Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Online and books

buying used books on Amazon vs eBay

pleasebekind — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 20:22:43 -0800

First time buying used books via Amazon. Is the process the same as that of eBay's? I always find and buy used books via eBay because they offer PayPal. Recently though I've discovered that some of the sellers on eBay are also on Amazon, and I've spent the better half of this week going through my list of books and comparing the prices. Some questions:

1. A book is offered at $0.99 at Amazon vs $1.99 at eBay by the same seller. Should I go buy from Amazon then if that is the case? (Most books in my list have this scenario)

2. Most likely they would not combine shipping, no? So really each book would actually cost around $4+. Is it futile to ask the sellers if they would give a discount for shipping? (I am planning to buy around 3-5 books per seller).

3. I have never tried buying via the used books section of Amazon. Would it be just like buying new books — you go to checkout and pay (by credit card)? What if am buying several used books from one seller? Do you suggest I contact the seller first and express my intent?

4. What if I am buying from several sellers? Should I just buy them by chunks — for example, Seller 1 first where I'm buying 3 books, then checkout, then just repeat the process for each seller?

5. I plan to buy books with specific book covers and editions. Should I trust that the photo + info displayed is accurate in Amazon? I am asking because with eBay I really do get to see the info corresponding to the actual book I'm buying...and I am overwhelmed at the thought of having to contact each seller in Amazon to confirm the details (though would do it if really needed).

6. If I want the seller to deliver the books to a different address, should I edit my own account to reflect that or just talk to the seller about it?

7. Any other advice you can give me on how to make this process easier/smarter?

Thanks!

Harry Potter and the Lack of Web-Books.

DisreputableDog — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 11:09:17 -0800

Copy of the Deathly Hallows? I can't seem to find a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for my Kindle through Amazon, and don't know if my Kindle can read other "digital books" well. I'm also willing to read it on my computer, rather than my Kindle. Please help me Hivemind! I just watched the movie and I'd really, really, really like the book.

What's a good tech/computer book swapping site?

kjhosein — Thu, 27 May 2010 13:25:34 -0800

Is there another online book swapping service (like Paperbackswap or Bookmooch) that is better/best for tech/computer books? I've been using PBS for about 3 or 4 months now, but so far am very far away from getting any computer/tech reference books, even ones that were published years ago.

I'm wondering if any folks out there have a favorite swap site that actually gets them books within a few weeks?

Of course, the answer to this question may just be "Nope", and that tech geeks like to hang onto their books. I know I do, but I thought it was just because I was a pack rat!

Lookin' for words in all the wrong places

Madamina — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:53:09 -0800

Between my iPhone's Stanza app and the loooooong quiet days ahead of me in the office during the holiday season, I'd like to read some stuff online. Any suggestions? I'm basically looking for good stories: things with a bit of a narrative that will keep me wondering what happens next. They should be easy to get into and not particularly deep (I will likely be interrupted a lot).

Nonfiction: longer articles with a bit of a twist, like New Yorker or Vanity Fair pieces about interesting people or events. Not commentary (unless it has some sort of unique backstory).

Fiction I've already enjoyed on Project Gutenberg: anything by the Brontes and L.M. Montgomery. I've also read pretty much everything that appeals to me (thus far) in the Harlequin online reads library, although I don't generally read paper romance novels.

I've seen this thread and this one too.

Thanks!

Beyond Goodreads.com?

toomuchkatherine — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 11:23:03 -0800

What are your favorite places to read about and talk about books online? Bibliophile hearts Goodreads.com but seeks a world beyond... Are there any online book clubs that are good (my searches return a lot of results, but I can't tell at a glance what's worth exploring)? What are the book review blogs of record?

Can you rent/borrow books online anywhere?

slavlin — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:32:10 -0800

We have Netflix and Gamefly. I want to know if there is a Netbooks or Bookfly equivalent? I love books. I have way too many books. I like libraries, but they never have what I want when I want to read it. Is there a book based service like Netflix or Gamefly? I know it would be more expensive, as books are heavier, but I would like to check out whatever is out there.

Filmmaker training, online?

pseudostrabismus — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 22:59:19 -0800

Suggest online or DVD resources for a new filmmaker to learn about lenses, film formats, shot composition, camera moves, dialogue staging, and other aspects of cinematography & directing? I'd like to get good at directing film, and learning how to do this using books seems old-fashioned.

I want so see examples of shots using different lenses, film formats, compositions, camera moves, camera angles, etc. I've read Film Directing Shot-by-Shot, which is pretty good, but I think that seeing this stuff as a moving visual would be even better.

Is there a website with video tutorials? Or a DVD course somewhere out there?
Other resources I should think about? And I'm open to more book suggestions, too.

Thanks in advance!

How to order a book for a friend in Switzerland

ManInSuit — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 10:23:55 -0800

How to order a book for a friend in Switzerland I want to order a book online to send to a friend in Switzerland as a gift. It's not a particularly hard-to-find book or anything. She's in Geneva, I'm in Toronto.

Rather than buy the book here and ship it, it seems to make sense to order it do somewhere that ships from Switzerland (or nearby). Is that right? Can anyone recommend a good site?

(I looked at amazon.de, which seems possibly a good choice, but apparently the Germans have their own language, which made the site hard to understand...)

Anyone have suggestions?

I want to track books I've read and books I want to read.

CwgrlUp — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 14:58:06 -0800

Where can I keep track, online, of my current list of books read/owned and books I want to read? I'm a sci-fi/fantasy reader and I run into problems remembering where I am at in a series, especially since I use the public library whenever possible. But they usually only have the first couple books of a series and I end up needing to track down the rest. So I end up with handfuls of post-its with names of books I want to read all over the house.

I've googled my face off, on AskMe and google itself but I can't seem to find a good site for this. I would prefer something free and online. I want to keep track of books I've read/own and a list of books I want to read. Together if possible.

Save me, avid readers of MeFi! I'll be forever grateful.

Hook a nook to look at books!

sprocket87 — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 10:25:54 -0800

Need suggestions for an online collaboration tool for managing a reading list between friends. A friend and I are starting a joint reading list for 2008. We're each picking a number of books across different genres and styles. We're trying to branch out, and we're hoping we can help motivate each other to read more. We'd like to discuss and review what we're reading as well.

This is an online (not local) friend, so we won't be meeting at coffeeshops, etc. So I'd like to figure out the best way to discuss and review our list online. I want to find a central place to go online for us to collaborate on our efforts and discuss them.

This is sort of open-ended, I'm just taking suggestions on how you'd do this. I know there is a nice LiveJournal group for readers (50bookchallenge), but I don't know that LJ is the best way to go about this. For that matter, his work firewall blocks LJ so he couldn't keep tabs during the day.

Ideas that would be nice to incorporate:
- Online calendar/schedule outlining what to read when
- Update total pages read
- Update total books read
- Comment on sections/chapters/books (discussion)
- Rate books

As of now it's just the two of us but there's a chance this could grow if a few more friends want to join up, so whatever solution we come up with needs to be somewhat flexible to allow for more users (an email chain, for example, is not optimal).

I have hosted webspace so adding some sort of CMS/hosted app is not out of the question, if it matters.

So yeah... with all the forums, blogs, CMS, and social networks out there, I figure there's gotta be something that will fill this niche. I'm open to any and all suggestions, not only to what type(s) of services to use but if you have any ideas about how to make this project even more fun.

Daily reading

leigh1 — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 04:19:02 -0800

I want to send to few people (myself included) few pages from a book of my choice, every working day, so we could for example, read complete "Catcher in a Rye" in a month or so. Does anyone know some online service that I could use for such purpose? I found only "Chapter-a-day" services, but I want to use book of my choice.

Online book shopping from Australia

jedro — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 02:47:31 -0800

Can anybody suggest a cheap online bookstore for Australians? Amazon has cheap prices on books, but the shipping costs negate some of these savings. I know of cheap CD/DVD online stores that offer free worldwide shipping, but not book stores.

Bluerectangle.com like sites?

gregoryc — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 14:58:27 -0800

Are there other sites out there like bluerectangle.com? I'm selling some old law school books (and a few others) and stumbled across this site. I entered all my ISBNs and they offered me 140 bucks for about half of them, shipping paid by them. This seems like a pretty good deal for these books. Are there any other sites like this out there? Or is ebay and/or craigslist my only other options?

LaLa for books?

dpx.mfx — Sat, 01 Apr 2006 11:24:45 -0800

Has anyone had good experience with book swapping sites? I've got lots of books to trade, and rather than sell them, I'd like to trade them for other books I want. Internet serach shows several, but it's difficult to tell what sort of experience people are having. If there's a great one, I'd love to hear about it!

Book Discussion Via Email

xmutex — Wed, 06 Oct 2004 10:09:49 -0800

Book discussion mailing list? I want to find a mailing list that discusses books. I'm not comfortable with like in-person reading groups because I am afraid of other people. They are weird, you know? I also like the intimacy of mailing lists as opposed to like bulletin boards. Anyone?