This reminds me how I wish I hadn’t loaned my friend my copy of LSD by Otto Snow a long time ago. Apparently it’s $877 on Amazon right now.
I bought it for like $30 at the time.
Show HN: I built a site that finds the cheapest place to buy a book
61–70 of 303 posts
Re: Show HN: I built a site that finds the cheapest place to buy a book
#62No post body was provided.
Re: Show HN: I built a site that finds the cheapest place to buy a book
#63On your prices, if the amount ends with a 0, you lop it off. So $12.40 becomes 12.4. Dollar prices require two decimals.
Re: Show HN: I built a site that finds the cheapest place to buy a book
#64Is "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 get started. They may offer benefits or profit sharing.
But a physical space like that costs money. Experience costs money. Curation costs money (indirectly).
I'd argue that cheapest as a metric undercuts best as a metric. Cheap is one important input to the purchasing decision, but it shouldn't be the only one.
We have to learn to accept some inefficiencies and some personal inconveniences for the sake of a healthier social ecosystem.
Re: Show HN: I built a site that finds the cheapest place to buy a book
#65Is "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…
I think you might be confusing peoples desires of a physical book, vs bookstore?
Re: Show HN: I built a site that finds the cheapest place to buy a book
#66Is "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…
Thanks for your comment, all of that is certainly true. I'm thinking through a solution that would likely come in the form of certain filters on the site. I'd try to get your region as accurately as possible or ask for input, and then serve you local bookstores in your area that have their catalogues online. Something like this would help promote local stores and help you differentiate between your local bookstores. It's not something I've started building yet but what do you think of it?
Re: Show HN: I built a site that finds the cheapest place to buy a book
#67Is "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…
100% agreed. Whenever I see something being promoted as "cheapest" I try to stay clear. Not only because you often get what you pay for, but also for reasons like the one you mention.
Re: Show HN: I built a site that finds the cheapest place to buy a book
#68This functionality makes a lot more sense as an extension; it saves us the hassle of visiting/bookmarking a new site. It also saves you the hassle of building good search functionality, which is quite tricky for books if you are using titles and not ISBNs. We put together an open-source version for this a while back, but it's been gathering dust ever since. https://github.com/OpsopiDev/extpricext Anyone with javascri…
Thanks for this. An extension is the next major step for this product. Your tool looks really good.
No one wants more extensions
Re: Show HN: I built a site that finds the cheapest place to buy a book
#69Earlier quoted context omitted.
Thanks for this. An extension is the next major step for this product. Your tool looks really good.
No one wants more extensions
That's why I think it will be good to have both options, people who prefer sites can use the site as is, if you prefer to download extensions and forget about sites then that option will also exist.
Re: Show HN: I built a site that finds the cheapest place to buy a book
#70Is "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…
I think you might be confusing peoples desires of a physical book, vs bookstore?
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 no local amenity. But they might employ someone locally. Maybe. The print on demand shop is giving me a counterfeit product, but it's the cheapest. It provides no local benefit.
So I'm not confusing book for bookstore. I'm specifically saying that the second order effects of seeking the cheapest copy of a book have implications beyond the sale of the book itself.