Show HN: I built a site that finds the cheapest place to buy a book

Post by sokoloff » Mon, Oct 10, 2022, 1:40 PM UTC

lupire wrote: post #212

SOLAR_FIELDS wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ive been a huge fan of betterworldbooks since discovering it for university textbooks over a decade ago. They have a pretty massive selection and the money goes to some respectable causes.

I'm sure BWB is fine. Anyway, you are also allowed to pay less at a different seller, and donate the savings to causes you respect. "Bundling" commerce and charity opens the door to risk of abuse.

Post by socialismisok » Mon, Oct 10, 2022, 1:41 PM UTC

Ligma123 wrote: post #129

socialismisok wrote: post #64

Is "cheapest" the right objective? Because if that's the case, book piracy seems like the clear winner. But maybe we should consider "cheapest with some boundaries". For instance, we probably agree that bookstores are nice for a myriad of reasons, even if we don't frequent them. They employ people in the area, they offer curation and recommendations, they invite speakers and host events, and they help local authors g…

>Because if that's the case, book piracy seems like the clear winner. You can read lots of books for free legally in the Internet Archive, specially books that are out of print. > Curation costs money (indirectly). This is mostly done by (big) publishers who want to push their shallow literature series and a couple of good books here and there. Which, again, makes places like the IA so much better for readers like me…

Post by CyberDildonics » Mon, Oct 10, 2022, 1:43 PM UTC

socialismisok wrote: post #64

Is "cheapest" the right objective? Because if that's the case, book piracy seems like the clear winner. But maybe we should consider "cheapest with some boundaries". For instance, we probably agree that bookstores are nice for a myriad of reasons, even if we don't frequent them. They employ people in the area, they offer curation and recommendations, they invite speakers and host events, and they help local authors g…

Post by socialismisok » Mon, Oct 10, 2022, 1:45 PM UTC

kortilla wrote: post #79

socialismisok wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I want a book, I can choose to buy from a local shop or Amazon or print on demand shop selling a pirated copy. Those options are listed most expensive to cheapest. But a portion of the the sale goes to that business, who in turn passes it on to various places. The local bookshop uses the money to keep an asset in my local community and employs people in my local community. Amazon ships from a warehouse, and provides…

You’re conflating cheap with copyright violation, which is a bit disingenuous in an attempt I guess to guilt people for wanting to buy a cheap book. It’s fine to want a cheap book, want to support the publisher/author with a legit purchase, and not care about supporting a bookstore. Not everyone who likes books cares to keep alive the industry of physical books and bookstores.

Post by mejutoco » Mon, Oct 10, 2022, 1:47 PM UTC

867-5309 wrote: post #178

mejutoco wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can think of it as analogous to booking a flight. Do you want the cheapest flight with a 16 hour flight and 2 transfers with Ryanair? A lot of people don't mind paying a bit more for a direct flight and a complimentary chocolate (lot, swiss air), even if all are legal. Some websites even included an option to check as "worry-free" or similar to filter out these cheap options. Book equivalents could be quality of…

>quality of paper you are extremely unlikely to find this as book metadata