Category Archives: Hacks

Ways to get the most out of Booko, or life in general

How to buy cheap books online

If you’re shopping for books or DVD’s online and want to snap up a bargain, searching through Booko is a great place to start. The best way to buy cheap books online is to search through Booko.

In its infancy, Booko was a web page with a series of small programs collecting prices and calculating delivery costs for a handful of online book shops, to find the cheapest supplier of books. The overarching objective was to find both new and second hand books online as cheaply as possible.  When shops which offered free shipping could be added, even better.

The Booko alert function is a useful tool that allows you to set the maximum price you would like to pay for an item. If you are purchasing in advance (such as textbooks or gifts), multiple alerts on books can be set up and be running while you wait for the price to drop.

Here’s how to set up an alert:

Go to the search box on the Booko homepage and type in the name of the book.

From here, you will be presented with a range of results.  These might be different books or the same book with different cover art etc.  From here, click on the version you would like.  The page you are taken to looks a little bit like this:

Underneath the book cover art (the image of the book), there are two options: Add an alert or Add to a list. Choose ‘Add an alert’.

How to buy cheap books online - Booko's Blog

A box will appear which shows the current best price. You can delete this and instead type in your preferred price. After that, add your email address and click “Add”.

No one wants to miss out on a sale. Booko checks the prices of up to 60 online bookstores globally on a daily basis and will email you when the price drops below your specified price. I’ve already set up alerts for books I want to purchase as Christmas gifts for family members. If you are planning on setting up multiple alerts, it makes sense to set up an account to manage them.

How to buy cheap books online - Booko's Blog

To do this, simply choose the ‘Register‘ option in the footer.  You can complete the form or choose to log in using one of your existing social media sites.

So that’s it: If you are wanting to take advantage of price reductions on books (either new or second hand), getting organised by setting up price alerts makes for smarter shopping!

Making the most of Black Friday

Screen Shot 2015-11-14 at 8.15.09 amThe name Black Friday was first used over 50 years ago by Philadelphia police offers to describe the crazy shopping day after Thanksgiving when the city was overrun with traffic flocking to Christmas sales.   This year, Black Friday is predicted to generate sales of $50b in the US (matching last years sales). While it’s the biggest shopping day of the year in the UK, sales are expected to top £1b.

Black Friday is scheduled to take place on Friday, November 27 and a number of retailers have already started promoting their offers in preparation. If you want to do some research prior to the sale, visit this site.  (It’s a US site but can give you a comprehensive overview of who is selling what).

While it can be a great time to purchase a new TV or laptop, it’s also a smart way to do some of your Christmas shopping early. If you are thinking about purchasing books or DVD’s for gifts, take advantage of the special offers available during the Black Friday sale. Here’s how to make the most of the sale:

  1. Make a list of all the books and DVD’s you want to purchase using the Booko Lists functionality. Booko Lists is a great tool that can help you to plan and manage your purchases for a one off event (like Black Friday) or ongoing. We’ve written a handy blog on how to use Booko Lists or you can visit the page on our website.
  1. If you’ve ever missed a sale on an item you really want, you’ll know that it’s not a great feeling! The Booko Alerts feature can help you avoid that happening to your book purchases.  When the price drops on a nominated title, Booko will email you with the new best price.  Booko Alerts work for DVDs and eBooks as well as printed books.  It is easy to use, and will help you get more out of your money! We’ve written a blog on how to use Booko Alerts or you can visit our website.

Here’s to savvy shopping!

 

Booko Alerts: never miss a sale again

Have you ever missed a sale on an item you really want?  The Booko Alerts feature can help you avoid that happening to your book purchases.  When the price drops on a nominated title, Booko will email you with the new best price.  Booko Alerts work for DVDs and eBooks as well as printed books.  It is easy to use, and will help you get more out of your money!  Here’s how:

1.  Start by entering details of your item in the search box, then click Search.

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2.  Choose the item you want from the Results List.  Click on its Name or its Cover Image to see the detailed record.

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3.  On the left hand side of the Detailed Record screen, there are two red buttons directly below the Cover Image of the book.  Click on the one on the Left, called “Add an Alert”.

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4.  This brings up a box where you can specify your preferred price.  The box automatically shows the current best price.  You can also delete that value and enter a different lower price.  Then enter your email address, and click “Add”. 

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5.  That’s done!  Booko checks prices daily, and when the price of your item drops below your preferred price, you will receive an email alerting you to the new lowest price, with links straight to the relevant Seller.

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Managing multiple alerts

If you are creating alerts for multiple items, then you will find it useful to create a Booko account.  Once Logged In, you can view a list of all of your alerts, and update them as necessary.  You can also include second-hand books in your price watch.

1. To create a new Booko Account, scroll down to the bottom of the Booko homepage, and click on the red “Sign Up” button.

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2.  On the Create an Account page, you can either use the form on the left hand side to create a new Booko ID, or you can click on one of the icons on the right, to connect using your account details of your favourite social network.  When prompted, allow Booko to share the login details of your chosen social network, and Booko will do the rest.

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4.  Once you are a registered user, simply Sign In to your Booko account before you create an Alert.  The Sign In button is located at the top left corner of the Booko page. When you have signed in, you will not need to supply an email address each time you create an alert.

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5.  To view the full list of your Alerts, click on “My Alerts” at the top right corner of the Booko page. This will take you to the Booko Sign In page if you are not signed in at the time.

6.  The list of Active Alerts shows the current price and the target price for each item.  You can change the target prices, or delete alerts here.  Check the box for “Include Used” if you want to track the prices of used copies as well as new ones.  Don’t forget to click “Save” each time you made any changes!

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