‘The Jungle Book’ From Story Time Publications Gets Sold Out In 1 Hour!

The successes of Story Time Publications are showing no signs of abating. The company already owns the most popular mobile storytelling app for children - Story Time For Kids. And now, one of its printed paperback books, ‘The Jungle Book’, has been sold out from eBay, in less than an hour!

Story Time had started providing parents the option to buy kids’ books online from March this year. The company tied up with eBay - a partnership that has, till date, proved to be successful. Over 70 copies (combined sales of all the 8 Story Time books) had already been sold via the popular ecommerce portal. There was a spike in the sales figures, when Story time opened its very own online bookstore last month (www.storytimeforkids.info). Even so, this sudden spurt in demand for ‘The Jungle Book’ has surprised (in a good way, of course!) the executives of the company.

In an exclusive media interaction session, the chief of the Story Time team explained that the books have to be re-listed on eBay after every 7 days. Last week’s relisting was done on the morning of Sunday, the 24th of August. As she watched in awe, orders for ‘The Jungle Book’ started pouring in immediately, and it took all of 52 minutes for the entire stock (of 50 units) to get sold. ‘The Wizard Of Oz’, ‘Aladdin’ and ‘Simon In Space’ were the other books which also witnessed heavy sales.

The Story Time team is, understandably, over the moon after this super-strong performance of its printed storybooks. According to the team leader and chief content developer, the rave reviews online from earlier buyers have been instrumental in building up the curiosity factor of the books. The worldwide popularity of the Story Time iPhone/Android app for kids has also played a part.

Till now, Story Time had been providing only Indian buyers the chance to purchase books online - but things are all set to change over the next couple of months. The company is already in talks with multiple global courier companies, in a bid to supplying the children’s books to international clients as well. The total number of paperback/hardcover books in the company’s portfolio will also be bulked up. There should be around 50 Story Time printed storybooks by mid-2015.

From the feedback and opinions shared on the Facebook page of Story Time, it is pretty clear that many buyers were looking for, but could not get, ‘The Jungle Book’ on Sunday - since the stock had ran out (it was relisted on the next day). In a bid to avoid the chances of similar scenarios cropping up again, Story Time will be doubling the number of books being relisted every week, from now on. In other words, there will be 100 copies of each kids’ book at the start of every week. The publishers are optimistic about at least 80% of the books being sold online, on a weekly basis.

The arrival of the ISBN numbers for the books has been a real shot in the arm for Story Time Publications. There had been a slight delay over this issue, which was keeping the promotional campaigns for the storybooks (both online and offline) somewhat limited. Now that this factor has been sorted out, the team has turned its attention towards applying for a secure payment gateway for its website. Once that becomes available, people will be able to buy books online from the site itself.

A senior agent from Story Time opined that the remarkable popularity of ‘The Jungle Book’ was not entirely unexpected. She revealed that the timeless tale of Mowgli and his animal cronies had enjoyed maximum popularity at the recently concluded 3-day Story Time Monsoon Camp, and at the book fairs in different city schools. The challenge now lay in making the other books equally popular, and to improve the range and the quality of the books further. Only then would Story Time be able to sustain its position as the supplier of the best books online.

Take a look at the currently available and soon-to-arrive Story Time books, at http://www.storytimeforkids.info/bookstore/. You can place your order online, or simply call (033)40649087 with your book requests. Mails can be sent to support@storytimeforkids.info. Regular reading is one of the healthiest habits for a young kid, and Story Time is certainly doing its bit to encourage it!