# Are there any places to buy cheap used books now that half.com is gone

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-places-to-buy-cheap-used-books-now-that-half-com-is-gone/800448>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [November 1, 2017, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-places-to-buy-cheap-used-books-now-that-half-com-is-gone/800448 "2017-11-01T23:28:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 16\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-places-to-buy-cheap-used-books-now-that-half-com-is-gone/800448/1 "2017-11-01T23:28:16Z")

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I liked [half.com](http://half.com). Books were usually $0.75 with about $3 in shipping, but if you bought multiple books from the same seller each additional book was only about $1.89 in shipping.

So each book beyond the first only cost you \<$3. So I would make up a list of maybe 5-7 books I wanted, browse around until I found a seller that had most of them in stock and then buy them all, saving money on combined shipping.

Now that they are gone, I don’t know where to find those kinds of deals. I’m looking for particular books, so in person thrift shops like goodwill won’t work.

I tried Amazon, but their books seem to have gone up in price. Also it is harder to find major distributors who sell multiple books I’m looking for in one shipment. Also I don’t know if Amazon lets you combine shipping costs.

What alternatives do I have now that [half.com](http://half.com) is gone?

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**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-places-to-buy-cheap-used-books-now-that-half-com-is-gone/800448/2 "2017-11-01T23:38:02Z")

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[Half-Price Books?](https://www.hpb.com/home)

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**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-places-to-buy-cheap-used-books-now-that-half-com-is-gone/800448/3 "2017-11-01T23:42:21Z")

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AbeBooks.

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**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-places-to-buy-cheap-used-books-now-that-half-com-is-gone/800448/4 "2017-11-01T23:43:50Z")

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I just tested it, you don’t save on shipping by buying from the same seller. Drats.

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**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-places-to-buy-cheap-used-books-now-that-half-com-is-gone/800448/5 "2017-11-01T23:47:11Z")

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eBay. Message the dealer to see about shipping discounts for multi-book orders. You can do this with other sites like Abebooks, too.

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**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-places-to-buy-cheap-used-books-now-that-half-com-is-gone/800448/6 "2017-11-01T23:56:59Z")

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Try [Wonder Book](http://www.wonderbk.com/) in Maryland. Standard shipping is free.

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**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-places-to-buy-cheap-used-books-now-that-half-com-is-gone/800448/7 "2017-11-01T23:57:49Z")

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[Betterworldbooks.com](http://Betterworldbooks.com)

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**Author:** ![Girl\_Hermit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b38774/32.png) [@Girl\_Hermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_Hermit)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-places-to-buy-cheap-used-books-now-that-half-com-is-gone/800448/8 "2017-11-02T00:23:17Z")

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[http://bookoutlet.com/](http://bookoutlet.com/)

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**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-places-to-buy-cheap-used-books-now-that-half-com-is-gone/800448/9 "2017-11-02T02:05:24Z")

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Stores I know of; we have several good ones around Pittsburgh. But for on-line I still find Amazon the best bet for me. I will have to wait on some titles though until someone offers a copy cheap enough for me. But I have plenty waiting to be read and I’m fairly patient.

On the outside chance any of their outlets is near you I am including a link to my favorite chain

> **[Our Stores, Find a Store | Half Price Books](https://www.hpb.com/stores?address=Dallas%2C%2BTX)**
>
> Browse Half Price Books’ complete store directory and find which of our more than 120 stores is nearest you! Search by City, State and ZIP Code, or download a full list.

I have been know to hit out-of-town locations in my travels. Not long ago I scored 78 different titles from the Lakeside Press Christmas Day historic series for $175 which I thought was a great deal considering many will still sealed.

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**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-places-to-buy-cheap-used-books-now-that-half-com-is-gone/800448/10 "2017-11-02T03:12:56Z")

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I just looked up a title at Amazon, and a copy was listed as available, shipped by Half Price Books (HBP Inc,). Is this the same organization? Maybe you can still find the same books, but their listings are aggregated under all Amazon partners.

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**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-places-to-buy-cheap-used-books-now-that-half-com-is-gone/800448/11 "2017-11-02T12:39:11Z")

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[Thriftbooks.com](http://Thriftbooks.com). I love it. Kind of a conglomeration of Thrift Stores, and the books won’t typically come all at once, they come from all over the country. Free shipping at $25, I think, and I have never been disappointed.

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**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-places-to-buy-cheap-used-books-now-that-half-com-is-gone/800448/12 "2017-11-02T19:44:47Z")

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> [@jtur88](#):
>
> I just looked up a title at Amazon, and a copy was listed as available, shipped by Half Price Books (HBP Inc,). Is this the same organization? Maybe you can still find the same books, but their listings are aggregated under all Amazon partners.

I’m not sure but it wouldn’t surprise me. I would see if they have some method/listing of their own since getting direct from third-party is sometimes cheaper than from Amazon themselves. I guess I’m spoiled having a couple of the brick stores so handy and being a better browser in person. 🙂

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**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-places-to-buy-cheap-used-books-now-that-half-com-is-gone/800448/13 "2017-11-02T22:24:26Z")

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I use [www.bookfinder.com](http://www.bookfinder.com) which is an aggregator of multiple sources, including Amazon, Amazon marketplace (i.e., third-party sellers who sell on Amazon), eBay, AbeBooks, Biblio, the Book Depository, Wonder Books, and many others. You can specify new or used editions, and the results are listed by price with shipping included. I almost never buy a book without checking there first to see if there’s a better buy.

On occasion, I may also check [www.camelcamelcamel.com](http://www.camelcamelcamel.com) which doesn’t sell books but tracks price changes for new and used books (and other items) on Amazon. You can tell from the pricing pattern over time whether the price is likely to fall at some time in the next few months. You can also set an alert for when the price falls low enough for your budget.

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**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-places-to-buy-cheap-used-books-now-that-half-com-is-gone/800448/14 "2017-11-02T22:51:09Z")

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Another aggregate site is:

> **[viaLibri - The world’s largest search engine for old, rare & second-hand...](https://www.vialibri.net/)**
>
> viaLibri is the world's largest search engine for old, rare & second-hand books.

“…for old, rare, out-of-print books.”

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**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-places-to-buy-cheap-used-books-now-that-half-com-is-gone/800448/15 "2017-11-02T23:01:10Z")

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> [@jtur88](#):
>
> I just looked up a title at Amazon, and a copy was listed as available, shipped by Half Price Books (HBP Inc,). Is this the same organization? Maybe you can still find the same books, but their listings are aggregated under all Amazon partners.

[Half.com](http://Half.com) was not related to Half Price Books.

[Half.com](http://Half.com) was owned by eBay and operated like eBay, but everything was sold on the “Buy It Now” system instead of bidding. Buyers and sellers used their eBay accounts to log in and perform transactions. The merchandise consisted (mostly?) of books, CDs, DVDs, and other similar media. [Half.com](http://Half.com) did not own or ship any of the merchandise sold there. They were just a platform to link buyers and sellers, just like eBay.

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**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\
**Post date:** [November 3, 2017, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-places-to-buy-cheap-used-books-now-that-half-com-is-gone/800448/16 "2017-11-03T05:31:55Z")

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Powell’s maybe? They are maybe the largest independent bookstore available, atm, and they trade in used books. I don’t know how their prices compare, but shipping is very reasonable. They charge a flat fee of $4 or free if your order is $50.

Here’s their site -

[http://www.powells.com/used](http://www.powells.com/used)  
And here’s their shipping infos -

[http://www.powells.com/info/shippinginfo](http://www.powells.com/info/shippinginfo)