Title says it all. Most of these stores (Amazon, Half, Abebooks and others) seem to only be a venue for 3 party vendors. This somewhat discourages bulk buying - I don't mean several copies of the same book, I just have a list of 20 or so books that I want to get all at once, used for $$$ reasons. I don't want to deal with 20 different vendors and 20 different SHIPPING charges (which are often more than the books themselves). Is there such an animal? -- H
I didn't know the ABE results were not at the stores indicated. For the very good reason you indicate, I wonder if it would be possible for their search program to allow an option - "how many of these books from the fewest possible stores" query? Good luck.
I usually drive over to OC (Orange County) to this place Book Baron A large store. Have not used their online service but they do have a great staff.
If you want pretty exotic books then www.alibris.com is supposed to be good. I am not sure how they are with normal used books. Kenneth
I haven't stumbled on one yet. I use Half.com a lot just because they 1) cheaper than most other venues and 2)will discount shipping if you purchase from the same seller and 3) they seem to have the biggest selection. I've been busting my behind trying to get a complete set of Time-Life's Myth and Mankind series (among others), so I definitely feel your pain. I've run across Powell's several times in my search for Time-Life books, but quite frankly they are severely overpriced. ABE is, in essence, the upscale Half.com, with more seller involvement. So far, the only thing I've found cheaper than Half, is to go the auction route (Ebay), but I've had my own fair share of headaches with it. I'm not a patient person and PayPal makes me want to tear my hair out because it's so damned s-l-o-w.
try Strand Books in New York, I used to live about a block from the Strand and could never seem to avoid buying a book or two every week. Besides used books lots or Review Copies at half price. kd
