Buying Books Online

CluelessNewB

CluelessNewB

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I have purchased books online using half.com for years. My last 3 attempts to purchase books have resulted in orders being canceled because the item was "out of stock". The purchase price was refunded but still it wastes my time and also resulted in a missed opportunity to purchase a book elsewhere. Ebay (half.com) doesn't seem to care much about this since I see many sellers with feedback indicating this is common now.

I have also used Amazon to purchase used books with no problems in the past, hopefully they won't go down the same path.
 
I use Amazon for books and darn near everything else.
Amazing place.
 
i always use e bay,, u can ask if book has cigarette or cigar smell, amazon sellers usually dont answer.. dont know about able.
 
Abe doesn't sell the books; they provide listings for others to sell their books. Their sellers are all established bookstores (brick and mortar, or online),
so they have ratings for them, and they provide a standard description of book condition. I've used them for years and never had a problem. You
aren't dealing with random individuals like eBay.

If you have a look at their listings, you'll usually find multiple copies of the book you want,
in a variety of conditions. I usually look for the condition I want first, the find the cheapest price.
They offer both new and used copies, often at ridiculously low prices.
 
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I use BookFinder.com to locate hard to find books - when I want the feel of paper, board or leather in my hands. Otherwise, I've found the app Scribd to be an extremely useful app for getting my hands on just about anything for about $10/month.
 
I use them all. I have a book problem. However it does hack me off to buy a new book and have it show up damaged. I expect a perfect book. It appears that the printer is the last person to see a book in that condition. Then it's thrown around in a box and damaged. I send them back.
 
I use Alibris, AbeBooks, and ThriftBooks. Many of the books appear to link to small bookstores around the country. There is a risk that the book will already be sold before your order goes through. That has only happened to me once and I ended up finding it somewhere else for less money.

Steve
 
I like to buy from Amazon and sold and shipped by Amazon. I'm really not a book person, but my only problems are that Amazon doesn't know how to ship a book (arrive like they've been tossed around pretty much. Seen schoolbooks in like new condition vs Amazon, but it's acceptable I guess) and that I'm to lazy to actually read the books I buy... I sure love Amazon Prime, even tho I don't use it too much.
 
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