Book buys: Internet or bookshop?

[Chimera]

Have any of you seen the Book Depository's new "Watch people shop" feature? I just discovered it and it's pretty neat! It shows you a map with pins, like we now find on tons of websites, except this one moves around as people buy books. One minute it'll show you europe and say that someone just bought The Flying Troutmans (raises guilty hand) and the next it'll zoom round the hearth and anounce that someone in Australia got hold of Blaze of Memory... and on and on, round the earth and shelves it goes

[Peacefield]

That is so neat, Chimera!! I've never seen that before .

[Chrissy]

Just had a look at this, and it's really good. It's reminds me that we (book maniacs/lovers/compulsive buyers of) are not alone in the world!

[Chimera]

Just had a look at this, and it's really good. It's reminds me that we (book maniacs/lovers/compulsive buyers of) are not alone in the world!

 

haha, then I'm sure they've reached their goal... remove some of our buying complexes

[Lucybird]

that's great, I could watch it for hours!

[partyanimal1980]

i am living in Denmark for a short period and its between

[Jay Landsman]

Amazon seems to be the best site to purchase books that I know of. I was able to purchase The Great Gatsby for

[MADOC]

depends how,where and in which format you like to read it.I would buy it from internet

[kubastar]

I actually like both internet because its cheaper! but I also like to check the book out in the store, how many pages, the cover, how it feels

 

In the end, its all about how good/bad the book is, right?

[Simply K]

I buy books both in store and online, however I probably buy the majority of my books online. When I buy books from Amazon I tend to buy numerous books at once, sometimes up to 10 at a time, whereas when buying in store I might only buy one or two at a time. I do love browsing in store and can spend hours doing so, but for me online is cheaper and more convenient so that's my overall preference.

[mrballa23]

I go to the shop but I don't mind buying on the internet epscially when you are author like myself

 

depends how,where and in which format you like to read it.I would buy it from internet

 

Your right on that one because if the price is high I aint getting it

[BenjApollo]

I prefer to buy online to be honest.

 

I always know what I want to buy so I just find the cheapest copy online.

[Mazzie]

I tend to do both. lately I've been buying books from the store. Borders is going under so I've been hitting their clearance sale and got tons tons of books for cheap.

[frankie]

My favorite hobby is buying books in a secondhand bookshop. Why secondhand? Because it's all so random, and people who go there are dedicated readers, and you never know what you might find. And the price is right, as I'm a student I don't like 'real' bookshops because I can't afford to buy anything there. I love looking at the books and feeling them, but I hate it that I can only look (and fondle) but not buy. So I mostly do my bookshopping in secondhand shops, and online. Online book buying is rather impersonal, but on the other hand, you can search the books you really want, and in 95% of the cases I always find what I'm looking for. And it's cheaper. I hate it that I don't get to see the condition of the book that I'm purchasing, but I love it that in a couple of days I'll have a package in my mail box. It's great

[LittleW]

I use to buy at a bookshop. I love flipping through the books there and, as they always put it, you got to give the local economy a chance.

[Rawr]

Bookshops all da way

[LozzerzxD]

I love browsing in my local waterstones. I love flicking through the pages and being able to see the book itself before buying it is good. Or if your just looking for a book to read the staff are always great for recommendations. Even if there's a book thats not there, you can always order it. I am guilty of being a regular user of amazon though because I often find myself needing more books but have no time to go into town and browse. The internet is there 24/7 and it only takes two seconds to press a button and its paid for - no long queues. Plus the prices are almost always a lot less.

[maleaco]

I routinely get used books on amazon for under $5

[Ruth]

I buy from bookshops AND the internet! I prefer to use bookshops, but often it's hard to find the book I'm after. Also, when you can get books for 1p from Amazon sellers, it's very tempting! Even with p+p added, it's still cheap. I do prefer to use independent bookshops if possible though - both on the internet and actual shops.

[HoneyGirl]

I don't actually mind and buy a lot of my books online. With the feature of being able to "Look Inside" the book on Amazon I spend hours browsing through first before I commit to buying. I also read the reviews to get the jist. I have to try to save money as much as possible so if I was buying in the bookshop (Waterstones, WHSmiths) I wouldn't be able to buy as many books seeing as they are generally full price in store but reduced online.

 

I do love to go into The Works and look in there, also like to go to charity shops and look at the books. I have a huge list saved on my laptop of books I'd like to buy and I often review this list by double checking though the "Look Inside" to see if its a definite, a maybe or can be forgotten about.

 

That makes me sound weird

[Timstar]

I prefer online, mainly for the great deals you can get on Amazon and eBay. I find bookshops have such a limited range and the RRP is so expensive now. Even with a Waterstones 3 for 2 offer (If I can find three I want) I still end up paying £16-£18 whereas online I find browsing easier (too easy at times... can get carried away) and so much cheaper. I could get the same 3 books online for £12 -14 brand new... and much cheaper second hand.

 

That being said, bookshops are still great to have a browse... I just rarely buy from them.

[chaliepud]

Waterstones' are now doing a fair amount of buy one get one half price deals... Better for me as I always struggled to find a third book I really wanted to read, and a fair few of them are still languishing on my TBR shelf!

[chesilbeach]

Most of my book buys are now ebooks, so all are internet buys, and I've stopped browsing and buying in Waterstone's for the most part, but if I do go to one of my favourite independents bookshops (which doesn't happen often as the closest one is at least an hour away) then I make the effort to spend a long time browsing and always buy at least one book to support them.

[sarahthedude]

ultimately whatevers cheaper is always the best option, most of the time I'd say charity shops, just because of how meny books they get in, and how cheap people price them at.

 

I would sort of sugest boot sales as well.

 

But honestly if I could save a pound I'd go on the net, no fuel used that way.

 

But any way I'm thinking to set up a business or just do it for fun, buying and selling books but don't have a clue, so would like some advice as to where to start looking to learn it all.

 

Thanks

[dex]

when I buy authors I already have, I look for deals in supermarkets or online. Sometimes I do find them in charity shops. When looking for someone new I will tend to try charity shops. I do browse in bookshops but I don't tend to buy.