# Does anyone buy used books on amazon.com **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 26, 2003, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-buy-used-books-on-amazon-com/177656 "2003-05-26T23:19:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Calculus\_of\_Logic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@The\_Calculus\_of\_Logic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Calculus_of_Logic)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2003, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-buy-used-books-on-amazon-com/177656/1 "2003-05-26T23:19:01Z")
i haven’t been there for a while, but there are alot of good books that are going for 0.01 cents. many are below a dollar. Just figured i’d point this out. I was going to go to the library to buy a book (the autobiography of Bernard kerik) when i noticed i could buy a copy for 0.01 cents & shipping. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2003, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-buy-used-books-on-amazon-com/177656/2 "2003-05-26T23:46:19Z")
I do. I recently picked up the entire Foundation series (from **Prelude** to **Foundation and Earth** ) for about $50, which was my allotted book budget for the month. If I had bought new, I probably would have only been able to get four volumes or so. [Bookcloseouts.com](http://Bookcloseouts.com) is another good cheapo store. ---
**Author:** ![Nichol\_storm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Nichol\_storm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nichol_storm)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-buy-used-books-on-amazon-com/177656/3 "2003-05-27T00:08:26Z")
I love shopping at Amazon, and I can usually find everything at dirt-cheap prices. I’m so glad I grabbed my copy of “God Loves, Man Kills” before _X2_ came out, because now you can’t find it anywhere. .:Nichol:. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-buy-used-books-on-amazon-com/177656/4 "2003-05-27T00:15:55Z")
I’m happy with Amazon’s DVD’s and new books. Do you lot recommend the second-hand books? (Some of the authors I’m interested in are out of print.) ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-buy-used-books-on-amazon-com/177656/5 "2003-05-27T00:25:30Z")
I’ve bought second-hand through Amazon Marketplace several times, usually with good results. Tips– [list=A] [li]Check the Seller Rating before buying.[/li][li]Stick to “Very Good” rated material or better.[/li][li]Hi **Opal**. I’m a traditionalist.[/li][li]Avoid the One Cent items. The seller intends to soak you. This is more common in Amazon auctions.[/li][li]Buy from **Bosda**! I sell, too! :)[/li][/list] ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-buy-used-books-on-amazon-com/177656/6 "2003-05-27T02:00:01Z")
I haven’t participated in any auctions, but I’ve never had any problems buying one-cent used books. Or any other-priced used books there either. ---
**Author:** ![Greywolf73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d9b06d/32.png) [@Greywolf73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greywolf73)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-buy-used-books-on-amazon-com/177656/7 "2003-05-27T02:27:39Z")
I buy used books off Amazon all the time. I’ve never had any problem whatsoever with buying books, but I’ve never tried CDs or DVDs. I’d defintely go with Bosda’s recommendation to check the seller’s rating and stick to "Very Good’ and higher ratings. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-buy-used-books-on-amazon-com/177656/8 "2003-05-27T02:46:32Z")
I agree. Let the good times roll. And often that’s the only way you’ll find some extremely rare books like “Escape from Tenopia Island” and the other 3 books in the series. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-buy-used-books-on-amazon-com/177656/9 "2003-05-27T03:13:06Z")
I got all registered, picked out some books, tried to check out, and THEN they told me they don’t ship to Canada. Boo. Hiss. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-buy-used-books-on-amazon-com/177656/10 "2003-05-27T03:58:33Z")
I bought one book that way so far, and I’ll certainly do more when the occasion arises. I’m a satisfied customer. ---
**Author:** ![Arden\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@Arden\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arden_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-buy-used-books-on-amazon-com/177656/11 "2003-05-27T04:00:05Z")
I buy and sell used books on Amazon and have only had one seller who wasn’t as good as his word. We also buy a lot of Playstation games for the kid on there. ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-buy-used-books-on-amazon-com/177656/12 "2003-05-27T07:07:52Z")
**Cat Fight** , maybe you could try Barnes & Noble ([www.bn.com](http://www.bn.com)). I recently bought used books which were shipped to Europe. B&N acts as a kind of mediator, so you are relying on the actual bookshop owner, but the books got here allright. I find this a great way to get books that are hard to get. Sometimes I use it for cheap deals, but because of higher shipping rates to Europe it is usually not worthwhile. It was different when Amazon and B & N did package the used books in with the new ones. ---
**Author:** ![Dragonblink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Dragonblink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragonblink)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-buy-used-books-on-amazon-com/177656/13 "2003-05-27T07:23:23Z")
You might also try www.amazon.ca – it’s one of their newer sites, so it may not be as full featured as .fr, .de, .co.uk and .com though. ---
**Author:** ![lauramarlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a5b964/32.png) [@lauramarlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lauramarlane)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-buy-used-books-on-amazon-com/177656/14 "2003-05-27T12:47:10Z")
I’ve had great luck finding out of print titles through amazon. I’d gotten some great cook books at the library–so great I wanted my own copies and when I found them through a used book store I ordered them. The titles I got look brand new and were very cheap. I check amazon and barnes and noble for this kind of thing frequently. ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-buy-used-books-on-amazon-com/177656/15 "2003-05-27T14:59:56Z")
I have picked up pretty much the entire Disk World series by Pratchett on e-bay. Even with shipping they were cheaper than retail and while obviously used were in fine shape to read. I have also found a few gems that are no longer in print that I have snatched up cheap. ---
**Author:** ![bob2\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bob2\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob2_2)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-buy-used-books-on-amazon-com/177656/16 "2003-05-27T15:46:07Z")
**Cat Fight** i use [www.powells.com](http://www.powells.com) all the time to used books in canada. I actually found them on amazon resellers and looked them up. over 50$US its free shipping in US and Canada, and their selectiona nd prices are great. I highly recommend them for used book shopping for anyone. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-buy-used-books-on-amazon-com/177656/17 "2003-05-27T16:47:56Z")
I buy used textbooks from [amazon.com](http://amazon.com) in the off season, they are way cheap. But as soon as school starts, the price rises. ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-buy-used-books-on-amazon-com/177656/18 "2003-05-27T17:46:16Z")
I’m expecting delivery of a used book from Amazon Marketplace right now! I’ve probably bought 5-6 different times that way, and have always had reliable service. And the condition has also always been as described. I say go for it. ---
**Author:** ![Gr8Kat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gr8kat/32/18668_2.png) [@Gr8Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gr8Kat)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-buy-used-books-on-amazon-com/177656/19 "2003-05-27T18:13:37Z")
I’ve bought used books off Amazon, too, and I must say I was satisfied with the results. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-buy-used-books-on-amazon-com/177656/20 "2003-05-27T18:20:21Z")
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