Monday, April 18, 2016

My Reading Life: Thriftbooks

As much as I wish it could be true, I don't actually have a money tree in my backyard. I don't even have a backyard, we live in an apartment. Books can be an expensive habit: with shelf prices about $25-30 for a hardcover and barely cheaper at $15-20 for a paperback, that adds up quickly. Even if you go the Amazon route and pay $10 for a paperback, that's still not an insubstantial sum, especially if you're looking to acquire several books. And while local used bookstores/thrift stores can be great, they can be a substantial investment of time to devote to digging, trying to remember if you have a copy of that one already, maybe leaving empty-handed. Enter Thriftbooks.



It's easy enough to describe: it's an online used book outlet. Prices range from $3.59 and up (depending on the book, its condition, hardcover v paperback, etc). You get free shipping if your order is over $10 (so, basically three books). I personally use the everloving bejeesus out of Thriftbooks. For fairly popular titles, I'm willing to make a trip or three to the local secondhand joints to dig for something cheaper because I can be relatively sure I'll be able to dig it up. But for older, out of print, or even newish-but-not-old-enough-so-that-it'll-be-easy-to-find-secondhand? Thriftbooks. That website has enabled me to expand my library farther than I would have thought possible without bankrupting myself (sorry not sorry, fiance). If they don't have a title that you're looking for in stock (or you want to watch the price to see if it drops), you can add it to a wishlist and they'll send you alerts when they get a new one in.

Here's the deal: if you click the link embedded above (at the end of the first paragraph), you'll get 15% off your first order (and I'll get the same off my next one), so if you're inclined to check it out, please click on the link and it'll take you there!  So if there's a book that you're looking for and you're not fussy about whether someone else has read your books before you, definitely check it out!

2 comments:

  1. I too LOVE thriftbooks! And used books in general, really. Great post!

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    1. I'm pretty sure at least 75% (if not more) of my collection is secondhand. Thriftbooks has been a great way to build up my library without spending all the dollars, and I only heard of it about a year ago, so I want to spread the word!

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