What are you buying online these days? I do most of my ‘œshopping’ online usually looking for used.

I start by going to Amazon to find out what the current cheapest price for new is. This works well as Amazon seems to carry just about everything.

Then I run a check on eBay to find out what the Market is actually paying… the trip to Amazon lets me know if the eBay Price is also unrealistic. Like anything else you have to do a little research before you buy something so you won’t be ripped off. Sometimes new at Amazon is cheaper than used on eBay’¦especially with free Super Saver Shipping over $25.

A final Google of the item name plus the word ‘œprice’ or ‘œcheapest price’ usually gets me some more hits to check out before making my buying decision.

Two points to be made here.

For those who will say they don’t want to ‘œwaste time’ searching on the Internet it is a lot less time and expense to spend 10 or 15 minutes searching than to drive to a store while spending a couple of dollars of gas in the HOPE that the store has what you want’¦remember they could have it but its ‘œout of stock’ so you just wasted a trip.

Secondly for those who say ‘œEEEEWWWWWW’ at something used.

The Difference between Brand New and Used is the length of time it takes to open the box it is packaged in.

For Books in Particular.

I read enormously and usually buy a lot of books however I only use Amazon as a last ditch.

For older out of print I use BookFinder.com but you still have to do a little digging as a book may be listed multiple times with so much as a single letter difference in the Title or Author name’¦ I do check Amazon for the ‘œBuy It Used’.

The other place I trade is Edward Hamilton the largest purveyor of remaindered books in the world.

He finally put up a website a couple of years ago at HamiltonBooks.com but there is a catch’¦from his paper catalog (newspaper size and monthly with thousands of books up to 99% off cover price) you only have the choice of paying with Check or Money Order and shipping is a flat $3.50 no matter how many books you buy.

From the website (updated daily) you may use a Credit Card but shipping is $3.95 for the first book and $1 for each additional book’¦but you have the option of filling in the order blank and printing it out and sending the check or money order and shipping reverts to the flat $3.50.

I usually go for the Bargain/Clearance section and I’ve spent $100 and gotten 40 mostly hardback books for that including shipping’¦ and some of them are signed copies including the current one I’m reading.

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