Books for Less

I was recently devastated to see that one of my favorite websites for comparison shopping seems to be no more. Anybook4less.com had been a steady friend these past few years, as had its sister site, AnyCD4less.com. Rest in peace, dear sites. I hope that these are someday resurrected, but in the mean time, life does goes on, and I have found another gem: Priceowl. It seems to serve a similar helpful function: comparing the prices of new and used books at several online retailers.

A friend recommended, Bookfinder, which also seems to be quite good and gives the prices including shipping, which is often a slick hidden cost. I can't tell you how many times I have found myself in this scenario: "Oh, wow, this book is only $2.97? Great. Done deal. (Continue with 8 step checkout process)...(10 minutes later)... Oh, hell! The shipping is 7.56?!?"
By that point, if the price isn't totally absurd, you've already entered your credit card information, and you are just too lazy to back out. That's how they get you, or at least me. That's why sites that include the shipping costs in their comparisons are so darn helpful!

To sum up, the lesson is to always shop around and make sure you add the shipping costs into your calculations. There's no reason not to pop by one of these sites, or somewhere similar, and do a quick comparison. It can save you a couple of bucks and only takes a minute.