Book buying on the cheap

Buying brand new books can be quite a costly business! But my advice is if you don’t mind if someone has read the book before you then buy it second hand, not only is it better for the environment but also your wallet.

Second hand book buying

If you are just looking for a novel to read and don’t really mind what it is then check out a charity shop they all have a book section, also car boot sales and jumble sales are often great places to find a bargain novel.

If you have a more specific title in mind and are not in a hurry for it then Ebay.co.uk is your best bet. If the book is non fiction then visit Academicbooktrade.co.uk which has a vast selection of academic titles.

Abebooks.co.uk is one of the largest second hand online book stores selling over 100 million books according to the website the prices are very reasonable and they sell a full range of fiction and non fiction.

Another very good second hand online book seller is greenmetropolis.co.uk which has a had a very good review on the forum

If you are looking for a rare or collectable book then Ardis.co.uk have a huge collection of fiction, non fiction, comics and first editions. And on a smaller scale booklovers.co.uk is a family run online second hand book store.

First hand book buying

I try and avoid buying brand new books, there is no guarantee that the paper the book has been printed on has come from a sustaintable source of wood, in some cases the paper has possibly come from endangered rain forest.

If you have to buy first hand books here are my top tips.

If you are looking for a novel, then the supermarket have surprisingly good reads in the book section and the prices are very low too, far lower than a book shop. Tesco Books & Asda Books.

Bookgiant.co.uk don’t have the biggest selection of books out but they do have all the latest fiction and non fiction at knockdown prices, postage is £1 per book, order 3 books and the postage is free.

Amazon.co.uk book prices are very competitive too but you need to spend over £15 in one transaction to get free delivery other wise it will be a few £££ for delivery. The Amazon market place is often even cheaper that than amazon itself as people are selling their second hand goods on it so it is worh checking that out too.

Play.com & Thehut.com both have a large selection of novels in their book section and delivery is free on anything you buy at both shops.

Other Ideas 

It goes without saying join your local library not only are the books free to loan, most allow you to request book titles too.

You could also join a book swapping club, Readitswapit.co.uk is an online book swap that is free to use, all you need to do is find a book you like get in contact with the person that owns it, if they like you book then swap it with them, so all you need to do is pay for the postage.  (I guess the only down side to this is you are sending a book off in good faith that the other person will send their’s to you)