As a follow-up to my book buying habits post—and as part 2/3 of this book buying series—today I’ll be going over some sites where you can buy books for a good price as an international reader. I’m Spain based, so some items on this list might be Spanish resources, but I will include them because they might be useful to some of you—and because I’m writing this list partly as a reminder to myself.
Table of contents ☰
Useful Tools
Firstly, before jumping into the book buying sites, I want to mention these tools that might prove useful before purchasing books.
1. BookFinder
This is a price comparison tool, and it’s very easy to use and it’ll save you some browsing time. You simply write what book you want and it’ll scan the Internet for where to find it. Once you’ve clicked on the correct one in the results page, it’ll provide you a list of places to buy it online new or used.
2. Ethical Bookshops Guide
This is, as the name points out, a guide where you can find different online bookshops with an ethical “ranking”. I discovered this recently, and although I don’t always check it, I think it’s an interesting resource to keep in mind.
3. Todos tus libros and Bookshop.org
Both Spain only resources that help you find local libraries to buy directly from. Bookshop has different versions depending on where you live—I know there’s US and UK ones—so it’s worth checking out. I’m listing the Spanish one because it’s what I personally use.
Where to Buy
All of these sites sell both new and used books, so there really is something for everyone. I’ll point out the ones I’ve already used at the time of writing this post.
1. Thrift Books
It’s used books can be shipped worldwide—with some restrictions—, while new ones are only available in the US. Shipping is about 5,5€.
2. Better World Books
This site offers free shipping worldwide with no minimum purchase required, with some restrictions. I haven’t tried it yet but I can’t wait to.
3. Alibris
Shipping is definitely pricier (7,72€ for Europe and 12,11€ outside of Europe), but the books are quite cheap, so the final price is not as high. It is worth checking out. There’s a US version of the site as well.
4. World of Books
A great website that I’ve already bought from twice. Shipping is very economic—it was 2€ for me—and it has fast delivery and great quality items. I’ve bought a new and a used book, and they’re both perfect.
5. Wordery
Another site with free shipping worldwide for every order. I haven’t used it yet but I can’t wait to try it!
6. Blackwell’s
I haven’t bought from them online, but when I was abroad I got all my university reads from them second-hand and they look brand-new. Shipping is free.
7. eBay
I’m linking the Spanish site. This is probably the most well-known site on this list, and it’s one that’s become my go-to for rarer books. I’ve got crazy deals on eBay, so I truly recommend browsing it when you’re looking for something that might be harder to find.
8. Biblio
This one is on the more expensive side. I haven’t used them yet, but if you’re looking for a rare book, you should check out their selection. Shipping varies depending on where you’re buying from. There’s also a US site.
9. Awesome Books
This has great prices for books and the shipping costs are pretty minimal (about 3,5€ almost everywhere).
10. Books etc.
Shipping is a bit higher for international orders (free on the UK), but still worth checking out because you might find a good deal.
11. Vinted and Wallapop
Vinted is a site born in Lithuania that has expanded to many countries, while Wallapop is a Spanish site—which I’m pretty sure only operates in Spain and Italy. Since this is a site for everyone to post their second-hand stuff, prices vary. I would say they’re probably the cheaper option if they’re available in your country. I’ve used them both, but I’m especially partial to Vinted.
Have you used any of these sites? Do you have any other recommendations for where to buy books as an international reader that isn’t Amazon-run?
The Character Study 
This is such a useful compilation, Maria! I hadn’t even heard of most of these, and the only one I’ve used myself is ebay (usually when I needed books that were out of print 😊)… So I will definitely be coming back to this!
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Believe me, I wrote as much for myself as for anyone that might need them! The ones I’ve tried so far have been great, so I’m excited to buy from the others!
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This is such a great idea… It is always so handy to have a list of places to buy books because you can never remember them all!! I have a soft spot for Blackwells… I love that it is free shipping and you don’t need to go over at certain price for it. It was great learning about some other places too.
Thank you for this list! Such an amazing resource 🥰
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I’m glad you liked it, Sophie! Balckwells is really good, I agree (I literally got all my classics for class there)!
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I’ve only known Better world books from this list, so it was really useful. Thanks for compiling these sites, I already ordered a book from World of Books. 😂 I feel like it’s really hard as an international reader because we don’t really have a lot of thrift book shops here, and finding an English used book is even harder.
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I’m super glad you found this helpful! I have one thift book shop with English books and I went yesterday and it was closed, so these online alternatives are everything!
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Thank you for these recommandation, especially these with free shipping worldwide 🙂
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You’re welcome! I had compiled them for myself but I thought people might benefit from them as well!
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