I'm trying to wean myself off Amazon but don't really know who are the good online sellers. Obviously I'm willing to pay a lot closer to retail to exorcise the guilt of buying from Amazon so any recs would be appreciated (I've used B&N in the past and it was fine, just want to branch out). Thanks!
P.S. I met someone yesterday who has my same affliction, which is when I get high I tend to buy a lot of books! Anyone else have this?
― Iago Galdston, Thursday, 10 October 2013 17:14 (ten years ago) link
eBay. I've bought loads of good books for super cheap this past month.
Very Fine Pynchon 1EDs for $2-3 per.
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Thursday, 10 October 2013 17:17 (ten years ago) link
Thanks, Al...nice about the Pynchons. I'm feeling flush though, so more in the market for new books, unless they sell new releases or "new" copies of older books...don't know if eBay does that.
― Iago Galdston, Thursday, 10 October 2013 17:39 (ten years ago) link
I have this very affliction.
― Mordy , Thursday, 10 October 2013 17:48 (ten years ago) link
www.powells.com
The prices are not as low as typical Amazon prices, but they have over a million titles, new and used, and the staff are unionized.
― Aimless, Thursday, 10 October 2013 17:52 (ten years ago) link
yes, Aimless! Thank you...Mordy, it was so funny when this guy said that...I had no idea it was a "thing". I'm staring at a stack of like 20 books bought under the influence...very strange
― Iago Galdston, Thursday, 10 October 2013 19:18 (ten years ago) link
Thanks, Al...nice about the Pynchons. I'm feeling flush though, so more in the market for new books, unless they sell new releases or "new" copies of older books...don't know if eBay does that.― Iago Galdston, Thursday, October 10, 2013 10:39 AM (1 hour ago)
― Iago Galdston, Thursday, October 10, 2013 10:39 AM (1 hour ago)
Absolutely, you can filter by condition: "Brand New" etc.
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Thursday, 10 October 2013 19:38 (ten years ago) link
Basically the way it works for me is I read a lot when I'm stoned and any book mentioned in an article or book I'm reading I find for 99 cents used on Amazon and throw it in my basket. I figure 99 cents is nothing (tho they always end up costing $4 w/ shipping + handling) and books are good things so!
― Mordy , Thursday, 10 October 2013 19:41 (ten years ago) link
http://www.hive.co.uk is affiliated with the national bookseller's association or suchlike and online purchases contribute some amount to local independent shops, which is useful if the sort of obscure thing you buy wouldn't ordinarily be stocked there
the prices can quite good if you employ the discount codes from time to time (easily found on the internet) and order i think £15 or more for free delivery
― Austrian Economics (nakhchivan), Thursday, 10 October 2013 19:44 (ten years ago) link
Thanks, Al--I'll give eBay a spin; thanks, Mordy, I better try 99 cent books before I break my bank!; thanks, nakchivan, appreciated!
― Iago Galdston, Thursday, 10 October 2013 23:20 (ten years ago) link
Abe!
― Fiddler on a hot tin roof (ed.b), Thursday, 10 October 2013 23:22 (ten years ago) link
In the UK I use Blackwell's. Not as cheap as Amazon for most things but they sometimes do decent discounts like 20% off everything.
― one of them is F and the other one is P (seandalai), Thursday, 10 October 2013 23:30 (ten years ago) link
I like Abe books and thriftbooks.com.
Blackwells can be pricey but I have found they have books Amazon just doesn't always have. When I worked at the library it was a perk to be able to place an order with library books, so I never paid shipping.
Yeah, feeling good always sends me shopping for books
― *tera, Friday, 11 October 2013 04:38 (ten years ago) link
Abe is part of Amazon, right? Has been for a while I think.
― Fizzles, Friday, 11 October 2013 05:32 (ten years ago) link
Foyles is good for the UK, particularly for art books.
It's always nice to buy direct from the publisher if they have an online shop. Lots of big ones (NYRB, Phaidon, Taschen, etc) have sales at various points throughout the year.
― Inte Regina Lund eller nån, mitt namn är (ShariVari), Friday, 11 October 2013 05:36 (ten years ago) link
Really?! I had no idea!!!!!
― *tera, Saturday, 12 October 2013 06:56 (ten years ago) link
Best current suggestions for alternatives to Amazon for books/DVDs?
I usually use Hive, which can often (remarkably) be competitive ... but currently pondering ordering a DVD that is £15.85 on Hive and £9.99 on Amazon.
― djh, Friday, 6 November 2015 10:22 (eight years ago) link
wordery for books
― conrad, Friday, 6 November 2015 10:36 (eight years ago) link
Fuckers don't even send you a reminder email when your Prime trial membership is up, huh? Need to be bombed.
― skateboards are the new combover (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 14 January 2016 02:40 (eight years ago) link
i realise this is salt in your wounds but the relief of remembering to cancel this the day before it ended was so monumental it still feels good now
― ogmor, Thursday, 14 January 2016 11:33 (eight years ago) link
cancel amazon
― conrad, Thursday, 14 January 2016 13:23 (eight years ago) link
Morbs if you haven't used any of the prime services since the trial ended you can cancel & get a full refund
― clowns normy (wins), Thursday, 14 January 2016 13:30 (eight years ago) link
this, but the UK edition?
(i ended up not clicking the one button that didn't result in a 'free prime trial' this morning (whilst buying two books, both of which qualified for free delivery anyway). it's already cancelled but i continue to get the "benefits" for a month, during which time i won't order a single physical thing)
the amazon locker in the basement at work is useful though, unless they deliver on a saturday, fuckers.
― koogs, Thursday, 16 January 2020 09:54 (four years ago) link