A favorite outlet of ours is Bookcloseouts.com. Bookcloseouts sells remaindered books--books that were sold off as overstock by stores or publishers. These books are unused, but may have been scuffed up a little in transit and often bear a "remainder mark"--a dot or line--on the sides of the pages. They also sell what they call "scratch and dent" copies, which are books that have been banged up quite a bit and are sold at even bigger discounts (in theory--we've noticed some scratch & dent copies at higher prices!).

Bookcloseouts stock, however, is limited. Each page will state how many copies of a book are left, but it's possible that someone will buy the book from their retail location between the time you place your order and the time they process it. If they don't have a book at the time they ship your order, they'll just leave it out and you won't be charged. You will get to keep any coupons you may have used. You'll have to be sure to check the shipping notification they send you in about a day to find out what's been sent. Orders arrive in about a week with standard shipping.

Though they're based in Ontario, their prices are in American dollars, likely to attract US buyers. No, the books you get from them may not quite be as good as new, but would they really be after you finished reading them, anyway? They don't offer free shipping, but they constantly offer coupons which largely cover shipping costs. Returns are complicated, but they do have a 100% Customer Satisfaction Guarantee. If there's a problem with the product, just contact customer service within 5 days of delivery and they'll handle it. Our experience with them over past years has been excellent!

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With Indigo and Chapters stores downtown, shopping at chapters.indigo.ca can be an attractive combination of online discounts and brick-and-mortar convenience. If you drop a class and want to return a book, returns can easily be made at any retail store within 30 days of shipment. They sometimes have coupons available, although these have gotten more scarce in recent years. Shipping is free on orders over $25.

With an iRewards card, you save an additional 10% in-store (& at their in-store kiosks) and 5% online (where prices are often already discounted).The card costs $20, so if you buy a fair number of books it's worthwhile. Or you could convince a friend with a card to buy the books for you ;). In our experience, delivery of items with lengthy shipping estimates is unreliable, so be prepared to cancel the order if it takes too long.

Chapters and indigo retail stores can be considered for purchases too. You can order books from their in-store kiosks, with a 10% iRewards discount and free shipping to the store.

A credit card is not required to make a purchase at chapters.indigo.ca. If you buy a gift card at a retail location, it can be used to pay for orders on the site as well.

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The pioneer of online retailers, amazon.com opened a Canadian division in 2002. Their customer service is top notch, and their shipping estimates are regularly underestimated (which means stuff usually arrives faster than they predict.) Their prices are usually slightly lower that those at Chapters.indigo.ca, especially if you don't have an iRewards card. Shipping is free on orders over $25 (they started that, actually), and they have a 30-day return policy. Return shipping, however, will not be refunded unless there was something wrong with the order.

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