How to buy & send an English book within Chile, but pay from the U.S.?

November 12, 2008 7:47 PM

How to send an English book to Santiago, Chile, from within Chile, but paid for from the U.S.?

I have a friend who's studying abroad in Chile, and I'd like to buy her a book for reading during flights / bus rides / etc. Where, or how, might I be able to buy a good, English-language, fiction book from within Chile (to cut down on shipping time and costs), that I can pay for via credit card or PayPal from the U.S.?

I have in mind People of Sparks, though any good, easy-reading fiction would do, but Amazon.com's international shipping costs too much and takes too long (she'll only be with her host family for another two weeks).

Suggestions? Ideas?

posted by ElfWord to travel & transportation (2 comments total)

Difficult question. I in no way think this is impossible, but going about it may be difficult. In Chile online purchases arent too common, credit card purchases and shipping too are a little less so than in the US, I wouldnt expect every bookstore to offer that....much less have a website where you could even figure out if thats possible. Keep in mind everything is less urgent too, you'll want to make sure it gets there in time and that the store plans to mail it soon.

I would probably suggest, if the online order doesnt work, contacting a friend of her's in her program and having them go pick out a book for her (give them a list... big list. selection will be limited) and delivering it. They'd probably be willing to figure out how to receive online payment from you (paypal, deposit, skype credit, etc) and you could chip in a few bucks for the trouble instead of paying shipping. Theres probably a lot less that could go wrong and if it did you would know about it and have the opportunity to tell them what to do instead.

I included a small list of bookstores that I have received recommendations for in Santiago that carry English books. There are more, but this is all I know, you'll have to google for emails and to see if they have websites, do mailings, etc.

Libreria Antarctica in Parque Arauco mall and others
-----
Que Leo
------
Contek
*NEW "CONTEK" ENGLISH BOOK STORE OPENS IN NUÑOA

*(June 18, 2007) New and second-hand English language books at discount
prices are now available for Santiago's growing number of English language
readers.

A new English language bookstore is owned by Contek, a company that has been
importing new and secondhand books to Chile for the past four years.
"We decided to open a store for the general public because we sense that
there's really a market for this in Santiago," said company spokesman Raul
del Campo.

"We have about 20,000 different titles available in our showroom. These
include literary classics, best sellers, children's books, grammar books and
a wide range of other book varieties. All our material has been carefully
selected and discounts range from 50 to 75 percent, as compared to the
prices found in most downtown book stores."

The bookstore is in the borough of Nuñoa, at Antonio Secchi 036, near the
intersection of Vicuña Mackenna and Avenida Matta. This is about two blocks
from the Irarrazabal Metro Station. For more information, drop in for a
visit, or call 724-0229.
------
Libreria Inglesa bookstores on Pedro de
Valdivia 47, and Vitacura 5950
posted by nzydarkxj at 6:53 AM on November 13, 2008

Not a lot of English bookstores around here, don't think any of them allow you to shop/send online.
Personally, I use Amazon.com (US) when I want to have English books sent here.
posted by signal at 8:06 PM on November 24, 2008