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Thursday, April 10, 2014

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!


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16 comments:

  1. I have no idea why there's such a difference. But it is crazy!

    For new release hard covers, I always buy online. With Chapters, if it's just one book I'll use their free ship to store option.

    But buying online isn't fool proof. I pre-ordered the Veronica Mars book and it was around $12 with the discount. A few days later it was a bestseller and so it went down almost $4 in price.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Buying online isn't perfect. The prices fluctuate to much. I just wish that in-store prices and online prices weren't SO different. I also buy my new release hard covers online... paperback, it doesn't really matter.

      Delete
  2. That is insane. I hardly ever compare prices, but after reading this post, looks like I'm going to have to be careful now. I didn't even realize how expensive it is! wow.

    Buyer Beware!

    Great post, Sara. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Joy,

      I make it a little bit of a habit to check online prices before I decide to buy a book (now especially). Sometimes the online price is just that much better.

      Delete
  3. I feel bad buying online because I would love to support little local bookstores, but online is so much cheaper!
    Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know what you mean. But when you go into a book store and see a book for $20.00 that you know is $12.00 online, it's hard to spend that extra $8.00

      Delete
  4. Wow, over twice the cost is very steep!! I usually end up ordering online because B&N usually doesn't have what I want since I only buy usually if the library doesn't have it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The library is my best friend. I don't buy books as often as I used to... but that post will come at a later date.

      Delete
  5. I'd love to support local bookstores but as a grad student, I have to be cheap and so buy all my books online. With a $25 order, Chapters ships for free so I can even be lazy and receive my books at home.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I also need to be frugal with my money. I can't spend $35.00 on a single book, when I can spend that much, get three books and free shipping. I like the lazy part of having them shipped to my house and I can book shop whenever I want.

      Delete
  6. I don't really know why books are much cheaper online than in store. Maybe because the store has to pay for the location, the people working there etc. While online is a website and only a hand full of people? Maybe? I don't know. I buy both, online and in store (:

    Lisa
    www.turningpages94.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I just wish the price differences weren't so drastic. I also wonder how the online prices affect the author. Or does it even?

      Delete
  7. Great site, valuable and very useful information,you has provided us for that I really thankful to you.

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  8. I don't know what is more insane - that you had to pay $35 for a book or that the price in-store was double what it is online. Ultimately, I'm way too cheap and I figure that by buying from Chapters/Indigo Online, I am still supporting that franchise even if I'm not spending money in store. I haven't had to pay shipping on my last few orders and my preorders have all come the day that they were released in stores, right to my door. Can't get much better than that!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had to admit that I never/order look at the Chapters/Indigo website. I don't know why. I used to all the time. I think Amazon has made me a lazy shopper. In the future I'll make sure to visit their website more.

      I definitely got that sick feeling in my stomach when I forked over the $35.00.

      Delete
  9. That is a crazy amount and difference! I'm a huge BDB series fan too - but not like you... I've been slacking. A LOT! And I get mine on kindle. I think I still have to read the two before lover at last... maybe even 4. ha ha! But I have all of them but the king on my kindle right now. I need to get back to it. I've missed my hunky yummy men. ha ha!!!

    ReplyDelete

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"So, please, oh please, we beg, we pray, go throw your TV set away, and in its place you can install, a lovely bookcase on the wall."
— Roald Dahl