Second Hand Books

 

Hello you lovely lot! 

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope it's a great day for you all. 

Anyway, I'm here to talk about all things second hand books. 

I feel like a lot of people do buy second hand but I also think a lot more would enjoy it if they gave it a go so I'm going to talk you through my experience of buying them - where I get them, pros and cons and my overall opinion.  

I've also included some pictures of my second hand books! (You can't say I don't treat you!)
 
So, let's get on with it...

Where do I buy second hand books from?  

I don't really have a favourite place to buy them from - I like experimenting and trying out different ways to get my hands on them. 

Obviously when searching you should be careful and make sure any websites you use are legit and safe to buy from. 

I've been buying second hands books for a while now and I get them from World of Books, Amazon and charity shops. 

I love looking on websites at books but it also sometimes ends up being a very expensive browse but second hand are usually much cheaper so my bank account cries a little less, haha! 

World of Books

World of Books is something I discovered a couple of years ago and I've used it to buy textbooks and fiction books. 

They have a lot of different genres on there so I'm sure you'll find something you like. 

The condition of the books is always clear when you click on each book. I think this is really helpful because it allows you to know what to expect from the book when it arrives. 

All the books I've bought from there have been correctly described online and to be honest I think this is so important because it means I'm more likely to use the site again, which I have done a few times. 

You might be thinking where do the books come from in the first place? World of Books allows you to sell your unwanted books to them, you send your books, receive your payment and then they sell them once they've received them. 

I've not actually used the app for World of Books but I've used another app for a different site and it worked really well for me. 

Amazon

I think recently there has been a lot of information circulating around Amazon and how people are trying to steer away from using it as much for buying books and instead buying from local bookshops which I understand. 

However, I do love Amazon and I buy a lot of books from there that are second hand. 

So how do you find second hand books on Amazon? 

Search for a book you're looking to buy/are interested in, scroll down past Amazon's price and you'll see under the 'ADD TO LIST' heading, a heading which says 'NEW & USED FROM £...' You'll need to click on that to see your options. 

As with anything, there are pros and cons to doing this. 

You often have to pay delivery for the book as well as it's price even if you pay for Amazon Prime but I've sometimes found that that price is still lower than the price of a new copy from Amazon and elsewhere. 

In my experience, the books have arrived quickly and in the condition I was promised. 

I'm not sure how much Amazon benefits from doing this so if you're really against using Amazon or want to reduce the amount you shop there then this probably isn't for you and that's completely fine!

The books are often from places, similar to World of Books, like Music Magpie or WeBuyBooks. 

I recommend having a browse because I've saved myself money and managed to get books in really good condition. 

Charity Shops

Now for one of my favourite ways of shopping for books - in charity shops! 

Charity shops are great for buying books because you just never know what you might find until you go in and the ones I've been to have always had a huge range of books which is music to any booklover's ears!

It's amazing that the books have been donated to the charity shop in the first place but then when you buy them (I usually come out with a very big selection, oops!) you can also feel good because the money you've just spent has helped support a charity.  

It's a win win!

It's really sad that charity shops have been closed throughout several lockdowns in the last year and I really hope they can be back up and running again soon. 

Pros of buying second hand books

- It's cheaper so you can often save yourself money

- It can give you a day out - charity shop hunting!

- You can help charities whilst you shop

Cons of buying second hand books 

- You might not always get a book in the condition you thought it was in because other people may judge the condition of the book as good but you might think it's not quite there, instead it's satisfactory

- You are still buying books so I'm not sure it can count towards you being good whilst on a book buying ban haha!

My overall opinion

I love buying second hand and would recommend trying it if you haven't already. I've found lots of books that have been on my wish list but cost me a fraction of the price. 

Obviously, there are lots of other places you can buy second hand books from, the methods mentioned are just ones I've tried. I'm open to other suggestions so please let me know! (Bank account starts crying again!)

That being said, I do still believe in buying books from independent bookshops. Supporting them is still very important and I understand why their prices are often higher than they are at Amazon or second hand alternatives.  So I recommend that you carry on supporting them too. 

That's all from me today! I hope you enjoyed this post, it's a bit different to what I normally write so do let me know what you think. 

Thanks for reading!

Take care, 

Kate x

Where you can find me: 

Instagram: @katereadsx

*Disclaimer: I'm not working with anyone on this post, it's all my views.