My Book Buying Habits (1) Online vs. In-store

Hi everyone. I want to talk to you a little about my book buying habits and why/where/how often I buy books. I have been thinking about writing something like this for a long time now. But I haven't done it. Mostly because I wasn't sure what I wanted/needed to say, also, I wasn't sure that I had enough to say that warranted a full discussion about it. But something happened recently that kind of blew my mind and I just needed to discuss it.

This discussion is going to be a series of posts. This one got a lot longer than I expected it to.

Image from: Meebsie's World

Let me start by telling you a story.

As many of you know (or maybe not), I am a big fan of The Black Dagger Brotherhood novels by JR Ward, and I get pretty excited for all the new releases in the series. I generally will go to the book store on release day, buy my book and start reading the moment I get home. It's a spring tradition for me now. However now that the series is released in hardcover, buying in-store has become a lot more expensive (A LOT). I have been willing to pay the price because I am impatient and I need the book in my hands immediately.

Now... Last Week when The King (book 12) was released I went to the store to pick it up and almost died when the cashier announced that I owed $34.09. You have got to be kidding me! $35.00 for a book. That is the most I have ever paid for a book in my life. I did expect to pay at least $30.00 for the book- Last year's release of Lover at Last retailed at $29.50 for the hardback. However, I paid the $35.00 and went home.

When I arrived home, I was still a little unsettled that I had just paid $35.00 for one book. That is a lot of money for me, and I wasn't sure that I could justify that amount. I decided to check Amazon and see what the price of the novel was there. This is where things get wonky. Last Wednesday (April 2nd), The King by JR Ward- Hardback- was for sale for $16.47 cnd.  That is half the in-store price. This completely baffled me. I was horrified that the online price could be SO much lower, and I was infuriated that the in-store price was SO much higher.

So, naturally, I ordered the book from Amazon and returned the book I bought from the store. I mean the book was half price online.

In my experience, online prices and the in-store prices aren't that much different. The in-store price is usually higher by $5-$7. However, when buying online you have to pay shipping so that makes up the difference. I usually don't mind purchasing my books in-store (especially if I am only buying one book), because I like supporting book stores and I want them to stick around. I tend to order my books online when I know I am going to be bulk ordering.

I still don't understand how there could be such a huge price difference between the online price and the in-store price. If you have any insight please share it with me. And, I am curious to know where you buy your books. Do you strictly buy the from book stores? Do you order them online? Or, are you like me, and do a little of both? I wonder.

~Happy Reading Everyone!