I love books, deep down in my soul kind of love. Even though I know you can simply just “download” your favorite books these days, I prefer the real thing. Call me old fashioned...

In fact the only person I know that may love books more than I do, is my little munchkin.. and well I encourage it in any way I can. Which means, we buy a lot of books.





We own so many books that we actually have no more room for them.. and they not only fill multiple full bookcases, but are just stacked everywhere while waiting for a permanent location. Our current house plans have A LOT of built in bookshelves planned in multiple rooms.

The problem is, books aren’t cheap...

Feeding a love of books can get out of hand quickly when just one book can cost an average of $15-$20.

Luckily a few years ago I discovered a site that sells gently used books for a great price. I like the idea of used books over brand new for many reasons; they have so much character, a “story”, as well as buying used books is not only great for your wallet, but the environment too.





I thought this option might be helpful to some other book lovers out there, so I figured I would do a little review of our recent purchase.

Let me introduce you to Thriftbooks.com

Overall Shopping Experience

Their site is very user friendly and I use it almost exclusively on mobile with no issues.

They have a huge selection but sometimes you do have to check back for specific titles as I’ve had one or two times where they just didn’t have something in their inventory. Once or twice over a 3 year time period is pretty good I think though, so I don’t really see that as a negative.

You can search by titles, author or browse certain categories to help you find exactly what you are looking for.

Once you have found the book you are looking for, you can choose different options; hardcover, paperback as well as condition. I have bought acceptable, good and very good and can say that all are great.





I do generally aim for good/very good and a usually can get the hardcover edition for the $4.19 price depending on the title. I’ve never paid more than $4.19 for a book on the site and usually am more in the $3.79 range and have been happy with what I have received every single time.

The price and availability do vary, so I just compare each time and go with the best option for the price at that specific time.

Special Editions

They do also carry collectible editions as well, including first editions and signed copies if that’s your thing.





I have actually used this option for unique gifts a couple of times, but you really need to watch the price on these. I did find a first edition of a certain book for $40 when it was listed elsewhere on the internet for $250.

It made a great gift for those hard to shop for book lovers, but it’s not something I would say I would do frequently. It’s an great option to have though.

Member Rewards

Extra benefits are always great, especially when they include free books just for shopping with them.

Thriftbooks does offer a sort of “frequent buyer” rewards system that just accumulates points as you shop that can be redeemed for future free books.

I think this is a great extra perk on top of the already outstanding prices. We have received quite a few free books over the years and it’s a great extra bonus.

They are a US based company and due to that some of their “benefits” are restricted to US residents, so be sure to read the details before signing up.

Shipping

Thriftbooks actually offers Free Shipping on orders over $10 for US residents, which is probably one of my favorite things about them. I hate feeling like I am getting a deal on something just to turn around and be charged an arm and leg for dang shipping fees.





They do offer international shipping, but fees do apply;



So depending on what titles you are looking for, this may not be a great option for you.

But as an example, I paid $3.79 for a hardcover 500+ page “Herb Encyclopedia” book that I couldn’t find elsewhere for under $50. In this situation the $3.79 plus a possible $4.99 shipping fee would have still be a great deal. It all just depends on what you are looking for.





The books come from multiple different warehouses, so shipping time does very. We usually receive them in about 3-4 days with the longest wait being 8 days.

They arrive in a thick plastic wrapping that protects the books, while keeping the shipping costs for them low.

Condition

Here is one of the selections that the munchkin received this order. We selected the “very good” option in a hardcover edition and paid $3.79 for it.





The book was in great condition with just very minimal wearing on the corners from normal use. The pages were without marking or tears, bent ends etc.





Completely satisfied with the condition, especially for such an amazing price.

Rating?

I honestly don’t have anything negative to say about the site, as I’ve had a wonderful experience over the years. I would have to rate it a 10/10 for ease of use, speed of processing and overall quality/bang for your buck.

I would recommend it to anyone, and do often.

Are You A Book Addict Too?

If so, I say give thriftbooks a try! It’s been one of my favorite finds and has allowed us to really embrace our book addiction 📚

I also found a referral code while searching the site that gives individuals 15% off of their first purchase if you want to use it!

👉🏼 https://www.thriftbooks.com/share/?code=ID4nvEwkotLuztfP%252f%252bQiMQ%253d%253d


I hope this review was helpful and maybe gives some fellow book lovers a way to feed their habit without the guilt 😉


What is your favorite way to buy books?


Much Love,

Justine