Site last updated:
1 January 2009

Around Town:

• The Library.  Go to the library and check books out if you just want to read them. You can't keep them afterwards, but in most cases the specimens aren't in good condition anyway. Frustratingly, however, libraries often have copies of out-of-print hardbacks that I want to buy for my collection, but can't afford.  Actually, libraries sometimes have a shelf or two of cheap donated books for sale - failing that, they tend to have interesting seasonal sales once or twice a year.
   
• Big New Bookstore.  Go to your local Borders or Barnes & Noble. I usually avoid doing this, because most of the books I want can be got for lower prices elsewhere, and some of the books I want can't be gotten at all in such places. However, for recently published mass-market paperbacks, buying new is often the best move, since they're not that expensive.
   
• Independent Book Bookstore.  Visit your local new, used, rare, and/or out-of-print bookstore. Prices will be higher than at a rummage sale, because there are business costs associated with the operation of a bookstore, but obviously quality will be higher, inventory will be larger, and the bookstore is open year round, rather than once a year when the weather is nice, as in the case of rummage sales. Not sure where to go? Try browsing Evelyn C. Leeper's list of bookstores.
   
• Discount Bookstore.  Discount bookstores sell 'remaindered' books. Remaindered books are new-ish books which just didn't sell enough copies at the retail price. The inventory is usually boring: Many copies of a few books. Prices are usually some fixed fraction of retail.  Lately I've gotten slightly more fond of this kind of store than I used to be.  Some discount bookstores, like Half-Price Books on Route 206, buy and sell used books, too.  I really appreciate stores that sell used kids' paperbacks.  Sometimes that's the kind of book I'm looking for.  Not many stores keep used kids' paperbacks on the shelves: it can't be a terribly lucrative strategy. 
   
• Go on a Treasure Hunt.  For an adventure, when the weather is nice, check out yard sales, garage sales, and fund-raisers. If you want 25- or 50-cent paperbacks, that's where to look. These people don't WANT the books. (Sometimes with good reason, admittedly.) The fun is in the search, the discovery, and the very low cost.  And now, you can be aided by the web.  Here's a site that lists rummage and library sales across the country: Book Sale Finder.

On the Internet:

• Amazon.com.  The most obvious online source is Amazon.com.  Although I used to use their site mostly just for their excellent customer reviews, lately I like them more and more.  Their new books are often discounted 20 or 30 percent, and then shipping costs are often waived completely if you spend at least $25.  I also like the related services they offer: order tracking, wishlist storage, personalized recommendations, etc. 
   
• Advanced Book Exchange.  If you want to look for a particular collector's item, there is a conglomeration of booksellers who sell through Advanced Book Exchange at Abebooks.com which is so expansive as to be useful almost always. It has everything from dog-eared dollar paperbacks to gilded leather volumes from past centuries to first editions of just about anything. The only problem is that there are usually no images of the books offered for sale.  Abebooks also sells through Half.com (see below).
   
• eBay.com.  If you want to buy more than one book at once, say, several books by the same author or in the same series, try eBay.com. People often sell books in lots. You'll probably get to see some pictures of what you're buying.  Also, eBay also has shops full of buy-it-now book offerings.  You get the best of the collaborative market model of eBay without the annoyance of bidding and waiting!
   
• Half.com.  Hey, did you know that Half.com is a subsidiary of eBay?  On Half.com all prices are fixed by the seller, and items are placed in categories by condition. Choose what you like, order through the website, pay with your credit-card, and have it/them shipped to you. They sell other stuff besides books, (movies and music, for example) though not as much other stuff as eBay. 
   
• My Store!  Yes, I'm selling off some of my own books (and movies) online now.  The inventory is pretty small, but prices are low.  Go check it out by clicking here!
   
• Other Online Sites. Usually I can get what I need at one of the sites above. Failing, that, try these:
  • Alibris
  • Overstock
  • [more to come]
     
• Online Sites for Textbooks.
  • [to come]
     
• Comparison Shopping Sites. For when you want to search multiple online stores at once.
  • All Book Stores
  • ISBN.nu
  • [more to come]

In Atlanta:

• A Cappella
• Chapter 11
• Book Nook
• Atlanta Vintage Books
• Atlanta Book Exchange
• Beavers Book Sale

In/Near Princeton:

• Labyrinth Books, formerly Micawber
• Chicklet Books, formerly Chestnut Tree Books
• Half Price Books, actually in Montgomery
• Glen Echo Books
• Barnes and Noble in Market Fair
• Borders at Nassau Park
• Booktrader of Hamilton
• Bryn Mawr Annual Book Sale at Princeton Day School (March)