Are You a Penny Pincher?

[BJ Davis]

Are you a penny pincher when it comes to buying books? Do you buy new or used? If you buy used books, do you go to used book stores or buy used books online? Do you buy at yard sales?

[Book Calendar]

Absolutely, I get most of my books from the library. I try to only buy books which I can't get for free. This means, I do buy books, but only things which I am not able to get easily.

[Nate Greene]

I am definitely a fan of buying used books. A lot of the times I switch around with friends, but lately I have been going to paperbackswap.com. I guess I am not actually buying them, but more like trading among a bunch of members. Its a great site for readers and they have a bunch of choices.

[BJ Davis]

Thank for the info.

[BJ Davis]

Don't forget my drawing for The Penny Pincher Club here

[Moony]

I've been buying a lot of used books lately. And checking a lot out from the library. Although I have a big enough TBR pile, that I wouldn't need to buy or check out any books for a year...

[Philip Tolhurst]

My last book was bought from an Amazon Market Place seller but was apparently new.

Depends what I want really I'll buy Temeraire this way at some point soon.

http://thewordsescapeme.blogspot.com/

[Barbara Desmond]

I usually check books out from the library so I rarely buy books. I tend to only get series that I plan on reading more than once and I get them new but in paperback. Sadly the pickings are slim when it comes to getting books around here. There is a used bookstore that I plan on checking on at some point but I haven't gotten around to it.

[Trisha]

I buy new books a lot at Wal Mart. But mostly I get mine from the library. Or read the books my mom has gotten from her friends that she has passed to me.

[Stacy-Deanne (Novelist)]

Hi BJ,

To be honest, as an author I do not buy used books because I know that authors do not see a dime of money from a book that's sold used. So, I have principles about that since I am an author myself. In fact I'm convinced that most authors make sales from used copies these days but we do not get the money. It isn't fair but, well can't change it. That is the reason I don't buy USED books. I can't see myself taking money from an author when I feel we should get paid for every single copy we sell. But, we have no control over that.

Saying that, I do have price limits though. I refuse to pay more than 12-14 dollars for a book. That's the bottom line. I don't buy hardcover books anyway but I think if a paperback is over 14 or 15 dollars, that's a little steep for a paperback. That's just my opinion. I have refused to buy books that were up to twenty dollars. That's just too much for a paperback! The only exceptions I make is if it's a book from my favorite author but I usually don't bend on this. And my favorite author's books have never been more than 9 dollars. I used to love shopping at Borders because their paperbacks were always so cheap. I have bought books from Amazon but always new ones. So, yes I have a dollar limit, LOL!

Best Wishes!

http://www.stacy-deanne.net

[BJ Davis]

I'm finding more and more readers are using the library lately. When I go I usually walk out with an arm full. Library sales are also a goldmine.

[Patricia Boyle]

Yes, I am certainly a penny pincher. I rarely buy a book at full price. Both my husband and I scour used bookstores, salvation army stores, garage sales, etc. I would say that about 85% of my 3,000+ book library has been purchased at very reduced costs. I don't usually buy used books online unless I desperately want to read the book since the shipping charges are quite high., although the book may be a bargain.

[Eve Recinella]

I use to be a big book buyer, but for the past year have been getting most of my books through the library. I find that I can get 99% of the books I want there and if they do not have a book I want to read I can request they purchase it.