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Online prices

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  • dolly84
    dolly84 Posts: 5,851 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic First Post
    I stopped buying from Amazon about 4 years ago now and haven't missed them at all. They can undercut genuine business owners because they don't pay the proper amount of tax - I feel palpable hate towards them and refuse to spend my money there.



    I buy from small businesses and on the high street whereever possible and online as a last resort.
    Debt Free and now a saver, conscious consumer, low waste lifestyler


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  • Mr_Singleton
    Mr_Singleton Posts: 1,891 Forumite
    Amazon is the poster boy for evil bookseller but lots of other large companies are heavily discounting books. WHSmith had Eat by Nigel Slater rrp £26 @ £7 on Saturday. Tesco was doing Italy by Jamie Oliver also rrp £26 for £10.

    I still remember the NBA when a book had to be a concidered purchase. It’s all very nice making books expensive so bookshops can compete but how many people will be financially excluded from the pleasure of books?

    Libraries and second hand ISN’T the answer!
  • Mistral001
    Mistral001 Posts: 5,349 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post I've been Money Tipped!
    edited 9 April 2019 at 10:00AM
    I buy quite a lot of books on Amazon and Ebay. Nearly all of them are secondhand. I was brought up to buy all my school and university books secondhand as we just could not afford to do otherwise.

    Ebay and latterly Amazon have been a real boost for the secondhand market and those who cannot afford new books.

    I run a small business where I need specialist technical literature. On one shelf I have several books where I reckon the new cost of the books is about £750 per 12 inches of shelf as most of the books retail at £30 to £100 per title. I have bought many of these books secondhand on Ebay and Amazon and have saved £1000's over the years as a result.
  • ivyleaf
    ivyleaf Posts: 6,431 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post
    Local bookshops are like local butchers' and greengrocers' shops - use 'em or lose 'em!
  • monnagran
    monnagran Posts: 5,284 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post Combo Breaker
    I also vote for supporting small, independent, local shops.

    BUT.......

    For someone more than slightly elderly, who, in the interests of public safety has given up her car and therefore has to climb on and off buses and walk carrying whatever she has bought, Amazon is a life saver.

    To sit at home selecting whatever you need on your computer and having it delivered the next day, is a treasure beyond rubies. Please don't knock it.
    I believe that friends are quiet angels
    Who lift us to our feet when our wings
    Have trouble remembering how to fly.
  • Mr_Singleton
    Mr_Singleton Posts: 1,891 Forumite
    C_J wrote: »
    ...... and that’s how bookshops end up closing down.

    There’s a common misconception that online is always cheaper.....for older books by less well known/popular authors the price difference isn’t actually that great. Maybe that’s where bookshops need to concentrate there efforts?

    Also I’ve always found it odd that so many hardbacks seem to arbitrarily cost exactly the same i.e. £25.
  • Mr_Singleton
    Mr_Singleton Posts: 1,891 Forumite
    ivyleaf wrote: »
    Local bookshops are like local butchers' and greengrocers' shops - use 'em or lose 'em!

    Oh, I just SO hate that term!
    The problem is that everyone likes the IDEA of a local bookshop/post office/green grocers/butchers/bakers etc but that’s as far as it goes. When the wallet or purse comes out it’s off to Lidl or Sainsbury’s
  • ivyleaf
    ivyleaf Posts: 6,431 Forumite
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    Speak for yourself. We don't have a greengrocer any more, it moved to another part of the borough a couple of years ago as the business rates were lower elsewhere, but we do have a very good butcher and a lot of people do use it.

    We also have a local bakery and it's always very busy when we go in, every other day.
  • Prinzessilein
    Prinzessilein Posts: 3,257 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post
    I have little choice when it comes to shopping. Our High Street is dying...I can't get to the out-of-town supermarkets (I can't drive and the nearest bus stop is 200 minutes walk away -not always doable as I am disabled)...both our local independent butchers have closed down...the local market was forced to close...

    So, it has to be online shopping for me....and Amazon is a big part of that...yes, they are tax-avoiders, but they are also reliable and have a wide selection of goods on offer.

    Which is not to say that I don't love it when once or twice a year I get to visit a 'proper' bookshop and browse!...especially the 2nd hand ones...We have a Waterstones in our dying town-centre, but very poor stock there and very high prices. ..they CAN order, but one time I had to wait 3 weeks for an in-print book I had ordered to arrive in store.
  • ivyleaf
    ivyleaf Posts: 6,431 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post
    Prinzessilein - When my late brother moved in a small town in Germany he found that the local bookseller not only spoke english but was able to order books for him from the UK to arrive within 24 hours! Isn't it ludicrous that Waterstones and W H Smith take so long?
    "Oh....it depends if there's a copy in our warehouse...." is what I was told last time I ordered a book.
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