Books in charity shops.

Carlos_dfc · 21/05/08 - 22:44

Does anyone else get a lot of books from charity shops?

OK, so there's usually a lot of dross - but worth checking every week or so for the occasional bargain.

Today for instance - popped into the local 'British Red Cross' shop - and from the 3 for £1 paperback table, picked of Dostoyevsky's 'Crime and Punishment', Conan-Doyle's 'Hound of the Baskervilles', and Dean Koontz's 'False Memory'
Then from the 2 for £1 hardback table, I added Terry Pratchett's 'Men at Arms' and Stephen King's (as Richard Bachman) 'The Regulators'

OK, so I've already read C&P, and HotB, but didn't have my own copies, and well worth a re-read.
Can't go wrong for £2

welshsarah · 21/05/08 - 22:54

I buy most of my books from them you can find some amazing bargins I bought most of my stephen king books there
If it wasn't for the chairty shops I wouldn't have got into Jodi Pilcoult

[Deleted User] · 21/05/08 - 23:14

Same here. I buy quite a few books in there.

I've got a good collection of Philippa Gregory books and I've also picked up quite a few chick lit books I was looking at in the supermarkets, but didn't have the money for.

[Deleted User] · 22/05/08 - 20:24

I got all the Dune books, also the prequels The House Harkonen and The House Atriedes. So Charity shops are well worth a visit for books.

Tissy · 24/05/08 - 05:26

I wish I could, it would be a lot cheaper, can`t do library books either

tomvoxx · 24/05/08 - 08:43

We have 3 excellent charity shops in town that are always worth a visit. My OH never seems to come back with less than 3 books every week. They are always cheap enough that if you don't like them they can go back - recycling at it's finest

Abriel · 24/05/08 - 11:45

welshsarah wrote: »

I buy most of my books from them you can find some amazing bargins I bought most of my stephen king books there
If it wasn't for the chairty shops I wouldn't have got into Jodi Pilcoult

I love her books and got several from there. Still looking for Harvesting the Heart though.

I always check out the books section in my charity shops. It makes me smile how the same books seem to crop up all the time though. eg Da vinci code, various celeb biogs, Marian Keyes

Abriel · 24/05/08 - 11:48

Tissy wrote: »

I wish I could, it would be a lot cheaper, can`t do library books either

Sorry to be nosey, can't you get out? I find amazon sellers can be good value when you can't get to the shops. The postage is about £2.75, but the books themselves canbe as little as a few pence and very good quality.

Loz_Fraggle · 24/05/08 - 14:17

I suppose it depends on the shops, all the charity shops I've tried, have had ones for older people, the only ones that had that looked worth it, was the Jane Austen book club and one teen one, I think I donated in the first place.

[Deleted User] · 24/05/08 - 17:30

I'm also turning to amazon booksellers. I bought a book for a penny, plus the £2.75 P+P and it worked out cheaper.

[Deleted User] · 25/05/08 - 21:18

Hello, been lurking for some time, now emerging from under cover

I buy all my books from charity shops. I'm not paying £7.99 for a book which I can buy for 50p two months later. I go trawling every Saturday...sometimes come back with two, sometimes with fifteen...it depends entirely on what's in stock. One charity near here has a specialist book shop which is extremely popular (other charities take note!).

System · 25/05/08 - 23:25

One charity near here has a specialist book shop which is extremely popular (other charities take note!).

We have one too, it's fab

I love trawling charity shops, because you never know what books will turn up. And the prices are good of course!

Abriel · 25/05/08 - 23:49

Faded_Flowers wrote: »

We have one too, it's fab

I love trawling charity shops, because you never know what books will turn up. And the prices are good of course!

I assume Oxfam are doing this all over the country? we have books/dvd/cd shop in Coventry & leamington Spa which are both excellent. They're a bit pricier than your bog standard charity shop, but very well organised.

linnylou · 26/05/08 - 19:01

There's about 4 charity in shops in my towm, and I have a nosey in them when I can. I either get my books from Asda, at the £3.97 prices - never pay full price for a book, I wait until they come out in paperback, or the charity shops.
I normally go for biographies, chick lit, observational-type diary/blogs or travel writers.

My Dad used to pick up a lot of first editions from his local charity shops.

System · 26/05/08 - 23:43

Abriel wrote: »

I assume Oxfam are doing this all over the country? we have books/dvd/cd shop in Coventry & leamington Spa which are both excellent. They're a bit pricier than your bog standard charity shop, but very well organised.

Ours is a St John's Hospice (I think) - though there is an Oxfam version further away. Ours is cheaper though, and BOGOF on the hardbacks

Russ_WWFC · 28/05/08 - 19:08

I'll buy anything special that I want online, then use charity shops and football club shops (Hayes and Yeading's in Non League is excellent) to fill any gaps where I fancy something random

GiraffeGirl · 29/05/08 - 19:52

Love charity shop book shopping! I often pick up books that I've heard about and thought about reading, but don't want to spend £5+ on buying new in case I don't like it. Have actually just picked 3 up today: Alice Walker's "The Colour Purple", another cope of "Pride and Prejudice" as I've lent my other (also charity shop) copy to someone who will never return it, and a book called "When I was 5 I killed myself" that one of my friends did for A level and I kept meaning to borrow it and never got round to asking.

At 50p a pop, can't argue with it!

[Deleted User] · 30/05/08 - 17:49

One of my favourtine pastimes is trawling these shops. Get to pick up some very good bargains. I've found quite a few first edition hardbacks. Some of them appear to be unread, which is all the better for me.

[Deleted User] · 30/05/08 - 17:57

I love going into charity shops and looking at the books, I always buy too many. I've got a huge pile of books I haven't yet started.

[Deleted User] · 30/05/08 - 21:25

every now and again I nip in but mostly swap for books on readitswapit

[Deleted User] · 01/06/08 - 23:51

If anyone is in Winchester or visits make sure you go to the Cathederal book stall. All books are £1 and the money goes towards scholarships for the boys.... WE go every weekend and buy buy buy... Charity shops are great, visit Trinity Hospice ones if you are in South London 25p a book I paid in Walworth. I find Oxfam can be incredibly expensive, I wouldn't pay £3.99 for a book from a charity shop if Icould buy it for the same amount in a supermarket.

Abriel · 02/06/08 - 13:46

Lainy wrote: »

every now and again I nip in but mostly swap for books on readitswapit

Never heard of this before, thanks, will see what comes up.:)

Loz_Fraggle · 02/06/08 - 17:08

I haven't bothered with charity before, as I assumed in my local ones, they'd be all romantic books, and I went today, and while there were some Danielle Steel and Catherine Cookson and about twenty books I'd donated, there were some good ones including a Penguin Modern Classic issue of a Clockwork Orange, and a Bill Bryson book. So I may buy the Clockwork Orange when I next go into town.

[Deleted User] · 02/06/08 - 20:00

I buy books from one charity shop, read it , then take to another charity shop. that means the money circulates the charity system.

[Deleted User] · 02/06/08 - 21:29

ReadItSwapIt.com is great. Haven't used it for a while as now i have to pay my own postage (used to do this through work) but got some great book via it. Worth giving it a go.

SecretLifeoBees · 02/06/08 - 21:55

We used to have an excellent little second hand bookshop where I live, the sort of place you didn't realise was there unless you were from the town (and it's a small market town). Used to go all the time when I was a child, that's how I collected all my Famous 5 books and many other Enid Blyton books.... a lot of them were really old copies too (the red hardbacks from the 1950's I think) and all bought for under £1

:D

I really love our local Oxfam bookshop though, but I find some of there stuff a tad on the high priced side and think that I may as well buy it new.

Hey there!

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Books in charity shops.

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