where to buy cheaper books?

P

pete_w

hi all

just wondering if anyone knows a place offering cheaper books? for instance for computery books www.bookware.com.au usually has 10% - 20% discount over other online stores. i was wondering if there is anything similar for investment type books? i have a 10% discount card for kinokuniya but its not often i am there, and spending $6 for a train ticket and an hour of my time to save $3 off a $30 book isnt worth it :) im aware that amazon sells second hand books at a discount, but i find they charge a lot for postage. also, i have gotten some milage out of http://www.abebooks.com/docs/ANZ/ which can be helpful digging up hard to find second hand books.
 
JamesGG said:
Hiya,

Have you tried your local library? :D

Cheers

James.
Click to expand...


Aaahh... James beat me to it! :)

We buy a lot of books from the "standard" outlets - like Collins and A&R - investment books often go on specials in the "can't sell" bin... of course it doesn't work if you are after a particular title.


I am also yet to come across an op shop that has investment books :p


Cheers,

The Y-man
 
Durnit James and Y - too quick for me!

I found that ordernig from amazon was cheaper than the coop (including the postage). I was very surprised. And then I felt bad for not supporting the coop at the uni I study and work at. :eek: <---- remorse face

You can use the normal bookshop for browsing and then do a search on ebay. This wont help if you need something super quick though.
 
wish-ga said:
I found that ordernig from amazon was cheaper than the coop (including the postage).
Click to expand...
Back when I was in IT, I used to find that technical books were substantially cheaper from Amazon- it was something like a book costing $AU60 cost around $US30 before postage.

But then, I often couldn't wait the 8 weeks for normal surface postage; paying airfreight made it not worth while economically.

If you can wait, it's very well worth while checking out.
 
The Y-man said:
I am also yet to come across an op shop that has investment books :p
Click to expand...

Just like the elusive CF+ IP, they do exist if you look hard enough ;).

The following were my op-shop purchases made (most since 2003):

- The Money Masters by John Train
- The 1989-90 Melbourne Home Guide (to 200 suburbs)
- The Millionaire Next Door by Tom Stanley
- More Wealth Less Risk by Austin Donnelly
- Unlimited Success in Acquiring Investment Property by Chris Lang
- Making Money Made Simple by Noel Whittaker
- CCH 2004 Australian Master Tax Guide (school fete)
- Adventures in Tax Avoidance by Peter Clyne
- Benham's Economics by Pitman

There would have been others that I didn't buy because I already had them. This includes more specific property books by Somers, Bell, Wakelin, etc. But you're right that they're rarer than general investment books by Whittaker, Clitheroe and Kiyosaki.

Some not on the list were bought new from bookshops but were clearance stock. Others were full price but were purchased with gift vouchers. There have also been some freebies.

Assuming that two secondhand books are bought for each new book, it should be possible to build a library with an average per book cost of approx $15.

This is a saving of 50% and provides a greater depth (both of time, general sentiment and subject matter) than is possible by relying on new books alone.

The main cost is the time taken, and while I personally enjoy it, it would be more cost-effective for the professional to buy new and hang the expense. But if it is combined with visits to agents and due diligence of suburbs then op-shop scouring may be worth it (both REAs and op-shops typically eschew big shopping centres in favour of 'main street' locations).

Peter
 
Op shops- that reminds me.

Some good sources of book for myself is the Canberra Girls' Grammar School fete, and the Canberra Lifeline Book Fair. Undoubtedly there are similar in other places.

The school fete starts to heavily discount after about 2PM- I'll get an armful at $1 each for paperbacks, $2 for hardcovers- which will provide me with reading material for some time.

It's a good way for me to get some which I would not normally buy- some are barely worth $1, some are gems, which lead me into a new area of reading.

Although tey're mostly fiction, there is often a good selection of business type books. This may cover a lot more than investments- I've picked up good books on negotiating, referrals and sales.
 
I have to be honest and say Ive skipped over the majority of this thread - however for cheap books you cant go past amazon.com

RJ
 
I have to be honest and say Ive skipped over the majority of this thread - however for cheap books you cant go past amazon.co

Hi JR,
If you are in Brisbane the Lifeline op shop in Stanley St,Woolloongabba
always seems to have a large supply of second hand investment books
in stock from $2 to$5 they had several authors from Jan Somers to
Peter Spann its well worth the time to have a look,and help a good
cause at the same time.
good luck
willair..
 
ramone_johnny said:
I have to be honest and say Ive skipped over the majority of this thread - however for cheap books you cant go past amazon.com
Click to expand...
Freight costs are EXTREMELY important.

For example, Rich Dad, Poor Dad. $USD 11.53. Standard shipping cost, $USD6.99 per shipment, plus $USD $4.99 per item. Total $USD$23.51, or . That will take 12 to 20 business days. That's $AUD31.40.

It's available for $22.99 at a local bookshop.

That's the cheapest shipping cost.

Amazon can be great. But you have to:
.Be able to order quantities of books
.Be able to wait
or
.Be ordering much more expensive than the standard books (eg, technical books).
 
thanks for all your suggestions. the library is ok but i have a terrible memory so i like to be able to keep copies as a reference. even if i cant remember the details i usually remember reading about it somewhere so can always go look it up :)

as a pet peeve i dislike how many online stores require you to register before showing the shipping costs, especially as some offer goods cheaper but pad the shipping price. i notice this happens a lot on ebay as well. anyway, i forsee spending way too much money on books in the near future :)
 
geoffw said:
Freight costs are EXTREMELY important.

For example, Rich Dad, Poor Dad. $USD 11.53. Standard shipping cost, $USD6.99 per shipment, plus $USD $4.99 per item. Total $USD$23.51, or . That will take 12 to 20 business days. That's $AUD31.40.

It's available for $22.99 at a local bookshop.

That's the cheapest shipping cost.

Amazon can be great. But you have to:
.Be able to order quantities of books
.Be able to wait
or
.Be ordering much more expensive than the standard books (eg, technical books).
Click to expand...

Actually I was talking about the seconds that they sell, or "pre owned". Some of those books Ive seen for like $2.00. Plus I like the idea of having it arrive on my doorstep while I do other things.

Each to their own I guess.

RJ
 
ramone_johnny said:
Actually I was talking about the seconds that they sell, or "pre owned". Some of those books Ive seen for like $2.00. Plus I like the idea of having it arrive on my doorstep while I do other things.

Each to their own I guess.
Click to expand...
That's a fair comment. And you're much more likely to find a book you want second hand in the US than in Australia.

But there are second hand book shops which do mail order in Australia as well. If they do have what you want in stock, it will be faster and, for a small quantity, cheaper.

If you have a number of books to purchase, then Amazon could well be cheaper.

My point is that freight is an important consideration- just like buying an IP, crunch the numbers. Also check the timing- if you can wait the extra time, and you do have to buy a quantity (even new books) Amazon could well be cheaper.
 
do you guys lend books? im looking down the barrel of buying a fourth copy of "more wealth ...", im a bit over it. if they are genuinely interested they'll find a way to read the book themselves i guess.
 
Another point on using Amazon.

Australian books might be much harder to come by. And most real estate books recommended in here would probably be Australian.

For another thread, I looked up Louise Bedford's Secret of Candlestick Charting. It cost $39.95. While not real estate, it is an Australian book.

Or you can buy it from Amazon for $USD63.16.
 
Hi
I have found e-bay the best and cheapest.

For example "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" selling from $5 with postage of $3 to $5.

Jan's "More Wealth..." book at $21.50 (new) incl postage and her "Building Wealth In Changing Times" currently $2 plus postage but still 4 days to end of auction.

Good luck
yo
 
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