Since books have always been a large part of my life, I've had to learn how to be smart and budget my money efficiently. In the past this meant borrowing books from the library or finding copies at thrift shops and yard sales. Once I got my first job though, my extra income allowed me to actually buy brand new books. I still wanted to avoid paying full price though, so I began searching around to look at all the options. These four websites are the best I've found so far for buying books at a good price. The first two are great for buying new copies, while the last two are good if the buyer doesn't mind used copies.
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Amazon (but we already knew that, didn't we?)
Amazon is an awful trap for a college student with an addiction to retail therapy. Not only are the prices great, but paying a little extra for Amazon Prime cuts down on shipping time. Sometimes I think my mail delivery guy thinks I'm crazy. One of the huge positives I've discovered with Amazon is the pre-order policy. I can pre-order a book before its release, and if the price drops before the release date then I'm given a refund for the lower price. Amazon is one my favorite ways of ordering my books, especially if I want them in my hands as soon as possible.
This is one of my newer discoveries, which I found when I was trying to figure out how to order books with UK cover designs. There was this one book I'd been wanting to order, Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray, but there was a particular cover I wanted (who decides to release different covers, and why do they think that's a good idea?) so I began searching around to see if I could find it. Book Depository is actually based in the UK so that's how it's able to send out UK editions. The prices are very affordable too, which makes it another good site to keep in mind.
Thriftbooks and Abebooks
These sites are really great if you don't mind getting used books. The prices are extremely low, and the only downside is having to pay for shipping (which is typically low anyway). Just a few months ago I wanted to find The Near Witch by V.E. Schwab. It was her first published novel, and it's no longer in print. I was able to find a copy on Abebooks for under $5. It's such a satisfying feeling to see how many books I can put in my cart for under twenty dollars. It's a game I like to play occasionally ;)
Hopefully this post has been informative in some way. These sites have been extremely helpful for growing my personal book collection.
Hello Britney! Books are expensive nowadays. I recently found a true love in reading books in my free time. I will definitely be checking Thriftbooks and Abebooks for cheap books! Your post was very helpful.
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