Amazon.com's Rivals Sell Books for Less

If Amazon.com is where you do all your online book buying, you're missing out. Both new and used books can be found at significantly lower prices elsewhere on the Web, and will be shipped to you for less than Amazon charges. And although Amazon's selection remains impressive, it's not as complete as you might think.

There was a time when Amazon.com was the one-stop shopping place for all my Internet book-buying needs. When they first started selling books online, I remember being elated. "Finally, a reputable Internet site I can trust with my credit card that offers a great selection of low-priced books," I thought. How things have changed.

Amazon.com is still reputable and trustworthy, but it is by no means the low-price leader in books, and its selection is, at times, lacking. When it comes to popular new books, Wal-mart, Costco, Buy.com and even Barnes and Noble offer better deals online. Amazon.com is also less competitive in used-book sales; Half.com, Buy.com and BN.com sell second-hand books at lower prices and charge less than Amazon Marketplace for shipping and handling.

Gift Books

The best way to illustrate this is through examples. If you're planning to buy gift books this holiday season, you might consider, "Borat: Tourist Guidings to Minor Nation of U.S. and A." by Borat Sagdiyev (Sacha Baron Cohen), a hilarious send up of the standard travel guide. On Amazon.com it looks cheap, as it costs US$16.47, down from the list price of US$24.95. But you only pay US$14.97 for it on Buy.com, and US$14.11 on Walmart.com. Barnes and Noble's website, BN.com, sells it for US$15.71 (for members). Here are some other gift book examples (prices were current as of the writing of this article):

"I Am America (And So Can You)," by Stephen Colbert
(Amazon.com: US$16.19, BN.com members: US$16.19, Costco.com members: US$15.49, Walmart.com: US$14.82, Buy.com: US$14.57)

"The War: An Intimate History, 1941-1945," by Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns
(Amazon.com: US$29.99, Walmart.com: US$29.00, Costco.com members: US$28.49, BN.com members: US$31.50, Buy.com: US$29.95)

"His Dark Materials Omnibus," by Philip Pullman, a trade paperback that includes the three novels, "The Golden Compass," "The Subtle Knife" and "The Amber Spyglass"
(Amazon.com: US$14.95, Walmart.com: US$14.35, Buy.com: US$13.46, Costco.com members: US$12.99, BN.com members: US$15.83)

"Antony and Cleopatra," by Colleen McCullough
(Amazon.com: US$17.79, BN.com members: US$16.97, Walmart.com: US$17.08, Buy.com: US$16.01)

Shipping and Handling

To have a new book sent to you, Amazon.com and BN.com both charge US$3.99 for shipping and handling, but Walmart.com will get it to your door for only US$1.97. Costco.com's shipping charges depend on where the item is being sent. They charged me US$2.62 to send "I Am America (And So Can You)" to an address in central New Jersey. (I chose that book because it's about the size of a standard hardcover.) For the same order, Buy.com's shipping and handling costs came to US$4.25.

"What about Amazon's free-shipping deal?" you ask. (For orders over US$25, Amazon.com waives all shipping and handling charges for deliveries within the United States.) Well, Buy.com and BN.com both offer the same deal, and Walmart.com charges nothing for shipping and handling if you have qualifying products sent to a store. (You have to pick it up from the store, however.) I am not aware of any such deals offered by Costco.com.

Used Books

When it comes to second-hand books, Amazon Marketplace has to be one of the greatest ideas ever conceived for used-book buyers. Through it, Amazon.com is linked to thousands of third party vendors that seem to offer copies of virtually every book ever published. The greatest benefit is the comfort you feel buying used books this way. There's no need to worry about some unscrupulous merchant absconding with your credit card number and payment - all monetary transactions flow through Amazon.com, a well-known and upstanding entity.

But Amazon.com isn't the only one in this business; Half.com (owned by Ebay), Buy.com and BN.com now have burgeoning used-book operations of their own. Like Amazon Marketplace, all payments flow through the owners of the sites: Ebay, Buy.com and Barnes and Noble. Their third party vendors never see your credit card number. So you can feel at ease buying used books from them too.

Nowadays you can also feel smart because Half.com, Buy.com and BN.com-linked merchants often sell the same second-hand books Amazon Marketplace-sellers offer, only they charge less, both in terms of book price and shipping. I've listed some examples below. (In each case I've featured used books in "good" or better condition, sold by a highly rated and experienced third-party merchant.)

"The Pillars of the Earth," by Ken Follett (Paperback, 2002)
Amazon.com: US$11.98 + $3.99 (S&H) = US$15.97
Half.com: US$11.70 + $3.49 (S&H) = US$15.19
Buy.com: US$10.57 + $3.20 = US$13.77
BN.com: US$4.92 + $3.89 = US$8.81 (Mass Market Paperback)

"Don't Sweat the Small Stuff ... and it's all small stuff," by Richard Carlson (Paperback, 1997)
Amazon.com: US$15.89 + $3.99 (S&H) = US$19.88
Half.com: US$0.75 + $3.49 (S&H) = US$4.24
BN.com: US$1.99 + $3.89 (S&H) = US$5.88
Buy.com: US$3.28 + $3.20 (S&H) = US$6.48

"A Game of Thrones," by George R.R. Martin (Paperback, 1997)
Amazon.com: US$4.84 + $3.99 (S&H) = US$8.83
BN.com: US$4.40 + $3.89 = US$8.29
Buy.com: US$4.09 + $3.20 = US$7.29
Half.com: US$3.15 + $3.49 (S&H) = US$6.64

"For One More Day," by Mitch Albom (Hardcover, 2006)
Amazon.com: US$9.00 + $3.99 (S&H) = US$12.99
Half.com: US$8.85 + $3.49 (S&H) = US$12.85
Buy.com: US$11.14 + $3.20 (S&H) = US$14.34
BN.com: US$12.24 + $3.99 (S&H) = US$16.23

"Ilium," by Dan Simmons (Mass Market Paperback)
Amazon.com: US$2.43 + $3.99 (S&H) = US$6.42
Half.com: US$1.71 + $3.49 (S&H) = US$5.20
BN.com: US$2.80 + $3.89 = US$6.69
Buy.com: US$5.82 + $3.20 = US$9.02

"The Knight," by Gene Wolfe (Hardcover)
Amazon.com: US$10.01 + $3.99 (S&H) = US$14.00
Half.com: US$1.20 + $3.49 (S&H) = US$4.69
Buy.com: US$16.07 + $3.20 = US$19.27
BN.com: US$1.99 + $3.89 = US$5.88 (Paperback)

What Amazon Doesn't Have

Then there are the books you can't find on Amazon.com. Want to buy a mass market paperback (pocketbook) edition of "The Pillars of the Earth," by Ken Follett? Don't go to Amazon.com; they're all out, the last time I checked. (You will find more expensive hardcover and trade paperback editions, however.) The same is true of "The Knight," by Gene Wolfe (an interesting fantasy about a boy who becomes a knight). Amazon sells the hardcover edition, but no paperbacks (as of the writing of this article).

To be fair, Amazon.com isn't the only used-book retailer with this problem. As you may have noticed above, BN.com doesn't sell the hardcover edition of "The Knight" (only the paperback), and while it carries pocketbook editions of "The Pillars of the Earth," it doesn't sell the hardcover (per my last visit to the site). From my experience, I have also found that Buy.com's selection tends to be lacking compared to its used-book e-seller competitors.

But I expect more from Amazon.com. It's been in the online book business longer than its rivals, and it built its reputation on having an extensive and ever-growing collection of reasonably priced titles. It should be working non-stop to expand its new and used-book offerings, and fill in gaps in its inventory when alerted by customers.

My Attempt to Help

In October 2007, I logged into Amazon.com to find a used copy of the paperback, "Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome," by Lesley Adkins & Roy A. Adkins (a great reference, by the way). I enjoyed watching the HBO "Rome" series and a fellow fan recommended this book to me. To my astonishment, I found Amazon doesn't sell it. The online retailer offers the hardcover edition for US$70 and some second-hand hardcovers for US$39.99, but no paperbacks at all.

This was unusual, especially since BN.com, Half.com and Buy.com all carry the paperback edition. (I ended up buying it at Half.com for US$9.90.). Since this was the first time I had seen such a deficiency on Amazon.com, I decided to let them know about it, sending them an email with links to the other sites and complete details about the book in question. (I owned shares of the company at the time.)

I received a very polite e-letter in response, thanking me for my input, that read, in part, "I will be sure to pass your message on to the appropriate department in our company." Since then I've received no further correspondence. I went online as I wrote this (two months later) to see if Amazon now offers the paperback, but they still don't.

I can't help thinking that while Amazon.com has been growing at break-neck speed, trying to become the ultimate e-tailer of everything, and flogging its latest gadget, the Kindle, it has forgotten what made it famous and popular in the first place: getting readers the books they want, at the best price possible.

(NOTE: Since publication of this article, Amazon.com has plugged some of the above-mentioned inventory gaps. You will now be able to buy the paperback edition of "Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome" on the site, for example.)