As any book lover knows, growing a library full of your favorite authors, bestsellers and random finds gets fairly difficult and expensive.

Local thrift shops never seem to have just what you want, the big chain stores are pricy and shipping for some of the titles you want from online sources such as Amazon tends to be more expensive than the book itself. Luckily, the website ThriftBooks.com provides incredibly good deals on used books, as well as free shipping for any purchase over $10 in the United States.

In addition to these cheap prices and free shipping, the website offers deals throughout the year from the general Thrift Deal (where any book designated with this label is 2 for $7, 3 for $10 or 4 for $12) to the more personal gift card codes delivered to you on your birthday. ThriftBooks also rewards loyalty. For every $50 or so spent, you get a coupon for your next purchase.

The books on this website come from subsidiary companies such as the environmentally-oriented Green Earth Books and used book gathering groups such as Yellow Rose Books. These operations allow ThriftBooks to have one of the most extensive collections of used books online. The titles come from used thrift shops, library sales and people just trying to clear some space on their shelves. This means that whatever you buy may have a few markings or bent corners, but the ThriftBooks team checks their products before they ship and will upgrade your book for free if the copy is too damaged, or if there’s a copy closer to your address in better condition.

You can also buy DVDs, CDs, VHS tapes, video games and cassette tapes for cheap, and these items are included in many of the same deals the books are.

Is there any downside to this website? Well, other than creating a dangerously easy way to feed your book addiction, there aren’t many.

One issue is that newer books, for instance, historian Sarah Vowell’s recently released Lafayette in the Somewhat United States, are priced around nine times higher than the average book on the site. But examples such as this are the exceptions, not the rule. Typically, a book on the site costs around $3 or $4, which often beats the cheapest price on Amazon.

Other than the fact that the site’s textbook deals often fall far short of being a comprehensive list for classroom needs, ThriftBooks is a reliable, easy to use and quick way to get your own copy of many of your favorite titles.

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@Ehmannky