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6 Bargaining Tips
Hunting for Bargain Books
by Rachel Paxton - rachel@creativehomemaking.com
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It's easy to find bargain books if you know where to look for
them. I've always loved books. The older I get the choosier
I have to be about what I collect...I've already had to move my
book collection two, going on three times! Books are so
expensive these days I could never afford the books I want if I
didn't resort to bargain shopping. I've refined my bargain book
hunting skills enough the past couple of years that I now rarely
pay more than $1 for a book.
There are many places, on and off the Internet, to find great
deals on books. To me, part of the fun is hunting around for
them, so I do the majority of my looking around offline.
I buy a lot of my books at yard sales. Yard sales are great for
finding children's books. A few years ago I decided to start
looking for some of my own childhood favorites, and have already
replaced many of my long lost childhood books, often for .25 to
.50 each. These same books would cost between $3 - $20 in an
antique store.
One advantage of shopping around where you live is finding books
related to your area. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, I
love to collect old books relating to this region and culture,
and it's relatively easy to run across them.
Estate sales often have the largest selections of used books.
Most yard sale ads will note whether or not they are estate
sales. Sometimes you will discover irreplaceable book
collections practically free!
Another great place to find bargain books is thrift stores. It's
best to check more than one store. In our town, one practically
gives their books away, and another charges several dollars a
piece for them (especially cookbooks). Also watch for bargain
days. One store I go to offers 20% off everything every Sunday
and once or twice a year offers 50% off.
Used bookstores are also a great place to find bargain books, but
again you have to look around. One store I go to sells their
cookbooks for .50 - $2 each, and another sells theirs for between
$3 - $10 each. Most used bookstores will also let you trade in
unwanted books for store credit, further reducing your overall
cost. I often trade in books I've purchased at yard sales to
offset the costs of the books at the used bookstore.
One possibly overlooked place to look for books is antique
stores. I found one antique store that has a whole selection of
used books for about $1 each. That's a good place to find old
community and church cookbooks (my favorites!)
There are several good Internet resources for finding used books.
Ebay is good for low-cost books
if you have the patience
to bid on them. Powell's is
an online bookseller out of
Portland, Oregon, that has a great selection of used books. A
couple of other places to try are www.abebooks.com, and
www.bibliofind.com.
Happy bargain hunting! Remember, if you value your marriage
you'll only buy as many books as you and your children can carry
yourselves!
Originally published at Suite 101. Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom who is the author of What's for Dinner?, an e-cookbook containing more than 250 quick easy dinner ideas. For recipes, tips to organize your home, home decorating, crafts, holiday hints, and more, visit Creative Homemaking at http://www.creativehomemaking.com.
