I tried Abe Books tonight. Got 3 books from years ago.

[madfloridian]

I decided to read some historical novels, and wow, they are hard to find. I wanted to reread Eugenia Price's Savannah Quartet books, and I got 3 of them very cheap.

I had heard of them but never tried it. At that price I don't care how used they are. :-)

Anyone else tried it? Do they stick with the price they give you when you buy?

[Critters2]

1. My brother turned me on to 'em. Apparently, there's brick and mortar one near where he lives.

I buy all my required continuing ed books there now.

[Wickerman]

2. been using Abe for years

I think about 2000 or so. Good stuff, highly reliable.

[madfloridian]

3. I got 3 books for $13. Amazing.

I don't know if they are paperback, hardback, or what. I have always gotten hardback, but Amazon prices are skyrocketing out of control. They no longer seem to offer cheaper shipping for larger orders without some credit card offer.

[Wickerman]

4. try this for an even larger expansion of your book buying world

http://used.addall.com/

It's a meta-search system of all book selling database. Abe is great, but it makes up only a portion of the online bookselling world. The meta-engine brings you a lot more of it. Like I said, I've never really had a bad experience and I buy through some combination of Abe/Adall regularly.

[madfloridian]

7. Thanks, I have been depending on Amazon way too long...

even the used books that come from other sellers are vastly overpriced in shipping.

[madfloridian]

9. I just found one of Nancy Cato's books there about Australia

But still the Steam...from 7 to 24 dollars. Wow

[riverwalker]

5. I buy from them often

usually hard to find books. The price is what it says. Never had a problem.

[madfloridian]

6. Thanks. I found their site through a site about Price's books.

I don't go much for her religious books she wrote later, but I loved her historical novels of Florida, Georgia, and St. Simons Island. It has been so long, I probably don't remember any of them.

[madfloridian]

8. Next I want to read that Australian historical series...

I think it is Nancy Cato. She wrote "All the Rivers Run" which was turned into a miniseries about Australia. I was not able to find any of her books at Amazon, but will check at Abe Books. I looked up her books...Time Flows Softly, Green Grows the Vine, But Still the Stream.

There is another about Australia I am reading, Colleen McCullough. I am reading The Touch right now, but I think the Thorn Birds were better.

[Sal Minella]

10. I get books through Bookfinder.com. Their search engine covers many small stores.

I've gotten books for $2.00 that were listed elsewhere used for $15.

[Bubbha Jo]

11. If buying more than one, try half.com first.

They have a bit of combined shipping if you buy from the same seller there.

[eleny]

12. Yes, I like them a lot

I've never had a seller ask for more than advertised at the web site.

I've gotten a couple of books that I read many years ago. One was an obscure book about the history of coffee from the 1930s titled King Coffee. It kicked around our family home for decades but got tossed at some point. Several sellers had copies and I was overjoyed.

Also, I couldn't remember a couple of titles. So I went to the help forums. You just find the forum category that fits your book and post whatever you can recollect about it. Even if it takes a month or more, eventually a member pops up with an answer. I found a book title that was well out of print and then a whole bunch of sellers.

The only thing I get concerned about is mildew. I have an allergy to it and books with mildew have me clogged up, sneezing in bleary eyed misery. I ask sellers about that and try to get books from dry climate states to mitigate the chance of problems.