I finally got the Harry Potter book from Costco for $18.19 since it was the best deal I could get after a little bit of a research. This is compared to Amazon’s $17.99 price plus shipping (For free shipping, I needed to get over $25 worth of literature). Below are the few places I search around when I need a book or magazine.
Books
For most people, having boxes shipped to their house is not a problem so Amazon is usually the least expensive choice if we can group purchases together so each order is $25 (This gets us free shipping).
The other choice would be Costco, Sam’s Club or Walmart which often sells books at a discount. The advantage of going to the store is that we can get the book the day we want it instead of having to wait for the package to come.
There is something new at the airport newsstands lately called borrow and return. For many people, this is a better choice than buying a book outright because we can buy the book and then return it, getting half of the money back. However, buying a book at the airport is usually the most expensive choice to begin with, so getting half back might still not be the best deal, not mentioning the fact that we don’t get to keep the book.
The recommended option is going to the library as mentioned in this article (Remember to read the comment section for more things you can do in a library). You can read to your heart’s content free!
Magazines
Magazines are a little bit of a different animal. Since magazines are a series instead of a single issue, it would make sense to wait till there is a special going on. For example, Amazon lets us subscribe to Money for $19.95 per year (or $29.95 for 2 years), but you can get a year of subscription for $10 using the coupon from the current issue of the magazine.
Another point worth mentioning is that magazines always have promotions that allow people to subscribe to it for free. One that is running right now is a free one year subscription to Games for Windows (use promotion code lostplanet).
If you really want to own a special issue, discount stores like Walmart, Sam’s Club and Costco has magazines for sale at a small discount.
Often, people just end up going to bookstores like Barnes and Noble, or Borders to read the latest issue. The library is actually better for magazines for this since they not only have the current issue but also past issues!
We used to do this with comics all the time in school but you can share the magazine with your friends! Why do we and all our friends buy the same copy of Forbes when we really only read the magazine once and throw it away (or store it and never read it again)?
Lastly, it is amazing how much content the website of the magazines give away. On top of that, blogs of the same niche cover many of the same topics anyway so magazines are not as attractive a purchase as before.
Just do it
Many people know everything I have mentioned and it’s just a matter of putting it in action. If we are committed to saving as much as we can, we should follow some of the things discussed above.
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I just go to borders to read the latest issue. It’s one of the great “free” activity (other than the gas expense) that I do.
I found my copy of Harry Potter at Walmart has for $17.87 which is the cheapest I could find it locally.
You may also want to check out Ebay for magazine subscriptions. They are some dirt cheap there. I know some people are leery of it but I’ve had a lot of positive experiences.
FYI: The Harry Potter book is actually cheaper at Target ($17.99). But Costco is probably closer to you than Target, huh? However, since you decided to purchase the book a week later, perhaps you could of borrow the book from someone that finish it in two days or something…I’m just saying…
Joe: Good for you
I do that sometimes too and it’s the perfect time filler between activities.
Maybelle: You are just trying to make me feel bad! Purchasing from Costco would still be the better option for me since I can group my trip together. Driving to Target would end up costing more since the cost of transportation would be higher than the $0.20 difference.
I don’t really know many people that read novels so borrowing would be a little tough in my case.
So how do you like the book so far?
Haven’t really started yet. I plan to read it on my plane ride tomorrow (yes I’m going on another trip).
I haven’t read any of the Harry Potter books, and I haven’t seen any of the movies. It’s a craze that I just don’t understand.
They must be pretty good though for so many people to be quite obsessed with them.
I just returned the copy I borrowed from the library. I live alone now, but I was always able to borrow my roommate’s copy in the past.
Chuck: Great suggestions! I don’t know why I missed your comment last time I responded so I apologize for not responding.
I have got to give ebay a try if I want to subscribe to a magazine!
limeade: you just have to start reading it to see for yourself!
Bob: it’s great that you have friends who also like the book! I believe i’m actually the only person who reads the book anongst the people that live close by me.
Costco also sells magazines at substantial discount to the cover price - if you are only interested in a single issue, as opposed to a subscription.
Shadox: Yup that’s right
It’s amazing how many places let you buy magazines on the discount but people still end up buying it at full price.