Friday, September 15, 2017

Discussion: Book Confessions

I have seen many posts, where bloggers share some of their odd bookish quirks, and was inspired to write my own posts detailing my own book related idiosyncrasies, because I have plenty to share.

Today's Confession:  
I obsessively monitor book prices

You know how it is, you want ALL the books, but you only have so much money to spend.


After missing a bunch of good sales, I started monitoring the prices of books I want. Now, it would be ok if I casually did this, but it's moved beyond that, and is now part of my daily routine. You may even think it's a little obsessive.

First, I created multiple wish lists on Amazon. (exhibit A)

To buy or not to buy is based on the book's priority and an established set of set of rules price trend rules.

Obviously, books in series take precedence over stand-alones, because I really need to finish the series I have started. Then there are my go-to authors. because these authors have won a place in my heart, and have yet to let me down. Third, are books that I think will be fabulous (I want it NOW!). Recommended and TBR released have about equal weight. While TBR are unreleased books, which sometimes have great pre-sale price drops.

Each day, I visit my lists, and look for that blessed bold print which indicates a price drop. Fact: This used to be much easier. Once upon a time, Amazon had a filter option to only show items with price drops, but that disappeared with the redesign, and thus, has made this more time consuming than it used to be.

You can liken my price checks with how some people monitor the stock market. I watch as the prices rise and fall. I look for patterns. For instance, a previous book in a series or an author's previous book will go on sale prior to the release of their next book. And even though I may walk into a room and not remember why I went there, I can remember the lowest price a particular book has sold for over a span of time. These things influence the "magic" number, or what I like to think of as my by limit. As my eyes scan the page and my mind runs through all my price data, my finger will begin to hover over the button. When I see the "magic" price,  I hear the roar in my head: BUY! BUY! BUY!


Sometimes, I immediately one-click, but sometimes I hesitate. Then I have to live with the regret of a missed opportunity, and each day, when I see that book at full price, it stings a little as I have to stare at that desired thing from afar.












Do you have any bookish quirks?
Let us know in the comments!

26 comments:

  1. OH MAAAAAANNN!!! Now you're giving mean idea! My wallet isn't going to be happy! LOL

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    1. Yesterday was such a struggle too, because there was SO. MANY. GREAT.SALES. I bought two books I shouldn't have, but how do you pass up such great deals?

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  2. I love the multiple wish list idea! I have one huge one but check obsessively too. I hate that Amazon doesn't have the prie drop filter anymore. I actually emailed and called to complain! And I NEVER do that. I also sometimes hesitate even when there is a price drop!

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    1. I actually tweeted to Amazon on the price drop filter. Maybe I need to start a hashtag, because I couldn't find a contact email on their website, and it really made looking for the items that might hit my buy limit easier.

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  3. OMG, I'm not the only one!!! LOL I am *still* devastated by Amazon ditching the "sort by price" feature within lists. Because I go thru my Kindle wish list Every. Single. Day. and check for price drops. What's ridiculous is that even with a good price drop sometimes I still don't one-click. Um, what am I waiting for? For it to be free? Haha. But most often a good price drop has me clicking away. But why oh why can't we have our price filter back? *sobs*

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    1. I am glad to see I am not alone in my price checking habits nor in my ire that the price drop filter is gone.

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  4. Wow Sam, that's so involved! I've started to cut back on my book buying habits just because of the hassle it is to get rid of them (sell/donate). Thus I only buy books I loved and read at the library or I'm 100% sure I will love. At the moment I'm eyeing Warcross by Marie Lu, but only once I've finished Champion, which might take a while.

    In Australia we have a price-matching site called Booko which I always use if I'm on the hunt for a book. :)

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    1. I have way more books on my lists than I actually buy. If the book hits the eLibrary sites, I delete, but I am involved in some series that are smaller press/indie and will not be found there. I only buy physical books if I go to signings, so my purchases are all electronic, and I noticed if they go on sale on Amazon, they are usually on sale at the other outlets, since the publishers set the prices.

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  5. This is awesome and a little bit scary. Now that's dedication to your books!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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  6. But tbh, this is a brilliant idea! I'm always wanting to buy a book and hate the price or I see that it was on sale for like 1 day and I didn't notice!

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    1. The missed one day sales used to make me so sad, especially if it was a book I really, really wanted and they didn't get it at the library or Hoopla or Overdrive, and then I go through this anger with all the emails I sign up with that are supposed to tell me about sales. I feel like if I have an Amazon wishlist, if one of the items has a price drop, I should get a notification, but alas, it does not work that way.

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  7. I am always on the lookout for a bargain. I don't look through my wish list often but I will buy anything on sale that sounds good. I am trying not to buy so many since I don't know if I will live long enough to read them all but it's hard.

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    1. I don't buy too many books, since I have a ton of books to read, but there are some that I really want or have wanted for ages, and I want to finish a bunch of series I started, which is why those books get priority.

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  8. I love this SO MUCH. Because I do this. And I was sure I was the only insane person out there hahahha. Here is a tip for you- if you DON'T buy it at "optimal price", take it off your list. That is my new fun thing to do. Because if I don't want it badly enough to buy it when it's at its cheapest, I don't need it in my life.

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    1. I do prune my list. There are some that will apparently NEVER go on sale or by the reviews are not impressive, and exactly what you said. The book hit that low price, and I hemmed and hawed. Wow! It's like you're in my head. =O

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  9. I thought she was the only one who had a list of books to buy in this way. Great post!

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    1. I started doing this when I realized I was missing out on some great sales. Happy to hear I have so much company in my quirky club. 😆

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  10. Have you tried ereaderiq.com? I use this now that my wishlist won't sort by price or price drops! Its amazing! I tell it what books/authors I want to watch, and it emails me with price changes!

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    1. No! But I am definitely going to check it out. Thanks!

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  11. This is such a complex way of tracking things. I do have a whole heap of Kindle books whose prices I track to be fair, there are some books I'm just not willing to spend so much money on. I use ereaderiq so it emails me when the prices drop for books so I can debate buying. It kind of clogs up my inbox but it's totally worth it.

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    1. I one-clicked three ebooks this morning, but they were all $0.99, and sports romances. How could I say no? Samantha from The Book Disciple suggested ereaderiq and I signed up. Now I need to tailor my list.

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  12. I kind of love this! I'm not sure I'd have the patience for it, but it's amazing that you have this so down. Bummer that Amazon has made this more difficult though!

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. It is a little obsessive, but I get so sad when I miss a goid deal.

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  13. I have had this post open for a while because I really wanted to read it :D that's why I'm visiting late, haha.

    Do you know eReaderIQ? It has eliminated the need for any Amazon lists for me. It just does it for me and sends me an email for when the price reaches a certain level for a book I want. This is both the bliss and the bane of my bookish life though xD because I know when there are sales and I'm never missing out, but! I believe I buy waaaay more than I used to...

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    1. I did sign up for eReaderIQ (someone else told me about it), but I still need to figure out how to personalize it, because right now I get emails about books I have no interest in. I have a long weekend coming up, and I am going to try to do it then.

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