Online Book Buying

[SFG75]

Jay does bring up a good point about libraries. Here in the states, various communities have slashed library hours and cut back on the number of workers employed in libraries as a means to save money. A new attitude has been created with the internet, basically, if you want information, find it on the net!. As a taxpayer supported entity, libraries are frequently targets of funding cuts, but a lot of people wisely see that libraries do provide a great function for the given population and luckily, most of these efforts to put the budget knife to libraries is consistently defeated.

 

[krmchl]

I don't think I will ever stop going to bookstores. I love the atmosphere and if I find a book I like I don't want to wait even a couple of days!

Borders has a new Borders Rewards program which is nice and they send you coupons in your email about once a week.

 

[Puddleglum]

I have to admit that I very rarely buy from bookstores. I do tend to use the internet or local charity shops. Like many have said though I do enjoy walking around a shop and browsing. And sometimes I'll buy, like last weekend when I bought The Fairy Tales of Hermann Hesse and The Double by Dosteyevsky. The thing is new books are just too damn expensive.

 

[Rincewind]

I don't usually buy from bookshops as they are more expensive. I either buy online or get them even cheaper from Tesco or Asda.
They generally charge £3.77 for the latest paperbacks opposed to the RRP of £6.99 in bookshops.

 

[jay]

I don't usually buy from bookshops as they are more expensive. I either buy online or get them even cheaper from Tesco or Asda.
They generally charge £3.77 for the latest paperbacks opposed to the RRP of £6.99 in bookshops.

Yes, it’s a desperate catch-22. The bookstores are having a hard time with sales because people are buying stuff elsewhere because elsewhere can afford to knock the price down.
I don’t recall seeing books in a Tescos but I’m thinking, at least if it’s the mini ones, that these are just the nonsense best sellers anyway (?). So if one needs to support a Stephen the King or The Hairy Potter Code then that’s about all they can get there, and that’s part of what is killing bookstores anyway. Circular.

For some reason I still feel a desire to support the local shop, even though it is basically owned by a large German corporation (although soon the only bookstores left will be corporation). And even though my ordering books through them costs *more* than ordering them through AMZ including international shipping fees, I still do it.
Maybe I’ll stop and just say ‘fug it’ since no one else gives a gawd damn.

The future is bleak, but I will still recycle the papers and glass and plastic, so you breeders and your brood can’t get _too_ mad at me…
j

 

[clueless]

I don't think is so bleak. I buy most of my books online, but that does not mean I just buy from corporations. Even in Amazon, if I find sellers at the marketplace I can then check their websites and buy directly from them, making it cheaper for both of us. There are also many websites that are just an association of independent booksellers.

I just could not buy many of my books in a bookshop because they are not there. They could order them for me but I still remember when I wanted a book and they had to import it from Australia. This was 8 years ago and it cost me £46. I still remember it because it was a shock. If I had search for it online I could have got it cheaper.
In that case I knew which book I wanted but very often, I know the title of the book I want to buy but I want to check different editions. If I ordered a book in a bookshop, I would have to know in advance which edition I want and probably the ISBN number as well.

 

[Rincewind]

Tesco generally sell the top 50 paperbacks in their large stores (not the small ones) Same with Asda. They sell some hardbacks too at very good rpices
I don't look at it as lining someone's pocket, I look at it as saving me money. Why pay more at a local bookstore for exactly the same thing, I don't see the point.

 

[jay]

I don't think is so bleak.

Well, it’s just a statistical fact. Book sales were up 1% (one) last year.
And for the economically ignorant, keep in mind that Yahoo just stated a 47% increase from last quarter and that’s considered BAD. Strange math.

I buy most of my books online, but that does not mean I just buy from corporations.

I agree. Generally I like hardcovers, so when I do buy online I am trying to go through an independent shop. Granted even many of them now have to use AMZ as a pimp these days…

I just could not buy many of my books in a bookshop because they are not there.

Which is my point on various other threads. Waterstone’s (et al) isn’t even able to keep a stock of vaguely eclectic titles anymore because these have to stock shelves and shelves of the shit The Masses want.
Apparently Cause and Effect is also not being taught in schools these days.
[I’m not addressing that to Clueless, just elaborating on a theme]

If I ordered a book in a bookshop, I would have to know in advance which edition I want and probably the ISBN number as well.

I get my info from AMZ and take it to the local shop.

Tesco generally sell the top 50 paperbacks in their large stores

Yeah, that’s what I thought.
Some more not-so shaky math is that the top 50 books aren’t worth a read 99.9% of the time.

Why pay more at a local bookstore for exactly the same thing, I don't see the point.

For me? Principal.
Another dying thing.

 

[clueless]

I get my info from AMZ and take it to the local shop.

I might try that for the fun of it.
My local shop sells only children books, a bit of local history, a couple of bestsellers for adults and crafts and hobbies books. It's not part of a chain. It could be fun trying to get them to order something for me, considering that half of the books I buy are not in English.

 

[jay]

I might try that for the fun of it.

I like it because it supports the local shop, plus I like walking in there from time to time. Granted I don’t buy a lot of what they stock – a fairly small English bookshop in a German speaking location is bound to pretty much have not too much past that ‘what’s hot’ crap be it for air-headed locals or dimwitted tourists who seem to not know they probably have a Barnes & Noble (or whatever) in their own part of the world (“A bookstore, wow honey, get a picture! Europe is so fascinating!”)
But they have some of the mainstays and a small “literature” section. And occasionally they have listened to me when I request that they stock something, but usually only when I say, “if you don’t sell them in 3 months, I’ll buy them” (which I’ve only done with Amy Hempel, and even though they sold they didn’t feel the need to replenish (stoopid).
From time to time something catches my eye, like the little mini Penguin’s 70th birthday books, or I pick up some Auster to send to someone and/or sneakily insert promo-cards in the Sedaris (ack) anthology for the Hempel site.
Plus I _do_ get satisfaction from sabotaging displays for wank crap like Potter and The Code. No damage, of course, but maybe placing them upside down or back-facing out, or the best: putting real books in front of them (which I did last night with Shriver’s ‘Kevin’.
Ahhhhhh, consumerism.
j

 

[Rincewind]

Yeah, that’s what I thought.
Some more not-so shaky math is that the top 50 books aren’t worth a read 99.9% of the time

Some of them are quite good I think I guess it just comes down to personal taste in the end.

 

[SFG75]

I have to admit that I very rarely buy from bookstores. I do tend to use the internet or local charity shops. Like many have said though I do enjoy walking around a shop and browsing. And sometimes I'll buy, like last weekend when I bought The Fairy Tales of Hermann Hesse and The Double by Dosteyevsky. The thing is new books are just too damn expensive.

You highlight two things that are great and terrible about contemporary bookstores. The browsing experience is truly something else, something that is a little deeper than say, going out for a pound of ham. At the same time, the price is really a deterrent for me when it comes to laying down a large sume of cash at an extortionists price. With that being said, I have found a great way to solve this problem. For the new or big books that you want, buy them online. No business is meant to last forever and I'm sure that some folks went to horse and buggy shops out of guilt or sentiment years ago, but alas, eventually moved on. Likewise, economics also states that businesses will adapt to survive or die off. To me, the ones that will survive are niche shops or second-hand places. To me, the joy of browsing is equally as good in a second-hand shop as well as an overpriced one.

 

[namedujour]

and i just don't get it. I get everything from www.booksxyz.com

I followed your link to the site, did a search for a book and found that the book page just had a link to Amazon. Plus, the price they quoted was higher than the typical Amazon price.

 

[SFG75]

Does anyone opt for the used books on Amazon? I'm amazed at the low prices they can offer for a good book. I like these offers better as the price is of course lower, and I believe wearing is a good sign of a books character. The only downside is that it sometimes takes a week or two longer to receive the book from a given source than if you just paid the price for a fresh copy on Amazon.

Anyone else prefer the used ones?

 

[cabrasopa]

Does anyone opt for the used books on Amazon? I'm amazed at the low prices they can offer for a good book. I like these offers better as the price is of course lower, and I believe wearing is a good sign of a books character. The only downside is that it sometimes takes a week or two longer to receive the book from a given source than if you just paid the price for a fresh copy on Amazon.

Anyone else prefer the used ones?

I would recommend it i've bought a few used copies from Amazon (UK Site) and i have been very pleased with books (seen them at price of £0.01p, see below) and delivery times which didn't seem to take much longer than ordering new, within a week. I usually wait until i need a few books because they offer a Super Saver Delivery where you don't pay delivery charges if orders come to over £19.

5. Odd Thomas
~Dean Koontz
HarperCollins
Paperback - August 16, 2004
Avg. Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars
Usually dispatched within 24 hours

List Price: £6.99
Our Price: £3.99
You Save: £3.00 (42%)
Used & New from £0.01

 

[MonkeyCatcher]

“A bookstore, wow honey, get a picture! Europe is so fascinating!”

Hehe. Nice one

~MonkeyCatcher~

 

[jay]

Does anyone opt for the used books on Amazon?

Ich! Ich!
I very rarely order anything direct from Amazon itself.
And since amazon started selling electronics and other (i.e. non-book items) I feel the need to support them even less (even if just via a commission on the bookseller selling on AMZ), so I go through:
http://www.abebooks.com/

I too like used books (not too knackered though) and generally prefer hardcover, so if I find out about a book/author late (see any of my Lionel Shriver praise recently) then I search out the old stuff in hardcover.

SFG, nice post on the horse and buggy thing. While I wouldn’t say bookstores are “extorting” the customer –as they are simply adhering to the ‘recommended retail price’ and just can’t afford to knock it down too much- I do understand, sadly, the pure economics behind shopping elsewhere.
It’s just a shame it’s come to this.

j

 

[Stewart]

they offer a Super Saver Delivery where you don't pay delivery charges if orders come to over £19.

And it takes forever for the books to arrive. I ordered on 26th July and I'm still waiting.

 

[jay]

And it takes forever for the books to arrive. I ordered on 26th July and I'm still waiting.

Yes, *this* is the problem with going through a bookseller.
If you are looking for your book quickly, I’d advise contacting the seller directly and asking what method they use.
And don’t be fooled by just the price they charge. As I have a large body of water between me and most bookshops I deal with I know that 9 bucks should easily get me International Priority delivery on any books <500 pages. So I *should* get it no later than a week/week-anna-half. Buttttttttttttttttttttttt, some sellers like to charge the $9 rate and then ship it “ground” (i.e. Turtle Express) and then I may not receive it for up to 3 months. If at all.

 

[cabrasopa]

And it takes forever for the books to arrive. I ordered on 26th July and I'm still waiting.

My expierience SO FAR has been ok, books delivered within a week sometimes a couple of days.
I don't really mind how long it takes for delivery i've always got something to read in the meantime.