Book your savings here ! Ten ways to save money on books

When Austin Phelps said "Wear the old coat and buy the new book" he meant that books were even better to spend money on than coats, but we'd like to talk about some ways you might be able to have both the book AND the coat ...

• Libraries. Don't overlook these sources of free books. You have to return them, but many books are only to be read and after that will only take up space on a bookshelf anyway. For the newest fiction, or how-to books that you won't keep needing, this can be your best source. If you are fortunate enough to be part of a large library system or one with a good inter-library network, take advantage of it. I miss southern California!

• Alibris.com is one of our favorite online sources. Books from Alibris are often available for free shipping, though this does not extend to those listed on the site by affiliated sellers, and is only available at certain times and with a minimum purchase (usually $30-$50)

• eBay.com and Half.com can be good sources. Both of these can be super-cheap. eBay has a certain risk as sometimes sellers don't follow though, but PayPal offers some protection if you use their services (assuming the seller still has the funds in their account). I do always like to warn people though, since I once paid for a book through eBay and never received it. 

• Amazon.com is another good source. Used sellers sometimes sell books for a few pennies, so that you are only paying shipping, and other books are often available at a discount. Another site that we found in this category is BestBargainBooks.com which lists many books for 1 cent, however you do pay full shipping charges on each book rather than getting a discount for multiple purchases. 

• Overstock stores (like Tuesday Morning). These have been a great source for me when I was not looking for a particular title but only looking for books in general. Can be especially good if you want to give books as gifts, since they are often coffee-table editions at great prices. 

• Charity stores.  (Goodwill, and other stores people donate things to be resold for a charity) These are sometimes super-cheap, depending on the whims of the people who run them. I've gotten hardcover books for 10 cents, and been given some books. Often the price runs closer to $1-$2 for hardcovers, which is still worthwhile if you find something you are looking for. 

• Used bookstores. They tend to have a good selection, but they also have the best knowledge of what their books are worth. If you like Harlequin romance, you can usually find them super cheap, but if you're wanting hardcover art books, they're going to be asking probably up to 50% of the cover price.  

• Online reading sources. Depending on what you are interested in, many MANY older books are available online totally free. Try searching authors or keywords for books written in the early 1900's or before. (I must admit, when the whole e-book craze started, we expected ebooks to be much cheaper than printed volumes, but as of yet their prices are barely discounted and they don't seem to offer an exceptional value unless you want to have digital rather than paper copies.)

• Rummage sales and yard sales. These are usually almost give-away sources for books, though what you might find varies a lot. Not necessarily a good source, but if you are browsing anyway, it's worth taking a look. 

• Online search. It's always worth putting in the exact title of the book in quotes and doing a search, and you might find a source that offers the book for less than the ones we've mentioned. 

Good reading!!!