Twelve Sneaky Ways to Save Money on Books

If you're like me, you could go into debt from buying books! I can hardly resist a stop at my local bookstore when I have a free moment. What I don't like is the expense of all that reading material. Fortunately, I've found some ways to save on books and still be a well read person. If you love books like me, you'll want to give some of these money saving suggestions a try:

1. Buy your books used on Amazon Marketplace

Amazon Marketplace is a division of Amazon.com which allows independent used book dealers to sell their books directly to the online shopper at a discount. When you bring up a book you're interested in purchasing on Amazon.com's website, look for the box that says "more buying choices". Underneath, you should be able to see how many used copies are available. If you click on that link you should be able to do a price comparison among the different sellers and make your selection. Savings here are often substantial with some books being sold for as little as a penny.

2. Use a price comparison engine to find the lowest price of a new or used copy.

The beauty of the internet is that it's so quick and easy to do price comparisons! No tromping from store to store to find the book at a good price. You can do it in seconds online.

3. Plan to attend your next local library's book sale

Many libraries have a biannual book sale where they sell not only ex-library books, but books that have been privately donated. You can often find current, even brand new books for unbelievable prices. At most library sales I've attended hardcovers have been priced $1.00 to $3.00 and softcovers from $0.50 to $2.00/ Quite a bargain!

4. Make friends with your local librarian

Many people don't realize the library can get almost any book for you via their interlibrary loan system. You simply fill out a request form, which you can often do online, with the book title and author. If the book is available in another library system, it'll be transferred to your local branch library where you can pick it and keep it for the standard library loan period. I've found some very hard-to-find books using this method.

5. Check out your local garage and estate sales

Estate sales can be particularly good sources for out-of-print books since an entire collection may be sold off when the owner dies. Be sure to get there early for the best selection since book dealers will be out in force.

6. Thrift stores can be good sources too!

Don't rule out your local thrift store for interesting reading material. Sometimes you'll go and find nothing of interest, while other times you'll find a nice assortment of quality books and reading material. As you would expect, the prices are usually fantastic! It pays to visit these
stores frequently.

7. Check the yellow pages for local book stores in your area.

Although prices are usually higher than at thrift stores and estate sales, you can still find some gems in these shops if you look carefully. Plus, many of them have a trade in system where you can trade in your old books to get credit to purchase new ones.

8. Don't forget about the public domain!

Many people don't realize there are sites online where you can download books in the public domain completely free of charge. These are books whose copyrights have expired and were not renewed by the author or publisher. Probably the largest site for public domain reading material is http://www.gutenberg.org.

9. Keep an eye on your local bookstore.

Some of the larger, chain bookstores such as Barnes and Noble have semiannual sales where they list brand new books at 50% off. Over time, they're gradually reduced to 75% off and then $1.00. I've bought some wonderful books for $1.00 at these events.

10. Spend more time at your local bookstore.

Do you really need to buy the whole book or are you only interested in one chapter? If you don't need the whole book, relax with a latte in your local bookstore and read only the information you need. I used to think this was improper until I heard one of the employees encouraging a customer to do this.

11. Become a book trader.

Do you have friends who like to read? When you finish reading a book, offer to exchange it for a book they have that you haven't read.

12. Learn to read book reviews.

Amazon.com allows customers to post reviews on their books. These reviews are often quite in depth and can help you make the decision as to whether you want to spend money on that particular title. Believe it not, sometimes a book review will give you the information you're looking for
and you won't even need to purchase the book.

If you're an avid reader, consider giving these suggestions a try. By following these guidelines, I've cut my book spending down to only 10% of what it was previously and I still have more books than I can read in a lifetime!