Amazon.com Rant!

[FireFeet]

:mad: Ok...I DO have to admit that I like that you can find just about anything at Amazon.com. I've got a project underway and I knew that it would be the best place to find material for research. I spent TWO HOURS searching...and I found some great books...at great prices.

And then I look at my cart...and realize that almost every item is from a different seller...and therefore my shipping cost is almost equal to the cost of the books! So I found this option to "consolidate" in the hopes that the site would show me how to get all or most of the items from one or two sellers. But...noooo...it says I have no items that can be consolidated.

So then I have to go with pen and paper and figure out what sellers are selling the items and see if I can figure out how to get them all from one (or two) source(s). I could only narrow it down to three shippers...and, of course, in doing that, I lost a lot of the bargains...and still ended up paying a ridiculous amount for shipping.

Granted, I did get one book that is out-of-print, and a $30 book for $12...but the whole process was almost impossible. Four hours buying 8 books? Good grief. :mad:

Anyone know of a better way to shop at Amazon? Or do y'all have similar rants?

[whitehawke]

I have never bought anything online. I just go to the shops.

[DrRita]

Hey Firefeet,
Yeah, it can be a challenge to get used books. I sometimes shop at http://www.dovebook.com/default.asp. They have a pretty good selection of used books. I used to shop for used books at Kregel Books but they just closed their used book dept last month. :( Anyway. check out Dove Booksellers. They have some good stuff.

[waterfallbooks]

I know, Amazon's shipping is crazy. I only buy the odd book from them, and not very often. If I want a bunch of similar books (esp. those by the same author), I check for lots on eBay. Otherwise, I usually go with CBD. New books, okay to great discounts, and cheap shipping. Also, you could try Half.com. I think their shipping's a little less expensive.

But at this point, I get 90% of the fiction titles I want to read through reviewing, so I haven't had much occasion to go shopping.

Christian Book Previews (http://www.christianbookpreviews.com) offers a price comparison feature that includes some shipping costs.

[FireFeet]

Woa...Dr Rita....those are some very scholarly texts at DoveBook! :eek:

Don't get me wrong about Amazon....they have the best selection by far of ANYWHERE else I've found to shop. I just wish their whole system was less complicated...and that shipping was cheaper.

[DrRita]

I guess when you mentioned research . . . yeah some of the stuff is dry as dust *cough* but I've bought some good stuff there too. E-bay sounds like a good bet, never thought of looking there. CBD is good and reasonable. Also if you want to buy any of Intervarsity titles, you can join their club (free) and get a 20% discount on what you buy. They're pretty nice to work with too. http://ivpress.gospelcom.net/