Who really wants to put down $50 for a computer book? Though computer books are essential for learning and reference, they can put a large dent in the wallet. Is there a site where discount computer books are truly, well, discounted?
I have used Bookpool in the past for computer book purchases. They have always seemed to offer a reasonable price for computer books. But how do they stack up against other online book retailers? I put them to the test.
On the Bookpool site, I found a list of their Top 50 bestselling computer books for 2004. I took the top 25 of that list and compared prices across 4 other online book retailers. The four sites set in comparison to Bookpool were: Amazon, Barnes and Noble (labeled as BN on the chart below), Alibris, and eCampus. The lowest price for each book is in bold. Please note that these prices are for NEW books. Used books would be substantially less. This chart was compiled the week of May 23rd, 2005. The table below speaks for itself:
| Title |
Bookpool |
Amazon |
BN |
Alibris |
eCampus |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| Expert One-on-One J2EE Development without EJB |
$24.95 |
$26.39 |
$31.99 |
$28.00 |
$27.99 |
MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit: Designing Security for a Microsoft Windows Server
2003 Network, Exam 70-298 |
$37.50 |
$37.79 |
$47.99 |
$51.00 |
$42.00 |
| MCSA/MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit: Implementing and Administering Security in a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network, Exam 70-299 |
$37.50 |
$37.79 |
$47.99 |
$51.00 |
$42.00 |
| Code Complete, Second Edition |
$31.50 |
$32.99 |
$31.49 |
$40.20 |
$35.00 |
| Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 Administrator’s Companion |
$36.95 |
$37.79 |
$47.99 |
$42.00 |
$41.99 |
| Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide, 2E |
$24.95 |
$26.37 |
$27.96 |
$35.96 |
$27.97 |
| Better, Faster, Lighter Java |
$21.95 |
$23.07 |
$27.96 |
$29.71 |
$24.47 |
Group Policy, Profiles, and IntelliMirror for Windows 2003, Wndows XP, and Windows
2000 |
$27.25 |
$32.99 |
$39.99 |
N/A |
$35.00 |
| CCSP Self-Study: Cisco Secure PIX Firewalls Advanced (CSPFA) |
$39.50 |
$42.78 |
$50.00 |
N/A |
$32.50 |
| Microsoft SharePoint: Building Office 2003 Solutions |
$36.50 |
$37.79 |
$47.99 |
$42.00 |
$41.99 |
| CCNP Study Guide Kit, 3rd Edition (642-801, 642-811, 642-821, 642-831) |
$87.95 |
$100.77 |
$159.96 |
N/A |
$120.00 |
| Java Servlet & JSP Cookbook |
$28.50 |
$29.67 |
$44.95 |
$38.22 |
$31.47 |
| Professional SQL Server Reporting Services |
$24.95 |
$26.39 |
$31.99 |
$13.27 |
$27.99 |
| Design Patterns in C# |
$38.95 |
$42.59 |
$47.49 |
$49.99 |
$34.99 |
| Programming Microsoft Visual Basic .NET Version 2003 |
$43.50 |
$37.79 |
$55.99 |
$49.00 |
$66.50 |
| Hibernate in Action |
$27.95 |
$29.67 |
$35.96 |
$31.47 |
$31.47 |
| Head First Design Patterns |
$28.50 |
$29.67 |
$31.46 |
$31.47 |
$31.47 |
| Network Security Hacks |
$15.95 |
$16.47 |
$19.96 |
$17.47 |
$17.47 |
| Ethereal Packet Sniffing |
$29.50 |
$32.97 |
$39.96 |
$34.98 |
$34.97 |
| Oracle Database 10g New Features |
$21.50 |
$23.09 |
$34.99 |
$29.74 |
$24.49 |
| Network Security Assessment |
$24.95 |
$26.37 |
$31.96 |
$35.96 |
$27.97 |
| SQL Pocket Guide |
$6.95 |
$9.95 |
$9.95 |
$7.46 |
$6.97 |
| Wicked Cool Shell Scripts: 101 Scripts for Linux, Mac OS X and Unix Systems |
$18.95 |
$19.77 |
$19.42 |
N/A |
$20.97 |
| The Shellcoder’s Handbook: Discovering and Exploiting Security Holes |
$30.95 |
$31.50 |
$40.00 |
$42.51 |
$35.00 |
MCDST Self-Paced Training Kit: Supporting Users and Troubleshooting a Microsoft
Windows XP Operating System, Exam 70-271 |
$33.95 |
$35.99 |
$42.00 |
$42.00 |
$41.99 |
For 21 out of 25 books, Bookpool offered the lowest price on new computer books. It would be easy to state that Bookpool should be exclusively shopped for discount computer books. However, it is not guaranteed that Bookpool will always offer the lowest price. Wisdom dictates that book buyers continue to shop around. With that said, Bookpool should be the FIRST place to check and their prices should be the price to try to beat.
