Get books for less, save more!
We are book-lover family. We have big book cases to keep our book collections. But we don’t have a lot in our budget to purchase books. Hence, we rely more on great deals to buy ours. At least half of our collection were purchased of half of their original price. Curious where to buy books for less? Let me tell you where we get ours.
- Thrift store (thrift store is a shop selling used items, where the proceeds is usually goes to charity).We love going to thrift stores. Though their book collection is not large, we had quite a luck finding some books that were nearly new at less than $2.00. Imagine if their actual price is more ranging between $5.00-10.00, we actually save more than 50% of the original price! I haven’t seen any thrift store in Singapore. There’s this cash converter, but I don’t think they sell books. But, if you are looking for second hand bookshop, I highly recommend bookshops in Bras Basah complex. They have huge collection at bargain price. Just be prepared to scour the books one by one. But, well, that’s what we did in thrift store, and it is really worth.
- Library book sale. This is our favorite place to purchase books in bulk. When I stayed in Boise (Idaho), the public library held book sales twice yearly, at beginning of spring and autumn. The book prices were absolutely crazy. Get a grocery bag and stuff it with as many books as you can, and only pay $9.00. How great is that? Some books are priced differently, say encyclopedia or a series of magazines. But still, it is much cheaper compared to the regular price. Just imagine, National Geographic magazine can cost you around $7.00 per issue. But here, you get 6 magazines (a complete half year issues) at only $1.50, complete with a hard case cover. And you guess what, the condition is as good as new. No wonder, my husband went crazy and bought almost all NG issues as he could. We ended up leaving the library with three boxes full of books. It’s been a while since I went to Singapore National Library book sale, but I think its book sale is usually conducted annually in Expo. check out its website for the upcoming book sales.
- Discount store. If you prefer to get new books with steal deal, try to find some in the discount stores. We’re talking about Ross, Marshall, and TJMax here. Once, I was able to get a 20% discount on a set of children books that we loved. Definitely a good buy!
- Online stores (Amazon and Book Depository). I love to shop on Amazon, not only books, but also other things, because I can read a lot of reviews from others who have bought the same item. For me, the reviews really help to decide whether this book or item is worth to buy. Amazon often has special deals on special holiday occasions. By subscribing to their newsletter, we know when the deal is and use it to get some books with great prices. If you don’t want to get distracted with stuff other than books, then Book Depository will be the best choice. As its name implies, this online store only sell books and hey, their collection are really great and they have free delivery worldwide. You should check it out here!
- Singapore book fair. If you are based in Singapore, the book fair is the right event to buy all your books. Their prices are crazily cheap. I bought some of my craft books here with 50% discounts. Usually this book fair is held twice a year. Check out the upcoming book fair here.
That’s it! I hope this list helps you to buy books for less, and save more. Psst.. Please let me know if you have other ways to get cheap books, ok! I will thank you for that.
Do you love books? Where do you usually buy them, retail store or online?
If you love reading as much as I do, you may be interested in how to grow that reading habit in children.
*Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.
Janice Wald says
Hi,
I’m Janice. Are books cheaper because paper is becoming obsolete? We have a used bookstore near us which is cheaper too. I am going on vacation but could use paper books. On a cruise Internet minutes cost, and I want to read articles at curation sites.
Thank you so much for visiting my blog just now, and the nice words about my tutorial. Pleased to meet you. I have tutorials like this all the time at my site. I will add you to my once-a-week mailing list, so you never miss a post.
Janice
Fiftarina says
Hi Janice, nice to know you, too. Probably, because more and more people are gearing towards e-book and things that can be read online. But I still believe on the value of paper books, at least for children books.., they will give you more interaction, rather than just swiping pages by one finger.