Review: Abes books

This is a review of the web site AbeBooks, an online market place where you can find almost any book you desire. You can buy rare books, out of print or signed and limited edition titles. A must for all book lovers.

Extensive catalogue

Catalogue
Most of us have a favourite book, and the most popular paperbacks can be found in most high street book stores. But what about those obscure titles that we maybe once read at high school or when we were a child?
If you live in a town with a specialist book store, then you could always try that, but prices can vary and you could face a hefty bill for your favourite novel.
A very good, convenient and affordable way to hunt down rare and out of print books is with AbeBooks. AbeBooks is an online market place for all books- new and old books, paperback or hardback, limited edition or mass produced.
The chances of finding that rare title you seek are good, very good in fact.
The site has almost 13,000 booksellers and have over 100 million titles listed in their index.

Ease of use

Using the site
The site is very easy to use, simply enter the book title, the author or the ISBN if you know it and you will be presented with a list of books that meet your search, with the prices and any shipping costs clearly displayed.
If you can’t remember any of that, then you can perform a “key word” search to locate the book, which searches through the archives matching any books which contain your selected key words, but this gives very varied results and you may have to spend some time looking through the listings.
As many of the books are second or sometimes third hand, the sellers will try to give an accurate description of the books, telling you if the item is worn, torn or stained, so you know exactly what you are buying before you commit to the purchase. Final word
Your account page is well organised, with your personal details and order history easy to find and you there is also the added feature of adding a “want” from your account page.
If you are unable to find the book you require, you can advertise the book you require and should a copy, come on the market you will be immediately notified.
For any lover of literature or just for the casual reader, AbeBooks is a valuable web site.