Book Buying

Book Buying Tips



As many of you may have seen if you have followed my blog for any length of time that I am awful at restraint for buying books, I honesty most days will have an order in mind or on the way to me in the post. But because I buy so many I have a few tips and tricks so you don't break the bank while buying all the books :).

Physical Store Tips:                                                                                                                                (The Telegraph Photo credit)
  • When going into a shop, have a list in mind, browsing will just make you pick up many that you have not heard of and will not read for a while.
  • Don't be afraid if they have a used section to try and find some of your books their for a fraction of the price, if you love the book you can always purchase a nice hardcover edition.
    • I did this with the novel A Brief History of Seven Killings, which I am enjoying a lot however I seem to be lacking the dedication that it takes to continue reading it... 
  • Hunt around the store to see if they have the same book in more than one spot, often they will have certain books as staff picks and they wil be discounted because they are "Staff Picks".
  • Join their reader club if they have it there, they will usually hold a rewards program where for every time you spend $100 you will get a $10 coupon for that day. 
    • I use this all the time, because when I go to the shops my girlfriend usually tags along so we can easily get to the $100 in a day, sad but true. Then one of us gets to use the coupon for the day it works out very well for us.
  • Make friends with the staff there, they most of the time will help you regardless but being friendly towards them definitely helps when you ask them if they have a book in but not on the showroom floor.
    • This has worked for me on multiple occasions it has been how I got some books that were not scheduled to be released yet :)
Online Retailers Tips:
  • Shop around, look at many different sites before you decide which one you are going to buy from often times one will have a significantly lower price.
  • Make sure you know the edition of the book that you want, because you can easily be torn between using The Bookdepository or Amazon but the defining facter should be where can I find the correct edition.
  • Sign up for their email lists, and create a folder in your inbox where they wont clutter everything else. Most often than not the retailer will send coupons or sale notices which you do not want to miss!
  • Look at Thriftbooks, or the Amazon marketplace if you do not mind slightly used books, these sites sell books for a fraction of the cost!
  • Another HUGE tip I have is to know generally what you want when you log in  to browse and purchase books online, because it can add up very quickly on you.
Online Retailers: 

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