30 new of 67 responses total.
One problem with Amazon.com is that I know they list books which are out of print and completely unavailable, and which they never have and never will stock. Plenty of real bookstores can special order books, which is all Amazon does for the vast majority of titles. In addition, a bookstore with a defined subject area will stock specialty titles and buy remaindered books about to disappear from general circulation of special interest to their clients. All of which provides specific sources for specific types of books, which Amazon.com doesn't do and will never do. If you have a specific topic of ongoing interest to you, it is in your own interest to find a book dealer who supports that topic in depth and in turn support them.
I ordered a book from amazon.com, and they came back after a bit and told me the price had increased. This fits with what Mike says above, since they can't keep updating prices for the enormous numbers of books they just list but don't have in stock. I felt like it was false advertising, but I don't think I have any recourse to get the originally listed price. However I have gotten remaindered books from them for lower prices than I could find elsewhere (until someone mentioned they had found a title I wanted at some book warehouse, for a lower price than I had paid amazon.com). What I do is search a whole slew of online book vendors for best prices. I'd only have a vendor do a search for me, however, if it was a must-have out of print book.
I go to Little Professor. If they don't have it, or cannot get it, it can't be gotten. I have never been disappointed.
"it can't be gotten" is too strong. No bookstores can have total access to every existing book source.
Maybe that is a little too strong. Still....
I'm sure this is heresy in a bookstore item but I find that if I want it and it's hard to find it's usually easiest to get it from the library on an inter-library loan. Somebody, *somewhere* is going to have it and libraries are amazingly good at finding it and getting it for you (and charge you far less, I suspect, than what it costs them to do so..) It's unusual that a book turns out to be one that I just *have* to own unless it's a reference book of some sort or some textbook or technical manual that I must consult frequently.
Libraries aren't bad news for book sellers. They, too, buy their books after all. I can think of many titles that are supported greatly by institutional buying of libraries. To get favorably reviewed in one of the major library journals is a stroke of good fortune for a book, not the kiss of death. Most book authors/publishers would be extremely happy to be widely circulated among libraries. Many will never see the inside of a Borders or Barnes and Noble unless they are shopping for the mass market titles of others. I would say that the existence of public libraries has led to my purchase of more books than bookstores alone ever would have. By the way, if you are going to publish a book you wish to be considered by a library journal, the major publications require that a review copy be in hand several months *before* the stated date of publication.
Libraries, however, *are* in a sort of competition with book retailers and since this is the bookstore item..
I may have been taking a somewhat wider view in suggesting that libraries supplement and even support book retailers. I was also taking a very practical view, as I am a book retailer. Our very small company also does some limited distribution & wholesaling, and right now we are trying to interest libraries in a very worthwhile title that we have given as wide exposure as possible within its (and our) niche, but would love to see in libraries.
An interesting footnote about amazon.com: They just contacted us in search of a title, which they bought from us for $15.00 & shipping. They paid the normal retail price because the book is out of print and not one which we wholesale. They also paid for the phone calls and employee time to track us down. I assume whoever took Amazon's bait will end up paying substantially more than we have the book available for, and still hasn't found a book dealer with the inventory they are in search of, however many zillions of titles amazon claims. I also assume that amazon will lose on the deal. We're fairly easy to find on the internet, in spite of being extremely small because we are so specialized, i.e. reasonably easy to search for by topics of interest (caves & bats).
Is Mike Warner the only other person still in this conference? I wanted to rhapsodize about Dawn Treader Books, but no one will read it, apparently.
"here"... :)
I'm here too. Please feel free to rhapsodize -- I always enjoy stopping in at Dawn Treader, never knowing what treasure I will find.
I've probably purchased more books from the West Side Bookshop than from any other local used bookstore. Recently, though, my purchases through the web (where one can search enormous inventories by subject, title, etc) have exceeded those from shops. Shops should put their inventory on their own computer, for customer use, though many of them are listing their inventories with web sites like ABE.
What's the URL of ABE, and what are some other good URL's for finding used books?
http://www.abebooks.com/ http://www.outdoorbooks.com/obbargai.htm http://www.bibliofind.com/ http://www.fishnet.net/~sandcat/misc.htm http://hamiltonbook.com/ http://www.interloc.com/ http://www.outdoorbooks.com/bargain.htm
Thanks much!
Has anyone read Glen Cook's 'Black Company' books, or 'Garrett, P.I.' books. I keep hoping that there is one I missed.
Hmm...I was just copying URLs from my bookmark file, in #53, and didn't notice the duplication....will have to clean that up.
try www.mxbf.com as well. It is a sort of "super book search" that combs several databases in a single go. I have had the best results on bibliofind overall.
Instead of entering a new item, I'll re-activate this one... So what's new on the bookstore scene? With a Borders now at Arborland, is the one downtown still there? I'm assuming it is. I still don't like the newer Borders as well as the original one on State St... [but Border's does have a better magazine selection than many other places I've been to]. Are there still a lot of independent bookstores in the area and how have the bigger stores affected them? [ie, B&N, Borders...]. One independent store that I really liked is on 9th Street in Durham near the Duke campus. It's a bit eclectic and fun as well [and they frequently would have authors come in and do readings for the public]. Do any of the bookstores in this area do that?
Out here we have the normals: Barnes & Noble and Borders. We also have a smaller independent, Changing Hands in Tempe, that gets all the great signings (Jimmy Carter was there recently). But my two favorites are Bookman's and Half-Priced Books. Both are used book/media stores and I always walk out with steals. I love them.
resp:58 The downtown Ann Arbor Borders store is still open. I like to go there to sit in the cafe because it has such a great view of Liberty Street. I also get a really good employee discount there. There are a number of decent independent bookstores in downtown Ann Arbor. There are none really in Ypsilanti which I think is strange. I mean people in Ypsilanti read! Of course, it is a 10 minute drive to Arborland so it isnt like Ypsilantians are suffering all *that* much. Plus there are a couple of good used book stores in Ypsilanti and a wonderful library.
I still like to browse the Borders downtown store in Ann Arbor, but I've noticed that lately they're devoting significantly less space to books and more to peripheral stuff like greeting cards and stationery. Re independent book stores: I'm partial to Shaman Drum on State Street, but only when I'm a "serious" mood, since their focus is scholarly - no mystery or scifi departments, for instance. But for literature and the humanities and interesting "little" magazines, they're quite good. Another place I like to browse is Vault of Midnight on Main Street. It's a comic book with some really nice selection. What are some of the other independent bookstores in the Ann Arbor area (or anywhere else) that people like?
You missed Nichola's and that mystery place on South Fourth. Both are owned by local folks, who give at least as fast service as Borders and Barnes and Noble, and who remember your name as well.
The mystery place is Aunt Agatha's, I believe. Being something of a mystery addict, I like to browse there too. Nicola's is nice, although since I no longer live in the neighborhood, I don't get there often. There used to be a Nicola's conveniently located on the north side of town, but it closed a few years ago.
Let's see . . . Nicola's, Shaman Drum and Aunt Agatha's have been mentioned. I think that pretty much covers the new-book sceee. Nicola's and Shaman Drum have signings, etc. There are also some good used-book stores, in addition to the collectors' sources. I think Afterwords closed, but that might be because I've not looked for it recently. The Dawn Treader should still be doing well.
Afterwords closed; the space is now occupied by the comic book store Vault of Midnight.
As I was driving down Main St the other day, I noticed that Afterwards wasn't there anymore. I was recently over at Westgate but didn't get a chance to check out Nicola's. Eventually I will...
Yeah, I have a friend who worked at Afterwords. Even after she got a "real job" somewhere else, she still worked a few shifts a week at the bookstore because she loved it so much. she was heart broken when they decided to close.
You have several choices: