Book prices Amazon v Book Depository

[ishtat]

I just completed an order for 7 books:

Amazon price $105 plus $59 shipping = $164

Book Depository price $123 inclusive of shipping world wide.

Presumably the absence of shipping charges in the USA makes Amazon competitive there but for International buyers BD is frequently a much better option.

 

[sr71plt]

Yep, it is.

 

[StrangeLife]

You can't shoot at the president from Amazon. That makes it the safer option...

 

[Zeb_Carter]

No, but we can shoot at the president of Amazon easily.

 

[DeYaKen]

I just completed an order for 7 books:

Amazon price $105 plus $59 shipping = $164

Book Depository price $123 inclusive of shipping world wide.

Presumably the absence of shipping charges in the USA makes Amazon competitive there but for International buyers BD is frequently a much better option.

Amazon now owns Book depository so it doesn't really matter which you choose. BD used to stock a more diverse range including special interests. Hope that doesn't change.

 

[ishtat]

Amazon now owns Book depository so it doesn't really matter which you choose. BD used to stock a more diverse range including special interests. Hope that doesn't change.

It matters a lot if you are in a country like Oz which has no Amazon distribution centre. BD 's "inclusive of shipping" policy makes them much cheaper overall. But whether that will last with common ownership is questionable.

I haven't found that BD's range is wider than Amazon - the opposite in fact. I believe that the constructive retail duopoly of WH Smith and Waterstones in the UK has led to a lot of books not being published there at all - and if they are imported, that again is an extra cost.

 

[DeYaKen]

It matters a lot if you are in a country like Oz which has no Amazon distribution centre. BD 's "inclusive of shipping" policy makes them much cheaper overall. But whether that will last with common ownership is questionable.

I haven't found that BD's range is wider than Amazon - the opposite in fact. I believe that the constructive retail duopoly of WH Smith and Waterstones in the UK has led to a lot of books not being published there at all - and if they are imported, that again is an extra cost.

Of course, I can't speak for Oz, You probably have to pay a premium for printing upside down.

When I was searching for "The ABC of chairmanship" BD was the only place that stocked it. I expect in time they will become like internet dating sites, They'll have a different look but underneath they are the same site.

You're right about books not being published here but I have no Idea whether it has to do with WHS and Waterstones. What about Ebooks, do you have to pay to import them?

 

[sr71plt]

It doesn't really matter who owns what. If one source costs appreciably more to access than another, you naturally go with the other. Which is what the OP was noting for folks down under to be aware of. Doesn't matter if they are owned by the same company.

 

[carlieplum]

Ownership aside, if you are ordering to ship outside the US, in my experience Book Depository gets it there in half the time.