Books from Half.com

**theworm**[$] · #1 04-30-2003, 02:39 PM

Ok - maybe this should be in the shopping forum, but I wanted some bookies to answer. I'm actually embarrased to post this, because I know that so many of you LOVE half.com, and I've never used them.
I have several books that I want to buy. My hubby was going to suprise me and buy them all from half.com, but he knows that I like new clean books and that I wouldn't be happy with books that had other peoples scribbles or food stains. I went to Half.com, and I see that I can buy new, like new, etc, and the prices are low. For paperbacks though, the shipping doubles the price of the book, and since it seems like I'm buying from individuals, I can't get all the books shipped in one package. $4 seems like a good price, but $7-$8 with shipping is no bargain.
Is half.com worth it for paperbacks? How do I make this work for me.
I know that half.com will be closing down next year, so if I'm going to get addicted to them for book buying, I have to do it fast!

**amykhar** · #2 04-30-2003, 02:49 PM

Wormie, I know you are into clean books, but I have a possible answer for you for free paperbacks (except postage)

There is a trading service called thebookcart.com Neat way to trade paperbacks online.

Amy

**theworm**[$] · #3 04-30-2003, 02:52 PM

Thanks, Amy. That sounds good. My only problem is that if I love the book, I want to keep it I used to mail books back and forth with a friend in NJ - but we returned them. As a matter of fact, I just loaned some books to someone here at EA. It's fun because then you can discuss them and make it a book club! I'll look into this, but I would only want to trade away books that I didn't like - and there aren't many of those.

**taurusmoon** · #4 04-30-2003, 02:52 PM

It depends on the cost of the book.

For a mass market paperback that's still in print? No.
Out of print? Possibly.
Trade paper? Often still a bargain.

Obviously, you'll want to look for the highest grade at the lowest prices. But, be warned, people often misgrade things. Surprisingly, sometimes they unestimate. I've gotten Very Goods with highlighting

and I've gotten Very Goods that looked brand new.

As with any sight unseen purchase: caveat emptor.

Sara

**AuntieEmma**[$] · #5 04-30-2003, 02:53 PM

Quote:

$4 seems like a good price, but $7-$8 with shipping is no bargain.

The shipping charge is a little less than that if you get it sent via media mail, which is slow but you do get your stuff eventually.

I usually buy things one at a time, so half.com works well for me. Don't know any way to figure out if it would be cheaper to get a bunch of books at once from half.com or from amazon or someplace else with free shipping, or from a regular bookstore except to just sit down and do the math. Probably works out to be pretty close, though.

Recently there was an exercise video I wanted to get. Used prices weren't that much cheaper than new, so I figured I'd just go to a bricks-and-mortar store so I could pick it up right away -- and then I realized I had absolutely no idea where to go to buy an exercise video!! Talk about being spoiled by the net. Ended up buying a new copy on half.com, and it was, literally, new, still in the shrink wrap.

**theworm**[$] · #6 04-30-2003, 02:55 PM

Thanks Sara. That's what I was afraid of. It's probably not the best option for me. I love to buy new books and then know that every little crease or bend is mine. I know it's silly, but my books are MY books.

**theworm**[$] · #7 04-30-2003, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Auntie said in post #5 :

Don't know any way to figure out if it would be cheaper to get a bunch of books at once from half.com or from amazon or someplace else with free shipping, or from a regular bookstore except to just sit down and do the math. Probably works out to be pretty close, though.

Duh, Worm! I'll do some number crunching. If I can wait till there is a B&N coupon, then get free shipping, I would probably get new for the same price - or close to it!
I'm planning on going to see Jodi Piccoult speak in Miami on Sunday. I've never been to the store before, but its supposed to be a very nice independant bookstore with cafe. Sounds like a place where I could dump a few bucks.

**amykhar** · #8 04-30-2003, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Wormie said in post #3 :
Thanks, Amy. That sounds good. My only problem is that if I love the book, I want to keep it I used to mail books back and forth with a friend in NJ - but we returned them. As a matter of fact, I just loaned some books to someone here at EA. It's fun because then you can discuss them and make it a book club! I'll look into this, but I would only want to trade away books that I didn't like - and there aren't many of those.

You DO get to keep it if you get it from thebookcart. You can choose to share some of your own old books or just pay the postage and be done with it. Cost per book is about $2

Amy

**theworm**[$] · #9 04-30-2003, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Amy said in post #8 :

You DO get to keep it if you get it from thebookcart. You can choose to share some of your own old books or just pay the postage and be done with it.

Amy

AH!!! That's something different. I guess I could try it and see if I can tollerate other peoples marks and folds. Thanks!

CurtisEdmonds · #10 04-30-2003, 04:23 PM

For book purchasers, ebay is generally the better way to go, if you don't mind the bidding process. half.com is a seller's market.

I sell on amazon.com almost exclusively, now. More traffic.

owling · #11 04-30-2003, 04:48 PM

I love half.com, but then most of what I buy isn't cheap paperbacks. I always check whether cost plus shipping adds up to less than list price or not. For what it's worth, I find that as long as you carefully check people's feedback ratings, you can get pretty good quality books. I've only had two books (out of quite a few) that weren't as advertised. But then I'm pretty strict about the sellers I'll buy from, which means I don't usually buy the cheapest book.

I'm also very careful about always leaving feedback on the condition of the book, because as a buyer I'd be miffed if someone was sending out trashed books labeled "like new" and people weren't bothering to report it and warn the rest of us off.

frazzledspice · #12 05-01-2003, 08:33 AM

I've bought my last two books from overstock.com, Delia. The price and shipping were very reasonable.

I wouldn't have thought of using overstock, but when I put the book title into dealtime.com, overstock came up as having the best price.

Both times I got a 5% rebate from www.ebates.com as well.

Books were brand new and arrived promptly. One was "A Monk in the World" by Wayne Teasdale; the other was "Holes" by Louis Sachar.

I'm surprised that half.com is closing next year, because I've used them for books quite a bit as well.

And I've used thebookcart.com, too, both as a book provider and recipient. The first few times I used it, the books never came, but my shipping fee was credited back to my account. Since then I have never had any trouble--I guess they found a way to weed out the bad apples.

**theworm**[$] · #13 05-01-2003, 09:32 AM

I wouldn't have thought of overstock.com, but I'll try it. Could be a good thing! THanks!

**theworm**[$] · #14 05-01-2003, 09:54 AM

Yeah! Thanks, Fraz!!!!

Overstock.com was great! I got a $5 coupon for signing up. They had 3 of the books that I wanted. The price was more than half.com, but the books are all new, and they were priced the same as what I'm used to paying at BJs Wholesale Club (where I buy lots of my books but am a prisoner to their ever changing available selection). Shipping for the entire order was just $2.95 and since I saved $5 w/ my coupon, I actually saved 2 bucks! Yeah! I'm happy!
I'll try them again in the future - this worked out great for me!

murasaki · #15 05-01-2003, 12:45 PM

I've had very good experiences with half.com. All the books I've purchased (all from different sellers) were in the condition reported or better. I like new books and I also think it's important to support authors' royalties by buying new, however, I will buy something that is out of print and I can't get anywhere else from half.com or Amazon's used books. I won't buy books I can get through my indie store (anything in print) from the used book internet sites.

I do kind of chafe about paying shipping costs, but media mail is fairly reasonable and I'm usually buying a book that I've waited for years to get anyway. As for Amazon, even if your order is over $25, if you're buying from individual sellers, you will still pay the shipping because the shipping costs goes to the seller, not to Amazon.

--naomi

**theworm**[$] · #16 05-08-2003, 11:54 AM

Got my books from overstock.com yesterday!

Happy Happy Happy Worm!

I should get a second box from the today!