I have been a fan of the website Thriftbooks.com for at least three years (according to my order history, anyway). I had used some other used book websites in the past - alibris.com, abebooks, even Amazon - but Thriftbooks drew me in for at least two reasons: A purchase of $15 came with free shipping and after a certain number of purchases, one began to acquire a $5 to $7 credit to get a free book.
Given that I like to buy books, this made for a pretty convenient arrangement.
I had not really paid much attention when I ordered, other than checking to see that I met the threshold, until I went to make an order recently. The shipping cost had gone up - not surprising, given the state of the world, and hardly anything to worry about (they ship book rate, so I presume it reflects the going cost). What did surprise me was that the free shipping threshold had leapt up from $15 to $20 per purchase. And, somehow, my relatively low amount to keep my "get your $7 credit status through 2027" had mysteriously leapt up from $1 to $71.
An bit of an increase in shipping is manageable. A 33% increase in the amount it takes to get free shipping seems a bit less manageable. And while it is fair to say that there is every reason to believe I could spend $71 on books between now and the end of the year, increasing it that much on what feels a like an unexplained whim is actually a little embittering - all the more so because I know the price they buy books back at (the mark up is pretty spectacular).
It has certainly given me pause (although to be fair, my book buying in general seems to be trailing off somewhat simply because I am running out of space).
I had not anticipated the general economic situation to impact my used book habit. But it seems that nothing is immune from a world of rising costs.
But TB inflation is at 3.8%, it's under control....no need to worry right? The Department of Labor does their dance when they release the monthly figures under the various headings while we get to contemplate a quickly emptying wallet.
ReplyDeleteNylon12 - One thing I have clearly never understood is how inflation as reported does not see to match inflation as experienced by the consumer. Prices of everything I seem to be buying seem far above a 3.8% increase.
DeleteI've really slowed down on purchasing books since I got involved with our local used book sale fundraiser. As a perk of helping set up and take down, I am allowed to pick out some choice books before we let the crowds in. All books sell for a single dollar each so I usually get about $20 worth and that lasts me most of the year with a couple supplemental purchases of current books I am really interested in. Last year, we raised nearly $30,000 which gives you a sense of how many books I carry down from our upstairs storage to the sell floor.
ReplyDeleteEd, that is amazing.
DeleteOur local library has regular book sales. I guess I have little hope that they will have something to cover my eclectic and/or specialized reading list, but I should probably avail myself of the opportunity.
Even thrift stores aren't immune, and that puzzles me because they receive their inventory from donations.
ReplyDeleteI made my first order from Thrift Books the other day, under the $20 shipping threshold. I usually prefer worldofbooks.com, another online used book seller, except they didn't have what I was looking for. They still have the $15 minimum for free shipping (wonder how long that will last!) but the main reason I like them is because they have a lot of books in their "buy 3 get one free" category. So I can get a free book with every purchase rather than having to save up points.
Leigh - worldofbooks.com, you say? (Quickly goes out to do research....). I will definitely keep them in mind.
DeleteI will say that their website is set up a great deal similarly to Thriftbooks.
I often compare prices on the two, but usually go with worldofbooks because of the freebie. Since they both specialize in used books, prices can vary depending on the stock they have.
DeleteComparison shopping. I do not think to do that as I probably should.
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