Book buying: a completely unscientific poll

I am waiting for a Barnes and Noble order to arrive. It strikes me that the only reason I placed my order with B&N is because I had a gift card; otherwise, I probably would have gone straight to Amazon. But that is curious, because I have a membership card to B&N, as well as one to Books-A-Million, both of which save me an additional percentage off purchases. I’ve checked a few items, and sometimes my membership cards will get me a better price, while other times the Amazon price is cheaper. There is no independent bookstore within a reasonable driving distance, so when I do browse a bookstore, it is generally one of the big retailers, and since I usually wait to buy books until I have a list of several, I can usually get the same prices online with free shipping.

So this prompts me to ask: When you decide to purchase a book (as opposed to borrowing it from the library or another source), where do you tend to go? Do you go to your local indie shop, knowing you might pay a bit more but wanting to support it? Do you compare prices online and order from whoever has it cheapest? Do you always get it at the place where you have a membership discount?

A second question, tangentially related: when you do use an online retailer, how important to you are the reader reviews and/or the opportunity to search inside the book? Do you look at them? Do they influence your decision to purchase, or have you already made up your mind when you log on?

Talk to me, people.

04. October 2007 by Mindy
Categories: Your turn | 8 comments

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