This as well as being an amateur farmer and running the store meant he was running out of hours in the day.
“I love the shop and it’s a great shop and it pays the bills and we’ve got great staff but I’m just not here enough to give it the love it deserves.”
West bought the shop around two years ago after arriving back in Whanganui from living in Sydney.
He was a lifelong reader and found the idea of owning a second-hand bookstore to be romantic.
“I’ve been visiting them since I was a teenager and that’s always stuck with me.”
Since then he said the store’s collections had only grown, filling the building, a shipping container and part of his shed.
“It’s taken over my life.”
Included in them were many vintage books including first editions of Winnie the Pooh and first edition works of Jules Verne.
He said he would take the few books that made up his personal collection, but the rest would all be sold with the shop, as well as its website which allows people to buy online.
The store was profitable, he said.
He said this was due to the store’s dedicated customer base, with Whanganui having a strong contingent of readers.
The store had also built up a reputation among book lovers outside of the district.
“There are people who come to Whanganui specifically to come past the shop, Wellingtonians, Aucklanders, there’s a guy from Taupō who comes in and gets art books.”
Harcourts Whanganui’s Rob Bennett said interest in the store so far had been good both locally and from out of town.
“The other people I’ve had show some interest are people from out of town who obviously have an interest in books and want to move to Whanganui and want a job but want to work for themselves,” he said.
Some of the books in stock included rare editions and signed copies worth hundreds each.
Bennett didn’t expect the store to be on the market for long, with it being priced lower than market valuation to help find the right person who fits it.
West said an interest in books would be a requirement for running the store, so thought the ideal buyer would be a semi-retired book lover.
“Someone like that who doesn’t have a small farm and a fulltime job,” he said.
However, if the right buyer wasn’t found, he said he would keep the store and find the time to keep running it.
The shop has been listed for $85,000.
Finn Williams is a multimedia journalist for the Whanganui Chronicle. He joined the Chronicle in early 2022 and regularly covers stories about business, events and emergencies. He also enjoys writing opinion columns on whatever interests him.
