Where to Get Great Deals on Books
*not a sponsored post
Every bookworm knows the struggle of “so many books, so little money.” Let’s face it. Books are freaking expensive. Don’t even get me started on the prices of hardcover books. EBooks have some lower prices, but I just can’t convince myself to spend 10+ dollars on something I can’t touch/gaze at longingly/shove my nose into. Luckily, I have found a few ways to indulge my need for physical books without breaking the bank.
1. Books-a-Million’s Bargain Shelf
If you are just looking to browse, the BAM Bargain Fiction shelf is a great place to start. If nothing on my TBR shelf is calling to me, I’ll go to my local store and see what I can find. This shelf is a catchall of what BAM has in store, from classic literature to graphic novels. The prices are great, ranging from $5-$10, but most of what I’ve seen is about $7. EVEN HARDCOVERS. I got three hardcover books for like, 20 bucks. I found one of my favorite books on this shelf, so go dive in. You never know what you’ll find.
2. Thrift Stores
I know, stay with me here. A lot of people are hesitant to go book shopping at thrift stores, because there’s the chance they aren’t in good condition, or they are just a giant collection of dime store romance novels. I know every thrift store is different, but if you can find one with a sizeable book selection, jump on that. Like, yesterday. My local thrift store has a few shelves and a surprisingly diverse collection, and they offer AMAZING deals. Ohmygoodness, these prices. You can get most hardcovers for $1.50 and three paperbacks for a dollar. You read that correctly. $10= 30 paperback books, or whatever kind of math you feel like doing. I found Inferno by Dan Brown a few weeks after it came out in this store. Find yourself a thrift store with a decent collection and roll around in all the money you saved while reading your latest find.
3. AbeBooks
AbeBooks is an online bookstore with a huge selection. There’s a search engine where you can browse by title, author, keyword, or ISBN. Searching by keyword brings up a bunch of offers, most of them around $2-3. You can also purchase entire collections if you have a really pretty penny to spend. This site is also good if you’re a rare books collector—they have a whole separate page for that. AbeBooks also sells textbooks for dirt cheap. My fellow broke students can rejoice. You can also sign up for their emails to keep you in the know about their deals.
4. Amazon
The Amazon book department is my happy place. If you have a specific book in mind, you will find it. The prices of the used books make me weep. I have found books on Amazon for literally a penny, so I pretty much only paid for shipping. You can also find new books for good prices if you’re a Prime member. My strategy for navigating all the options is to look at the difference between the used offers (plus shipping) and the Prime offers (free 2-day shipping). Obviously, it makes more sense to by the $11 new book with Prime, rather than the $9 used book, plus shipping. I’ve purchased most of my books on Amazon, and all the used books I’ve ordered are in great condition, too, minus the occasional cracked spine. I did buy one book that was obviously owned by a heavy smoker, but it aired out in a few days.
Whether it’s online or in a store, I honestly can’t remember the last time I paid full price for a book. Please, spread this information to other bookworms, and to your friends and family so they can save money while THEY buy YOU more books. Tell anyone with ears. Now that you’re armored with all this money-saving knowledge, go out and buy some books! Then, send me pictures.
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