Buying Books Online?

I have found both to be very good.


For some reason I have mostly bought from Amazon, and I have always been happy.


They both also connect with numerous second hand dealers, and I have bought many expensive work books that way. The only time I ever had a problem, Amazon refunded my money without any demurral, as they guarantee these sales too.

Shipping is expensive.


I find the second hand people get stuff to you faster.


I would recomment them without hesitation.


There used to be an Amazon link on A2k, and, if you accessed Amazon through there, this site got a bit of money.


I cannot see it there right now, so I am not sure if it still exists?????

Edit: It's under the search function at the left hand side of the Home Page.

More: It's worth checking Amazon US and Amazon UK, especially for you , Spidergal. The differing publishing companies etc have different arrangements., and sometimes the UK has titles far earlier and more readily available than the US, and vice versa.

Amazon is fantastic. And yes, A2K still gets a cut of the sales if you go through the link on the home page. We (RP and I) order from them all the time and are very satisfied with them.

For me in Germany, amazon is also the first choice. They have a very large selection and deliver fast. I am very satisfied with their work.

i order books FREQENTLY from Amazon and from Ebay and from barnes & noble occassionally.

Our own dear edgarblythe sells his books through a website as well which you can find right here

i own one of them, and it's quite good. Filled with short stories..the real thinker kind.

okay...sorry...didn't mean to advertise, but if you like reading and enjoy short stories, you should definitely check him out.

I buy from amazon, nearly exclusely.
Most is delivered the next day, even if I order it as late as 9pm (by amazon Germany).

It's worth looking at amazon (US), too: mayn books are cheaper ordering directly from there due to the exchange rate (even if the postage is added).

I order quite a few books from amzon UK and France as well, since they would be more expensive if ordered in Germany.

(Delivery time from USA is between a week and ten days via airmail, UK and France two to four days.)

I was noting down all the workbooks I have bought from Amazon since 2003 when I opened my account (we are hoping to share resources properly at work)

The number is staggering.


And never a problem.

Funny- I buy very few books. I usually borrow them from the library. My library also sells extra copies of books (mostly paperbacks) for a few bucks apiece. I often pick up some of the trashy murder mysteries that I love there, inexpensively.

Saying that, I just checked my Amazon account and was shocked about the amount of stuff that I have bought there over the years. I buy a lot of CDs, but I have also bought appliances, jewelry and various and sundry other stuff. Never a problem.

Recently, I have taken to dealing with some of the merchants who sell through Amazon. I just read the reviews of the dealer, and won't buy from anybody who has less than a 98% positive rating. Have been delighted with my purchases.

I've actually stopped buying industry and trade books at bookstores, preferring to order them online from Amazon because they are usually cheaper and shipping is oftentimes free.

I love Amazon.com. Once a book and dvd I ordered was shipped to someone else and Amazon immediately sent another order out to me, w/o hanging things up trying to get the previously shipped order back. I thought that was fine customer service and became a fan from that moment on.

Another Amazon.com buyer here - I highly recommend them. I love the fact that you can buy a book new directly from Amazon or used from sellers who register with Amazon. Almost all the books I buy for myself, I buy used. Amazing prices on these books, of course, shipping is/can be expensive (at times I've paid 50 cents for a book and almost $4 for shipping). And I have absolutely no idea about international shipping charges - I'm sure they'll be quite quite expensive.

Spidergal, do you have someone here in the US who could buy books and mail them to you? It'd be far more economical if you were to reimburse them the book/shipping/shipping to you charges, than if you were to have books shipped directly to you in India.

I did not know this. Will do next time (today) that order from Amazon.

I use an intricate dual system - I study up on what is available at both Powells.com and at Amazon. I virtually always buy only used books, in either case.

Powell's used books are more expensive, usually if not always, but if you purchase over $50.00 worth exclusive of tax, there are no shipping fees. (I don't know if they ship across oceans, they might). Also, the books you ordered come in one package, as opposed to individual packages over time, as can happen with an order of many amazon used books.

I check out Amazon (via the a2k homepage link) and see what the books I chose on Powell's are going for, and if they would still be less expensive even with Amazon shipping charges. And, having kept a list of "I-wants" that were over my personal price limit on Powell's, I see if they happen to be offered at all and at lower price on Amazon.

This process takes a while, but I enjoy it - and don't do it often ennough to complain about the time I spend.

Then I finish the lists for both, making sure the Powell's list is still over $50., and submit the orders.


edit, I just remembered, Powell's also has a system for buying books from you and giving you 'store credit'.

I guess we buy about 80+% of our books on line. The remainder we buy from used book stores.

At least half of our on line books are from Amazon. When we lived overseas they were delivered significantly faster from Amazon.UK instead of from the US branch.

For several years I've also been buying books from The Scholar's Bookshelf. They have the most deliciously arcane history books I never would have known about without browsing their catalogs.

Since we've been back in the States I've managed to get on the mailing list of Edward R. Hamilton, Bookseller. They carry the full spectrum of subjects, but they always seem to have something I've always wanted, cheap.

There is an India version of Amazon.com that you can probably purchase from without the excessive shipping costs:

http://india.amazon.com/

Butrflynet, looks like that link is for a 'development center' Amazon is looking to start in India. It's not for ordering books, etc.

I found this info on their Website, though, regarding Int'l shipping:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?ie=UTF8&nodeId=596188

And it does look like the shipping cost is pretty steep.

Well, it's actually less ecpensive if you consider
a) the exchange rate,
b) the price of those goods outside the USA.

(For instance, a cd is it least 50% cheaper from the USA re in Germany - even 'imported' cd's are cheaper! And that's includiong the shipping costs.)

[I just bought two cd's, produced in the UK and sold there for £13.50 ($26.90) each. Postage would be about $12
I get them from the USA for $42.90 - instead of paying the equivalent of about $66 when ordering from the UK.
In Germany, I would pay about $80 for those two cd's - though I would get them free by post :wink: ]

Buying Books Online?
Oh, Amazon every time. Just remember that when you buy a used book you should check the dealer's rating.

I also tend to contact the dealer when buying from Amazon or eBay, to verify the condition of the book - once I ordered a used book and it stank so badly of mildew I had to throw it out. Fortunately, it was really inexpensive; unfortunately I kept it for such a long time trying to air it out that I didn't think it could be returned. After paying the shipping to return it, I would have come out only a couple of dollars ahead, and the trouble would have been considerable. Now I ask before committing myself.

Amazon.uk works well for books sent from England to the US; I have no idea about shipping charges to your part of the world. Anyway, I never felt that the shipping fees were out of line, and the service is definitely efficient.

Amazon forever!

I save hundreds (literally) on textbooks---and now I buy for pleasure, too. I've only used Amazon. Incredible savings!

Thanks for the advice, everyone!

Oh, and does anyone know of an Amazon equivalent for magazines? There are sites like magazine.com, etc., that I found, but they don't ship to India.