I was really surprised when I went to my favorite used book store about a month ago. The prices have gone so high that I can't afford to buy books there anymore. I noticed that the prices were steadily getting higher but not as high as I found them to be now. There was always a few used book stores that dealt in very expensive rare edition hard covers as well as very well cared for books catering to a more eclectic taste, but the book store I liked was a non profit that gets most all of their books as donations. So when I see them selling paperbacks on average at $7 I am a little put out. I buy a lot of books for my mother since she can't get to the library anymore. She has a limited lifestyle now and she reads a lot. Its hard to keep up with her, I can't find her inexpensive books fast enough. So I've had to get creative in my book finding. Generally non profits are still a good bet, depending on which one. Thankfully I run into enough different venues to keep my mother supplied. I am amazed at the quality of some of the books I've found. I still prefer to have a hard copy than an e-reader and I hope that print doesn't go out of style. Anyone else know where you can find a good variety of books for a minimal charge?
I can't really help you since I'm living in the Philippines. However, I also buy second hand books and magazines in a book outlet near my place, and they didn't raise their prices. Maybe the current price hike still hasn't caught up with pricing here in the Philippines just yet, or maybe what you're experiencing is just a localized price hike? In any case, if the price of books become high enough that buying an e-reader becomes an option, then buy your mom an e-reader. At the end of the day, the stories are the ones that will count and not the form in which they can be read from. Good luck!
This doesn't sound good! It may mean that in the coming years, actual physical books may become a niche market, driving the prices up. This is partly why I don't buy them anywhere as much as I used to, and now mainly buy eBooks because they're always so much cheaper. I appreciate they're not for everyone, though. My dad is an avid reader, but I don't see him ever converting to eBooks. The only other place I can think of are charity/thrift shops. UK charity shops always seem to carry quite a lot of donated books. The only problem is that you couldn't look for a specific author or book, you'd have to settle for whatever you found there. Sometimes you can find books at garage sales and flea markets, too.
I have noticed some used books are pricier than buying a new version or are the same price, I used to buy all the time from second hand book shops, but space prevents me from adding to the collection. Recently I was in the local Oxfam shop and some basic novels were as expensive as buying them new. I do know they do clear outs every now and then, but I still look for the odd bargain and books that are out of print. I don't mind supporting a charity though in this case.
I totally agree! I went to a pretty cheap bookstore, or so I thought, recently and I paid $7 for a book that wasn't even a bestseller. I get that they need to make a profit, but these high prices are a reason why they are going under. If they priced it for $4 I know more people would buy more.
I surmise that the reason used book stores are hiking up prices is because they don't get too many customers buying the books. Naturally, they'd want to make almost as much money as they used to in the past and raising prices appears to what will work for them. Since I suppose there are lots of books in your home now you should join a bookswapping site. It would save you a lot of money in the long run. You should also consider buying books from half.com. Most of the books sold on the site are ridiculously cheap.
Yeah, I've noticed this too. Used and new books are at a bit of a premium. You can only get used books cheaply if they're in poor condition, in which case you might not want 'em anyway. The above ideas are good, and I'll throw in the suggestion of checking with local libraries. Most libraries 'round here have a few carts of used books for sale at very low prices. The selection isn't great, and you're almost guaranteed to not find specifically what you're looking for, but I've found some excellent bargains doing this nonetheless.
I'm not surprised that prices are increasing. Fewer people are buying books because of e-readers and of course, people seem to have a lot less disposable income too. Store owners probably have no choice but to hike up prices in order to maintain their profits.
In the past, I would have bought quite a lot of used books from charity shops, however I am changing my mind about this because yes, they are becoming pricy. In the supermarkets near where I live, I can buy brand new books for the same price as they sell second hand ones, and that seems like a much more preferable option to me. So although I do like to support second hand shops, they really do need to take a look at their prices first.
Book sellers realize that people nowadays will either buy used ones because "they are supposed to be cheaper" or go for electronic editions. It is kind of fair, not only does the buyer get smarter, as a result, the seller needs to keep up with trends. Plus, this might not be true but there was another thread about book stores dying, probably due to the influence of technology on the majority of the youth. As a result, book store earnings might decline and they simply might not want to give away books for cheap to anyone, but rather to someone trusted who will read the book and take care of it.
I think you can shop around in Ebay or Amazon or even Craigslist to see if there is a cheap title that interests you enough to buy it. I also do not live in the US so I can't suggest an alternative store for you to check out.
I also wonder if like Denis Hard says, if indeed the digital market is taking all the custom from these book stores, and they in turn are trying to claw back their profits by hiking the prices. The ironic thing is that the more the prices go up on the high street, the more they'll drive people to buy online and/or rely more on eReaders, encouraging them to buy more eBooks. In as much as I like hard copy books, I honestly doubt I'll be going back to them simply because the price difference between an actual book and its eBook version is ridiculous. So I always opt for the eBook.
I think that it is just a sign of the times and really the nature of the market these days. The online presence is just killing these stores and they are doing what they have to do to survive, and they might have it in their sights that that may not be for a very long time so they might as well capitalize on what little time they have left. It is sad to see, but it is just another sad reality. Times are changing.
There is a US Book Sale here (that's the name of the store) which my husband frequents when we go to the mall. But in the recent years, I noticed that he was not going there anymore. He said the price of used books seem to have increased so much. When I checked on some comics, Archie comics is my favorite, it was surprising because the old comics cost abuot 90% of the new. So why buy a used book?
