Otherwise entitled
How to Save Money When Buying Books so that
You Have More Money Left Over to Spend on Other Books
In a perfect world your local library would be within walking distance and the books you craved would always be on the shelves waiting for you, in pristine condition and sporting a personalized bookmarker. My experience has been otherwise. In our area the libraries put in a good effort but just don't have the resources to meet the demand. Partly because my local library is a county branch attempting to serve the hordes of suburbanites who swarm like locust at storytime, and also because the few dollars available to them are purchasing wiis to keep the entertainment driven tweens coming back to the library against their better judgment. Fortunately, our library has a hold system. Unfortunately, that system has also been overtaxed and they have recently limited each card to five holds. All good reasons to go ahead and purchase those favorite books and keep them handy on the home library shelf.
There is a reason that personal library collections have historically been an indication of wealth. Those people who walk into Barnes and Noble and pay the price printed on the back of the book either don't own many books or are indeed wealthy. (Although, to give B&N a fair shake, they do carry their own line of classic books that are not a bad deal if you aren't looking for an illustrated edition.) In general, books are expensive - but there is a way to cheat. When books are returned to the publishers they are marked (with a black sharpie) and liquidated to other companies for resale. That is where the smart shopper lies in wait to scoop up bargains. If you must go to Barnes and Noble for that new book smell, go in, breathe deeply, and then go home to make your book purchase online. Unless, of course, you're in a hurry or want to impress someone with the abundance of paper or plastic currency at your disposal. In that case, let me know and I'll be sure to send you a wish list at Christmas time - I'm ready and waiting to be thoroughly impressed.
If, like me, you want to collect many books of good literary and physical quality, but at half price or less, read on. The only requirement is that you never, ever buy any of the books I want if there is only one left in stock. This rule is unwavering and strictly enforced.
My favorite online discount store:
http://www.sortfloorbooks.com/. It seems too good to be true, and yet when I send them money they send me books. On top of their ridiculously low prices, they often offer an extra 10% off any purchase over $25 and always have free media mail shipping over $15. The only reservation I have about this site is that they don't differentiate between "new" and "ding and dent" like other sites. This means that your hardcover might come without a dust jacket or have a dented corner. But since all of their prices are of the "ding and dent" persuasion anyway, unless I'm looking for a gift I'm usually not that fussed. They also offer "fair" and "good" used items that I think are their equivalent to obvious "ding and dent" status. I've been impressed with their selection in the past, but it does change frequently so you have to check back often and order quickly once you've found what you want. They tend to get in a lot of titles at once from an author so you have to be the one that grabs the good stuff first. Board books usually cost $1.75-$3.20, paperback picture books are $2-4, hardcover picture books are $4-7, other paperbacks are usually around $2, hardcovers $3-6.
The other online discount store I use is
http://www.bookcloseouts.com/. This is more of what you'd expect the pricing to be like, generally about 50-60% off of list price, and they do charge shipping and handling (usually around $6-8 depending on your order). Fortunately, they always have a $5 off coupon for any order over $35. If you order before August 31st, use the coupon name
magic with the password
bookcloseouts.com. They always send a new coupon with your order. This store usually has a different selection than the other one so I check both. Board books are $2-3, paperback picture books are $3-4, hardcover picture books are often $7, other paperbacks are usually $3.50 and hardbacks $7. The up side of this store is that they often carry some very quality stuff like illustrated hardcover editions of classic children's literature, usually for $10. Those books run $16-20 at Amazon and $20-25 list price. This store does differentiate between new and ding and dent. I've never had a book come without a jacket when described as new.
Now for some tips. (1) The ISBN is the magic number. When shopping I constantly cut and past the ISBN on their site into amazon.com and half.com to double check the corresponding edition and illustrator. Sometimes the cover art on a book will change without a change to the ISBN, so I don't think you can ever be completely sure in that area. But the warehouses pick your order by ISBN, not the listed description, so go by that. (2) Have a running wish list of titles and favorite authors so that you can check these sites quickly but regularly to catch the best deals on the stuff you know you want. If some titles just aren't showing up, transfer those to birthday or Christmas lists - grandparents are tried and true suckers when it comes to purchasing books. In a good way. (3) Books aren't yours when they go in the shopping cart. They are yours when the order is confirmed in their computer and the inventory is changed. If your order just makes the requirement for free shipping or a discount but you get aced out of one of the books on your order, this could cause you a headache. I think that both sites show how many books are left in stock when viewing your shopping cart, so be wary if there is only one.
Some examples of the good deals I've found: HC set of the Chronicles of Narnia ($55). HC Complete Adventures of Peter Rabbit ($10). HC Pooh collection ($8). HC Mary Poppins ($4). Many of the picture books already on my wish list from authors like David Shannon, Adam Rex, William Steig, Tony DiTerlizzi, John Scieszka, Ezra Keats, Mercer Mayer, Mo Willems, Karma Wilson, and Jane Yolen ($3-7 each). I especially recommend this method for acquiring board books. When your first baby comes along, you line up your impressive collection of board books in a pretty row on the shelf and look forward to the day when your baby will begin to enjoy them. Then you discover that enjoying books to their fullest also involves ingesting them. Board books really should come out of the grocery budget because they make up a good portion of a toddler's daily fiber intake. Luckily, when ordering from these sites a board book actually costs less than shredded wheat and includes better reading material than the back of a cereal box. All around good parenting.
There are other places to find remaindered books online. Amazon jumped on the band wagon (silently) and started including marked books in their general collection. Of course people began to complain, so they recently started marking these as Bargain Books. Barnes and Noble also has a bargain bin with comparable pricing, and both of these places offer free shipping over $25. If you are looking for a specific title or edition, sometimes a search for used books is the best way to go. I often like the old fashioned illustrators for classic books so I use the used book searches on Amazon.com, Half.com, Alibris.com, Abebooks.com and ebay. The downside to this method is that you can count on an extra $4 in shipping charges for each book. Sometimes this is still the cheapest way to find commonly found books in very good condition. But often the cheapest and easiest way to get current editions in guaranteed good shape is just to buy them new on Amazon. Just be sure to get free shipping over $25 and use the 4-for-3 promotion whenever buying board books or paperbacks.
That is an almost exhaustive account of my knowledge related to obtaining new and used books. If any of you have things to add, I would love for you to comment. Happy Shopping and Good Reading!
