10 Ways to Save Money on Books

Are you struggling to promote literacy in your home while on a budget?  Here are ten ideas for ways to save money on books.

1. Borrow books from the library.  Go to the library, get a library card and use it!  Here in New Orleans, there is an awesome collection of books spread out among numerous branches.  I find that it's difficult to walk into any one branch and find the book I am looking for.  Instead, I request the books online first and have them delivered to the branch closest to my home.  Depending on availability, the books will be waiting for me at the check out desk of my local branch the next day.  Awesome!  When we go to pick up the books, we can still spend time browsing the shelves for other books.

2. Sign up for summer reading programs.  We love summer reading programs, and we sign up for just about every one we find out about.  If your kids are at all like mine, they will enjoy logging the books they have read or checking required books off a list!  Usually a free book is one of the prizes awarded for completing these programs.  Be sure to read the rules for each specific program carefully, as some require your child to have read the books while others permit you to read the books to your children.  The ones that we have completed so far are listed below.  Note that Borders also has a summer reading program, but the stores in our area have closed, so we did not complete that program. If you are interested, check out the information here.

• New Orleans Public Library Summer Reading Program  
• Barnes and Noble Summer Reading Imagination's Destination 
• Pottery Barn Kids Summer Reading Challenge
• Kumon and Scholastic Program (now closed)

3. Trade books on PaperBackSwap.  Through PaperBackSwap  you can swap books with other members (they don't have to be paperback).  To begin, create an account and list 10 books that you would like to part with.  You will receive two credits that you can use to request books from other members.  If another member requests one of your books, you pay the postage to mail the book to the requester.  When that book is received, you receive another credit, which you can use to request another book.

4. Trade books on ThredUp.com.  Similarly, ThredUp.com is a site for trading clothes and toys.  You pay $5 plus a $10.95 shipping fee per box requested.  You can search the box listings for boxes containing books.  Once you receive a box of items, you should post a box of items for another person to request.  You receive the boxes for mailing free and only pay shipping when you are requesting a box.
    

5. Check out yard sales.  When we lived in California, it seemed like every weekend someone in our neighborhood was having a yard sale.  While we didn't go yard sale shopping an awful lot, when we did, we found some great deals on books.  Usually, the newspaper will list yard sales in your area and the items to be sold.

6. Go to local book fairs/sales.  Check at your public library and see if they have used book sales.  Look around for other sales in your area, too.  We recently found out about an annual book sale in New Orleans to benefit the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, the Symphony Book Fair.  We paid $5 for a paper shopping bag and were able to load it up with as many children's books as would fit.  I'd say we came home with at least 30 books.  Among them were The Secret Garden, Anne of Avonlea, Stuart Little, seven of the American Girls books, The Twenty-One Balloons, The Borrowers, Black Beauty and many more.  Mark your calendars for next year's sale: May 17-19!

7. Check out used book stores in your area.  Find out if the used book stores in your area will take trade-ins.  We recently found an awesome used book store in New Orleans, Blue Cypress Books.  We already had a bag of books that we wanted to part with (since we had to clear some bookshelf space for our avid reader).  They took most of the books off of our hands and gave us credit to use to purchase other books in the store.  You receive 50% of the book's selling price in store credit or 25% in cash.  They have lots of quality children's literature, not just fluff!  The owner herself has a great knowledge of children's literature and is just a delight to converse with. If you're in NOLA, you really ought to check it out!

8. Use Swagbucks.  Go here to download the Swagbucks toolbar.  Use it as your search engine and you will randomly earn swagbucks, which you can trade in for gift cards or merchandise.  A $5 Amazon gift card will cost you 450 swagbucks, which of course can be used to buy, you guessed it, books!  Now, I have to be honest here, my husband refuses to use the Swagbucks search engine.  He does not like it one bit. That's fine...I earn gift cards for myself then!  There are lots of other ways to earn swagbucks, too, by watching videos and entering codes you find places, etc.  I don't have time for that, but if you have time and money is really tight, go for it!  Go here for a great post on the topic.

9. Trade books with friends.  I have personally never done this because I have always lived in an area with an excellent library system.  If you don't have a good library in your area or library trips are just impossible for you, maybe you could consider swapping books with a friend.

10. Consider purchasing a Kindle or Nook.  I know these readers are not cheap.  But, my husband just bought me a Kindle for my birthday/Mother's Day, and I have been so surprised by how many books I have been able to get for free!  Recently I read Pollyanna as well as Alice in Wonderland to the girls, which I got on my Kindle for free.  You may be thinking, "But kids won't want to read books off a Kindle.  They want to see the illustrations!"  Yes, I agree, kids do like to look at illustrations, but don't underestimate how excited your kids will be to push the buttons to turn the pages on your Kindle!

What other ways have you found to save money on books?  I'd really like to hear other suggestions!