Online shopping opened a whole new world for book lovers, especially those who collect old volumes of specialty books. Collectors can browse book collections from all over the world instead of just where they shopped locally to find a great deal. But you don’t have to be a collector to find great book deals online. You just need a few tips and tricks.
Shop By Clearance
The most obvious place to look for sales online is under the tab that says clearance. Once you are under the clearance tab, search by title or genre. Keep in mind, too, that most books these days also come in an eReader form, good for just about any tablet or electronic reading device. And eBooks are typically lower price than their paper counterparts. Books on clearance can range anywhere from an additional 40% off to as much as 80% off the original price.
Online Book Sales
When looking for bargain prices online, pay particular attention to sites that cater specifically to book sales. You can find great deals on auction sites and big online retailers, too. A word of warning, though: While you can find just about any book imaginable, you never quite know the condition of the book like you would if you were buying it – and could touch and feel the book – at bricks and mortar book stores. It’s like buying anything online: do your research and accept the fact that you may get burned a time or two by products that aren’t quite as advertised. Online sites carry both new and used books, and you can often pre-order a book before its release.
Shop Under Sales
Find a book seller you like and trust, and register for their website or sign up for their newsletters. When you sign up or become a subscriber for sites like these, most companies will send you an email of when sales are coming up. Pay close attention to the winter holidays, because that’s when you’ll typically see the most deals. But you should also look for deals after the holidays; if your favorite book seller is trying to get rid of some of its stock or clear out its warehouse, they’ll sell products at bargain-basement prices. Again, though, most companies will alert their subscribers via email when these specials are coming up. Also, if you really want to save money, see if your favorite book seller offers additional discounts or coupon codes; with any luck, you might get free shipping on top of your other discounts.
Look for Discontinued Items, and Wait for Buzz to Die Down
Lastly, the items that are being discontinued or were not great sellers to begin with will go on steep discounts after a few weeks or months after the initial release. Think about it: the book dealer has to get rid of those books anyway, so the company would do just about anything to clear out their warehouse space. Even if it’s a popular seller, hold out before you plop down any money on it. Book sellers can typically charge a little more when a book is first released; once the buzz has died down, you’ll usually see prices drop.
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