Let them doo the work! (Updated) (bookbrain.co.uk)

Member Name: zusy

Product:	bookbrain.co.uk
Date:	16/11/00 (89 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to use, fast, reliable, finds you bargains!

Disadvantages: Only for UK online bookshops

Well here we are, Christmess nearly upon us, friends and relatives pretending to be nice to you so you'll get them good prezzies... Bah humbug!

No, I'm not that cynical really (Suzy's other voice pipes up: "Yes I am!")but shopping for gifts can really get you down, especially if you don't have much time to go lurching round the shops in a panic.

***UPDATED***

Ronniec helfully left a comment that said he'd rated this 'useful' as he would have liked to know more about the site itself.

This is a very valid point, so I decided to go back and look again to see what else I could tell you in this opinion... I'll put a star by the parts I've updated.

Books are always good gifts, if you know the person's tastes of course, or perhaps a little gift to yourself to stop you going stir crazy...

One thing has always annoyed me about buying books, however - the same title can vary in price enormously, and nowhere more so than online bookshops.

We don't all have time to trawl through 50 different websites to find the bargain price, and sometimes you think you've found a bargain, only to discover the postage and packing charges bump the cost up hugely.

Enter stage left....

http://www.bookbrain.co.uk/

This is a fantastic and comprehensive price comparison site, dedicated to searching for books alone.

The site is easy peasy to use, even my dad could do it (and believe me, that's saying something!) Simply type in the title of a book, an author, publisher or ISBN number, sit back and let bookbrain do the leg work for you.

* They do have a number of book reviews (and sometimes competitions) on the front page, but I wouldn't really use this site as my first port of call for reading about books - really, they are just suggestions as to what you could serch for if your mind has gone blank when faced with a secrh box...
something that happens to me fairly often!

* You can register with the site to get emails informing you of the latest changes they've made to the site and general news about bookbrain. You can also fill in a form to report errors or make suggestions immediately - this ensures the site has the most accurate information they can possibly get.

* If WAP phones are your new toy things, bookbrain is WAP active, meaning you can access the site from anywhere. Very useful if you're standing in a book shop wondering if it's worth your while standing in queues - now you can log on and perfom a search for the cheapest place to get the book online, instead!

* The 'help' section (reached from the question mark on the top bar menu) is concise but informative - particularly helpful for people who have never purchased books online before, or need help with searching for them via the site.

* The site is well designed, easy to use and thankfully easy on the eye. I like the fact you can search 14 shops really quickly - unlike some search sites where it can take an age to search, only for you to be met with 'not found, try again'.

* It is true that shopping around on your won can throw up some unexpected bargains, but this site is designed for those who don't have the time to look at every single online bookshop, and want to know the best prices available from the main ones.

*One excellent feature of the search results is to list stock availability beside the description, prices and so on. This saves you the disappointment of finding the cheapest book possible, going to the site and ordering, only to discover they're out of stock and you'll have to get it elsewhere.
Bookbrain currently searches 14 sites and adds up postage costs for you, delivery times and so on. If you click on the link, it will take you directly to the page you need to order that book on the relevant website.

The
difference in prices is staggering - imagine how sick you'd be if you'd just got Phillip Pullman's latest harback book, 'The Amber Spyglass' at WHSmith's online shop for 16.08.... then discovered you could have nabbed it for 10.25 at Waterstones!!!

Talking of WHSmith online, they sponser the bookbrain site, which is very odd considering the fact that they often seem to be amongst the most expensive places on the price results list! Strange marketing, that...

I mean, what do they think people will do? Search for a book using the bookbrain they sponser and see they could get it for over 6 quid cheaper than at WHSmith, but still decide to get it on their site because of...loyalty or something? Plain weird.

I'm glad they do sponser it, though, it's an excellent resource and I will definitely use it again. I often shop for books online, and now I can make sure it's a bargain every time!

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