Online book stores for English-language books

Alright, well since my German is limited. TV isn't much of an option for me. I might get the joke but not the punchline or the punchline and not the joke. I need English! So I read a lot.

Anyhow... I buy most of my stuff from Amazon.de and just today ordered from Amazon.co.uk. What I want to know is if there is anywhere where you can actually order a book that is reasonable in price and not get the beat down on shipping? Have any of you found a pretty good place to buy books over the internet and not got burnt on shipping, etc? I wish I knew more than just Amazon. Unfortunately that's the only place I'm getting my stuff from over here.

Ordered "Gorky Park" for 3.99 (pounds) from .uk but get the whipping stick in shipping, if I'd ordered from amazon.de the price would have been about 6.99 euro but shipping wouldn't have been as bad. Anyways... maybe there's a less expensive solution for my paperback cravings?

Thanks in advance for your wonderful TTer advice and tips.

One I recommend is www.play.com, cheaper books, no delivery charge.

german amazon sells english books. less of a selection though. Since the US$ is low, it might make sense to check out amazon.com too, but dont forget to think about the import tax. You could also combine an order with other TTers to reduce shipping costs - unless they are per item.

I use amazon.de they have an "English books" section and if you order over €20, the postage is totally free.

Looking on play.com, Gorky Park would cost 5.49 pounds. So without delivery costs, that's okay.

If you look on German eBay there are always a few people selling english books - shipping is usually pretty cheap, cause the german post office has a special parcel type, called "büchersendung" which only costs like 1,50.

amazon.de are very reliable and always have a good selection of English books. At the moment they are having a clearance sale, so loads of cheap book, and often with free delivery (free anyway above €20)

Okay thanks. For Play.com does the "free shipping on all items" mean to Germany too or is that just a UK thing?

I never had a problem or found anywhere cheaper than Amazon. Did you have a problem with them, then? Just wondering. I always get stuff from there.

Actually no. I use Amazon. I was just wondering if there was a secret insider kinda website where the English books are the price of English books in the states and you get charged local rather than overseas/international shipping rates. Perhaps nothing like that exists though. Til this point I've been mostly relying on Amazon.de or people who are coming to visit from the States - they can be such great couriers!

agree with Topsy. Even buy other stuff, not just books, from Amazon. fast, reliable and good selection. You need not look further really. Use Amazon.DE not .COM then you get charged local rates, or FREE above €20.

as I said, try eBay

Try www.bookfinder.com. The website is in the States, and you can buy new or used books for outstanding prices. I've found books on there at very reasonable prices that ended up shipped to me in the States from Europe, so I suppose you're likely to find some from shops in Europe. At any rate, the prices you'll find on their should more than make up for any extra shipping costs.

That means for both the UK and Germany. Think it's for all EU countries but not sure, never had to check.

I've never had any problems with www.play.com and I order lots of DVDs from them (unfortunately!). They're based in the Channel Islands and the order takes from 2 days to 1 week on average. Occasionally it is sent via customs who open it up then send it on to you, in which case it takes 1 week to 2 weeks.

You have to be carefull with play.com. As Urban Angel rightly says, they are a Channel Island company. The Channel Islands are NOT part of the EU. The German tax authorities are liable to impose German taxes on any packages sent to a German address from play.com. A fellow TTer (or was it a friend of his?) ordered DVDs from them and had to pay German taxes on them.

This seems newer (but not so cheap): www.english-book-service.de

Try: Escape Books