I like to support writers and publishers by buying books new. And if I’m buying a book for collectible reasons they I hunt around for the best copy. But sometimes I just need a reading copy of an old book, or maybe I don’t even need to own it—I just want to read it once.

Here’s what I do when I’m shopping for older or out-of-print books that aren’t at my local bookstore to get them as cheaply as possible.

Looking for a book? Hate to spend money? Read on!

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1. The Library (Part 1)

Well, sure. Everybody knows you can borrow a book from the library for nothing, so long as you bring it back on time. But don’t forget that a lot of mysteries are published in large print editions, which are often shelved in a different location from the regular mysteries. So if you don’t see what you’re looking for on the shelf, check the card catalogue or ask the librarian where the large print books are.

2. Garage Sales

Even though you can get books really cheap at garage sales (or tag sales, or yard sales, or whatever your local term is), you could spend a lifetime looking for a particular book this way.

So here’s a tip. If you’re looking for a particular book and haven’t been able to find it, find out the author’s hometown, and if you’re ever nearby, check out the local garage sales. There are often more books near where an author lived due to local interest, and you might get lucky.

3. Friends

Borrow a book from a friend. You probably won’t even have to give it back. What’s that? You say you would never do that? Liar.

4. ABE

Is it possible that you’re a booklover with an internet connection and you don’t use ABE? I doubt it. But just in case, here’s the scoop. ABE is the Advanced Book Exchange, and it’s the top place online to buy used books. They have a tremendous selection, a great range of prices, and accurate book condition descriptions. It’s surprising how often you can find a real bargain here.

http://www.abebooks.com

5. Biblion

Looking for a book originally published in the

UK? You might do better using Biblion, which started as an antique book store in

London, where many book dealers shared space. They’ve now partnered with biblio.com to provide a searchable service online. Many of these dealers are also on ABE, but not all of them.

http://www.biblion.co.uk

6. Amazon

If you want a popular title, check out amazon.com, or your local amazon, for the best deal. You won’t find any scarce titles here, but let’s say you were looking for copies of Charlotte Armstrong’s The Balloon Man and Raymond Chandler’s The High Window. As I write this you can get The Balloon Man for 31 cents, and The High Window is going for as little as $2.14.

Another tip, especially for high-priced books. Check out amazon in other countries. Sometimes there are cheaper copies floating around at amazon.fr or amazon.de, for example.

7. The Library (Part 2)

So you checked, and the book wasn’t in your local library. Did you give up? Don’t forget about interlibrary loans. Use the computers in your library, or ask your librarian to search for the book throughout the local library system. They will be happy to acquire the book from another library for you. In the US and Canada, you can get a book from any other public library in the country. In the UK, in the London area, you can get a book from any book in the
London system, at least. I haven’t tried a broader search than that.

8. Ebay

Ebay has books, too. But something to remember is that a lot of Ebay sellers don’t take care to get the details right. So you should try simple spelling mistakes and typos in your search if you don’t find what you’re looking for right away.

Let’s say you wanted a copy of a Nero Wolfe book, In the Best Families. Searching on “Nero Wolfe” turns up several copies. But if you also search on “Nero Wolf” you’ll find another copy at $2.50 that you would have missed otherwise.

9. Powell’s

Powell’s is one of the world’s largest independent sellers of books, and their strong bricks and mortar heritage comes through on the site. More than any other site, Powell’s makes it easy to browse as if you’re in a bookstore. You can easily see New Arrivals, sale books, and books in categories (as though on table display in a store) such as “Agatha Award Winners” “Doyle Pastiches”, or “Endcap” (for featured books). Check out the “$7 or Less” category for bargains. .And of course they have an outstanding search service so you can find what you’re looking for, with as many publication details about the books as Amazon has.

http://www.powells.com

10. The Library (Part 3)

You really can’t beat the library, and why would you try? If it’s not at your local branch, or in your local system, you can probably still get the book you’re looking for. Ask your librarian to help you search your countries national library archive for the book. In the US, it’s the Library of Congress in Washington. In Canada it’s Collections Canada in Toronto, and in England, it’s the British Library. The book that’s not in one of those three places is rare indeed.

Depending on the book, it can either be shipped to your library for you to pick up, or you might have to actually travel to London, Washington, or Toronto to read it. When I lived in England, I spent many a pleasant afternoon at the British Library reading rare books that I would never have been able to buy.

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There are only two books I haven’t been able to find in the past twenty years either at a bargain price, or at the library for free. And I’m not even sure that one of those books actually exists… but that’s a story for another time.Happy Hunting!

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 6th, 2008 at 10:59 am and is filed under Plain Old Posts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.