Amy M Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Could you all give me some tips on websites you like to purchase your used books from? I know of this forum's for sale board, Homeschool Classifieds website, and MFW's Yahoo group for MFW's curriculum. I'm mainly looking for sites that sell reading books (book basket books--like Sonlight or TOG or MFW readers) right now, but sites that sell actual curricula are great too. I'm hoping to find sites that sell books cheaper than $4 a book, which is about the cheapest you'll get on Amazon for an "acceptable" or "good" quality used book. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Check Better World Books. They always have free shipping worldwide, many books under $4, donate a book to literacy efforts when you purchase a book, and usually have extra deals on, I believe, the 3rd Thursday of each month. http://www.betterworldbooks.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shernandez Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Definitely Better World Books!!!! They sell some curriculum items as well as regular books for very good prices. Can be hit or miss, but good to check out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in MS Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 (edited) Check yard sales and thrift stores. You can often find good books for 10 cents or a quarter. Abebooks is another online option, but like Marketplace you will have that hefty shipping. There are dealers that sell on Vegsource. You can get deals if you are buying more than one book, because going back to that shipping problem if you buy just one. The main issue that I have run across with those particular dealers is that what they would consider good, I would consider fair. There is ebay and it is a shot in the dark, but usually for 1 book you will be looking at $4. It would be nice if you could find someone selling a whole set (book basket, emerging reader, girls interest, core readers etc, for different units) you may be interested in. I occasionally see someone selling book sets at homeschoolreviews . I just go to the thrift store almost every single time I go shopping. It only takes a few minutes and I look for books I know we will be using in the next year or two. Saves me a LOT of money. Keep a list in your purse. The problem you are looking at by buying paperbacks online is that when a seller gets through paying shipping, listing fees, paypal fees and shipping supplies s/he can end up paying to sell! I've been there. When it comes to paper backs of small value, unless I have a set to sell, I will give them away to my local library before selling them online. Edited July 23, 2012 by Susie in MS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvaleri Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 http://www.vegsource.com/homeschool has sale/swap boards divided by grade level. Been around for years. Smiles, Teresa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammi Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Try directtextbook.com for books or curriculum books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stingyhag Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Thriftbooks.com is another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy M Posted July 23, 2012 Author Share Posted July 23, 2012 Thanks! This is helpful! I would LOVE to take advantage of the US's wonderful thrift stores and yard sales, but I'm in Africa. However, I'm trying to instruct my mother on what to look for, so she can buy some for me, but I can't put all my lists in her brain. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heliconian Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Sometimes Ebay has nice lots, that include several books you might be looking for at the same time. This is the only way I find ebay to be worthwhile. I agree with all the Better World Books posts. There is also a yahoo group called TheHomeschoolMomUsedCurriculum that has a huge volume of listings and a decent search function, as well as shipping discounts for more than one item. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MUJLBE Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 I use AddALL which searches a lot of used book sites: http://www.addall.com/ Susan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomandlorih Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 I use AddALL which searches a lot of used book sites: http://www.addall.com/ Susan :iagree: http://www.abebooks.com does too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kye022984 Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Check yard sales and thrift stores. You can often find good books for 10 cents or a quarter. Abebooks is another online option, but like Marketplace you will have that hefty shipping. There are dealers that sell on Vegsource. You can get deals if you are buying more than one book, because going back to that shipping problem if you buy just one. The main issue that I have run across with those particular dealers is that what they would consider good, I would consider fair. There is ebay and it is a shot in the dark, but usually for 1 book you will be looking at $4. It would be nice if you could find someone selling a whole set (book basket, emerging reader, girls interest, core readers etc, for different units) you may be interested in. I occasionally see someone selling book sets at homeschoolreviews . I just go to the thrift store almost every single time I go shopping. It only takes a few minutes and I look for books I know we will be using in the next year or two. Saves me a LOT of money. Keep a list in your purse. The problem you are looking at by buying paperbacks online is that when a seller gets through paying shipping, listing fees, paypal fees and shipping supplies s/he can end up paying to sell! I've been there. When it comes to paper backs of small value, unless I have a set to sell, I will give them away to my local library before selling them online. There's usually an option for free shipping on the books on Abebooks.com That's where I've been buying all of my books and been saving lots of money. I tried half.com and alibris.com but, yeah, heavy duty shipping cost :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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