Anyone here have bought books online, whether from Malaysian online bookstores or any of those international book-selling websites?

I'm a frequent buyer of Amazon.com and pretty much although the books I bought there are used books, I have to say that the way they organized the cheap prices AND quality are one of the factor I continue to stick with them

is it really cheap if you include the shipping charges as well?

I tend to switch between amazon.com & amazon.co.uk, depending on the book. All in all, I find that delivery from UK tends to be faster & cheaper, though.

i nvr buy online because i dont have credit card. and probably never will have one.

I buy from Amazon.com (several times a year) and Amazon.co.uk (only recently, since GBP fell) quite often and very satisfied with the whole experience.

Normally for most novels, it's cheaper to buy locally (paperbacks), but for some specialty books (Lonely Planet guidebooks, wine books, etc.) it is often very much cheaper to buy from Amazon than from local bookstores even with shipping. Lonely Planet guidebooks cost >RM100 in general, but I can get it from Amazon around RM80 (shipping included), provided I order a few books at a time.

It used to be cheaper for me to order from the US, but now with the weak GBP and strong USD, sometimes it's cheaper to buy from UK. I recently ordered a bunch of Moleskine notebooks from Amazon UK. Much cheaper than buying them here.

Buying books from lowyat.net is fine...

I'm one of the sellers but there are also many others who are selling used books, there's a LYN member that can help you source for books too, his id is 'toobad'.

Try it out, and look at my threads too juz click on my siggies...

Hi guys, was about to open a similar thread until I saw this one

Anyway, I usually buy my books online nowadays and 90+% of it are from KinoKuniya - Their service is fast and very efficient and what I really like about them is their online database of books. It really helps alot when I'm searching for a particular

Anyone here can recommend any local bookstores (local as in in Malaysia, not necessarily local 'brand') with good online DB of books? I don't mind getting 2nd hand books though and prefer to purchase online.

BTW, I special ordered books from both KinoKuniya and Borders before and found out that KinoKuniya only charge for the book's price but Borders charge RM5 per book ordered...

mphonline is a good place to shop for books online. They have pretty good online discounts too


This post has been edited by cutejams2004: Mar 31 2009, 04:41 PM

If want get it from amazon, perhaps we can do group order, at least can share the shipping fees

I'll be the first to volunteer to help(for those who don't have credit card), was thinking to get some books from there soon.

amazon shipping is very expensive for books, even if u pool together.

however, it still cheaper than wat our bookchains here charge./

I do not mind about cheap or not, well at least not too expensive till RM10 books become RM100 la..
I do mind those book that are not available here.

I never buy online. Most of the tiem check availability by search at Kinokuniya, call for confirmation and go to shop take & pay.

Will buy online only when I far from Kinokuniya.

Click on my siggies if interested getting 1st hand books at a cheap price and great condition

Just tried out Acmamall.com's books ordering, ordered 4 books (all in stock) on the 8th, received them today. Delivery time - 2 weeks, Cost 8.50 (free if order > RM 200)

Pricing: Note: I'm a HSBC cardholder, so I got an 35% discount on the listed price, I'm not sure but I believe that the other promo is if you order 4 books or more you get 25% off. In comparing the prices, Acma is on average 33% cheaper than MPH & 25% cheaper than Kino (I'm comparing listed price only, don't know what their online discounts -if any- are like).

Condition: Good, books arrive shrinkwrapped, then paper wrapped, then inside plastic courier envelope. Overkill?

Book selection: Looks like their in stock selection is good. I was able to order 3 commonly available titles & 1 rather hard to order one. Didn't test them on out of stock item or on very new (ie, out overseas but not locally) items. I'll probably do the latter test when the next Malazan/ ASoI&F book comes out.

Summary: Price is a plus as they have a better price structure (for me anyway ) than the other book retailers locally, but their delivery time is a minus. Both MPH and Kino offer 3-5 day delivery at a lower charge (RM 6/7, as opposed to 8.50 for Acma) than Acma. As an aside, their courier was weird - instead of knocking on my apartment door, he was trying to turn the doorknob . Just weird.

Another (significant) minus is that there is no pre-ordering system for yet to be released books.

The pricing alone is good enough that I'll definitely try again, and want to try out their Premium Sourcing system, see if it can work like a ad hoc pre-ordering system.

i only can buy books from stores/people who accept bank-in(s) x.x
don't have pay pal =(

i sometimes get from

amazon.com
a1books
abebooks
rightstuffs

Just wondering about the shipping charges, is it expensive? And is it safe? Meaning, the books will arrive safely?
Been meaning to try it but well, haven't got the guts, haha.

well amazon's shipping charges are the most expensive online store around... well safe? definitely ya... coz they wrapped it and put it in a box for ya... books arrive safely? ( if it's in USA... u can detect lar... once outside of USA... sorry lar... )

most places accepts credit cards / paypal... ^^

Thanks for the info snowcrash.
Just to share with the crowds,
after certain discussion with HSBC, Acmamall.com has decided to keep up their offer of 35% discount available for malaysia HSBC credit card users.
Not to mention now is the MEGASALE in Malaysia.

For books that are not out yet, Acmamall.com will allow customers to order the book 1 week before its release dates. Books will only be delivered after the release dates though..

And unfortunately as of now, sourcing out of books is not completely available.

We have recently revamped our site and I sure hope that the new layout provide a better shopping experience for our customers.
For those of you that enjoy shopping online, do put Acmamall.com as one of your option before finalizing your purchase

pricing low? well... i checked some of the price... not all is cheap... some is EVEN more expensive... ^^

I usually buy from kinokuniya.

Just Rm8 for delivery (free if above Rm300), it's cheaper than for me to drive there. Maybe cheaper than your parking as well...haha

Kinokuniyas selection is about 100 times better than MPH, for difficult to find titles, it's the best.

The price is slightly more expensive than MPH, but I the delivery service is excellent.

No loyalty or membership rewards, so a bit tak 'shiok' la. But I can't find the titles I want at MPH.

Amazon obviously more choice, I have so far bought 1 book from Amazon US. Took a long time to reach me, but came nevertheless. More expensive overall in my opinion, but it could be the only option you have especially for harder to find books.

I usually buy from kino. Service there really good. Email staff also really courteous no matter how much I pester them. Also, if wanna find something they don't have, just tell them and they'll find and order for you.It'll take 3-4 weeks to get to malaysia. Summore, if you change your mind about the book, they just chuck the book to their store with no fuss. They don't even charge you for that and for ordering. Just same retail price for the books. As for the price. According to what I've bought so far( novels mostly), its about 2-5 ringgit cheaper.If you order by post, it'll take as short as 3-4 days to reach since they send by courier. So not that afraid that I'll lose my package in the post as with normal post.

But ah, I wanted to buy a hardcover from amazon. They're giving 10dollars discount( that'd make it 50%). If buy at retail price here gonna be really expensive.But scared cos never bought from amazon before. Anyone ordered from amazon can tell estimate time how long it'll take to arrive at our doorstep from moment you confirm order? and how they charge? Pay fully by credit card or still have to pay some, cause their registration for account they asked for billing address. What is that ah? Why need billing address if pay by card?

have someone try buys books from bookdepository.com? usually how long the books will arrived? I'm still waiting and its already 2 weeks i guess.

Crap, let me know when you get it, I was thinking of trying them out...

I think the billing address is for them to tied up with your card billing address.

I sometimes bought from mphonline because of the cheaper price and the promotions of are reasonable enough to shop online. I avoid buyuing from kinokuniya because of the shipping cost. Besides, I don't mind wandering inside the Kinokuniya KLCC

Since Sterling has drop, the book price at Amazon UK are so tempting .

already received but another two still not yet. they separated the parcel like amazon i guess.

great news
i dont mind waiting as long the delivery is free

u can try buying from this new online store: booqc.com (pronounced book dot com).

we accept both credit card & also online transfer.



our books are usually cheaper than the prices at the bookstores, sometimes up to 40%. it saves money if ur buying a few books at once

This post has been edited by book_khaki: Jul 15 2010, 06:28 PM

You guys might wanna check out www.cheapriver.com. It's a site which compares prices across all the Amazon sites, and adds in the delivery rates so that you can really compare which Amazon site is the cheapest. It won't convert to MYR for you however (seems stuck at USD), so you still gotta do that on your own.

Cannot vouch for accuracy as I have yet to make a purchase based on this site's comparisons, but it's a great tool nonetheless!

I have and I find it excellent. Shipping is free anywhere in the world and the prices are very competitive. The titles I want are usually not available in store in most of the bookshops here and I have to place orders which increases the price of the books by quite a bit at the end of the day. I actually made a comparison recently between ordering off bookdepository (taking into account the exchange rate) and place an order with a bookstore. Worked out to be cheaper ordering off bookdepository.

If you order more than one book, they will all arrive in separate packages so don't worry that your order went missing. My orders generally take about 10 - 14 WORKING days to arrive. I guess delivery time also depends on many factors - I'd expect deliveries over the Christmas period to be slower, for example.

I am SO glad I found Book Depository!

This post has been edited by Blue07: Nov 6 2010, 10:22 AM

i too vouch for bookdepository.co.uk

not only do they have books that are not usually available in our local stores, their prices are very competitive (often cheaper) and delivery usually takes about 10 days. books arrive in pristine condition.

Really excited to try book depository!

This post has been edited by holocauster: Nov 13 2010, 01:56 AM

If looking for not available in msia titles, consider an amazon kindle, save on delivery charges too.

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Added on November 17, 2010, 8:11 pmHey. Our blog sells second-hand books, and we sell them cheaper than the usual bookstores in Malaysia.

If you are interested: please check our blog, queenanddee.blogspot.com.

Thank you!!!

This post has been edited by Queen and Dee: Nov 17 2010, 08:13 PM

Book Depository also sells Moleskines - cheaper than even Cziplee - and if they got coupon codes, even better.

Most of my Moleskines from there arrived within 3 weeks; there was this one time I bought this huge oversized book and it arrived a month or two later... and that was after I got the refund and harassed the local post office..

if you live in Australia you need to use

http://www.fishpond.com.au

it's free shipping within Australia.

If you live in Malaysia try Kinokuniya first, if they dont have it then bookdepository.

hi~ after searching for a while, i think these 3 are the most mentioned one by all of u http://www.acmamall.com, http://www.bookdepository.com/ and http://mphonline.com/ebooks/welcome.aspx..
anyone know where acmamall is from malaysia or other country? coz i sked the shipping fee veri expensive >< and is it possible to buy from bookdepository without a credit card/paypal? i haven 21 y/o so i don have a cc, and my parents sure won't let me use their cc.. also, i'm in sarawak so the shipping fee for mphonline is quite expensive

This post has been edited by infrasonic: Oct 8 2011, 02:08 PM

Please use this tutorial to link your Maybank debit account to paypal

http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/1125917

Glad to hear this. I placed an order on 4th Oct and they dispatched it at 6th/7th. Anxiously waiting.

EDIT: Is there any hidden charges once the bill comes? Taxes? Unfair exchange rate?

This post has been edited by SKisaGooner: Oct 10 2011, 05:01 AM

Just a quick question.

When it comes to buying books online, what matters most to you guys?

Price
Shipping period
Range of books

thanks! but dunno my sis want to use paypal or not ):

for me, price and range of books.. shipping period doesn't matter as long as it's not like 6+ mths

nothing at all.

Just be aware the books come separately. So you receive 1 book , then get the others after a few days.

If the book doesn't come within the expected time, who do I go to?

And what if I'm not around when the book arrives?

---

Added on October 21, 2011, 2:00 pmI've already waited for 10 working days since my product has been shipped, and it still hasn't arrive.



So who do I go to to check? I'm a bit concerned at the moment. There's a possibility that it has come but I wasn't home, but I didn't get any notification mail too.

This post has been edited by SKisaGooner: Oct 21 2011, 02:00 PM

i use abebooks before. not bad

what about now?

some books take over 3 weeks to arrive.

Saw there is a 24 hours promotion in bookdepository.co.uk. It start tomorrow night. yummy.

Ordered from the U.S website this time, bookdepository.COM

Placed my order on 10/11/2011, shipped on 12/11/2011, now it's 27/11/2011 and I'm anxiously waiting. According to the help page, it'd take 7-10 working days for the book to arrive.

Anyone has any experience on the U.S. website?

malaysian mail , takes about a month.

how was your previous experience?

malaysian mail takes about 1 month, 2-3 weeks if you're lucky

My book still processing
Placed order on the 25th

The U.K. one was almost late, but it made it. The U.S. one already is.

By the way I bought 3 books of the same title from the U.K., and they fit it into a rugged, fitting cardboard box, resulting in blunt edges. Not very happy about it. The one I bought singularly was packed nicely with bubble wrap and all.

So you guys might want to not order books in large quantities if it's paperback.

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Added on December 1, 2011, 4:03 pmOrder finally arrived today. But it has 20+ torn pages. Not happy, asking for an exchange. Waiting for reply. Let's see how they fix this, if they're asking me to pay a cent for their mistake I will not be pleased.

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Added on December 5, 2011, 1:03 amThe company offered me a free replacement! I don't even have to return the book.

So now I'm selling my copy: http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2135618

This post has been edited by SKisaGooner: Dec 5 2011, 01:03 AM

I have started an online store.

Hope you all can visit and do drop comments. Thanks

http://dr-readers.blogspot.com/

For bookdepo, the .COM price is usually cheaper than .CO.UK if you do a comparison.

Is there any other payment option than credit card to order books from Kinokuniya?

Saw on their FAQ, stated that they don't accept debit card. My hope to getting some wanted books is apparently shattered...

From Kinokuniya KLCC? Usually I just order and pay by cash when the book arrives

Hmm, which kind of ordering method do you use? Ordering by phone call / e-mail? Or the most direct (straight away to the KLCC store) one?

@abc0716: Direct at the shop itself. Now that I notice the thread topic, are you not from KL?

Yea, I'm not a KL resident

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Added on January 1, 2012, 5:31 pmAnd yea, sorry for off-topic questions first.

Well since KLCC is pretty far from my home, is this okay to call (or mail to) Kinokuniya's fulfillment centre to order the books I want, and then pick'em out on their store on KLCC after the books arrived to their place? (Whenever I'm free, and paying by cash by the way)

This post has been edited by abc0716: Jan 1 2012, 05:34 PM

@abc0716: never did that before but you can always try oh btw, i think they have a deadline for you to collect your book before they place it on their shelves

Check out this site for cheap used books from as low as RM5!
http://sophiefleamarket.blogspot.com/

can anyone help me.... i'm looking for a book titled " Eden in the East" by stephen oppenheimer.... since it's an old book (published in 1999) i cant get it locally... can anyone help me to find a seller that sells this book (new or 2n hand) or can anyone help me to buy this book from overseas (amazon.com etc.)... your kind help in this matter is highly appreciated.... thanx....

bookdepository 10% voucher discount is back. Guys, it's time to buy new book again.

I've already bought 2 things from TBD using that voucher can't wait for it to arrive!

i get my books here!

brand new copies for RM25 only

www.the-bookie-monster.blogspot.com

hey why not try this website? http://vintage-worth.blogspot.com/ they're selling pre-loved and also brand new books

I am aware this post is 3 years old, but it is on the front page of the thread, things seem to have changed a bit nowadays.

Acmamall has comparable pricing to Bookdepository , with the added plus of having the prices already converted, and bank transfer available.

Hi folks,

For superb tip-top condition used books, do visit this site: http://purplebookstore.blogspot.com/. Books are only read once and almost like new!

hi, about book depository, they sent by normal parcel or poslaju? if we're not at home, will they leave a note or something? coz no tracking no, how to track? tq

just to contribute a little, bookdepository sometimes give funny prices on books, so its better if you check around 1st before ordering. i wanted to buy a rare book from japan unavailable in the local stores, the price was around RM150++, but bookdepository had it on sale for RM300++, really surprised as they have good reputation for competitive prices. For me, i'm supporting kino, really love their customer service, settles all troubles for me while the price is just slightly high. ^^

To encourage greater readership among fellow Malaysians,
KULShopper shall take off RM5 for every Rm100 ( and in mutiples of RM100 therafter) for all books purchased through us!

Do email kulshopper@gmail for more details!!

THANK YOU!!!

Hi, this online bookstore took their books mostly from amazon uk. Although mostly is artbooks, but you can try to request the book you want from them.

http://www.facebook.com/TheArchiveExpress

Just to shared my experiences with Book Depository UK (Free worldwide shipping) ...

Order on: Tuesday, 30 Oct 2012 (02:36:39)
Dispatched on Thursday, 1 Nov 2012

Expected date : 7 - 10 working days (Friday, 16 November (Raya Haji and Deepavali) )


Just received yesterday : Saturday, 24 Nov 2012 through normal post (15+1 working days or 24 days of waiting)

Book conditions : New and clean. Like buying from the local bookstore

Feedback : Even though it's late for a week, but with a huge cost saving compared to the price of the book in the local store, I'll buy again. In fact, I've placed an order and waiting for another books delivery in the next two weeks

This post has been edited by Irzani: Nov 25 2012, 02:50 PM

To all book lovers,

Just thought of letting you guys know that www.whackthebuzzer.com would be selling these best-sellers at incredibly low prices! Check it out!

[attachmentid=3175526]

Sharing my experience with Book Depository
Ordered on 26th Oct
Book shipped on 30th Oct
Til now I have not received it.

Note : Book was fairly thick and heavy. So based on previous user experiences I waited for over a month

I've written to them and they've agreed to fully refund me.
They should really consider having a tracking system for the books IMO.

Sad it had to come to this.
Anyone knows if Amazon has delivery tracking for their books that ships to Malaysia?

always buying books online. my sources are:

DeBook Room
Books2u
The Books Galore

as for web:

MPH Online
Kinokuniya Malaysia Webstore

ack.

I feel you bro.

I think I will use them as a last resort in case I can't find the books I want.

i wanna start an online business selling cheap books also but so hard to find supplier fuh fuh fuh

maybe any of you know?

Buy cheap books at Sorok Kitab.
We also sell alternative books from FIXI & Dubook Press.

Take a look guys.

https://www.facebook.com/sorok.kitab

For those who live near Shah Alam & PJ, COD method is applicable.

Hi, I usually shop at MPHOnline which they provide very fast delivery via PosLaju (shipped yesterday and delivered today!). But now some of the books I can order directly from my supplier in the US.

I've just started up my online book store which is based in Sandakan, Sabah. By looking at how hard for us who are staying at places without major book stores like MPH / Popular etc to buy books (especially fictions, self-help, business, etc), I set up this online book store with these mission statements:



My price will not be comparable to those major book stores but I do offer COD / Self-Collect to those who are staying at Sandakan. Residents from other parts of Sabah which is quite rural also buy from me.

My goal is to be Sandakan's first book store to sell English fictions (and others) books!

i now started using betterworldbooks.com
they sell used books qith good quality And best part is.. free shipping!!

I usually looked up in bargain bin, since they promoted these books for US30 for 5 books..
I would say it is a great steal

Launched new service:
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/3088640

I'm ready to serve you

Hi all,

I'm planning to get some books online (programming books). I found them at Amazon and bookdepository.

My question is, how good is their packaging? The books are quite cheap if I order them from the US even including shipping, but I'm just worried that they will come damaged

Any experiences?

Never bought any paperback copy from Amazon but frequent buyer from bookdepository. Books received in good condition without any damage. But there is one time where the edge of the book in that package was bent (slight only). Other than that never find any problem so far.

Both of them pack it nicely. No damage to my books so far. Lucky I guess.

Thanks for the replies! By chance do you have any photos of the packaging?

I've bought a Twilight book set (hardcover) from Amazon last time, got it in a disappointing condition. The books are OK, but the case is dented with some tears..

Sorry i never keep or take photo of the packaging. But you'll have to accept that this is the risk of buying books online (or anything online). Sometime its not because of the packaging but the person who handle the delivery; so depends on our luck

Amazon mostly come with big box and they fill the empty space with air pockets for cushion. Bookdepo only come with a card board wrap around the book. If you ask me, Amazon packaging has a better protection. But yeah, all these protection are of no use if the delivery guy just slam your box here and there.

Books from BookDepository is usually in ok condition. They have a reasonably good cardboard padding. If you're unlucky, it might have some dents around the corners, but that's usually the extent of damage.

Wow I never knew Amazon come with so secured packaging! Cheapskate using BookDepository coz free shipping XD

Ya, BookDepository used only normal packaging, and I'm surprised the book condition was good most of the time only for that one time with a dent around the corner. But I can live with that

deejay220989 if the book your looking at come digital copy alternative, might as well contact 7premium; his service is good and you get discount