You probably know that Amazon offers fairly significant discounts on many books. And they add a shipping charge to each order. It is the total price that should concern you. There are a number of factors to consider.
If your order is very small, shipping may be relatively large. If you buy a 5 dollar book and pay the minimum shipping charge, shipping may be 40 or 50% of your total. On the other hand if you buy several items, the shipping charge may be larger than with 1 item but it goes down as a percentage of your order.
If a local bookstore carries the item, it might be cheaper to get it there. On the other hand it might not. It will probably vary from item to item. Consider the total cost and maybe convenience.
I know that a book I recommend is also sold by the bookstore of the Irish Genealogical Society International (IGSI). (There is a link to their page on my Irish resources page (off the Limerick page)). I believe the price is the same as Amazon has no discount. I think their shipping charge may be less. So the total may be lower if that's the only book you want. Or if you want several books carried by the IGSI. On the other hand maybe you want another book carried by Amazon but not the IGSI. Maybe it would be a better deal to buy from Amazon and spread the shipping over 2 items. Maybe you like the convenience of Amazon. For the IGSI you might have to find the list for the bookstore, print out the order form, fill out the form, mail it with a check, and wait a couple weeks. For Amazon just click a few times and order online.
Another think to consider is that we are talking about small differences. Sometime less than a dollar. Maybe a few dollars in some cases. For some that is very important. Others rather not spend much time in comparision shopping.
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