I like to get my hands on the cheapest edition I can in the best condition at that price. If the words in the book are the same as a more expensive one, I’m getting a better value, in my opinion. Then if it’s a story that becomes really important to me I might consider upgrading to a “nicer” or collectors version, and keep the old ones as lender books.
I refuse to pay more than $20 for a book unless it’s the first edition of a new release from my favorite author
I really like the Pango app so I can buy used books and sell my used books I didn’t like as much
It really depends on what it is. If it’s something I love, it depends on what I can afford. I paid $500 for a first edition of The Hitchhiker’s Guide with the Capricorn 1 ad on the back. And I paid quite a bit for an American first edition copy of The Hobbit that I used in place of a ring to propose to my now wife. But most of my books are pretty cheap.
I did manage to find a first print/edition copy of The Shining for $1 at a library sale years ago…that was a cool find.
I only buy hardcovers so my average spend is a little more, but this also serves to limit my spending since I definitely won’t go on ebay and buy like a $100 copy of an out of print hardcover. So while it may be more expensive on average it also gives me a reason to not just go crazy and buy every single book I want to read.
Why are so few people actually answering the question?
I’d pay $20…anything above that and I’m not sure it’s worth it when there are kindle or library options available.
I get hardcovers of series I really like, otherwise it’s usually paperback.
But I did spend AU$120 to get the last book in a trilogy that had been eluding me. The first two books I got for like $20. Couldn’t find the third anywhere for years. The only option was this omnibus edition with all 3 books, at Au$120 on Amazon.
Glad I got it, I can still see it on Amazon but now for around $300. It’s not a well known trilogy, the Deepwater trilogy by NZ author Ken Catran. I read those books so much as a kid that I just had to read them all again as an adult.
I once paid $60 ish for a book
I spent $53 on a paperback once, 460 pages. I think it was worth it though. it’s an academic work with quite a few large pictures spread throughout, so it’d be hard to process on a Kindle.
I also spent $30 on a hardcover of Basic Economics, which is honestly a steal for the 600 pages that you get.
I guess it depends on how much content you get. I don’t care much for hardcover vs paperback. If anything the latter is lighter and easier to handle.
I’ve spent $100 on nonfiction physical books on particular subjects (not textbooks). I’m running out of physical space for regular books, so I’m switching to ebooks for most fiction. For them, I don’t like to go above $4.99. I did spend $12 on an ebook recently because I had heard a lot about it. It was terrible.
Depends on the book and also where I’m buying it from. If I’m going to my local bookstore, I’m more willing to spend money because it means supporting a small business
I have spent $400 on a book, but that’s a very specific case.
I just buy whatever is there at the bookstore… If we’re talking about how much I’m willing to spend max, I’ve spent >$200 for art books and I spent $150 on an art instruction book that used to be a reasonable price but since the artist/author died, the family is price gouging to get more money. I really loved the book (an instructor lent her copy to me) and so I just sighed and bought my own copy.
I’m fully aware I’ve overpaid for some fancy special editions with sprayed and stenciled edges.
Right now, maybe $50, but only because I’m renting a room in a house and don’t have space for a bookshelf. But if I had my own place and built an office with a bookshelf, I’d easily pay $200 for a hardcover version of my favorite books.
There’s a library close by where i check them out for free.