Places to buy books online that don’t rhyme with “glamazon”

August 2, 2023 12:38 PM

I remember finding an online bookstore a few years ago that had good prices and a good selection. I don’t believe it was Abe books. I realize this is quite vague but even if I don’t find that specific online shop I’m still looking for an alternative to Sauron’s shop.
posted by bunderful to Shopping (31 answers total)

Bookshop.org ?
posted by potrzebie at 12:41 PM on August 2, 2023 [9 favorites]

Abe is owned by Amazon, so...

Thrift Books for used, and Bookshop.org for new.
posted by COD at 12:42 PM on August 2, 2023 [6 favorites]

If you think it might have been Abebooks, then it might also have been Alibris. Both of those are places to source used and out of print books, but also have new books at discount prices. But yes, Bookshop.org is the best place for new and recent books if you want to thumb your nose at Amazon but can't go directly to an indie bookstore.
posted by babelfish at 12:45 PM on August 2, 2023 [2 favorites]

If it was the Book Depository, sadly that is gone.
posted by BibiRose at 12:49 PM on August 2, 2023

Better World Books?
posted by sacrifix at 12:49 PM on August 2, 2023 [8 favorites]

While not a direct answer to your question, BookFinder searches a lot of sources and if you search for something (anything), among the results might be something that jogs your memory?
posted by StrawberryPie at 1:02 PM on August 2, 2023 [1 favorite]

My local SF bookshop recommends Hive for stuff they don't have.
posted by offog at 1:03 PM on August 2, 2023

Powells in Portland.
posted by tipsyBumblebee at 1:06 PM on August 2, 2023 [9 favorites]

Bookoutlet is an option for remaindered books.
posted by wsquared at 1:06 PM on August 2, 2023

Powell's is a good source for new, used and rare books, if you've got the patience to sort out their somewhat idiosyncratic interface. I find it's worth it for used and rare books, but I got to bookshop.org for new ones.
posted by EvaDestruction at 1:10 PM on August 2, 2023 [2 favorites]

I'm not sure what its "evilness" rating is, but Half Price Books can be another good source for used books.
posted by jferg at 1:12 PM on August 2, 2023 [2 favorites]

AddALL is an online aggregator for brick-and-mortar bookstores, and I believe it is not currently owned by Amazon (unlike Abe Books and the Book Depository, RIP).
posted by heatherlogan at 1:25 PM on August 2, 2023 [1 favorite]

What's great about Powells is that they list different editions, both new and used, of their books, so it makes it a bit easier to find their least expensive copy of something. They won't be as cheap as the evil empire for the latest releases, though they sometimes run specials, and also have great lists of recommended titles.
posted by bluedaisy at 1:50 PM on August 2, 2023 [1 favorite]

Seconding Bookfinder! It shows you the prices at multiple resellers so you can compare and see how much more you are paying to avoid az. It is pretty much always worth it to pay extra. However, sometimes you will find a copy being sold by a third party on Amazon or Abe is the only reasonably priced one and the others have been driven up by bot price wars.
posted by soelo at 1:51 PM on August 2, 2023

Bookshop.org, or find independent bookstores like Powells, The Last Bookstore, Nowhere, etc, to order books from directly! They won't be as cheap as Amazon, but the extra dollar or two is worth it for me.
posted by erst at 2:10 PM on August 2, 2023

I've been ordering a lot of books direct from publishers - mostly small music & art books that are smaller scale operations, but I found that you can even order direct from, for example, Penguin/Random House.
For example:
Uniform Books
Penguin
Transit Books
Some publication houses have diverted my orders through bookshop.org or wordery.com (for UK books)

I realize buying direct is only useful if you are hunting for a specific book and know the publisher - easy enough to find out, but not always the most convenient route.
posted by niicholas at 2:24 PM on August 2, 2023

There's The Strand, in NYC, but their search doohickey suuuuuuuuuucks even more than Powell's.
posted by scratch at 2:30 PM on August 2, 2023

If "very large private bookstore chain" is a suitable option, Barnes and Noble still exists and has had a resurgence recently as the supposedly less-evil alternative to shmamazon.
posted by hovey at 3:12 PM on August 2, 2023

You could also investigate Scribd or Humble Bundle Books or Archive.org's Book Collection.
posted by forthright at 3:21 PM on August 2, 2023 [2 favorites]

Biblio.com is another option and they also sell to the UK and Aus.

Bookfinder is owned by Amazon and they tend to heavily favour Abe Books also owned by Amazon.
posted by Lanark at 3:23 PM on August 2, 2023

I use Powell’s or I shop Pegasus Books (in Berkeley/Oakland) online - they were my local used/new spot for a long time, so it’s nice to keep supporting them. Bookshop.org has worked fine too, I just tend to look elsewhere first.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 3:41 PM on August 2, 2023 [1 favorite]

In my experience, local independent bookstores are generally happy to special order whatever you want
posted by Jacqueline at 4:24 PM on August 2, 2023 [5 favorites]

Wordery.com is based in the UK but offers free worldwide shipping on every order regardless of size.
posted by Hogshead at 5:40 AM on August 3, 2023

Indiebound will link you to the independent bookstore closest to you *or* will let you just order.
posted by joannemerriam at 7:24 AM on August 3, 2023

A note about Powell's: The employees just voted this week to authorize a strike.
posted by ursus_comiter at 9:53 AM on August 3, 2023 [1 favorite]

Maybe Daedalus Books? They sell a wide selection of books they bought from bookstores when they didn't sell or someone said they should no longer be stocked, etc.

Note though, they got bought by another catalog retailer and you may start getting catalogs from their "sister sites" Acorn, Signals, Bas Bleu, What on Earth, and Support Plus (the current list, anyway).
posted by TimHare at 11:18 AM on August 3, 2023

There's The Strand, in NYC, but their search doohickey suuuuuuuuuucks even more than Powell's.

And while they may be marginally less evil than Bezos, it's not a good situation and they're anti union
posted by TravellingCari at 11:25 AM on August 3, 2023

Hamilton Books?

They used to send a giant newsprint catalog that I went through with a highlighter. This looks like an online version of the same thing, but still might be fun to peruse.
posted by elphaba at 6:57 AM on August 4, 2023

I'm not sure where they are on the evilness spectrum, but there's Blackwell's out of the U.K.
posted by gtrwolf at 6:40 PM on August 5, 2023

Seconding Better World Books: "Better World Books is a for-profit, socially conscious business and a global online bookseller that collects and sells new and used books online, matching each purchase with a book donation. Each sale generates funds for literacy and education initiatives in the U.S., the UK, and around the world. Since its launch in 2003, Better World Books has raised $33 million for libraries and literacy, donated over 32 million books, and reused or recycled more than 397 million books."
posted by wisekaren at 7:39 AM on August 8, 2023

Coming in late, but I've been buying some used books from Second Sale.
posted by StrawberryPie at 8:34 AM on September 4, 2023