I don't buy many cookbooks (get most of my recipes online), but I never pay full price -- I usually buy them used from half.com. I typically take them out of the library, test a few recipes, and if there are still more recipes I want to try, then I'll go ahead and buy it. Most recently did that with Marcella Cucina.

I go yard sailing. I get some really cool cookbooks- unused for the most part for anywhere between 50 cents to $2.00. I am not sure where you are from but occassionally Ocean state Job Lot has them for $2.99 - $4.99. ( I got several Bon Apetit and the best of Gourmet, and my personal favorite Southern Living Annual Recipes from there) Happy Hunting!!

I don't pay full price, either. I go through the cookbooks that are donated to the library (hard job, but somebody's gotta do it). I usually have a stack of them next to my favorite chair. We get some interesting ones, and of course...if they're not shelf-worthy, they go to the book sale. And guess who's the first one to work on book sale day? Sometimes I love my job...

We can also order through work and get their discount, usually 40%. And...if I'm not sure I want to own a book and I think enough people will check it out, I'll put it in the collection. If it doesn't go? It goes to the book sale, lol. Artisan Bread in 5 Min. a Day and Crust are going out like crazy.

Daedalus Books sometimes has interesting cookbooks, usually with a really good discount -- salebooks.com

I usually look in Amazon in the used section and often find new or nearly new for a fraction of full price.

I haven't bought a cookbook for myself in years and years....people give them to me.But I often give cook books to other people and usually pay full price....because it's a gift.

Linda C

I never pay full price for cookbooks, or for hardly anything else. It's a matter of pride, I never pay retail. I'm just too darned cheap from too many years of barely making ends meet, LOL.

I do still buy cookbooks because I just love to read them. Yes, nearly all the recipes are available on the internet, but I like the feel of the books, the commentary, even the pictures.

So, I buy 'em...

Annie

I buy books for Amazon, the used side and I just signed up with Zoomba and I get a brand new book of my choice for 9.95 and free shipping, sent off my wish list once a month.

Thrift stores like Goodwill and Value Village have shelf loads of cookbooks, as well as other books, really inexpensive. No need to pay retail when you can get them for 99 cents etc.

There are several used book shopping bots out there - my favorite for no good reason is addall.com. Just put in the book name (I usually snag the ISBN from Amazon) and your state and it will sort the result by final price, including shipping and tax.

Example below

Here is a link that might be useful: Marcella Cucina on addall.com

I go to half.com to get mine, I only buy ones with lots of food pictures.

I purchase most of my cookbooks at a local used book store and the new ones off the discount shelf at Walden Books. I have a friend who is getting rid of her aunt's HUGE collection (thousands upon thousands) and have done well there. I also make the rounds to the thrift stores occasionally, and find them there. With the price of gas, I've quit garage sales and the flea market for the most part, but found a new copy of CookWise for $5 at the flea market and was absolutely thrilled (it was a $30 book at the time).

It's my collection of college text books on the subject that have cost me dearly.

I've collected local cookbooks for years and have donated them to our Historical Museum.

-Grainlady

It's been ages since I paid full price for a cookbook.

I buy mine at book store sales, flea markets, library sales, second hand book shops, and the book section of the local charity shop. I also get given some, and I have received some through BookMooch.

I have found a number of cookbooks at the library that I would gladly buy at full price, but wouldn't you know it: they are all out of print.

I've actually been giving this thought lately.

I've decided that I still want to own books that "teach" cooking and especially baking. Alton Brown, America's Test Kitchen, Pie and Pastry bible, Cookwise and of course Julie Childs Joy of Cooking. Books that discuss the differences and importance of different flours, which rack to cook on, techniques etc.. That information is hard to get on the internet without searching all over for a tidbit here or there. Internet recipe's hardly ever give enough detail on how to put something together in my mind.

I guess I think there's a difference between a "cookbook" and a "recipe book" thought the industry doesn't put it out there that way.
Recipe books have been somewhat overtaken by the internet for me. Cookbooks have not. Although......I do still like brand name recipe books if I feel I can trust that the author has tested the recipe many times and gives sufficient detail for success (best cooked in X but ok if all you have is Y). Sometimes I wonder if even big names like Rachael Ray really test their recipe's much - but I wonder about "unbranded" recipe books even more.

Usually, I find cookbooks either on the dollar or sale table, or at the Friends of the Library bookstores. The last one I paid close to retail for, was a new copy of a Betty Crocker cookbook - and I bought that one from the Navy Exchange (so it definitely wasn't at full retail).

I'm going to a book signing for a cookbook this coming Thursday, though. I'll have to pay retail for that one (Barnes & Noble). When it comes with the author's signature, though, it's just a little different.

DonnaR/CA

I don't think I have ever paid full price for any cookbook. I have found some great old, out of print ones at estate sales. Newer ones I get at Borders sale table or on-line at reduced prices.

I do preview books at Borders.....then purchase on Ebay or Amazon.....Thrift stores and Ollies here in Pa have loads of seconds or covers missing books. I can't pay full price. The internet is fine for somethings but I do enjoy books and magazines. You can also get great magazine discounts on Ebay

I rarely buy cook books, but I often pay full price when I find a very unusual one at a Japanese specialty shop. I seldom buy them at book stores. I could possibly find the same books on Amazon, but I prefer to give the money to a local shop. I bought a few Mexican cook books on Amazon for reduced price, but those are the only ones I can think of. I bought an out of print cook book as a gift from Amazon because it was not available new. I like to see a cook book before I buy it, and so I'm less likely to buy one on line, unless I've seen the actual book before.

Lars

I have to be very selective about buying cookbooks, otherwise I'd have thousands. The ones I have are very specialized, mostly ethnic, and ones I feel I can count on to be authoritative and authentic in their recipes, like Diana Kennedy's The Cuisines of Mexico among others, which I've relied on for many years. I like a cookbook which is more than a recipe book. I want a clear idea of the outcome I'm striving for and how it fits into a cuisine.

I tend to buy books from Amazon. It's convenient and there is usually a pretty good discount. The customer reviews are helpful.

Jim

I don't pay full price, but I use too when I was collecting cookbooks from every place that I visited/worked. Like Annie, I enjoyed reading them and would usually read them on the plane coming home.

I do buy (other) books at a discount from a website that Jessy suggested to me several years ago.

Will someone slap me if I ever buy another cookbook?

I don't buy many, but I get them as gifts. I recently was given a Jamie Oliver book that is quite nice, and also one of the Moosewood Restaurant cookbooks. I love getting them.

But I rarely cook out of books. I usually get inspired here or at some of the food blogs I visit. If I like something enough to make it again, I save it to my computer. If it's a recipe that will go into regular rotation, I'll print it out to a recipe card so it's handy.

Yes I do. Well, Amazon price.

After posting earlier this weekend, I ventured into our local Friends of the Library bookstore on Sunday and happened across three "finds".

1) Sharon O'Connor's Menus and Music. This looks like a cookbook more for a gourmet, but she has suggestions for the classical music that should accompany each menu/item. The book originally came with a cassette tape (published in 1985)with music by the San Francisco String Quartet. Unfortunately, this copy didn't come with the cassette. The book is still quite new - the spine isn't bent or cracked in any way. I can probably find much of the music in my own CD collection! $2. (No cover price listed.)

2) Jeannie Jones' "Homestyle Cooking Made Healthy". This was another one that was so new it creaks when you open it. The recipes are all healthy and the pictures, beautiful! I had checked this one out of the library and decided it was worth owning if I could find a used copy. $3. (Back cover says $27.95)

3) Okay, this one is OT - sheet music for Johnny Mercer's "Dream"! 50c. I love to browse our Friends of the Library Bookstore's sheet music. I've come across some good "finds"!

DonnaR/CA