WHERE DO YOU BUY COOKBOOKS?

A friend sent me a gift of cookbooks from JESSICA'S BISCUIT. Their catalogue looks sooo tempting, as does their website.
Has anyone gotten books from them? With no tax and free shipping, they seem even lower than AMAZON.

[lemons]

I sure would like to be saying my local independent book store, but their selection has waned over recent years, or perhaps my interests are getting more specific. So the answer is lots of different places.

I don't find the chain bookstores good enough for browsing cookbooks. We have a good library system and I can obtain many books that I'm interested in, take them home, read them and decide if they're worth buying or not. And I save the price of the latte....

[bitchincook]

I buy them at an actual book store, usually Barnes & Noble. That's because I like to look them over thoroughly before I purchase. It may cost more up front than buying them discounted online, but I save by not wasting money on books that turn out to be disappointments.

[Hank Hanover]

So go into Barnes and Noble and have a latte and peruse your cookbooks ... then buy them used. The money you save will pay for your latte.

[absurdnerdbird]

Garage sales and thrift shops.

[Delucacheesemonger]

Jessica's Biscuit
eBay
Alibris
Half.com

[Hank Hanover]

I hardly ever buy new cookbooks. I try to buy used. I use half.ebay.com and Amazon. I also keep an eye on craigslist. I used to buy from used bookstore but most of the big ones started getting ridiculous. If you have some small ones in your area, they are an excellent source. I also like to go to garage and estate sales.

Cookbooks get re-released every few years with the major improvement being a new cover. Consequently, I often buy the last edition that came out 3 -4 years before.

[iL Divo]

I buy them out of the country or at charity shops or online but often get them as gifts

I forgot about another great cookbook source when I originally posted an answer to this question. It's newbookscheap.com. These folks have some incredibly low prices on brand new cookbooks. Here's a link:

Link: http://www.newbookscheap.com

Daedalus, which sells mostly remaindered books, has great prices on cookbooks. And they have a surprisingly good selection. Before you buy online, check to see if Daedalus has it for $3 or $5.

Anne

Link: http://www.daedalusbooks.com/

I like bookcloseouts.com They do not always have specific titles but I love the scratch and dent. If you look, there are also unsually coupons online for then, Also really fast delivery

Try Amazon,Ebay and Zooba.com. where all of the books are $10 including shipping, but you have to buy one a month.

I buy cookbooks at Jessica's Biscuit's online website, ecookbooks.com, at amazon.com and at barnesandnoble.com.

Jessica's Biscuit has a few advantages over the others. It's often cheaper (40% off many current cookbooks vs. 30-34% at amazon and b&n) and they give you a freebie (some of their coffee, a t-shirt, a remainder book) when you spend $40.00 at one session. And they've recently offered (I think that this offer is still good) a free 1-year subscription (they'll add a year if you already subscribe and this is in addition to the other free offer) to Gourmet, Bon Appetit, Domino or Conde Nast Traveler if you spend $50 or more on an order.

Link: http://www.ecookbooks.com

I often buy from half.com. It's part of eBay, but you can buy a title for a specific price. I also buy at G Sales and library sales, as well as the Good Cook and Amazon. I sometimes borrow them from a the library to be sure it's something I want before I buy.

I usually get mine in january from thrift stores in high end neighborhoods. most of my $80 cookbooks were unwanted christmas presents that I picked up practically unopened and certainly unused for $5-10.

otherwise, I tend to order on-line. froogle is my friend. I just can't stand to pay a mint for a cookbook I'm going to splatter with all manner of foodstuffs. I'm not a tidy cook.
;)
m

You and I are on the same page--most of my cookbooks come from thrift stores (and estate sales). A virtual treasure trove!!!!

I bought a book from them once and received a deluge of catalogs to follow. It was the only negative of the experience, and certainly not something unique to Jessica's Biscuit (just a pet peeve).

Most often at Half Price Books but Amazon too, occasionally Jessica's

I either buy from Jessica's Biscuit, or go to their store - New England Mobile Book Fair (Newton, Massachusetts - a wonderful place!) This is a privately owned, local bookstore, with a HUGE stock and incredibly knowledgable employees. Gotta love it!

To answer your question, purchases made from Jessica's Biscuit arrive very quickly. They really are a great deal.

It's been quite a while, but I've bought from them - they were fine. Unless you're spending less than $25 and live in WA, though, Amazon's shipping is free and of course, no tax, either. (In general, I mean; that won't help with another place's gift certficate.) I'd like Powell's more if they were more specific about used book condition on their site - you can find it out, but it's a PITA. Their new prices are generally nothing to write home about and a lot of their used books are on the high side.

I generally start with Google and go from there. A positive aspect to globalization is that, currency conversion willing, it's very easy to order books from just about anywhere in the world these days...

I have a membership in The Good Cook. The price seems right and it's very convenient.

I've "used" The Good Cook too to buy big, expensive books (Zuni, Way to Cook, etc) - you get 3 or 4 books for a buck plus shipping. Then you have to buy three more books to "fulfill your commitment." The prices are okay, shipping is high, but getting those first books dirt cheap makes it a good deal. You also have to remember to keep up with refusing the books they automatically send unless you tell them not to. I always cancel as soon as I can and rejoin 6 months later under another name to get more cheap books.

Copperfield's (Napa, Calistoga, Petaluma, Sebastopol and Santa Rosa) has a table with discounted (mostly hardback) cookbooks for $7 to $10.

No need to play the imposter. After doing the book club waltz with them, some months later they came back at me with a new offer just like the last one - 4 books at $1 each, etc.

A friend of mine loves that source, but I'm a loyal Powell's buyer online - I like to combine cookbooks and non-cookbooks in my order to get the free shipping. They have a great selection, new and used books, and their workers have a union. It's a great local (Pacific NW) bricks and mortar store that's made the successful leap into internet bookselling.

In NYC, I love the Strand.

Link: http://www.powells.com/

[GH1618]

I go to Powell's first whenever I am looking for a specific book.