Darren Garrison

Anyone noticed yet that one of the best book search sites on the web has now been assimilated by Amazon, and given an inferior search engine and database?

RevLiver

Try http://www.abebooks.com or http://www.alibris.com

I've used them both with success, though some of the sellers post their titles on all of the used book exchanges.

djtoell

my favorite site by far: http://www.bookfinder.com/.

DJ

BoatDrinks

Yes, alibris has not failed me yet.

Holly E. Ordway

Actually, I recommend staying *far* away from Alibris. Stick to http://www.abebooks.com or http://www.bookfinder.com.

The reason? Abebooks and Bookfinder are search engines that put you in touch with the individual, independent bookseller, who then sells you the book. Alibris acts as a middleman: you order the book, Alibris gets the book from the bookseller, processes it through its warehouse, and sends it to you. The result: a *significantly* higher charge for the *exact same book* compared to buying it through Abebooks. (And I do mean *exact same*, as in the same copy. I've run some comparisons when I was shopping for some used books. For the same copy, Alibris would be charging anywhere from 50-100% more.) I've also read some things that suggest that Alibris has some shady business practices -- charging steep fees to the booksellers for listings, and hindering any attempt at the buyer contacting the bookseller directly.

In contrast, Abebooks and Bookfinder are straight-up and put you right in touch with the bookseller. I've bought numerous titles from assorted independent sellers this way and have been very happy.

BoatDrinks

Hey, thanks for the tip. I had no idea. I had found books on alibris that I could not find at abebooks, but wasn't aware of the $$. Thanks!

Darren Garrison

I've used Abebooks many times in the past, but recently I noticed that I found many more hits on obscure, out-of-print books on Bibliofind. Until the switch to Amazon. Now the number of hits for the same key words give only a fraction of as many hits.

djtoell

Bookfinder's listings include both ABE & Alibiris (and other listing services/dealers), so you can judge prices for yourself. i always find Alibiris to be insanely overpriced when compared to the rest of the various dealers listed on Bookfinder.

DJ

corsairp47

I also recommend Bookfinder. I was tipped off to it by a gal who manages an independent bookstore; she said that's how she fills book requests for customers. The only bad thing about it is I could easily go broke chasing down all the lost books from my childhood! It's addictive.

Alvis

I already know of abebooks.com and bibliofind has been assimilated by Amazon. What else is there?

djtoell

my favorite site by far is http://www.bookfinder.com. it's not an individual seller, but rather a search engine for over 30,000 booksellers (or so they say, anyway). i've gotten lots of great finds through them over the years. they're also useful when comparing prices for new books at Amazon, B&N, etc.

DJ

movielib

Another is alibris.com.

The four mentioned so far all list books from many sellers and there is a lot of overlap.

A book has to be pretty rare for you not to find it on at least one of these.

Josh-da-man

You can usually find good deals on used books on half.com and ebay.

If you're looking for rare or collectable books, I've had LOTS of luck with www.abebooks.com.

renaldow

Try www.powells.com

djtoell

that's the thing about http://www.bookfinder.com...it catalogs alibiris, abebooks, powells, etc. one search and you're done.

DJ

Norm de Plume

www.abebooks.com - A vast collective of individual booksellers from around the world who sell used and reduced-price books. From what I gather having read its user contract, abebooks is nothing more than a search engine for rare/cheap books. It affords the buyer no protection from fraud whatsoever, unlike something similar like half.com, which at least offers mediation services in case of a breach.

Any experiences?

sinned

Yep, it's just a search engine, nothing more. For what its worth though, I've ordered from different sellers several times (maybe around 10 times) without any problems.

djmont

I would say it depends on whom you order from. The people I've dealt with, though, have been reliable.

bishop2knight

I consider abe.com a perfect resource. That's where I go for about 80% of my online used book buying. Since I buy NF first edition hardcovers, it's nice to have a bunch of booksellers in one place so I can find the best copy at the best price.

I've purchased around 20 books from sellers on abe, and I'd say maybe 2-3 weren't in the condition that I wanted (although they were still good copies). That's a decent ratio.

neiname

The good part about the site is that you can get the phone number of the store that is listing the book in case you want to get additional info on the condition and whatnot. I limit those type of inquiries to books that are over $100 though.

benedict

More info in this thread: Where do you get the books you read?

alyxstarr

A little off topic, since this is about online sites, but this thread reminded me that I have to check out when the Bethesda Literary Festival is. Last year (and I think they do this annually) they had a used book sale -- 10 cents a pound! You can't beat that...

Okay, okay, I'll bring it back closer to the topic at hand. Or rather, expand it a little. Does anybody know a good place to trade or sell used books?

Norm de Plume

Thanks for the input.

Norm de Plume

A great place to get new books cheap is www.bookcloseouts.com The selection isn't exhaustive, so if you're looking for something specific or rare you'll probably be disappointed, but if you just want to order a shitload of random books for summer reading, this is the place. Dirt-cheap shipping, too.

Violets Dyed

I don't know if I'm using dirty words, but I have never had a problem finding the out of print book I'm looking for through amazon second party sellers. However I will definitely check out these suggestions.