Ways to Save Money on Books and Reading

I have always loved to read, ever since I was a kid. Although I really don’t get to read as much as I would like due to work, children, and other obligations on my time, I still read fairly regularly. While I think books offer a pretty good value for the price, as with any hobby or habit, if you spend money regularly on it, it can add up to a pretty nice chunk of change.

Feeding your habits or hobbies as cheaply as you can can make a big difference in the amount of money you spend on them.

Obviously, not spending any money on books would be great, but that is not always practical. Often, especially with nonfiction books, I want to keep the book for a while, to use as a reference or refer to later, and I sometimes want to keep fiction books or novels if I have really enjoyed them.

Here are some of the ways I have minimized my spending on books while still reading quite a bit.

Get books for free

Your local library is the obvious place here, but their are limitations on the selection of books you can choose from, although many libraries will allow you to “order” it from another library if they do not have it, and will let you know when it has arrived and you can check it out.

Buying used books

Online

Amazon.com is the king of online booksellers, and once a book had been released and available for a while, you will find used copies of the book available for sale from individuals, often at a significant savings in price vs. buying a new copy. Ebay, Abebooks, and many others can be good places as well.

Bricks and Mortar book stores/physical shopping-

Thrift Stores-Thrift stores are a great place to buy books cheaply, as they are often only priced at a buck or two. One of the drawbacks is the selection, as it can be hit or miss, depending on what you are looking for, and there are obviously not too many brand new books or any way to get certain titles. But I highly recommend browsing thrift stores regularly for books you may be interested in. For locations of thrift stores near you, check out TheThriftShopper.com

Friends of Library (FOL) Sales-Library sales can range from a few hundred books to 10’s of thousands, so you can usually find a lot of books that spark your interest. The prices may be a little higher than at thrift stores, but the selection is usually much bigger, and you are probably likely to find newer titles. Check out Book Sale Finder to find upcoming library sales in your area.

Used Book Stores-Used book stores can be a great place to find books at a discount price compared to retail stores. If you have one in your area, be sure to stop by regularly to check out their selection.

Trade your books

Many times after I have read a book, especially a fiction book, I don’t really want to keep it. Paperbackswap and the newer Swaptree are two online places you can trade your unwanted books for titles you want to read. Some used book stores will also let you trade your unwanted titles for store credit towards your purchases, so check those out as well.

Sell your used books

Make some money back by selling your books after you are finished with them. Once again, Amazon.com is probably the best place to get the best price for most titles, due to the high volume of customers. eBay can also be a good place as well.

One thing I discovered a few years back, from buying book at thrift stores, is that you can make money finding used books to sell online for profit, especially when buying them at thrift stores and library sales. I’ll give you more pointers on that in an upcoming post, so stay tuned!

photo credit: dullhunk