January is the turning point for degree students in year one. Your first semester is about to end. Some may have exams in the January break but either way, most will be changing subjects and knowledge earnt in the first semester will go to the back of the mind. If you haven’t already bought some essential academic books for January or Summer exams, now will be a great time. However, bookshops can be expensive so use these alternative sources.
Amazon Resellers
While Amazon and other online stores offer great discount on such items as books and DVDs, due to volume of sales they are usually only a few pounds cheaper than academic bookshops. What you may find is that former students will sell their academic collection even cheaper. Rather than buying brand new from Amazon, help a former student raise some cash and save yourself some money in the process.
AbeBooks
Abe has been the mainstay of academic selling and buying for over ten years. AbeBooks is not a seller of books, but a facilitator. It helps connect buyers and sellers and it specialises in out of print and rare books, which is helpful if you have require a certain edition. Every student has come across the nightmare “out of print” book that the lecturer says is the most authoritative book on the subject. Chances are, somebody on Abe will have it.
Biblio.co.uk
Established in 2005, Biblio is similar to Abe in that it connects sellers with buyers. In some ways, it is more diverse as it is a global site and users are not just individuals. Book traders, second hand shops and dealers also use this site as a useful resource to expand their sales. Biblio has a strong mission statement to help small businesses and even have a carbon offsetting option for buyers – perfect for the environmentally conscious student.
Bookfinder
Book Finder is not a place where books are bought and sold; it is more like a search engine where you put in the details of the book you want and the site then searches the web for all instances of that book, giving you access to purchase the cheapest or most relevant copy of the book. It searches bigger sites like Amazon and Ebay, but also smaller and less well-known sites. This is a search resource for book lovers.
Alibiris.co.uk
Another facilitator site, it began life as a specialist web retailer for traders to connect with customers – selling out of print and rare editions. Today, it sells music and film too. Its most powerful function is in listing all sellers of a particular title so you can shop around from traders in your country or around the world to get the best deal. Each item is listed by location so you can see how far it will travel – this is vital if you need something quickly.