Sometimes while reading IMM (In My Mailbox) memes from other bloggers, someone will mention Paperback Swap. This is a very cool site where you can list the books you are willing to give away and books you wish to swap for. You receive points for listing and sending books (receiving more points if you send internationally) and can "spend" your points when you ask other swappers for their trades. Sounds great, right? Well, unfortunately it is limited only to our American friends (lucky buggers!).
I wanted to find a similar outlet for Canadians and came across BookMooch. I actually saw this site a few years ago but it was still fairly new and I wasn't sure how long it would last. I joined a few weeks ago and it's easy to use. The interface is not fantastic but participation is open internationally. I've sent quite a few books already and am building up my points. I have only mooched one title so far but you can create a wishlist and receive an email alert as soon as a book on your list has been added to the inventory. The only cost is the postage you incur sending a book to a moocher. You can also give "smooches" which are additional points to say thank-you to someone. My first moocher asked for 4 titles and lived nearby so she came to pick up the books to save me postage AND gave me extra points. Lovely lady! Try it out and tell me what you're mooching!
Another way to save a bit of money when you're purchasing books is to use the Book Depository. They ship to most countries for free and right now they are offering an additional 10% off your purchase price. I find their pricing extremely competitive with Amazon. Most books are lower in price and I have seen huge 25 - 50% discounts on pre-order titles.
The last resource I want to share is Bookcloseouts. This is a discount booksite from Canada but payment is in US funds. As a Canadian, I HATE paying for duty and huge shipping costs. I love getting things from the USA but if shipping + duty is too much, I prefer to buy locally. I ordered a HUGE list of titles about a month ago from Bookcloseouts. Eleven books (yep.)...and it only cost me around $65 CND. (woo hoo!). This was such a steal that I have a constant wishlist going at Bookcloseouts. I was following a fellow blogger and she raved about the site so I thought I'd give it a try. So glad I did! Right now there is a scratch and dent sale going on which will pull some book prices right now to about $2.49. Just to entice you to visit this site, I'm going to give you a sneak peak of some of the books I ordered -
Evernight by Claudia Gray- $2.49
Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr - $2.49
Wings by Aprilynn Pike - $4.99
Shadowland - Alyson Noel (hardcover) - $4.49
Good deals huh? The only downfall to this site is that it is not great to 'browse'. Have a list of your favourite authors and titles present and it will make your searching much easier. If you do order, please drop us a line and let us know whatcha got! I love sharing great book bargains!
- Christinabean, book-buying shopaholic
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