Ted H. Kim's Weblog

Friday January 13, 2006

Cheap Military History Books

Whenever I go to a bookstore (especially chain stores), I always look in the bargain section. Now, everyone knows that some stuff there is not really a bargain. Also, the bargain section is not where you are going to find the absolute latest or immensely popular titles (something has to be in the regular section too). Nevertheless, there are lots of interesting items which seem pretty tempting due to their low price.

Probably like so many other people, I have gotten into the habit of comparing what I see there with eBay and Amazon zShops. What I am finding is that even with shipping, much of the time Internet sites are undercutting the bargain section of the brick and mortar bookstores. Now this doesn't sound like a huge revelation, but in my eyes this has revolutionized how I shop for used or older books. Now instead of poking around in dusty shops, I am looking over web pages.

If you have read my blog before you know I like military history. New condition military history books can easily cost USD $15 (paperback) to $30 (hardback) or more. In the past 8 months, I have bought 10 military history books (in new or almost new condition) for an average of $5 each. For example, I bought Joe Balksoski's Utah Beach for 24 cents (yes, shipping was far more at $3.50), which is roughly 99% off the retail list of $26.95. Also I bought Glantz's Stumbling Colossus for $2.45, which is about 93% off the list price of $39.95.

Anyway, if you are like me and have far too many unread books to worry about getting the absolute latest release, I would advise checking out the Internet stores.

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(2006-01-13 16:02:03.0) Permalink