You favorite place to buy books online?
By cajundharma
@cajundharma (641)
United States
January 10, 2007 4:56pm CST
tell me about your favorite online bookstore. Do you prefer the big chains, or smaller independent websites? Do you get your new and used books from the same place?
For brand new books I stick with Amazon, like most of the world. But for used books, I like alibris.com . They have really great prices. I also like to use a book swapping site called PaperBack Swap http://www.paperbackswap.com/index.php?n=1&r_by=loganx%40gmail.com
Bookcloseouts.com is a great place for new books that have been discontinued or are "scratch and dent".
8 people like this
101 responses
@doingit4fun (917)
• United States
10 Jan 07
Generally I use Amazon because it's reputable and I can find really cheap used books there too. Now I'm using Barnes and Nobles online because I became a member so I get 10% discount on all orders.
Otherwise I like Dover Publications---they have books for REALLY cheap like $1.00 a novel (and they're new!). I use that for novels/other similar readings.
@cajundharma (641)
• United States
11 Jan 07
thanks for the tip about Dover, I'm always looking for new book sites.
1 person likes this
@avs189 (1030)
• India
11 Jan 07
Thanks buddy for the inforamtion ,found really helpful,I would also like to know where quality e-books are available that too free of costs...since being student i canot afford them to purchase online from Amazon.....why dont u go for free ebook sites rather than purchasing them .?????
@doingit4fun (917)
• United States
11 Jan 07
I buy a lot of books at Amazon and also at Half.com. I don't mind reading used books so I got to half to save money. Barns and Nobel works fine sometimes too but I compare to B&N and Amazon to save money.
Actually my favorite place is not online place but I like to shop in annual library sale in our area and buy tons of books at .50-$2 each or even cheaper sometimes.
1 person likes this
@iheartducks (343)
• United States
11 Jan 07
Library sales are a great way to find books at cheap prices!!!
@lauriefnp (5109)
• United States
10 Jan 07
I like Barnes & Noble. If you're a member, you get 10% off of all purchases, and they offer free shipping for a small minimum order. They have a good selection of both new and used books. I also like half.com, which I recently discovered- you can get books for dirt cheap, but the postage might be excessive. I have only ordered from them once so far.
1 person likes this
@cajundharma (641)
• United States
11 Jan 07
That's why I prefer sites that actually have the used books in their own stock, you can combine shipping and don't end up paying 4 bucks shipping for a 2 dollar book.
@DreamOn01 (146)
• United States
10 Jan 07
For the most part, I stick with Amazon. Not only are they most likely to have what I am looking for but they usually get it to me right away. I've also had some pretty good luck with some of their third party used book vendors. I've also bought books on Ebay occasionally, but there's no guarantee that they'll have what I am looking for.
With books, I actually prefer looking at them in a bookstore first, unless I'm familiar with the author or it is recommended by someone whose opinion I really trust.
@rochinha_14 (1)
• Portugal
11 Jan 07
i use a site (portuguese site) called www.fnac.pt, very simple(for who know portuguese), has organized information, and you can buy great books on cheap prizes, for portuguese people i recommend this site.
Cumps
@LeslieD (59)
• United States
10 Jan 07
I had no idea there were paperback book swap sites. Thanks for that! I will check them out.
I do like Barnes and Noble on line. They have great deals because they buy in bulk. However, I like to find some of the older books, mostly for my kids, and I have to look for older, smaller book sites.
1 person likes this
@cajundharma (641)
• United States
11 Jan 07
Even if you don't use my referal link above (I get a free book credit if you do), I can't recommend the site enough. Even if you buy books instead of swapping them, the credits work out to about two dollars a book, and you can create a wishlist and they'll hold the book for you once it's posted in the system.
@rgnich (28)
• United States
10 Jan 07
Amazon.com for sure. I just started back to school and books that would have cost me $60.00 "used" in the college bookstore I found on Amazon for $11.00 - What a savings - It is a great company and I sell on there also. I have picked up books at garage sales and flea markets for .25 and sold them for over $20.00 - Now that's what I call Profit. Amazon is great for buying or selling. I rate it with a Gold Star!
@cajundharma (641)
• United States
11 Jan 07
So you think Amazon is better for selling than half.com? That's good to know, I might give a try with the big box of books sitting in my closet.
@Script (592)
• Australia
11 Jan 07
I run an online bookstore, so I'll have to say scriptbooks.com.au *wink*
I'm based in Australia and am slowly building up a client base. As far as purchasing books before I started my business, I have used Amazon and ebay. www.bookfinder.com is great for rarer and hard to find books as it incorporates a lot of independant book sellers.
@cajundharma (641)
• United States
11 Jan 07
That is really cool. I'd love to hear more about your experience getting into running that sort of business. Right now I am a stay at home parent, with a fairly useless BA in english, and one of my pipe dreams is to open a bookstore that carries only fantasy, science fiction and horror, with a big emphasis on small press publications.
@anyablue (363)
• United States
13 Feb 07
I have had really great service from Amazon so I don't shop anywhere else. I usually hunt around and look for used books at Amazon because they can be quite cheap. And I love the variety there. I've been able to find every book I've wanted. But I will definitely try out alibris.com. I've heard some great things about them from others.
@iheartducks (343)
• United States
11 Jan 07
I usually use half.com for textbooks, I have looked at Amazon, but never bought there.
If you are looking for children's books at great prices check out www.ubah.com/M2001 and make sure to look at the sale items!!
Thanks for the great websites - I will have to check them out!!
@cajundharma (641)
• United States
11 Jan 07
Usborne makes really excellent children's books. We've enjoyed everything we've gotten from them.
1 person likes this
@iheartducks (343)
• United States
11 Jan 07
Good!! I enjoy them too!!! If you need check out my website - Thanks!!
@inked4life (4224)
• United States
10 Jan 07
I go to Amazon but usually try to find a good second hand copy from the list that they provide. Also use Barnes and Noble from time to time. When it comes to buying books though I still prefer going to the store...I generally hate shopping but I do get a lot of enjoyment from book shopping.
1 person likes this
@cajundharma (641)
• United States
11 Jan 07
Bookstores are the last retail stores I still enjoy. I prefer to buy books second hand, but I'm a little leery of buying used through Amazon because they don't guarantee the purchases from secondary sellers.
1 person likes this
@JellyBeans (639)
• Canada
10 Jan 07
Ill just go with amazon
Probably the most reliable and best website. The reason is that we all know amazon is a big company. They always send the things you've bought. and it doesn't take too long to get them. They also have a big library to choose from along with other users that are willing to sell used copies.
1 person likes this
@zenmachado (1617)
• United States
12 Feb 07
I really enjoy purchasing from ebay, because they have books that are not only super cheap but also are in better than fair condition.
@kellahinx (370)
• United States
11 Jan 07
I prefer to go to half.com because a lot of the smaller bookstores go there and post what they have. That way it is easy to compare prices and conditions.
I read a lot, so I usually but used when looking online because otherwise I would probaly be in a huge amount of debt by now.
@jesusica (38)
• United States
11 Jan 07
i love this store called alibris.com. they sell a lot of hard to find/out of print books. it's great. and they usually have pretty good prices. i also like addall.com. you can't buy books from them, but they compare prices of all the major online bookstores and give you the best price.
@soul0629 (94)
• United States
11 Jan 07
Amazon is the best. I used to buy a lot from B&N but now I am 100% Amazon; for two reasons: (1) Fast shipment, usually 2 days. I once bought some books on Saturday and received the the books on Monday. (2) It offers deeper discount than other online store.
@jojopuff (520)
• United States
12 Jan 07
I, too, stick with Amazon because they tend to be a little cheaper than anywhere else I've found, at least if you're buying them new. I don't buy used books so I don't know too much about used book sites, but Amazon is where I primarily get my books. I have ordered books off of Barnesandnoble.com but they tend to be a little more spendy.
@cabergren (1181)
• United States
12 Feb 07
I trade books with some friends. That makes they pretty cheap. But I also buy from Amazon.com. There prices are pretty good. I have also gone to book stores and given them books and gotten some of there used books.
