Buying books from sellers in another country

19 years ago

I think several of you have done this: ordered a book to be shipped from a seller in another country. Usually if a book has been published in another country, but not yet in the US, I wait or sometimes I can find a 3rd party seller via Amazon US who will sell it for a reasonable price, but sometimes the only place to get a book that will be released in the UK before it is released in the US, is to buy it from Amazon UK. Is the shipping cost reasonable for those of you who have done it? Does it cost as much or more than the book you are buying? I've been wondering about that and tempting myself to buy a few books that I can't find here in the US, but know I can easily order from Amazon UK. Of course, every time I feel tempted, I look at the TBR pile and think to myself, I really should wait. Please share your experiences!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

cindydavid4
19 years ago
Just based on my experiences: shipping costs from Canada aren't too bad and the book prices are comparable to US. Brit shipping is expensive. Usually I wait for someone who is visiting, give them a list, and eagerly await their arrival. And don't even bother with Australia. Shipping is usually double the book price.

That being said - I have had good luck on ibooknet or TomFolio.com for used and rare Brit books as far as shipping. Much cheaper than Amazon.
ccrdmrbks
19 years ago
I will wait for new books, but have ordered OOP books that I wanted from Canada and England and found the shipping to be reasonable. I find many of the books on abebooks.com
Related Discussions
another book--front yard gardens
Q
Comments (4)
Jan, the local gardening programs have loyal fans but not much of a draw to the general population. We lost a great gardening columnist here in Mobile as well. However, my DH discovered him online at www.al.com on Sunday.....amidst all the football and other sporting events. I don't know what my DH would do without Bill Finch's help--it is his first year growing vegetables in the winter this far south. Even with our scattered freezes, this winter planting looks much better than his summer garden, which was beset with bugs and blight. Notice in the book that the only GRASS remaining in one front yard (garden) was a strip identified as a pathway through the beds. I can see that if the grass did not flourish, it would be easy enough to lift it out of there and you'd be on your way to a gravel or brick pathway...or maybe pine chips? they're good for drainage, right?
...See More
Books on French Country for the ordinary person
Q
Comments (10)
The only book I have on French country decor is The French Country House. I probably wouldn't have paid nearly $50 for it (I tend to be frugal when it comes to books) altho it's a wonderful book full of amazing pics. I bought it at a library book sale for pennies! The pics in this book do not show decor as ornate as Charles Faudree nor as simple as some of the very plain French cottages but the authors are French and they are showing authentic old French country homes full of antiques. It's a great book to relax with and let one's imagination soar! This is the book description from Amazon "The French Country House celebrates what the French call l'art de vivre ("the art of good living") within the intimacy of private dwellings deep in the countryside. Here are places of retreat-old manor houses, small chÃÂ¢teaux, stud farms, even a former convent-that, because of their great age and accumulated memories, are beloved by their owners and provide no end of delight for family and friends. Each country house is a treasure trove of history, with beautiful furnishings as well as family albums, faded love letters, attics full of old toys, fancy dresses, retired pianos, left-over brocades and wallpapers-even libraries hidden at the tops of towers. With 220 photographs in full color-illustrating rooms from the salon to the kitchen below and the attic above, together with details of silver, crystal, tapestries, paintings, and much more-The French Country House is rich in the colors, textures, and history of these treasured homes. Francophiles as well as lovers of dÃÂ©cor, architecture, and gardens will be captivated by this inside look at life in the French countryside." Here is a link that might be useful: The French Country House
...See More
Seller just accepted my offer to buy
Q
Comments (5)
My, oh my. The stupid things I do. I am in the middle of changing my name, which I should have done months ago, after the divorce. Now, I have to go through the whole loan process again with my changed name. Two weeks until closing. I wonder if I'll make it or not. When I last spoke to the lender, last week, all was good, I had signed all the paperwork with both names. Not good, but she didn't say anything, seemed to think it was fine and didn't tell me otherwise. Called this morning to find out if the appraisal had come in (was appraised last Thursday) and before I even asked, my lender rep said "Oh, by the way...all of the paperwork has to be done over due to the name change" I about had a cow. I mean, I can see it needing to be done, and it actually makes sense, but she had not made any effort to tell me this, or to tell me last week. What if I hadn't called? When were they going to spring this on me? I spoke to my agent, who was not worried, and signed an addendum to the sales contract for the name change, and oh by the way the sellers are out of the country right now. Keep your fingers crossed, guys.
...See More
Sellers Unfazed by Reality (another deal's death by appraisal)
Q
Comments (21)
... DESERVE to be low-balled! By both you and the appraiser! What kind of hoser allows his family to live in a house with obvious (and CHEAPLY corrected) WIRING faults? And the FURNACE thing, WTF? I know of AHJs in the northeast that will DENY YOU A C.O. for such lack of major infrastructure! Throw in the shabby roof and it would require ALL my self-control to not be openly snide with such sellers! You "done good" to just remain civil. Perhaps these sellers hit the HELOC "ATM", but spent it on everything BUT the house?... like maybe... recreational chemicals? =:O Very odd situation... as noted above, you might be picking up this same house in a foreclosure auction, not too far in the future. Feel for ya inexplic... buying a home for your family to live in naturally gets more emotional than looking for an income property you'll never spend a single night in. Next time be working a few in parallel. Nothing wrong with that in a buyer's market. PS: Don't do the long letter thing anymore... casting pearls to swine. But DO tell us more about the seller's appearance, behaviors, nervous tics, etc. ;')
...See More
carolyn_ky
19 years ago
I have ordered a few of the Morland series from the UK and found the shipping to be more than the book by quite a lot, but then the books are cheap and not always available on U.S. sites, at least in order of publication.
martin_z
19 years ago
I've done this the other way - ordered books from the US and Canada. I've found it to be reasonably priced and quite quick.

But the best bargains, IMHO, are to be found by ordering books from Australia and New Zealand. You get some remarkable deals on second-hand books, even including shipping.
cindydavid4
19 years ago
Wow, really? What sites are you using? Seems like the big ones such as Amazon and ABE make it almost impossible to order books from there, and I'd like to.
martin_z
19 years ago
Well, I bought from ABE. Had no trouble. Don't forget that there's no reason not to contact the seller and buy from them directly.

And the nice thing I found was that I would send an email in the evening to a seller and have a reply the next morning! It was actually quicker to negotiate and sort out payment with a seller in Oz than in the UK, because of the time difference.
anyanka
19 years ago
Interesting tip re Oz and NZ, Martin, thanks! I've bought from Amazon in the US in the past; and a lot of my CDs come from Florida via Amazon Marketplace because they work out cheaper than anywhere else. Bizarre, isn't it?

Slightly off-topic - I just ordered the soundtrack CD from the film Les Choristes from Amazon Marketplace. On receipt I discovered that it had come from Germany. That's a French CD, to England from Germany. The global village indeed.
venusia_
19 years ago
One thing I discovered when buying textbooks is that they are priced as high as possible in Canada and the US, but cheaper everywhere else. They are frequently 20-30% cheaper when ordering from the UK - on a 120$ book the savings more than offset shipping. And if you don't mind your textbook printed on cheap newsprint and with no colour pictures, you can order the versions printed for the India market, which are often only 20% of the North American price. I once ordered a textbook from half.com, and sold it used on Amazon.ca for the same price I had paid for it from half.com

Buying books from sellers in another country

Comments (8)

cindydavid4

ccrdmrbks

Related Discussions

carolyn_ky

martin_z

cindydavid4

martin_z

anyanka

venusia_

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US