English books sold on the street

by **szwliew** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 9:26 pm

How cheap do you get these books for? Does it matter on the size or the title or are they all the same price?

Is there any certain places where they have MORE variety of books? Most that I've seen have about the same selection of books.

by **yu888** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 10:24 am

have paid anywhere from 9rmb to 35rmb depending upon the demand for a particular title. harry Potter when it first came out versus now...different price for sure. Think we paid 24rmb for the newest book, now i think you may be able to get for less than 20. Also need o negiotiate well and feign disinterest

by **Tobias K.** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 6:41 pm

are you talking about new books or used ones?

by **szwliew** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 8:13 pm

New, I've never seen used books sold on the street.

by **yu888** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 11:25 pm

by **woaihuan** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 11:44 pm

If you're still confused at the price of a new book, it's because the books are counterfeit.

It almost seems like you didn't know...

by **Tobias K.** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 3:14 am

actually i didn't know :-)

i am new to the board and new in the city.

by **szwliew** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 3:24 am

woaihuan wrote:If you're still confused at the price of a new book, it's because the books are counterfeit.

It almost seems like you didn't know...

Reread my original post a few times, I can't figure out how you got that sentiment. But thanks, anyway.

by **preacher** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 5:01 pm

Are these books exact replicas of the original texts??

I was perusing a great selection outside the Science and Technology Metro Exit 3 and a few of the books I was interested in (The World is Flat, Short History of Nearly Everything) had some typos on the back cover and I wasn't sure if this was indicative of the book as a whole.

Do people generally find them to be reliable buy or are you better off buying the real deal?

by **E8L** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 5:15 pm

About 90-95% of the text tends to be exact. And then 5-10% will be a guessing game of what that sentence is trying to say. Usually it doesn't bother and you'll still get what typos are suppose to mean.

But buy the real deal if your interest is to have absolutely no typos at all and you want a flawless copy of that book.

by **E8L** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 5:20 pm

Anyways how do they make the fakes? Did they hire a guy to type the book word for word thats why there are so many typos? Thought they would have just scan/photocopy it so it won't have any flaws with its text.

by **chingiskhan** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 6:02 pm

This is China. Hiring a guy to type the book is cheaper than photocopying it :-p

by **ziccawei** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 6:13 pm

boredengineer wrote:New, I've never seen used books sold on the street.

I have just started to see used books sold here. Not sure how much they usually cost as 99% of the stuff they were selling was airport garbage. Is this indicative of the reading levels of the average expat here?

by **yu888** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 7:21 pm

just indicative of the quality of the expats relegated to buyng books here in China.

That said, I do buy the local copies and have very few problems with them. Some of the books are printed here and shipped overseas and the printers here just print extra copies on cheaper paper and sell them off here. Obviously some of typed copies and still others totally wrong. SO buyer beware.

by **ziccawei** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 7:23 pm

Some books in the foreign book stores on Fuzhou Lu aren't too expensive. And the choice isn't that bad considering we're in China.

by **joishierose** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 10:12 pm

There's also a legit foreign language store on Wuding Lu next to Xinzha Lu...

by **glutto** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 10:35 pm

preacher wrote:Are these books exact replicas of the original texts??

I was perusing a great selection outside the Science and Technology Metro Exit 3 and a few of the books I was interested in (The World is Flat, Short History of Nearly Everything) had some typos on the back cover and I wasn't sure if this was indicative of the book as a whole.

Do people generally find them to be reliable buy or are you better off buying the real deal?

I also noticed that they are selling some magazines there(The Economist, Newsweek etc.). What about these? I assume that they are also fake? And if they are fake what about the time perspective, are they only selling old issues? I will take a look next time I go there, but maybe someone else knows? Would be nice if one could by these magazines somewhere other than for example City Shop.

by **Pierrro** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 8:50 pm

I do not believe that magazines are fake... Books definitively are. I prefer the real stuff,even second hand.

by **mahreez** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 8:17 pm

i've read a few of these books from the streets and they're ok. i mean, no missing pages or anything. and it's funny i got this book, for one more day for 10 rmb then when i looked it up at foreign language bookstore, the book's quality is almost the same. well just sharing.

by **woaihuan** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 10:13 pm

Some of them are near perfect, some ARE perfect, but others have wrong covers, missing pages, mixed pages, duplicate pages, etc.

Definitely a bargain and I'd buy them if I bought books, but you have to be careful and sometimes they're just hit or miss. Still cheaper than buying the used originals here, though.

by **thewalrus** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 11:24 pm

SO buyer beware.

for 30 RMB i don't give a rats arse. Better than 200 RMB they want for the same book in at Chartehouse.

I also noticed that they are selling some magazines there(The Economist, Newsweek etc.). What about these? I assume that they are also fake?

they are the real deal, just used and abused.

by **EssPea** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 3:19 pm

30 RMB? All the ones i've seen start at 20. My girlfriend bought the four books in the Twilight series (*sigh*) for 65 RMB and so far she has had no complaints.

by **billierose** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 7:38 pm

most of the copies i've bought are fine. one of them has really crappy type, almost unreadable. it's like it's blurred or something. gives me a headache!

by **txaggie07** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 9:15 pm

At the Science and Tech Museum exit, I've bought many books and magazines from that lady. The books haven't been a problem. The magazines are great. I got the Harvard Business Review for 20 RMB, and it definitely was not fake. I think the magazines have to be stolen.

by **woaihuan** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 9:56 pm

It's fake.

BTW, that/those sellers outside the S&T Museum charge more than I'm willing to pay. I shop elsewhere.

by **narfie** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 10:48 am

woaihuan, where do you find these books? i'd like to get some for leisurely reading

by **Pierrro** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 7:42 am

You can find fake book sellers at many corners on the street. Still, the english book selection is pretty limited and quality varries

If your looking for cheap leasurly reading in Shanghai (not fake books) a few solutions.

==> Figaro Cafe just off XinTianDi is part of Bookcrossing community (www.Bookcrossing.com). A great way to get/exchange books for free...

==> Epicvre Nanchang Lu (www.epicvre.com) and Bell Cafe (www.Bellbar.cn) are both carrying books from the Second hand book club (20Rmb each. All proceed go to Charity)

More info about the second hand book club bellow

http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/MDForum-vi ... 7274.phtml

Cheers

English books sold on the street

English books sold on the street

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