Lot’s of people still buy books – interesting books! There are so many to choose from, but sometimes our local store/s may not have what we want – or we may just want to shop from home.
My friend Gary Molloy @chemedlinks is always on the lookout for an online bargain. Darcy Moore is also always on the lookout for an interesting read, and his latest purchase according to his FB status is Tokyo Vice. I should put those two into the same room!!
Perhaps Darcy purchased this book for his Kindle. That’s a whole different ball-game! But anyway – what if you do need to buy a book and want to same a few dollars too?
Gary pointed me to Booko ages ago for price comparisons – and I have to vouch for the value of this service. http://www.booko.com.au
I rarely need to shop at Amazon any more. Best service for me so far has been with the Book Depository. Books arrive quickly, and are often cheaper than Amazon – postage is included in the cost! Gary tells me that the UK and US online stores are the same source, but often better pricing from the US.com site.
You can even visit Book Depository Live – and watch the stream of books being purchased from countries around the world.
Of course, I still love to shop in a good book-store – that will never change! I also borrow books from my local library and my school library. But I also enjoy being able to get the book I want, delivered to my door, is good value.
Check it out next time you’re shopping around for that special book. There are also other good sites, which I have lost track of. If you have any more to recommend, please share the sites you know in the comments.
judyoconnell.com 
Oh, I know Booko is .com.au and as such a ‘virtual Australian store’ but it points to the best prices being overseas. One would think we could do better here and despite Federal forays into changing our parallel importation rules, we stil pay too much. Regardless, of all this mnore and more Australians who read will be avoiding stores that are just way too expensive comparative to their rivals.
What’s the Australian publishing idustry’s strategy, especially for digital delivery one has to ask. Here’s some thoughts from the SMH (note the timeframe to ‘report back’): http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/the-ebook-revolution-is-coming-to-a-screen-near-you-20100323-qtrh.html
Hi Judy,
I tried to buy Tokyo Vice, after reading the SMH review yesterday, for my Kindle (to discover Americans can, we can’t) but ended up getting a HB from Amazon, for a total, including delivery, of $27.14. The PB will not be available in Australian stores until October this year and will surely cost more. I checked out Booko and found: http://www.booko.com.au/books/isbn/9780307378798
the best price being $23.23, so yes, would have saved $3.00 or so.
What I find interesting and disturbing is that no Australian store, real or virtual, can sell me a book more cheaply.
BTW where did you get the ‘Books I’m Reading’ widget on the right sidebar? I want one.