Books Online

[Draconis]

I know you guys buy them. Where do you go to get your best online book deals? I'm looking to expand my library for cheap. Preferably so dirt cheap that I would be somehow exploiting a little Cambodian child. I'd love to check out some of your favourite sites with a good variety!

Thanks!

[DudeEMETIB]

Assuming you don't mind buying used books sometimes, I usually look for books online at --> Alibris: Used Books, Used Textbooks, Rare & Out-of-Print Books

Always find really good deals there, I've bought tons of books for under $5, sometimes new sometimes used. There's ratings for condition, so you know if it's used, whether it's still in really great condition, or not so good, or kinda bad, etc.

Also, while it won't let you "grow" your library, it can help you mix up your library.... bookmooch.com is a website where people trade books with one another. Basically, you put up a list of all the books you don't mind parting with, and you can put a list of books you want (or just search for books you want) and basically...putting up that list of books you don't mind giving, gives you points, and sending books to people who asked for the book(s) you own, gives you points, and with those points you can ask for books from people and have them send it to you.

You only spend money on the cost of shipping your book to someone else...which shouldn't be much if you're sending nearby.

Also, it's always good to look through the "clearance/sales" section of whatever book store you like...for me, it's Barnes & Nobles.

[DudeEMETIB]

Oh, and check out thrift shops, big ones, small ones, Goodwill, whatever....I often buy books there, because they'll be ridiculously cheap (50 cents to a dollar something) and sometimes you'll see a really good find.

Odds are the vast majority will be old kids books, shitty paperback romance novels, and shit about Christ or dieting....but I've found cool stuff. And it's a regular thing I do.

[DWarrior]

My experience has mostly been hoarding math textbooks that normally cost $150 for like $20-$30, so I'm not sure if that directly translates to conventional literature. Nevertheless, I do believe I'm skilled at the internets:

shopping.google.com and sort by low-high price. I usually find Alibris.com or Biblio.com regularly make the list.

You can also check out Amazon's used section, you can usually get the older books at a fraction of the new price. I'm sure you know about it, but if you search on Amazon, there's a "New Price" and "Used Price" for each book.

[Goop]

I've used bookcloseouts.com a ton of times...decent pricing overall...can sometimes get GREAT deals...fast shipping etc... Only issue is it can be hit and miss if they have what you are looking for since they take in 2nds, returns from bookstores etc.... check them out though as you'll be sure to find something you want.

[zombieninja]

Check your local library here in Jacksonville twice a year they have a huge book sale you have to go the first day as all the good stuff is gone by day two but you can get hard backs for like a buck fifty. I know its not online but its a good way to get awesome books cheap.

[Junkenstein]

www.abebooks.com

You can find used stuff there that's indecently cheap. i mean 0.50 cheap, if you're not too picky about the perfect conditions of what you buy. They dont aim at the collector market likle ebay or amazon used section do.

[Draconis]

Thanks guys! These were pretty helpful. Now, if only I didn't feel so scatterbrained looking on all of them at once for the shit on my list. I found another one that's pretty decent.


Seashell Books | Used Books | Textbooks

[FreydNot]

It would be a good idea to install the Invisible Hand plugin for your web browser. If you are looking at an item that it knows about, it will tell you if another online store has it cheaper. You still need to be savvy about shipping costs and such, but it's a great tool.

InvisibleHand: Home