Recently I found this online bookstore called Fishpond. It is a United Kingdom website, but has subsidiary sites around the world, including in my region. I have come across this for a long time, but have never bought any books there, until my friend told me recently that the books there are cheaper and most importantly, they deliver for free. Because the website is in my region, I pay local currency and not overseas currency. So it seems to be worth a shot.
I tried it out today and managed to make some orders. However, because the books are stored in United Kingdom, it may take some time to reach, around two weeks to a month. But at least once the order is processed, I just need to sit back, relax and wait for the delivery. But the books are discounted because I am ordering directly from the warehouse, so it cost only S$60.00 for four books, with free delivery thrown in! That is a really good deal, as compared to the same kind of books in our bookstores.
Even though under Fishpond there are many books there that are not found in our bookstores, still, the variety of books available are not as widely ranged as other online bookstores like Open Trolley and Amazon. I first started ordering from Amazon as the variety of books and discs are amazing, but because it is an overseas company, I always have to pay in US dollars, not including shipping. After conversion, it is quite a big sum. Besides, I normally have to wait around two months for my order to arrive.
Hence when I came across Open Trolley, which is a local company and charging local currency, I decided to start buying books from there. The variety of books there is very wide too, and the customer service is really good. However, even though it is a local company, they still charge delivery costs to deliver the books. The other alternative is to pick it up on our own, which is what I always do whenever I ordered books from them as self-collection is free. And because it is a local company, the books arrive in a very short while, around a week the most. Hence I do not need to wait.
The only drawback is that Open Trolley is not that cheap. The cost is comparable to Amazon, and local bookstores. In fact, if I am to buy the same four books that I just bought at Fishpond at Open Trolley, the cost would be at least S$80.00 to S$90.00, with free self-collection. The offer is not tempting at all.
Hence I am starting to give Fishpond a try. Only if it does not have the books I want then perhaps I will go to Open Trolley, or even Amazon at a last resort. Hopefully the books come on time and in good condition!
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