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

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

#81

Post by shnksi »

Double_a_92 wrote: post #78
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…

I guess you wouldn't be buying it if you pirate it.

This is aimed towards physical books. Hopefully if people can access books legally and cheaply it will discourage piracy.

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

#82

Post by quickthrower2 »

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…

Clearly this is the cheapest online and legal options. It would be odd and short-lived to include illegally shared books at $0, and a site that shows physical stores would also be odd, since if you are going to a local bookshop you are probably not price sensitive.

So for someone shopping online it a good objective, and may take away business from Amazon which is probably a good thing for competition. It is also useful in helping people find books at all, sometimes Amazon doesn't have everything, especially globally.

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

#83

Post by bee_rider »

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.

What is "fine" is a values judgement. I would say that there's a continuum that goes from downloading an unapproved copy (worst) to buying the book at a local bookstore (best), and buying from Amazon instead sits somewhere in the middle. Somebody else might find the whole publishing industry gross, and decide the most moral choices are to either pirate the book or buy a secondhand copy.

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

#84

Post by sheepdestroyer »

numlock86 wrote: post #42

Trying to make sense of this website, today I learned that Canada and the USA for example have no FBP (fixed book price) laws/agreements apparently. The more you know ...

I was confused for a second too. It seems that fixed book price is more the exception than the rule. I just took it for granted.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixed_book_price

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

#86

Post by bee_rider »

kennyloginz wrote: post #68
shnksi wrote: post #52

Earlier 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

I found someone who does, in fact they were just a tiny bit up from your post.

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

#89

Post by shnksi »

achow wrote: post #80
shnksi wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.…

Just as a counter. You are not obligate to listen to OP's comment, that is just one of the many perspectives that one can have around a book shopping. Please go ahead and do build a hyper focused product which finds out most 'inexpensive' source for a book that one is clear about (that is, one is not in a discovery mode). I'm sure there would be whole lot of students who would be super thankful about this service, th…

Thanks for this. The focus of this product is cheap books. I do find it interesting to learn about different approaches to purchasing and purchasing decisions. In the long term, additional filters to support local bookstores could be a cool addition. Also, I'm looking into targeting textbooks more closely. Hopefully the textbook specific results will be better and cheaper before the end of the month.

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

#90

Post by jakuboboza »

it should have probably also found ISBN numbers as when i did a search for Achtung Panzer i had all language versions and releases mixed in results. So it might be fine for books with single release but books that have multiple release and versions and on top of that pictures can be less fun to check :) Maybe You should also cache results for like a 1-3 days or something.
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