Buying books online is the trend these days as it is convenient to do so and most online bookstores offer books at a cheaper price than regular physical bookstores. Some of the reasons why books are cheaper online is because online stores do not need to rent a large area to display their books. His books are stored in a warehouse that is much cheaper to rent than high-end retail space in malls. In addition, other costs are not present, such as the need to hire cashiers, security guards and costs of books damaged by browsing. Therefore, with such cost savings, books can be sold cheaper online. In general, customers can expect 20-30% off normal bookstore prices.

Convenience is also an aspect of buying books online. When searching for a particular book, simply enter the book title in the search box and if the book is available online, it will be displayed on your monitor in seconds. Prices, availability, and book reviews are also displayed. This is different than going to normal bookstores where you need to go to a certain section of books and tilt your head 90 degrees trying to read the titles on the spines of the books. Yes of course you can ask the staff but it will still take a few seconds which could be done online. In addition, going to bookstores also requires transportation cost and your time. While online bookstores do charge you the shipping fee, most waive these charges if you purchase a minimum amount of books or if you reach a certain book purchase value.

With the improvement of technology, buying books online is also becoming more secure. You should check if your bookstore has an SSL certificate issued by reputable digital certificate companies like Verisign or GeoTrust. If the website has SSL, you can be sure that your account information such as password, email address, and home address are safe from hacker attacks. The credit card payment processor of the online bookstore must also be reliable. Choose websites that have a PayPal payment processor as PayPal is the world’s leading internet payment processing company with millions of trusted websites around the world using it. You can be sure that your book buying experience is secure with PayPal. Alternatively, some online bookstores also offer cardless payment options such as bank transfer or check payment. Use this option if you are not convinced to enter your card details online.

Also, the selection of books online is often better than at local bookstores because some online bookstores can forward your book order directly to many vendors. Once they receive the books from the vendors, they send them to you. In this way, online bookstores reduce the need for inventory and at the same time can get as many book titles for you.

Book buying is now widely accepted around the world. However, you need to make sure that the bookstore is credible and trustworthy so that you can be sure that your books arrive and do so on time.