I love books and I’m always looking for good deals on them. So I have a lot of experience finding cheap books. To share some of the things I’ve learned, here are the top 10 places to buy cheap books.
You can find cheap used books at most of the places on this list. But a couple of places also sell discounted new books.
If you like to read and want to build your book collection on a budget, check out all 10 places listed below for inexpensive books.
1 – Library Sales
Most libraries run an annual sale of books they don’t need. And the books are almost always priced extremely low or they use a pay-what-you-want donation sale.
I’ve bought a lot of books at library sales over the years. And most of them cost $1 or less. Ask your local libraries if they have an annual sale and when they hold it. Try to get to the sale early before the best books are picked over.
2 – Yard Sales
Yard sales often have books, and they’re almost always priced right. Sometimes you can buy a box of books for a few dollars.
While you won’t find valuable books every day at yard sales, if you know a lot about rare books and first editions, sometimes you can pick up these types of books at yard sales and resell them for profit.
3 – Junk Stores
Junk stores are good places to find older books and books in bulk. While you probably won’t find anything rare, you can usually pick up used books for $2 or less.
While there are many different names for junk stores, some are called antique stores or vendor malls. I call any store carrying a mix of old stuff a junk store. And they’re good places to pick up inexpensive books.
4 – Flea Markets
Flea markets aren’t the first place most people look for books, but most flea markets have at least a couple of vendors with books.
If you’re looking to buy cheap books in bulk, visit a flea market at the end of the last day. Some vendors will sell inventory at a huge discount so they don’t have to pack it up and take it home.
5 – Used Book Stores
I probably don’t have to tell you used book stores are a good place to find cheap books. But I can’t have a list like this without including them.
While you probably know about all of your local used book stores, you can look for new ones every time you travel.
6 – Amazon
I don’t have much to add about buying cheap books at Amazon than you already know. Amazon is by far the largest book seller in the world.
You can buy new and used books on Amazon. And many individuals sell books on Amazon as well, so the competition keeps the prices low.
7 – eBay
Most people think of Amazon when looking for books online. But eBay also lists a lot of books.
You can buy individual books or book lots on eBay. And some book lots work out to pennies per book. But shipping costs can be high.
8 – ABE
Advanced Book Exchange, or ABE, competes in the online market with giants like Amazon. And while ABE might not be as popular as Amazon, it’s one of my first stops online when looking for cheap books.
Unlike Amazon, ABE doesn’t keep inventory. Instead, the business allows book stores from around the world to list their inventory. When you place an order, ABE handles the payment processing, and individual book stores ship your book.
9 – From People You Know
People you know can be a great source for finding cheap books. And sometimes they might even give you books for free.
Everyone I know knows I read a lot of books. So when they have books they don’t want, they let me know. People I know give me books all of the time because they only want to read them once and don’t want to store them.
10 – Superstores
Superstores like Target and Wal-Mart offer a lot of stuff, including book sections. While their book selections are limited, they usually sell books below retail.
If you’re looking for used books you have to look elsewhere. But if you want a discount on new books, superstores usually offer good deals on what they carry.
Conclusion
You probably already know about most of the places to buy cheap books on this list. But I bet there were at least one or two places you haven’t thought of.
If you’re always looking for cheap books, use all 10 places. And you can check all of the online stores on the list to compare prices when you’re looking for something particular.