# Does anyone buy used books on amazon.com

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-buy-used-books-on-amazon-com/177656>\
**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:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-buy-used-books-on-amazon-com/177656/21 "2003-05-27T18:27:48Z")

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I do on a regular basis. I’m awaiting two deliveries of used books from Amazon Marketplace as we speak… er, write.

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**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, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-buy-used-books-on-amazon-com/177656/22 "2003-05-27T18:57:57Z")

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Just got my delivery!

I ordered _Reversible Errors_ by Scott Turow. Hardcover. $3.99 - hell, shipping was about the same price, so I got a hardcover novel for about 7 bucks.

And since the retailer was in the same city, I got delivery in basically 2-3 mail delivery days. And it’s in frickin’ EXCELLENT condition.

I would hesitate, however, to buy from someone with little to no history…

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**Author:** ![Threadkiller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aca169/32.png) [@Threadkiller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Threadkiller)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-buy-used-books-on-amazon-com/177656/23 "2003-05-27T19:17:07Z")

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I have found that, in general, the prices are 50-100% higher on Amazon than from a local used book shop. Of course finding something specific in a used book shop can be an adventure. But you can access the actual quality prior to the purchase and don’t have to wait for shipping.

My strategy is to look in the few shops around here and then look on line.

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