[Belgarion]

I would like to say that in the past I used to buy new books for the retail price. But over the recent years I have found books far more expensive. I live in England and am horrified to find that books now cost around £7.99. I am not poor but I do believe in good value for a good read.

Therefore I have decided to take action. I have vowed not to buy a new book any more and only buy 2nd hand books (of good quality of course) in markets/charities shops. I have found that over the 3 years that I have been doing this I have collected a vast amount of fantasy books for a very cheap price.

Take the below for example (all good quality books - not worned out).

I have bought all Raymond E Feist books for only 50p per book including his latest ones on the markets/charities shops.

I also bought your BELOVED GRRM new books of AsoIaF for only £1 per book. I am confident of getting his future books regarding the series for a £1.

I have collected other books whose authors I haven't read yet (eg Zelanzy, Donaldson, Kay, JV Jones) for an average of 80p per book.

I now have a wardrobe of 2nd hand books and decided to spent a wet Sunday working how much money I have saved. Guess how much money I saved if I decided to purchase them as new books? I bought 87 fantasy books in the last 3 years.

I saved approx £400 pounds. Okay, you are not the first person to read that particular book you bought but it still contains the same words/sentences as a new book!!

Lastly, I would like to add an even more important factor of purchasing 2nd hand books. IT IS PURE FUN TO STROLL AROUND VILLAGES AND MARKETS LOOKING FOR BOOKS TO COMPLETE YOUR COLLECTION! MY GIRLFRIEND (SHE DOESN'T LIKE READING FANTASY BOOKS) LOVES COMING ALONG WITH ME IN OUR MYSTERY TOURS AS SHE LOVES STROLLING AROUND VILLAGES.

Does anyone do the same things as me?

[Bender]

I buy the odd new book, but, the book exchange or the library are usually my favorite destinations.

[DarthV]

Unfortunately there are only 2 secondhand bookshops here in my city. And the selection for fantasy/scifi is not very good. So most of the time I end up buying new paperbacks at the local Chapters or one of the independent book dealers.

Belgarion:

How much time do you spend hunting for books? I know my leisure time is at a premium, so spending an hour looking through piles of used books is more costly then going to a store and grabbing something off of the shelf.

[Rob B]

There are some authors I will buy immediately in hardcover:

Tad Williams, Stephen King, David Farland, Robert Jordan, Robin Hobb, GRRM.

Some I will wait for paperback and don't feel the immediate need to get when in Hardcover:

Thomas Harlan (he's rather new), Raymond Feist, Weis/Hickman

I like to join, quit and rejoin the SFBC every couple of years because you get 5-7 books for $1 plus shipping, not a bad deal, esp if you get a bunch of omnibus/4-in-1/3-in-1

As for used bookstores, I like them for a couple of reasons.

1) You never know what you can find, and it usually cheap. If I am unsure about reading an author, I will be more likely to pick up their book in a used bookstore. i.e. wasn't sure about Stone of Tears by Goodkind and bought it used for a couple bucks and it was worth it. Even if the book doesn't turn out all that good, you didn't invest much $$ into it.

2) You never know what you can find, again-- Out-of-print books. Two recent used bookstores I visited had out of print books by two of my favorite authors Dying of the Light by GRRM and Wyrms by OSC and some Donaldson Hardcovers. It's always a worthy trip if you can find things like that.


Belgarion, sounds like you picked up some good ones; GRRM, Donaldson, Feist and Kay.

[Zsinj16]

I go to both a bookstore for used books, which is called The Book Nook and I go to my local Waldenbooks bookstore also. The Book Nook is a really good used bookstore that sells books in good condition for an excellent price. I bought The Dragonbone Chair and The Stone of Farewell books there, and they were only $3.00 apiece!! And these books are over 700 pages long!!! When I get my first job after I finish my GED and get my driver's liscense, I'm planning to get a job at Waldenbooks because I can get like a half off percentage on books for being an employee! I also like the atmosphere there, it just gives your soul a warm feeling when your around tons and tons of Sci-Fi and Fantasy novels. I don't know why it does that to me, maybe I'm just wierd! http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif

[Lady Fox]

I buy almost all of my books new. Most authors I wait for the paperback release, both to save money and space. However, there are a few authors that I buy in hardcover because I can't wait for the paperback releases, namely Jordan, Martin, and McCaffrey. I don't buy many used books because I can't stand to wait for them to show up in the used bookstore. :-) That instant gratification thing, you know. Also, there are very few used bookstores near where I live and most have a poor scifi/fantasy selection.

[Cellandros]

I buy the majority of my books new. As most people I've got my 'spend-the rent money to get it in hardcover' author list, and others I wait for paperback.

I will only buy from a used bookstore if the book is out of print and no longer available anywhere. Reason I do this is because even though books ARE WAY TOO EXPENSIVE, if you buy from a used bookstore then the poor author gets no money for that sale. If I don't support my authors, they won't be able to write more books.

I think the publishing industry seriously needs to get prices under control (and not by publishing e-books....don't get me started). That's why I always applaud and try to support publishers that do nice things...like BAEN books. I love it when BAEN books will have its classic '$1.99' re-issue of some of its older titles, or the $5.99 hardcover edition re-issues. Of course they're doing this to hook readers on some of the more popular series out (Honor Harrington, etc); but it works, and you get some nice books for cheap.

[e-Morgana]

Hi there,
Well I'm from Cairns, Australia and I have bought probably 80-90% of my rather large collection new but from the 3 for $10 tables at the book shops. Do you have such things in other places? Of course this means that I spend quite a bit of time going through stacks of books but I find it gives me some encouragement to do the grocery shopping (which I hate). I have a list of books I carry around in my bag (on hand at all times) so that I don't double up and then at the end of each year, I go through and decide which ones I really want to complete a series - but they often get completed without having to resort to this.
I think my best bargain to date would have to be Game of Thrones which I got for $2 (Australian) just cause it was a fantasy and I thought I'd give it a go (hadn't heard of this George RR Martin person before) - well you can guess what happened after that - hooked well and truly.
Like FitzFlagg, I also tend to join the DoubleDay book club here every couple of years so that I get the really cheap 5-7 books for $2 each deal.
This isn't for everyone, I know, cause it takes up a lot of time and patience but it works for me.

[Charles]

I usually try to purchase books new, but I have recently visited a used bookstore around here that has the books organized much better than the regular bookstore does. Yes, I live in a college town and there is only one bookstore (kind of pathetic don't you agree). I got all the Don Perin/Margaret Weis books for a total of $9 at the used bookstore, but at Books a million, they couldn't get me any copies of it, so I think I made out well enough. I will get the new Stephen King book in hardback and I am going to get the new Margaret Weis book in hardcover also. Other than those, I need to expand my sci fi and fantasy horizons, so I am going to stick to paperback books... Well, that is all I have to say for now...

[Belgarion]

Thanks for all your refreshing replies. It is nice to hear how others go about when purchasing books.

DARTHV : I do admit that I spent a lot of time strolling around villages in pursuit of bargain books. Probably the petrol cost would equates the price of a new book. However, I need to spend quality time with my girlfriend who loves driving to villages and having walks. Therefore I find that the bargain hunt for books through various villages actually "kill 2 birds with 1 stone"! :-))

FitzFlagg: Thanks, I probably will have a good time enjoying the perusive hobby of Kay, Donaldson & GRRM books. I must admit I have thought about joining the SFBC as you clearly stated - it allows you to get 5-7 books (especially omnibus) for almost nothing with the stipulation of purchasing 4 brand new books at half-price. The cycle of quitting and rejoing every 2 years is cunning but very common though!! :-)))

ZSinJ16: No you are not weird, It is very understandable and I am sure I speak on behalf of the forum that we fantasize having a job in a bookshop surrounded by copious SF/Fantasy books (especially out-of-prints).

LadyFox: Very true, it does require immense patience waiting for the new hardbacks turning to paperbacks then again turning to 2nd hand books on charities shops/book shops!

But the anticipation and wait is great fun.

Cellandros: Yes books are very expensive these days. I blame the capital world for the concept of "maximizing profit". However, we can fight back by refusing to buy new books and only buy 2nd hand books to reduce the market revenue. In turn they should surrender and reduce the prices to more moderate levels.

E-Morgana : Yes I have a bookshop near work where there is a table that has the promotion " 3 bokks for £10". However there are 2 setbacks.

1) They basically consist of unknown authors and of no interest to me particular.

2) No Sci-fi or Fantasy seem to walk onto that table. Just pure documentaries/Non-fiction books that tend to be unprofitable or not markable as anticipated originally.

Well I better stop writing and give my fingers a rest!