing of books and online websites. The court ruled out the case stating that it is not correct to charge money on books that are meant for education. That is why you see there are a lot of books that are cheap and pdfs available on websites. However it is not applicable to these kinds of books.
Karl - I’m from the States my friend. It always blows me away how inexpensive everything is in India! Buying a fried potato w/ curry spice for 15¢ is insane
@@KarlRock I bet & can not wait Karl. Have not made it to India yet but visiting other countries like Thailand & even Japan I see a lot of things way cheaper like even Coke / Pepsi, Pringles & candy bars
@@banksterkid5930 yes but the content is same if anybody wants knowledge they can get it if you just wanna show off then you also gotta earn it not everybody is born with the silver spoon 😏
Bookstores like these helped me immensely during my school and college days when I hardly had any money. I could spend 500-600 rupees a month on books and would be occupied with reading almost the entire month. Would often just sell it back or sell it to someone in college and often made almost 70% of the money back. It might seem wrong to some people but this is actually the backbone which has helped so many like me persue their passion for knowledge without hurdles. I went to US and was so surpriesed when a blank notebook was costing around 8-10$ more than what I paid for books here. So yeah, in a way this is subsidized education in India
When I used to buy books, $12-15 was pretty common for books in the US. Just depends on what you are buying. Now if we are talking college text books...shoot that adds up fast. A college text book in US will at least run you $100+. Trust me...its horrible and that's "usually" used.
@@nerd_alert927 I don't exactly recall what I paid when I got to Uni. I remember community college one of my math books was like $135 and in a binder and because it was a binder book you couldn't resell it back to the campus. I can believe that college books went up. I graduated in 2017-2019...I believe it was 2019. XD So not too long ago.
Hey Karl , ever visit College Street Kolkata- biggest book market in city. They sell different kinds of books - old books, used books & counterfeit etc. Books on various subjects_ Literature, Science, novels ,?autobiography etc…
This was a great comparison video. I will make sure to have a book budget if I ever go to India. Will definitely buy the authentic version, which is still almost 3 books for the price of 1 in the west. Great video Karl as always, 10/10!
Surprised they haven't branched out into the e book market. Most e book files are under 2Mb so it would be easy to transfer the file. I've stopped buying physical books simply due to storage. A good e reader is a must for many travellers
I go to this place regularly. I went there last month and guess what. I took the Alchemist too for 100 bucks from the store you bought it from. It's called Dilip store and had vadapaos from the adjacent stall. Also also, if you return the book you get 50 bucks back
I've grown up scrounging around fountain, not only do they have copies but also a lot of old collectibles. Built a beautiful collection from the streets of Bombay.
I love your videos man! Simply can't get enough. Also, your Hindi has improved so much. It's bloody awesome seeing you having conversations with the locals. Even though I can't understand a single word :P But thankfully you always put subtitles. Have a great rest of your day. Peace and blessings to you and the wife :)
It was a British colony and part of the British empire, before India broke away with Ghandi in 1940s 🤔 , it's much more English influenced than a place like China or Thailand
Have a book bazar near my home too. I usually pick up a dozen or so every month for my nices and nephews and return them to get new ones. I've even completed my engineering degree with books that were brought in this fashion 😅😂. It was seriously a life saver because one book had cost like ₹4.5k on amazon that we'd just be using it for 3 or so months....local book sellers were selling it for ₹900...got it xeroxed for about ₹120 😂
Karl i love your video since watching you since past 3 yrs ...and i know you love India very much ....keep exploring...also show the good part of mumbai 😊
I recall seeing a similar situation in Venezela 20 years ago, but with CDs, DVDs, and console games. Sidewalk sellers with anything you wanted for pennies, right in front of a Blockbuster store. I imagine the owner of that store regretted his investment. keep up the great videos, sir!
"Karl Rock, your video on the black market for books in India shed light on a fascinating and often overlooked aspect of the country's literary culture. It's amazing how passionate people are about obtaining books in any way possible. While the subject is serious, your storytelling skills and insightful commentary kept me engaged throughout. Thank you for bringing awareness to this unique aspect of India's book scene!"
I bought Dongri To Dubai from one of these book sellers in Mumbai. I then returned home to Hong Kong (where I was then living) and began reading it. Half way through, as I’m beginning to get quite engaged in the story after the less interesting set up and character background, it starts to have the odd page missing. I would sometimes manage to find the next in other parts of the book. But hunting for the next page became such a chore that I had to give up.
Oh goodness, I literally paused the video and started reading the description given on the back of the book!😅 Perhaps just a side effect of being a bookworm! Btw luv ur videos Karl❤️
I am from Mysore, Karnataka. I used to buy fake books from road side in early 2000s on Dhanwantari Road in Mysore. They sell openly on road. I had bought many Sidney Sheldon novels those days from these fake book sellers at Rs50 each. They are new though they are fake. Those days orginal Sydney Sheldon books cost Rs 250-295. Why pay this much for 1 time reading. The problem of text inside the spine of book is not exclusive to fake book. I have bought genuine Mark Tully books published by Penguin. Many of Penguin books have very small font size and text too much inside the spine of the book. So, this problem is also there with genuine book. Now i prefer to buy Ebook to read on Kindle so that i can adjust the text size. Fake books sometimes have wrong spelling on the cover. So, the book like HOW OPAL MEHTA GOT KISSED, GOT WILD, AND GOT A LIFE is printed as HOW OPAL MEHT GOT KISSED, GOT WILD, AND GOT A LIFE.
thanks for the video, really enlightening. sometimes you really really want to read a book but you can't afford it because the money you have is just enough for your food and daily expenses and while pirated books like this are illegal sometimes they are your only way to read something especially if your country does not have adequate library and reading facilities
You became Indian by heart. Happy to learn from you actually. Most of the foreigners will say 1250/- for a book is okay but i got the genuine reaction 😂😅. Love it.
If it’s readable, I will read it. I absolutely love that the Market makes books affordable for more people. It’s sad to see mouldy books though. I tend to look around the charity shops for books. I got the whole goosebumps series for my kids for a job lot price of £15. They originally wanted 99p each. So it’s possible to bargain.
As a lower middle-class Indian, I love street shops that sell fake branded clothes, books etc..I love supporting local businesses too and I don't want to make the rich companies more richer by buying from them even if I make enough money someday 🙂
Friendly reminder for travelers. If you speak the local language and street vendor, salesperson asks colleague price in English, the answer back will be foreigner price. Expect to haggle, if it's worth more than a couple of bucks.
There are many many very popular books which are like non profit or non-copy-right mean no royalty has been given to author or their family so anyone can print and sell at any price, Think & Grow rich is an example, and in that case there is nothing wrong buying them, you can buy them from any where
As a subscriber of you since 2019, I want to really ask you to come to College Street in kolkata. The best thing about here is you do not have to buy "counterfeit" books much, but second hand, at extremely cheap price. What this does is it let's the publishers get their share if profit on the first sale, and after it comes to the college street second hand book market it becomes like a purchasable library. There are both indian and foreign books. For example, I purchased a _The Complete Works of Shakespeare_ which was printed in England in 1964, and priced 7/6 (£ 7.86 in today's value). I purchased this book for ₹150. And apart from that, there is many more untold stories in Kolkata's College Street that you would love to know. Thank you.
Love the familiar "small world " experiences in a country with over a Billion people. Sometimes with the popular counterfit books, the original such as Bhagavad Gita As It Is, has all the same pictures with the authors name changed and a few txts changed, along with the poorer quality, I discovered this phenomina regularly in a book market in Kolkatta, someone wants to become famous by stealing the authorship of a popular book. Only in India
For a cheaper quality, they are selling it for a cheaper price. I think it is fair enough, at the end, cheap quality or high quality, the content in the book and the knowledge gained from it is just the same. If not for these markets most of the students wouldn't even have been able to afford it!
Good info' you share with us always Karl Ji, and the tips of how to spot a counterfeit and also checking the quality of the books. 😊And the VadaPao, the potato burger?Looks SCRUMPTIOUS!👍😋
I whispered "indeed" when Karl Said "Small world... small world", and the memory of bumping into Karl at a KFC outlet in Vashi brought a smile on my face.
I andheriumbai I had a local book vendor who ran a book rental (totally illegal again). You could buy these fake books at printed prices with a 70,% money back if you returned the book unscathed.
They're all over Mumbai, even in this day when people don't read as much. I used to love them. Now that I'm in the US, I miss them, but there's a good amount of used book stores and of course, Thrift books, which costs me the same as it did in India.
Honestly speaking the quality condition of the paper or cover doesn't really matter, the main thing the content inside is what matters. So it's beneficial buying counterfeit.
@@Ali-x2f1o i mostly buy these books only and grammar mistakes don't exist because it's a exact same copy of the original book. It's not missing pages mostly it's just because it's photocopied so many times that some pages might have a light print but it's alright, readable.
Karl has just shown the fantasy/story books in this video. There are also markets where you gets graduation/post graduation books for engineering and science and mathematics at around the same price. Those who really want to learn, India is a great place.
9:34 so true, I've at least spent 75K on Nintendo Switch Games so far 😅 still collecting more, Zelda TOTK, Arkham Trilogy and Hogwarts legacy are my next target 🎯
Wow. Even at 350 rupees for original book is much cheaper than the price in my country. Like only 1/3 price. Must be heaven to be a bookworm living in India!
I use to buy books from this place in 80s. use to come from Santacruz to this place just to buy books. Have purchased books from 1980 till 2005 before moving to US. Visited the place again in 2023 just to get a feel of it........
Crossword Stores used to have a very calm and peaceful Music in the background, I just love that music - Can anyone please tell me the link or name of that music
Always bold and beautiful. I admire your honesty and resilience. If I may, please could you do a video on keeping india clean? This beautiful country is literally littered with garbage, filth and dust. A message from you will make a huge difference. Many thanks for your kind consideration.
I used to buy books in kgs in Delhi. There is a bazaar here in Daryaganj where they sell 1kg of books for 500 Rs. This price is 5 or so years back. I have now shifted to counterfeit pdfs online 🤫.
Can you imagine investing time in reading some book and reach the climax in the story, turn the page and realize the next page is missing, the most epic part of the story was never even printed, time for an ebook yall
@@KarlRock I would love to see a video of a good public library the facilities and information services and users interest here and comparing with one from your country. As very less people are promoting libraries here in my country and perception of an common man towards a library or its professionals in India is not satisfactory.
I enjoy finding and trying old and new scifi writers, just in case someone good pop's up. I AM A FAN of second hand books, so I might try counterfeit copies if they were readily available.
The best way to rule out a fake copy of the book is to actually open up the book!!!! Check for the print quality, original versions do not have any smudged prints, stray ink marks, any missing pages of course. So don’t get me wrong on this but legitimate books also have a distinct smell coming from the paper used, the glue in the binding and the ink. The hoax versions don’t have these and you can make it out gradually with experience if you have handled a book more so often! There is also the tactile feedback when you touch the book cover, the pages in inside which help you differentiate. Again the hoax counterfeit versions are usually cheaply made they have thinner more bleached out papers which are rather smooth to touch and feel flimsy to handle. These pages are quicker to mould and prone fade away the ink faster. The original version of books have thicker pages, often with a little yellow-mild brown hue; note this doesn’t stand true for all original books as the publisher may use a different paper altogether.
Also last but not the least, these vendors sometimes have true antique and gem of books, some being quite the first copies which would be worth a staggering amount of money, they don’t often realise it and that’s actually how I got my hands on one of the very first copies of Dracula by Bram Stoker from them. These people deal with used books and it is a heaven for those who often seek out older books that have now been stopped being published. It’s often easy to bargain with them & if they become a little pushy towards you to buy something remember Karl’s Signature lines…….. “Nahi Chahiye ji!!!!” : )
A fool proof way to check a book legitimacy is to look up its ISBN which stands for international Standard book number - it is a unique number assigned to every published modern book. An ISBN identifies book’s edition, publisher & physical properties like trim size, page count, binding type, printing materials used. ISBN is usually found as a barcode along with numbers printed for the same in modern day books…. So take your time, Google up the ISBN before buying and compare the properties listed online with the current book you are holding in your hand.
I remember getting some lonely planet guides in thailand that were counterfeit, oh and also a book 1984 which half way through the pages are backwards or upside down, made it very hard to understand what was going on with all the newspeak .. haha Got a question for ya.. thinking about heading from nz to India in June/July to do some filming/vlogging. What ya reckon about the monsoon? Was thinking to hit the bigger cities, Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi etc do you think I could get away with it? Or would it just be a wash out? Any places in India good that time of year?
I was shocked at the price of books here in France as compared to official copies sold in India. It even applies to ebooks which are also cheaper in India than europe. Although I've found quality difference in the official copies sold in India where they would have slighly lesser quality paper than the european market to keep the prices a bit low.
I mean we all know those books are not original and reprinted copies lol. Its nothing new for Mumbaikars. Infact I have the Newmoon book from twilight and breaking dawn as fakes. and i knew they were fake but i was a student with a very limited budget so i had to buy them that way. Also you're right about gaming. Since Nintendo isnt official in india i paid $400 for my switch when they sell only for $300 in america. I basically paid MORE than the retail price because it had to be imported . It was even selling for $450 on amazon india but i got a discount from a reputable seller in chennai. But still , since my monthly salary is around $300, I had to pay $400 which was a huge purchase for me. It sucks that nintendo isnt official here. the games too are like $50 $40 which is a lot in indian currency. I feel like going to japan and writing a letter to the CEO of nintendo in japanese to make nintendo official again in india. My console is australian so i had to buy a universal plug to use the charger.
Have you read Shantaram too? Or been to this market?
If you like counterfeit tours, check out India's most notorious black market ua-cam.com/video/NXnh4Obknvo/v-deo.html.
The location of the book market is Flora Fountain goo.gl/maps/Gnuc1yfet1PtuvKUA.
you are more indian than me 🤨 ngl it feels weird that I'm learning more about my country by your videos 😂😂😂
@@lordchrist01liar
Hi Karl. Don’t worry :p, the missing pages in Shantaram were probably those bloody boring,endless aphorism drenched conversations between Lin & Carla. 😂 I recently visited Mumbai after many times entering India via Delhi. Man, I loved it so much from Irani chai, to the food and incredible people.
Hi Karl, i didn't watch your channel. Long time, your comment from linus last video reminds me you
I don't know what happened, but youtube doesn't show me your notifications anymore.
Have a prince harry new book Spare lost January in England
The 50% return value acts like a library. It's a blessing for people especially students who can't afford to pay high prices.
When I was a student I didn't have a lot of place to store my books so I would keep on returning the books for years 😅. It's what kept me into reading.
Previlaged New Zealander cannot understand the piracy of book, this first world crooks cannot share there wealth looted on the name of visa as gate for stop to non western world and than loot resources of their on name of business.
Soo trueee
This is the reason your country is falling😂
@@benarthurhuzz4664 ok woke guy
As an avid reader and broke teenager I used to love going to the secondhand bookshops and the Churchgate street shops in Mumbai -- it's where so many of my books came from. It's also a wonderful feeling to be able to pass on the books to others after reading. Books should not cost the earth, and knowledge should not be gatekept from people who truly desire to learn. It's lovely to see these are still around by the way.
yes I went there when I visited India. It's fantastic.
Tbh for books that expand someones knowledge and aims to teach them something new i totally agree but i would not want a creative project to be resold for basically nothing so I’d rather not have these exist, especially with all the knowledge you can get from the internet. Theres free courses for everything basically if you know where to look, but i dont think its worth having someones creative endeavors dragged through the mud by not only not paying them but also stealing that persons work and making a profit off it. Knowledge is already extremely accessible but most of the books i see being sold arent there to help students or anyone get smarter. 99% of these books are the result of someones creative mind and not the will to spread knowledge or wisdom. These books are about the journey they take you through and most of the time they try to make you think and leave more questions than answers.
So while some of these shops do something i am totally for and that is provide knowledge to people for basically free (would be even better if it was), 99% of what they actually do is steal someones creative work and make a profit off it
@@zoey8977if they can’t afford a book…. They can’t afford a computer and internet….
I had been to a place in Kolkata when i was 7 year old, I was a book worm back then, even now. They used to sell copys of books and not only inspirational and story, they used to sell books like hcv and other great guides. Dictionaries, encyclopedias many more at prices lower then 200. They were off course fake, but the encyclopedia I bought was on to the point very correct. I still have it now, even if I google about a topic let's say flower, rufflasia the information on book and intrnet was always same. You can actually find books if you know your way
One of the reasons for the publishers to sell lower cost "Indian Subcontinent" copies of their books is to compete with the counterfeiters. By lowering the price, they manage to sell sufficient books to be profitable in the Indian market. So, indirectly the counterfeiters have helped make the original copies more affordable too!
It's not really a "lower" price per se. The foreign publishing houses kind of outsources the job to Indian publishing houses like Rupa to print new cheaper editions with Indian resources without compromising on quality.
@@unrealbot3027 The exact same book (even the same book cover art etc.) usually costs anywhere between 20 to 40 dollars for fiction and non-fiction titles overseas, which are available in India for anything between 200 to 600 rupees. The text books cost even lower at around a few hundred rupees, which may be over 100 dollars overseas.
So pray, do tell how it is "not really lower" price?
Actually, this market could be beneficial for those who can't afford expensive books and don't much care about the quality, to those who just wanna read a good book.
Yeah I've seen markets similar to this. But I don't think I ever got a fake from one. One time I even got a real copy of a Christmas Carol from 1994 in crisp quality like the book was never opened, it had some sort of cutting damage over the top and the pages were VERY yellow but the binding and print quality was good.
This was in Madurai btw
To me it doesnt matter anyway fake or not as long as the pages aren't fucked up and the binding is good. Because it's still the same story.
@@AbsolutelyRadSHOC yep, exactly!
Sometimes we need this kind of market
@@MaryAnnSweetAngel I mean, who cares as long as it's in budget and you get the content of the book?
Yes but is it considered pirated? Is it illegal doing so? For me it’s still not good buying counterfeit books for whatever reason
They really help students. I remember buying from these as some of the foreign editions - like irodov's physics - were expensive. But never bought after I started earning. You'll be surprised in a few places like Hyderabad, some of the competitive exams books are really cheap and help students a lot. Not all books are found here though. It's okay to have such places !
many of the so called scams in India help the economy and those who are poor.
yep students find cheap books and that helps all kids to get an education. Long live great India.
Counterfeit spectrum book for some 50 rs less better than original print
koti's famous book market .. best price for competitive exam books
There are books LPE - low price editions only for India, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. I love those books. It’s really blessings for all students.
yall cant even read
@SPG8989 Bless your heart!! Yes you’re absolutely right!
@@SPG8989you can read , who's stopping you
@@SPG8989still better than having a dying economy where home ownership seems impossible
@@SPG8989yall should decide your gender first
Too bad about the missing pages and the low quality printing. It's still good to see international books make it to Indian readers this way, so everyone can read whatever they like.
That's y people check the book before buying it
honestly, the quality of the print is typically not too bad (obviously not as good as the original) and personally i have never bought a book with missing pages.
As Indian not-so-rich kids, we all know, these 'counterfeit' books are the ones who shaped our future. These are not counterfeit books, these are lifesavers.
They are by definition counterfeit.
They do have habit of reading in India, good that they have places with lots of books. Here in Brazil we dont even have black market of books because theres no demand, no ones read it and the ones who read pay full price
Yaa a black market of book is cool though 😅
You need lot of people who wants to read . Brazil has low population and it's spread out all over massive country.
A few years ago, a publisher company filed a case in an Indian court asking to take action on counterfeit and illegal publishing of books and online websites. The court ruled out the case stating that it is not correct to charge money on books that are meant for education. That is why you see there are a lot of books that are cheap and pdfs available on websites. However it is not applicable to these kinds of books.
Karl - I’m from the States my friend. It always blows me away how inexpensive everything is in India! Buying a fried potato w/ curry spice for 15¢ is insane
I'm from Australia, for PPP they are more reacher over there
Wait until you see my 7-Eleven India review next week!!! The prices are insane.
@@KarlRock I bet & can not wait Karl. Have not made it to India yet but visiting other countries like Thailand & even Japan I see a lot of things way cheaper like even Coke / Pepsi, Pringles & candy bars
Everything is cheap. But you pay extra for better quality😂.
@@banksterkid5930 yes but the content is same if anybody wants knowledge they can get it if you just wanna show off then you also gotta earn it not everybody is born with the silver spoon 😏
These are literally 90% of the books people buy.
nice to see back doing what you love Karl, i really love you r videos as i learn so much from you fella. much respect to you from England
Thanks mate!
@@KarlRock How did you get unbanned from India?
Please Karl! Never go to the clickbait path other great youtubers have fallen into. Your videos are amazing as they are! Greetings from Mexico🇲🇽🇮🇳🇵🇰
Counterfeit books are black market. No money goes to the publisher.
Bookstores like these helped me immensely during my school and college days when I hardly had any money. I could spend 500-600 rupees a month on books and would be occupied with reading almost the entire month. Would often just sell it back or sell it to someone in college and often made almost 70% of the money back. It might seem wrong to some people but this is actually the backbone which has helped so many like me persue their passion for knowledge without hurdles. I went to US and was so surpriesed when a blank notebook was costing around 8-10$ more than what I paid for books here. So yeah, in a way this is subsidized education in India
Even amazon sells counterfeit books in India! 😂
Amazon sells counterfeit everything.
Flipkart too, bought some of them and they literally had bad binding and pages were changed. Lol no returns 😅
It's impossible to verify if it's original or fake unless you go over every book and it's released versions one by one.
@@snehad4389 What can i do , i stopped buying after i got my 2nd book (fake) in a row.
I now pirate book and read pdf
When I used to buy books, $12-15 was pretty common for books in the US. Just depends on what you are buying. Now if we are talking college text books...shoot that adds up fast. A college text book in US will at least run you $100+. Trust me...its horrible and that's "usually" used.
I remember paying upwards of $300 each for uni textbooks. That was just a couple of years ago.
@@nerd_alert927 I don't exactly recall what I paid when I got to Uni. I remember community college one of my math books was like $135 and in a binder and because it was a binder book you couldn't resell it back to the campus. I can believe that college books went up. I graduated in 2017-2019...I believe it was 2019. XD So not too long ago.
9:21 That spider on JK Rowling belongs in chamber of secrets, not the casual vacancy lol
Omg😳Brilliant observation
Hey Karl , ever visit College Street Kolkata- biggest book market in city. They sell different kinds of books - old books, used books & counterfeit etc. Books on various subjects_ Literature, Science, novels ,?autobiography etc…
This was a great comparison video. I will make sure to have a book budget if I ever go to India. Will definitely buy the authentic version, which is still almost 3 books for the price of 1 in the west. Great video Karl as always, 10/10!
Surprised they haven't branched out into the e book market. Most e book files are under 2Mb so it would be easy to transfer the file. I've stopped buying physical books simply due to storage. A good e reader is a must for many travellers
What e reading device you use? Kindle or tab?
I go to this place regularly. I went there last month and guess what. I took the Alchemist too for 100 bucks from the store you bought it from. It's called Dilip store and had vadapaos from the adjacent stall. Also also, if you return the book you get 50 bucks back
I've grown up scrounging around fountain, not only do they have copies but also a lot of old collectibles. Built a beautiful collection from the streets of Bombay.
I love your videos man! Simply can't get enough. Also, your Hindi has improved so much. It's bloody awesome seeing you having conversations with the locals. Even though I can't understand a single word :P But thankfully you always put subtitles. Have a great rest of your day. Peace and blessings to you and the wife :)
Thanks for the support!
Disgraceful
Excellent video and very interesting topic! Out of curiosity, what phone are you filming on (visible in the mirror at 10:05?)
Wow, I only realised half way through they are all in English. I didn’t realise English was so common in India.
It was a British colony and part of the British empire, before India broke away with Ghandi in 1940s 🤔 , it's much more English influenced than a place like China or Thailand
also many indian state have regional language so selecting any one create tension in society hence for all official purpose English is used
Have a book bazar near my home too. I usually pick up a dozen or so every month for my nices and nephews and return them to get new ones. I've even completed my engineering degree with books that were brought in this fashion 😅😂. It was seriously a life saver because one book had cost like ₹4.5k on amazon that we'd just be using it for 3 or so months....local book sellers were selling it for ₹900...got it xeroxed for about ₹120 😂
Karl i love your video since watching you since past 3 yrs ...and i know you love India very much ....keep exploring...also show the good part of mumbai 😊
Thanks for this video Karl. Book shopping is one of my weaknesses when I visit India. I never knew you could sell them back to the stalls .
Loving the new India series, Karl! Keep them coming. ❤
Thanks!
Love when you do these kind of vids karl
I recall seeing a similar situation in Venezela 20 years ago, but with CDs, DVDs, and console games. Sidewalk sellers with anything you wanted for pennies, right in front of a Blockbuster store. I imagine the owner of that store regretted his investment. keep up the great videos, sir!
Yeah same in India too about 15 years ago... We can get copy of CDs, DVDs, and games at a very cheap price
"Karl Rock, your video on the black market for books in India shed light on a fascinating and often overlooked aspect of the country's literary culture. It's amazing how passionate people are about obtaining books in any way possible. While the subject is serious, your storytelling skills and insightful commentary kept me engaged throughout. Thank you for bringing awareness to this unique aspect of India's book scene!"
I'd watch this but karl... It's midnight here in australia... I'll watch it in the morning. Love the vids btw! ❤
I bought Dongri To Dubai from one of these book sellers in Mumbai. I then returned home to Hong Kong (where I was then living) and began reading it. Half way through, as I’m beginning to get quite engaged in the story after the less interesting set up and character background, it starts to have the odd page missing. I would sometimes manage to find the next in other parts of the book. But hunting for the next page became such a chore that I had to give up.
Oh goodness, I literally paused the video and started reading the description given on the back of the book!😅 Perhaps just a side effect of being a bookworm! Btw luv ur videos Karl❤️
India has deep love for books. If you visit Kolkata and especially College Street area you'd realise the true craze for books even in this digital age
I disagree, the only demand is for textbooks. Most people do not read books after college.
I am from Mysore, Karnataka. I used to buy fake books from road side in early 2000s on Dhanwantari Road in Mysore. They sell openly on road. I had bought many Sidney Sheldon novels those days from these fake book sellers at Rs50 each. They are new though they are fake. Those days orginal Sydney Sheldon books cost Rs 250-295. Why pay this much for 1 time reading.
The problem of text inside the spine of book is not exclusive to fake book. I have bought genuine Mark Tully books published by Penguin. Many of Penguin books have very small font size and text too much inside the spine of the book. So, this problem is also there with genuine book. Now i prefer to buy Ebook to read on Kindle so that i can adjust the text size.
Fake books sometimes have wrong spelling on the cover. So, the book like HOW OPAL MEHTA GOT KISSED, GOT WILD, AND GOT A LIFE is printed as
HOW OPAL MEHT GOT KISSED, GOT WILD, AND GOT A LIFE.
thanks for the video, really enlightening. sometimes you really really want to read a book but you can't afford it because the money you have is just enough for your food and daily expenses and while pirated books like this are illegal sometimes they are your only way to read something especially if your country does not have adequate library and reading facilities
You became Indian by heart. Happy to learn from you actually. Most of the foreigners will say 1250/- for a book is okay but i got the genuine reaction 😂😅. Love it.
Seeing Mein Kampf hit me as a German 😂
It is quite popular here in India
I’m in bookshops at least once a week in the UK, so great to see this video, thanks.
Another great vlog Karl 👌👌👌
If it’s readable, I will read it. I absolutely love that the
Market makes books affordable for more people. It’s sad to see mouldy books though. I tend to look around the charity shops for books. I got the whole goosebumps series for my kids for a job lot price of £15. They originally wanted 99p each. So it’s possible to bargain.
As a lower middle-class Indian, I love street shops that sell fake branded clothes, books etc..I love supporting local businesses too and I don't want to make the rich companies more richer by buying from them even if I make enough money someday 🙂
Then, buy local phones, laptops , and branded phones than Branded item.
@@ArthurDayne69 yup I do just that always!
Hey karl, that's true these are pirated copy books. But if used correctly & concisely then it can help people gain knowledge.
Friendly reminder for travelers. If you speak the local language and street vendor, salesperson asks colleague price in English, the answer back will be foreigner price. Expect to haggle, if it's worth more than a couple of bucks.
Karl love your videos bro they always lift my spirit up when I'm feeling down
Karl thanks for bringing us great videos!
There are many many very popular books which are like non profit or non-copy-right mean no royalty has been given to author or their family so anyone can print and sell at any price, Think & Grow rich is an example, and in that case there is nothing wrong buying them, you can buy them from any where
As a subscriber of you since 2019, I want to really ask you to come to College Street in kolkata. The best thing about here is you do not have to buy "counterfeit" books much, but second hand, at extremely cheap price. What this does is it let's the publishers get their share if profit on the first sale, and after it comes to the college street second hand book market it becomes like a purchasable library. There are both indian and foreign books. For example, I purchased a _The Complete Works of Shakespeare_ which was printed in England in 1964, and priced 7/6 (£ 7.86 in today's value). I purchased this book for ₹150. And apart from that, there is many more untold stories in Kolkata's College Street that you would love to know. Thank you.
Love the familiar "small world " experiences in a country with over a Billion people.
Sometimes with the popular counterfit books, the original such as Bhagavad Gita As It Is, has all the same pictures with the authors name changed and a few txts changed, along with the poorer quality, I discovered this phenomina regularly in a book market in Kolkatta, someone wants to become famous by stealing the authorship of a popular book. Only in India
8:20 that one cat is sleeping 😅
08:12 to look after the mouse? so that they do not ruin the books.
For a cheaper quality, they are selling it for a cheaper price. I think it is fair enough, at the end, cheap quality or high quality, the content in the book and the knowledge gained from it is just the same. If not for these markets most of the students wouldn't even have been able to afford it!
If knowledge is spreading via fake duplicate books then I support it. Bcos there are many who won't afford to buy original one.
Good info' you share with us always Karl Ji, and the tips of how to spot a counterfeit and also checking the quality of the books. 😊And the VadaPao, the potato burger?Looks SCRUMPTIOUS!👍😋
I keep watching your vlogs karl really like you such a nice person you are ❤
6:46 Norwegian Woods cover stands out.
i noticed the head bobbing while speaking to the book salesman :)
I whispered "indeed" when Karl Said "Small world... small world", and the memory of bumping into Karl at a KFC outlet in Vashi brought a smile on my face.
Very helpful! 🎉
I andheriumbai I had a local book vendor who ran a book rental (totally illegal again). You could buy these fake books at printed prices with a 70,% money back if you returned the book unscathed.
Its insane to me that he just knows what books are where
They're all over Mumbai, even in this day when people don't read as much. I used to love them. Now that I'm in the US, I miss them, but there's a good amount of used book stores and of course, Thrift books, which costs me the same as it did in India.
Honestly speaking the quality condition of the paper or cover doesn't really matter, the main thing the content inside is what matters. So it's beneficial buying counterfeit.
What about the missing pages or the grammar mistakes? Those are the main problem and those kind of places
@@Ali-x2f1o i mostly buy these books only and grammar mistakes don't exist because it's a exact same copy of the original book. It's not missing pages mostly it's just because it's photocopied so many times that some pages might have a light print but it's alright, readable.
@@denverpereira8020 this is good to hear actually
Them dudes must be so stressed out when it rains bro
Karl has just shown the fantasy/story books in this video. There are also markets where you gets graduation/post graduation books for engineering and science and mathematics at around the same price. Those who really want to learn, India is a great place.
Karl make a video on the use of online payments in india local shops....it would be informative to foreigners....coming to india.
I so love your travels and your tips on savings as you go - I love second hand books and India - I love the seven eleven.
8:06 it looks like savannah cat, costs 1000s of dollars in my country 😂
9:34 so true, I've at least spent 75K on Nintendo Switch Games so far 😅 still collecting more, Zelda TOTK, Arkham Trilogy and Hogwarts legacy are my next target 🎯
When it comes to knowledge, the medium doesn't matter. Only the content matters.
Wow. Even at 350 rupees for original book is much cheaper than the price in my country. Like only 1/3 price. Must be heaven to be a bookworm living in India!
What i truly love is
How people manage to get these books ( doesn't even matters if its second hand )
Just in order to gain wisdom .!!!
10:32 the girl just melted away.
I use to buy books from this place in 80s. use to come from Santacruz to this place just to buy books. Have purchased books from 1980 till 2005 before moving to US. Visited the place again in 2023 just to get a feel of it........
Around 9:30 you film the front of some of the game shops, on the signs it says "prefered partner", what does that mean?
By the way Karl, how's the blazing heat of India? Now it's May & it's blazing heat & humidity in South India 🌞 once come n experience it
Crossword Stores used to have a very calm and peaceful Music in the background, I just love that music - Can anyone please tell me the link or name of that music
Always bold and beautiful. I admire your honesty and resilience. If I may, please could you do a video on keeping india clean? This beautiful country is literally littered with garbage, filth and dust. A message from you will make a huge difference. Many thanks for your kind consideration.
I used to buy books in kgs in Delhi. There is a bazaar here in Daryaganj where they sell 1kg of books for 500 Rs. This price is 5 or so years back. I have now shifted to counterfeit pdfs online 🤫.
Can you imagine investing time in reading some book and reach the climax in the story, turn the page and realize the next page is missing, the most epic part of the story was never even printed, time for an ebook yall
Nahh ebook can't give the happiness that a real book gives... atleast for me...
The Alchemist. My most favorite book ever! I have the ebook, the audio book, and the hardback cover book. I read it a couple times every year.
4:16 'A very Indian book' what do you actually mean by this sentence??
Do visit a public library someday and explore how people nowadays think about libraries and their importance.
I've visited many. They're full to the brim with people studying and reading.
@@KarlRock I would love to see a video of a good public library the facilities and information services and users interest here and comparing with one from your country. As very less people are promoting libraries here in my country and perception of an common man towards a library or its professionals in India is not satisfactory.
The libraries here in New York are hang-outs for the homeless, nobody reads books anymore
Nice to see you back at the scam videos love em keep them coming please 🙏
You can always rely on Karl to find someone who lives near him on the other side of India with a population of 1.4 billion
I enjoy finding and trying old and new scifi writers, just in case someone good pop's up. I AM A FAN of second hand books, so I might try counterfeit copies if they were readily available.
The best way to rule out a fake copy of the book is to actually open up the book!!!!
Check for the print quality, original versions do not have any smudged prints, stray ink marks, any missing pages of course.
So don’t get me wrong on this but legitimate books also have a distinct smell coming from the paper used, the glue in the binding and the ink. The hoax versions don’t have these and you can make it out gradually with experience if you have handled a book more so often!
There is also the tactile feedback when you touch the book cover, the pages in inside which help you differentiate. Again the hoax counterfeit versions are usually cheaply made they have thinner more bleached out papers which are rather smooth to touch and feel flimsy to handle. These pages are quicker to mould and prone fade away the ink faster.
The original version of books have thicker pages, often with a little yellow-mild brown hue; note this doesn’t stand true for all original books as the publisher may use a different paper altogether.
Also last but not the least, these vendors sometimes have true antique and gem of books, some being quite the first copies which would be worth a staggering amount of money, they don’t often realise it and that’s actually how I got my hands on one of the very first copies of Dracula by Bram Stoker from them. These people deal with used books and it is a heaven for those who often seek out older books that have now been stopped being published.
It’s often easy to bargain with them & if they become a little pushy towards you to buy something remember Karl’s Signature lines……..
“Nahi Chahiye ji!!!!” : )
A fool proof way to check a book legitimacy is to look up its ISBN which stands for international Standard book number - it is a unique number assigned to every published modern book.
An ISBN identifies book’s edition, publisher & physical properties like trim size, page count, binding type, printing materials used.
ISBN is usually found as a barcode along with numbers printed for the same in modern day books….
So take your time, Google up the ISBN before buying and compare the properties listed online with the current book you are holding in your hand.
6:15 LMFAOOOOO BRO I WAS LIKE WHY THE SPOOKY MUSIC
Awesome for those who read books. I barely have the attention span to read my 'Learn Bangla' book, never mind anything else 😂😂
I remember getting some lonely planet guides in thailand that were counterfeit, oh and also a book 1984 which half way through the pages are backwards or upside down, made it very hard to understand what was going on with all the newspeak .. haha
Got a question for ya.. thinking about heading from nz to India in June/July to do some filming/vlogging. What ya reckon about the monsoon? Was thinking to hit the bigger cities, Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi etc do you think I could get away with it? Or would it just be a wash out? Any places in India good that time of year?
Not the bootleg Mein Kampf 💀
You don't have to find a counterfeit, they all are counterfeits and we all know that. It's a blessing for some.
Ur amazing bro..!!!
I was shocked at the price of books here in France as compared to official copies sold in India. It even applies to ebooks which are also cheaper in India than europe. Although I've found quality difference in the official copies sold in India where they would have slighly lesser quality paper than the european market to keep the prices a bit low.
Books are reading not a luxury item if you get cheap buy and read it… reading is more important
I mean we all know those books are not original and reprinted copies lol. Its nothing new for Mumbaikars. Infact I have the Newmoon book from twilight and breaking dawn as fakes. and i knew they were fake but i was a student with a very limited budget so i had to buy them that way.
Also you're right about gaming. Since Nintendo isnt official in india i paid $400 for my switch when they sell only for $300 in america. I basically paid MORE than the retail price because it had to be imported . It was even selling for $450 on amazon india but i got a discount from a reputable seller in chennai. But still , since my monthly salary is around $300, I had to pay $400 which was a huge purchase for me. It sucks that nintendo isnt official here. the games too are like $50 $40 which is a lot in indian currency. I feel like going to japan and writing a letter to the CEO of nintendo in japanese to make nintendo official again in india. My console is australian so i had to buy a universal plug to use the charger.