If you haven’t heard of Thriftbooks.com, then you’re missing out on one of the best ways to feed your book addiction. I recently did a little binge shopping and purchased three books I was hoping to read for a while now. With no shipping costs (on regular shipping- get your wallets ready for expedited shipping!), my check-out total was $10.00. That’s right, you read that correctly. For two paperbacks and a hardcover: $10.00.
But does this prove to be an issue for publishers and authors?
Publishers sell mass market books for a reason: to schools and libraries. Mass markets also come into play when there are new editions re-printed. Essentially, it’s out with the old and in with the new. Thriftbooks.com takes those titles which have already been utilized and re-sells them at a cheaper cost. The website even has collector items, such as first or second editions of classic novels, or even Game of Thrones items which you can’t find on Amazon anymore. So, publishers aren’t really missing out on anything. In fact, it’s another way for them to sell-off products that might be a hard sell for them anywhere else.
And authors? They’ll get more exposure this way. For example, you could read their first novel from 2006 through Thriftbooks and fall in love with their writing. You then might discover the author is releasing a new title in the Fall, therefore you can go ahead and pre-order it because you just can’t wait any longer than you need to- a new favorite author for you and a new reader for the author.). With paperbacks and hardcovers rising in price, cheaper prices are always appealing to book lovers. Newer authors won’t appear on Thriftbooks right away either, so you may be forced to take that $15 hit to the bank account for debut authors. At the end of the day, we should still really consider buying from bookstores and helping authors receive their well-deserved paychecks from their publishers. But, Thriftbooks.com just makes it easier to not feel guilty about large book binges, especially if you aren’t really sure if you are going to like the book or author in the first place.