Some of you might just get all your
books from the library and get all your music and film online, in
which case this is probably useless to you even if you do live near
me. Although I'm aware coveting material goods I don't need leads to feeding the Monster, I have a weakness for hard copies of things. Maybe once
I've got everything on my list I'll regret pouring so much money into
something that takes up so much space. But for now, here's what I do to save money and avoid paying for the manufacture of new things in case it helps anyone.
First, I keep a list of everything I'm looking
for (this can help with clothing, too, but sometimes you need more
creative freedom there), the main purpose of which is to limit
impulse buying. It's also helpful for keeping track of things that
have multiple discs or volumes. Just don't fall into the trap that I
do where I just sit and look at the list of everything I want but
don't have and start going online and figuring out how much it would
cost to fill how the gaps when I don't actually have any money to do
that with, which is disheartening and probably unhealthy. Don't do
it. Hide the list except for when you need it.
When I have money to spend on this kind of thing, I buy things both in person and on
websites. Sometimes one is cheaper than the other, but they seem to
balance out overall, so it's good to check all the possible sources
before you buy things. I like to use
Bookfinder.com to find the
cheapest price and then double check by searching
Abebooks, eBay,
Amazon, and
Better World Books (there's also Powell's Books and
Alibris, but I haven't dealt much with them personally.) If what I
want isn't surprisingly cheap online (or just cheaper than half the
retail price once you factor shipping charges in), I check
brick-and-mortar stores first. Here's a list pertinent to the Twin
Cities area:
Friends of the Hennepin County Library Bookstore
(
Downtown Minneapolis)--probably the cheapest option out of all of
these, though a lot of the books will be in rough shape since they
were withdrawn from the library after circulating for a while and the selection can be pretty hit-or-miss.
Graphic novels can be found here in surprising abundance (although
their last sale cleaned them out pretty thoroughly. But there are
still some lurking around). They also have CDs, DVDs, and
audiobooks in limited numbers. Manga is 75¢ a volume and graphic
novels are $2.00 each. Prices of novels vary but usually aren't more
than two or three dollars each. Sometimes they have massive sales
where the prices get gradually lower over a week until you can take
home a grocery bag full of books for a dollar.
Half Price Books (
varying locations)--carries a pretty nice selection of comics (graphic novels
and single issues), books in general, and CDs on average. Also lots
of DVDs and some cassettes and vinyl. My favorite location is the one
in
St. Paul, but
St. Louis Park and
Roseville are also nice. You can also sell media here (they offer
you cash which you can then choose to spend there but it won't
magically be worth more like at some stores.) If you're looking for
specific books, calling ahead at the various locations and asking the
staff to see if they have what you're looking for can be very
helpful.
Magers and Quinn
(
Uptown)--Sells used and new books. Has a healthy-sized comic section
and also some really nifty decorative hardback books and postcards.
They also buy books and offer you a higher dollar amount in store
credit than in cash.
Cheapo Records (
Uptown, St.Paul)--Sells CDs, vinyl, cassettes, and DVDs. Very nice selection.
The Uptown location also has a used book store with a small graphic
novel section in its basement. Pricing is inconsistent (for example,
I once found two used copies of the Crow soundtrack on CD--one was $6.95,
one was $2.95), so check the new arrivals section and the section for
the artist you're looking for before making purchases. There is also a location in Blaine, but I haven't been there yet.
The Electric Fetus (
South Minneapolis)--Sells used and new DVDs, CDs, and vinyl. Also some
magazines and a bunch of novelty items and accessories. If you don't
expect to find it anywhere check here--they also have a large
selection and sometimes you will be surprised by what turns up.
Sometimes they have in-store concerts. You can also buy concert
tickets for other venues here. There are also stores in St. Cloud and Duluth that I haven't been to.
Big Brain Comics (
Downtown Minneapolis)--Mostly new merchandise, but they also have used graphic
novels in the back.
The Source (
Roseville)--Lots of
old single issues of comics, no used graphic novels to my knowledge
(although their new selection is pretty awesome.) They have 20% off
sales on everything in the store for Black Friday, the Winter Jubilee
(which is always in December on a Saturday before Christmas), plus if
you see them at a convention they have coupons for 20% off anything
in the store if you go the same weekend as the con.
FallCon and SpringCon (
Minnesota State Fair Grounds)--they're run by the same people and each one only
happens once a year. Admission is around ten dollars and the
discounts you can find (not to mention the sheer variety) can be
pretty incredible. I especially like Half Price Books because they
reduce the cost of their manga (once they had boxes full of manga for
25¢ per volume--usually the cost is more like two to four dollars
per volume, though) and sell a lot of bundles of books from the same
series (I once bought all of Chobits at once from them, for example).
Anyway, the amount of money you can save here in discounts is usually
enough to cover the cost of admission. Plus you get people running
around in costumes. AND you can get a coupon from the Source and
check there afterward, too.
Once I've checked as many of the above
as I can, I go back online and figure out what combination of books
on my list is cheapest from which stores (keeping shipping in mind,
especially when you can combine shipping costs like on Abebooks and
sometimes eBay. Amazon no longer lets you combine shipping costs for
used merchandise from the same seller, which is annoying as hell.
Better World Books doesn't charge shipping and their profits go to
good causes so they're my favorites.)