The internet has opened up new worlds for readers and collectors of used books. I have been buying and selling used books online since the internet began and have been satisfied overall with my online purchases. There are several things you need to consider, however, before purchasing books online and price is only one of them. Everyone, of course, wants to buy their books at the lowest price possible, and I am no exception. But a low priced book is not worth buying if the cost of shipping is high, the condition of the book is poor or the bookseller is unreliable.

Before buying, do some comparison shopping. You can do this by searching for titles you are interested in at bookfinder.com or addall.com. Bookfinder.com and addall.com are meta search engines that check amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, alibris.com, abebooks.com, biblio.com, choosebooks.com, half.com, ebay.com and a whole host of other sites and return lists of available copies and the booksellers you can purchase them from.

The first thing I look at is price. Then I look at condition. I generally do not want to purchase a book unless it is in very good condition or better. You might settle for less or demand higher quality, but either way you need to read carefully the description of the book's condition.

After I find the lowest priced copy in very good condition, I look for the shipping price. If the shipping price is high, I then check the next lowest priced copy in very good condition. Once I have found a copy with low or free shipping, I look at the bookseller's rating and feedback. If he has less than four stars or a lot of negative feedback, I go on to the next copy.

When I finally find a reputable dealer, I read his or her fine print. I particularly am interested in a dealer's return policy. I don't purchase from dealers who have very restrictive return policies.

Most of my online book purchases have been positive experiences, but I have had a few negative ones. On a few occasions I have received books in the mail that were wrapped improperly and were damaged in transit. One was so bad, I had to return it. The dealer refunded my money but did not refund the cost of returning the book.

For new books, I always use amazon.com. Their prices and customer service are great. I always use their free shipping option, and the books still arrive quickly. I use my amazon.com credit card to purchase from them because I earn gift cards for using it. So far I have gotten nearly $300 in free books from amazon.com by using my amazon card.

For used books, I have found that abebooks.com and alibris.com to be very reliable. Only booksellers are allowed to sell on these sites so you are buying from a professional not just someone picking up books at garage sales and selling them on the side. If you do have a bad experience, abebooks.com and alibris.com will arrange for you to get a refund from the dealer you bought the book from.

Sometimes a dealer makes a genuine error. In that case, I forgive and forget. But if I buy from a dealer who refuses to refund my money when the error was his, I don't forget. I keep track of booksellers that I have had a bad experience with. Bad experiences are rare, however, in the online book trade because most booksellers are like their customers-people who love books and people of integrity.

Shopping online is really no different than shopping in stores. You have to spend some time in comparison shopping and checking out the quality of the seller and his or her product. If you do that, you won't be disappointed.

Learn more about this author, Dan Weaver.
Click here to send author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about Tips for buying used books online?
We want to hear your view. Write now!