3 ways to find books that aren't in stores

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

If your heart is devoted to paper books, then you know the frustration when the desired edition cannot be found in bookstores. For those who love to rustle the pages, there are three ways to find the book you dream of but can't buy.

1. Book exchange sites

LiveLib

The site has many advantages that are dear to the heart of a book lover, including the "Book Exchange" section. It is not so easy to find it on the home page when you first visit it. Use the search bar located at the very top of the page.

Type the title of the book or it, if you need a specific edition, and click the "Find" button. You will be taken to a book page with a large image of its cover. The "Book Exchange" button is located on the upper right. Next to it is a number in the form of a fraction, for example 5/28. This means that 5 books are offered for exchange, and 28 users want this book. A fraction may look like this: - / 5. This means that no one offers such a book for exchange.

If there is a book, then by clicking on the "Book exchange" button go to the list of users offering it. Send a message to the owner of the book by registering on the site.

BookRiver

On the main page of the site, there is a search box on the right. Search for a book by the title or last name of the author. Select the city where you live in the appropriate search box if you are not ready to waste time sending books by mail.

Register on the site and through the message system agree on an exchange or purchase and sale. Before writing a message to the user, pay attention to the date of the last visit. If he was on the site the last time a year or two ago, then it is better to look for another option.

2. Second-hand book sites

Alib.ru

Alib.ru sells antique books, but there are plenty of modern editions as well.

Search for books through the search bar by title, author, or keywords. The most expensive editions are at the top of the list, the cheapest are at the bottom.

The books are sold here by private individuals, and they are all, of course, very different. Read the seller's description before ordering a book. Find out what his terms of sale and delivery are: how he sends books (prepaid or cash on delivery), where meetings usually take place, how prepayments are accepted (to a bank card or e-wallets).

Recently, a rating system has appeared on the site, which allows you to judge the reliability of the seller. Five stars means that there were no complaints about the user during the trading.

Libex

This is a site where you can not only buy but also sell books. Libex has a lot of sellers and a huge number of offers. Unlike Alib.ru, where sellers pay for the right to publish information about their books, here the seller's commission is charged only after the transaction is completed. This site contains the most valuable books at ridiculous prices, since the competition is great.

Be careful when ordering, read the descriptions of the sellers. Not everyone provides a comfortable shopping environment, so try to clarify all the nuances before ordering. Assess your capabilities. Suddenly, for a book, you will have to go to the other end of the city on several types of transport to the entrance of the house where the seller lives, since the purchase involves only pickup.

3. Pre-order in the online store

In large online stores such as Ozon.ru, Chitai-Gorod and Labyrinth, from time to time there appear rare second-hand books and books that have been released recently, but have not lingered on the shelves. You can catch them by making a reservation.

If you are a client of an online store, then you have a personal account. Place in the basket or put aside publications that are no longer available. As soon as the book appears, and this happens quite often, you will receive a notification by mail from the store with a proposal to place an order. Then do not waste time - buy right away, because often the book appears in a single copy.

The prices for second-hand books are different, sometimes very high. But sometimes you manage to buy a book at the old price, which is much lower than the market price.

Buy books, read them, but don't let them sit around. Leave only the most needed and favorite on the shelves. Give the rest, change, sell. For some, books that are of no value to you will bring joy. If you are a book lover, then you are familiar with the incomparable feeling when you hold in your hands a book that you have dreamed of for a long time!