Computer books on the cheap......
Mar. 16th, 2005 12:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
poltr1A tangent from what ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cadhla posted in her LJ about ABE Books....
Here's something I've noticed: When a new version of software comes out, there's a whole slew of new computer books that also come out at nearly the same time. So what happens to the the old computer books? They get marked down for deep discount, only because Somebody (the publishers, probably) thinks "they're obsolete".
Bullstuff. Does the software change that much between versions? I think not.
And so, I end up finding some real bargains. Computer books at half the suggested retail price, or less. If it's a language book, like Java, C++, or Perl, the language really doesn't change all that much between versions of the language. If it's a book for a piece of software, such as Quicken, Word, or Netscape, the older version (obviously) won't list any of the features and enhancements in the new release. But I'm OK with that. I know that this year's software -- and related documentation -- becomes last year's model when next year's -- or the following year's -- version is released.
So, once these books leave the shelves of the bookstores, what happens? A mark gets put on the book, to indicate that it's a "remainder" or "overstock" book. It then goes into the reseller chain, and ends up being purchased by (and going to) bookstore chains like Half Price Books, online shopping sites like overstock.com, or specialty vendors like
Discount PC Books.com (based in Hilliard, OH) and
Readme.Doc (based in Chambersburg, PA). Some of the vendors, like the two I've named, have had booths at local computer shows I've attended in the past. I've had good luck with them, and will continue to buy from them. Even if I don't see them at computer shows anymore, since the internet has enabled people like me to shop from them every day, instead of waiting for the shows.
This is how I've managed to build a rather large and impressive library of computer books, and not spend a fortune or risk bankruptcy by doing so. Now comes another problem -- either I need to get more bookshelves, or I need to start culling the shelves of books for software that's really obsolete or no longer used.
cadhla posted in her LJ about ABE Books....Here's something I've noticed: When a new version of software comes out, there's a whole slew of new computer books that also come out at nearly the same time. So what happens to the the old computer books? They get marked down for deep discount, only because Somebody (the publishers, probably) thinks "they're obsolete".
Bullstuff. Does the software change that much between versions? I think not.
And so, I end up finding some real bargains. Computer books at half the suggested retail price, or less. If it's a language book, like Java, C++, or Perl, the language really doesn't change all that much between versions of the language. If it's a book for a piece of software, such as Quicken, Word, or Netscape, the older version (obviously) won't list any of the features and enhancements in the new release. But I'm OK with that. I know that this year's software -- and related documentation -- becomes last year's model when next year's -- or the following year's -- version is released.
So, once these books leave the shelves of the bookstores, what happens? A mark gets put on the book, to indicate that it's a "remainder" or "overstock" book. It then goes into the reseller chain, and ends up being purchased by (and going to) bookstore chains like Half Price Books, online shopping sites like overstock.com, or specialty vendors like
Discount PC Books.com (based in Hilliard, OH) and
Readme.Doc (based in Chambersburg, PA). Some of the vendors, like the two I've named, have had booths at local computer shows I've attended in the past. I've had good luck with them, and will continue to buy from them. Even if I don't see them at computer shows anymore, since the internet has enabled people like me to shop from them every day, instead of waiting for the shows.
This is how I've managed to build a rather large and impressive library of computer books, and not spend a fortune or risk bankruptcy by doing so. Now comes another problem -- either I need to get more bookshelves, or I need to start culling the shelves of books for software that's really obsolete or no longer used.
