The Best Places to Buy Books for Book Lovers! (Hint: Not Amazon)
I don’t know if you guys know this, but I love books. They’re literally my life’s passion. For how much I love reading them, writing them, writing about them, and publishing them, the other activity I also love doing with books is buying them. Any good book lover will tell you that reading books and buying/collecting books are two separate (but still valid) hobbies. However, buying books as a hobby can get a little pricey. Plus, it’s hard to tell what sources will be continually reliable in quality, provide the best selection for your book shopping purposes, or support the authors you love the best.
Luckily, after years of book buying and collecting, I believe I’ve perfected the book buying process. Here’s my short guide to how to best buy books for both your wallet and to support your favorite authors! And if you decide to use this short guide to buy my latest book Fatal Flaws (available May 9th, 2023) or even my last book How to Survive a Ghost Story, I won’t complain.
1. INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORES
Pros: Best support for local businesses and authors, pillar of book-loving communities, best shopping vibes
Cons: Expensive, not accessible to all communities
For the best book shopping experience for book lovers, the best option would be to support your local independent bookstore! I’ve already written extensively about my love for independent bookstores, but this is truly the best/my favorite option for book buying. I even try to visit an indie bookstore every time I go on vacation to a new area. Each store has its own flavor and personality that adds a personal touch to the shopping experience and money spent here goes way farther in supporting the local economy compared to box chain stores (or especially Amazon, for that matter). Authors are also best supported through independent bookstores as indie booksellers are more likely to advocate for their favorite writers and host events that introduce new authors to their community. To offer some insight into the economy of sold books as well, independent bookstores typically offer a larger portion of profits for books sold to authors since they don’t have to pay as many middle men as the larger retailers which is another way to support your favorite authors.
The biggest con to shopping at independent bookstores rather than other options are budget concerns. Due to the lack of resources and availability, new books are generally priced higher than what is available through chain stores or Amazon. My peace with this negative is that the difference in money goes towards supporting a local business that is a pillar for my book-loving community and heart. There’s really no other replacement for independent bookstores in my opinion. The other con is that not every place is lucky enough to be able to support an independent bookstore, but if you have the opportunity, I highly recommend shopping through indie bookstores when possible.
2. THRIFTBOOKS.COM
Pro: Cheap books, cheap shipping, large selection, excellent reading reward program
Con: Book quality varies
I adore Thriftbooks. If you guys have been following me long enough, you might remember my Thriftbooks haul videos on YouTube where I would regularly unpack my orders from the site. I’ve been shopping regularly from Thriftbooks since 2015 and have had very little complaints with them. They’re the perfect blend of supporting online book businesses that aren’t Amazon, convenience, and cheap books. The app makes it incredibly easy to go on little book buying binges and I adore the rewards program. In terms of stocking my TBR bookcase, the cheap books and quick shipping offered from Thriftbooks is responsible for about 50% of my overstock. The quality of the books is great for the price points and even in the very few situations where the quality was less than ideal, Thriftbooks customer service was more than willing to compensate for it with either replacement books or book credits.
The con to shopping at Thriftbooks is that the quality can vary without warning. An “acceptable” book might be a somewhat new copy or it might have been stepped on at one point. Also while I enjoy the vibes of shopping on Thriftbooks, hunting and comparing books to find the best deals on the site, some folks might prefer their book buying experience to be in person and Thriftbooks is decidedly an online only site. I still advocate for this site whenever I can though and highly recommend it to those trying to get into book buying for the first time.
3. LIBRARY BOOK SALES
Pro: Cheap books and supports your local library
Con: Not very available and limited selection
Ever wanted to support your local library while also adding to your book collection? Well look no further than your local library book sales! Libraries often have to clean out their inventory to get rid of lesser distributed books to make room for new books and so, depending on the library, will hold a public sale for those less distributed books at incredibly cheap prices as a fundraiser. Since it’s the library as well, the books are typically in fantastic quality aside from laminated protected covers or stamps. You’ll need to monitor your local library’s news or your local library’s Friend of Library program for updates on when (or if) they’ll hold a book sale, but it’s quite the deal when they happen. I’m lucky in that mine hosts a sale every quarter and I’ve found some absolute hits for incredibly cheap prices. I got the final two Twilight books in pristine condition hardback for only $1.50!
The con is that they’re not held super consistently or even by every library. They’re also limited in book selection since it is typically the least distributed books of the library which means they’re also the less popular books to read. But if your library hosts a sale, it’s worth a shot to check it out and see if you can find a hidden gem among all of the Stuart Wood hardbacks inevitably on sale.
4. FREE LITTLE LIBRARIES
Pro: Free books! Engagement with your book community
Con: Quality and selection varies
What’s better than cheap books? That’s right - free books! Free Little Libraries are the latest and greatest trends to hit book-loving neighborhoods. They’re essentially little cubbies filled with books supplied by your neighbors. Some Free Little Libraries have themes while others are just an excuse for booklovers to off-load some of their extra books and provide their community with free books. The expectation is that if you take a book, you return either that same book once you’re done reading it or provide the library with a new book but there’s different expectations for different libraries. The con is that there’s no control over the inventory or quality, but you can’t be greedy about free books provided by good Samaritans.
You can read more about Free Little Libraries and find the nearest one to you at the following link: https://littlefreelibrary.org/
5. 2ND & CHARLES/BARNES & NOBLE
Pro: Reliable, can be cheap
Con: Not the best support for your local economy or authors
When in doubt, your local big chain bookstore is likely the best bet for your book shopping needs. They have the largest selection, the best prices, and consistent quality for their stock. However, shopping at these locations doesn't necessarily support your local economies or favorite authors the best. I’ll never knock them as a book shopping option though. They’re consistent and better in quality than Amazon (I will not get off this high horse). For how much I love indie bookstores and cheaper book-buying options too, walking through Barnes & Noble with a Starbucks is a great vibe.
If possible, I try to shop at 2nd & Charles more so than Barnes & Noble just because they have an amazing used book selection for much cheaper prices.
When all else fails, THE LIBRARY
Pro: Free books! Also engagement with your community and supporting a great local resource!
Con: Can’t keep the books
If none of the above options work for you, then definitely try to engage with your local library more! I understand locations may not be super physically accessible, but libraries also offer tremendous digital offerings such as Libby for audiobooks and ebooks. The best it is all FREE and available for public use. Sure you can’t keep the books, but the opportunity to at least be able to read and pick up books as needed for free is an amazing resource that should be utilized whenever possible. Plus the more you engage with your library, the more you support your community and encourage others to do the same.
Libraries are amazing, y’all. Support your local libraries.
NEVER EVER AMAZON
The one place you should never, ever buy books if at all possible is Amazon. I understand they’re the largest bookseller in the world, but that’s all the more reason to not shop through them. Authors get the least amount of profit from Amazon and all your purchase does is give Jeff Bezos more money that he doesn’t need. I can’t even argue for the consistent quality - I can count the amount of books I’ve bought through Amazon on one hand (thanks gift cards) and three out of five of them showed up in the worst quality I’ve seen in a supposedly brand new book. The only advantages to Amazon is that it is on-demand shopping for hard-to-find books and some indie authors publish exclusively through Amazon since that’s the cheapest self-publishing service. (For a good reason too, but I’ll go over that in another blog post at another time.)
Don’t shop at Amazon. Use literally any of the other resources I gave you for book buying before you buy from Amazon.