Where do you buy from? And are you picky about what you buy?

[Michael (Mike)]

I'll buy anywhere, but my go to places are B&N, Half Price, Abebooks, and amazon. I now like kindle though I considered it sacrilege at one time.

[Catherine]

well..I have a variety of sources..Barnes & Noble, lately Amazon, more recently, library book sales, and recently I've started looking at garage/estate sales. I am only picky in that I prefer Hardcover books. but obviously...some of them only come in paperback....and I will get those. I will not, however, do e-books of any kind, nor audio books. I just have to have that book in my hands, and the smell of it in my nose! :)

[S]

Amazon. Goodwill. Libraries selling older copies. Half-priced books. Hastings. Commercial bookstores (ex: B&N), very rarely. The occasional (rare) Ebay item. A long time ago, I was a Sci-Fi Book Club member. That was also fun, especially for buy 1-get one deals.
Personally, I miss Borders.

[Tank]

University libraries usually have sales once a semester for members/students/faculty. Books are usually just a few dollars, and they cover everything from academia-graphic novels. Same goes for music.

[David]

We are junkies aren't we, we so called collectors! I have difficulty throwing away books that are still derelict, some that are so old you need a magnifying glass to read the print, rice paper thin pages, mostly stuck together,spiders' homes, kids' textbooks galore. I don't feel the same about the stacks of discs ceded to me by long-gone children, left and forgotten and waiting for that big turn-out in years to come.

[David]

I remember when Barnes & Noble used to have Buck-a-Book week. Does that still happen?

[Mari]

I buy mostly from goodwill, costco, a store called the book exchange(I get $1.00 for every book I bring back to them...= more books!!) Since joining goodreads, I've become very picky!! I always check reviews of things before I purchase. My shelves are cramped with many books already!!

[Noy]

I am not picky. Although when I first join goodreads I was picky, but now I am not. I really don't care where I buy my books from.

[K]

No, no, no! Life is too short to be picky about where I buy books! I have more important things to worry about.

[Anna]

As long as I can read the words I'm fine with whatever. i do get most of my books from Goodwill. The Goodwill Outlet sells everything by the pound. Books are only $.59 PER POUND! I love that store.

[Justina]

I usually shop at Half Price Books. I love that place. I love it because you never know what you're going to find. Sometimes I just grab a random book off the shelf and take a gamble.

[Lex]

I used to buy them from Borders back in ye olden days, but now I get them from either my library's basement bookstore or my local Barnes and Noble, which happens to have a used section which I'm always checking first. I'm not particularly picky about where I buy books, but if I can get them cheap from a respectable seller, I do so. Ebay and Amazon aren't bad, either, especially if a book is hard to find. There's also a very good discount bookstore about a half hour away from my home that I love to visit that has rare books as well.

[Thom]

I’m just curious, what exactly constitutes a respectable seller? Is there a black market in books? I am a reading and collecting addict. It is an acquired condition and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I feel comfortable acquiring books by any means (beg, borrow or even steal) making a reputable seller the least of my worries.

[Joseph]

Thom wrote: "I’m just curious, what exactly constitutes a respectable seller? Is there a black market in books? I am a reading and collecting addict. It is an acquired condition and I wouldn’t trade it for the ..."

I don't know if this is what Lex was referring to when she said "respectable seller" but in my mind that means a book seller that provides good service, prompt and trustworthy, that makes it worth using them for the cost of the product. I certainly would not call a seller respectable if they took my money but never produced the book I ordered, for example. And a respectable seller doesn't make you wait 6 months for a book that cost you one dollar when it should have arrived in 2 weeks.

[Lex]

Joseph, that's exactly what I meant.

[Alannah]

Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and a local bookstore get most of my business. I try to buy from the local bookstore whenever possible, as I like to support small business, and I also try to buy from the brick & mortar Barnes & Noble before the online version. I also pick up books occasionally at Goodwill, but not very often unless it's some obscure treasure that I really want. I have a kind of phobia about handling used books.

[Lex]

Alannah wrote: "Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and a local bookstore get most of my business. I try to buy from the local bookstore whenever possible, as I like to support small business, and I also try to buy from the ..."

I tend to be picky about used books, too. Idk whose bathroom they might have been in, you know? So I only buy books in good condition. I disinfect them with wipes when I bring them home anyway.

[Thom]

The use of steal was used as a figure of speech.

[Mary Pauline]

Most of my actual book purchases come from the local library fund raising section followed by online used book sites. On occasion I purchase from amazon or books a million.

[Annie]

I buy books from Barnes and Noble or Amazon. I don't think I'm really picky about what I buy though I'm trying to be more picky and to get books I'm not sure if I'll like from the library instead of buying them.

[Lex]

Annie wrote: "I buy books from Barnes and Noble or Amazon. I don't think I'm really picky about what I buy though I'm trying to be more picky and to get books I'm not sure if I'll like from the library instead o..."

That's what I started doing, and it does help. I check out books I'm interested in, read the first chapter or so, and if I like it, I find a copy for the best price. It's expensive and disappointing to buy and own a book you didn't like.

[Danique]

I buy my books from wowhd.com, they have really low prices.

I am picky because I don't want to spend money on a book I don't like, so I only buy it if the story interests me, if it has good reviews on goodreads and the price isn't too high

[Jamie]

I used to buy most books from Amazon, but have tried to stop doing so. Now I only buy books from the local mom-and-pop bookstore, or used at Goodwill. This little store is good about ordering whatever book I want new and having it in a couple of days. They aren't always able to get every single edition like Amazon has, but that's fine. I like knowing that my money is supporting a local establishment. We just bought a house in this town, and I was SO excited to see that we had a bookstore.

[J.J.]

A couple of years ago our lovely lawmakers approved a single price law for books in my country (that would be Mexico), pumping all prices up. Therefore, I stopped buying books in the country altogether. It wasn't painful as I usually read in English, and the manufacturing quality of spanish language books has been consistently declining.

Good news: now Amazon offers package tracking for standard international shipments. I also rely on the book depository when I don't mind waiting a month for a book to arrive.

Bad news: I can only access the great used bookstores in my visits to the US, which are not as frequent as I would like to.

So yes, in a word I'm very picky when buying

[Donna]

I love using Paperback Book Swap (PBS). I've been using it since 2008 and have sent out 439 books and received 403 (they have lots of great metrics on the site). And of course, it's not just paperback books. I get a lot of my fiction this way. It's a little harder to come by good quality non-fiction on the site, but if you're willing to wait, ultimately many books become available.

Of course, for books I want new, I usually get them from Amazon. I heard that we here in Evanston, IL are getting a new independent bookseller in June, so I will gladly support that business when it opens.

[Ilean]

When I buy new books I check SAMs Club first, if Barnes&Noble has it on special when it first comes out and SAMs is not carrying it I will get it there. I also go to a lot of books ale fairs that are in my area. They do have a good quantity and quality of hardbacks and trade paper(my favorite) paperbacks usually huge in quantity but not in great shape. I'm sure many of the books have made several rounds of people. Occasionally if there is a book I want but cannot find my husband may get it for me on Amazon if they have it.

[Lin]

I buy books from a variety of stores. Plus I also buy e-format for both Nook and Kindle. I normally get several books, usually hardcover, from my library each month. I place a request for them online and then just pick them up when ready. With 40 branches in the system it gives me a wealth of choices.

[Lee]

I try not to buy books that are trashed. A little damage hear and there I might buy. Yard sales, library sales and book websites that offer cheap books.

[Lára]

I'm picky off a late. I now have two favourite bookstores that do an online delivery for me, since I want mostly UK editions of all the books (that have an UK edition) and they have only USA ones in stores, so I have to wait for 6-8 weeks untill the wanted ones are delivered to me.

i think it's the worth the wait, but I agree with Lee... my Daughter of the Blood is print damaged and now I always check the book before picking it up, or I contact the bookstore. I hate when my copy has erased letters like Daughter of the Blood.

[Brooklyn]

I'm really not picky about where I buy books - I get them from many different places - recently I found Sharp Objects and Dark Places by Gillian Flynn at a second hand shop - along with a bunch of classics and others.

I'm waiting on a biography of Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr's Autobiography, "Hollywood in a Suitcase," to arrive , having purchased them off eBay.

[Harry]

I considered myself not being a picky person but I do care about the price if the book worth of my money definitely I will buy them unless it is a rare book I wouldn't mind paying extra money. Nowadays my country currency so bad so I must control my urges to buy so many books. Usually every month I would buy at least 2 to 3 books either through online or bookstores.

[Brooklyn]

I just bought Cinder from Wordery's eBay store - the same place where I got some Sarah J Maas books :) I buy new online and others second hand (: so not picky really.

[Thom]

Since my library exceeded capacity, I’ve started a régime of giving away selected books after I read them to make (if somewhat slowly) room for more. I’ve also made use of Kindle Cloud and continue to collect unabated. My third action is to add and/or replace pocket books with hard bound volumes. Desperate times require inventive measures.

[Tiffany]

Thom wrote: "Since my library exceeded capacity, I’ve started a régime of giving away selected books after I read them to make (if somewhat slowly) room for more. I’ve also made use of Kindle Cloud and continue..."
Thom: You are so correct, but moving is not one of those issues.

[Joseph]

I went today to my local Salvation Army store for the first time and came home with eleven books. I think I might make it a habit of making that a monthly visit from now on.

[Brooklyn]

I do that as well, you can pick up some real gems there :)

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder*]

Joseph wrote: "I went today to my local Salvation Army store for the first time and came home with eleven books. I think I might make it a habit of making that a monthly visit from now on."

LOL! That is an addicting store for books, although mine has a tiny collection. Such nice prices though and I've found some good books in there.

It's like a fun thriftier find book hunt - you never know what treasures you'll unbury. In a way I find it more fun to physically shop for used books than new - just because you don't know what gems are hiding in there and can surprise yourself.

[Lára]

Since my favourite bookstore doesn´t take orders for books anymore, I´m now buying books stricty from the site publisher stated and I´m very picky about the edition of the book. Sometimes I buy more than one edition of the same book.

[Outlaw]

NOT from Amazon because they treat employees like slaves!

[Lára]

I've never bought anything from amazon so I don't know how they treat customers.

[Karen M]

I had a gift card from B&N so, although I usually buy from the internet, I decided to check out their local store. I discovered their used book section. I was in heaven for almost an hour and I still have money left on the gift card so I see another trip in my future.

[[deleted user]]

We are a small online independent bookstore (located in Arlington, TX USA). We have around 10k titles and add books to our site daily. We specialize in out of print books, autographed books, first editions, etc. Feel free to browse our online shop at www.PaperTownBooks.com and visit us at Goodreads. Cheers!

[Mike]

I found www.discoverbooks.com is very competitive $$ -- they're a big rival of BetterWorld, ThriftBooks, etc. And they send me coupons a lot like GOOD15 for 15% off. Sweet deals!

[Hayley]

Thriftbooks online will give you some good prices, especially when you buy a book and they give you an online coupon afterwards.

[Charles]

I get most of mine at library sales well i buy new it is at amazon or a local bookstore or B&N

[Lára]

For years I've been buying and ordering books at the same bookstore and now they don't exist anymore. I was so depressed for a while and today I searched the town and found another bookstore that, while smaller, has lots of good stuff :) it's a bit of a journey to get there but seems worth it. Managed to buy black editions of Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales - been looking for them for quite some time!

[Lupe]

I usually get mine from the used section at a local bookstore or the Friends of the Library Book Sales. Garage sales are always treasure troves too!!!