Fab Find: The Groovy Giraffe

We're a family of bookworms (as you can probably tell by how frequently I update our book recommendations over at the blog's FB page), and I must admit buying books is one of my particular weaknesses. I go a little berserk when I am at a book sale, but I think the hubby is a little comforted that his wife would rather spend money on books than bags or shoes.

The thing is, books can be expensive, especially when it comes to those lovely hard-cover cookbooks with pretty pictures of yummy morsels. Kid lit also isn't the cheapest around. We usually try to borrow books from the library (and max out our four library cards!), but also enjoy having a library of favourite reads at home, which can be pulled out at any time for our reading pleasure. So we rely on second-hand bookstores, book sales, and online sites like The Book Depository and Amazon to supply us with our reads. 

I love shopping at websites, since its easier to search for titles that you want, and you do not need to jostle with the crowds while holding on to fidgety kids. Imagine my delight, when I was recently introduced to another online bookstore, The Groovy Giraffe, which stocks remainder books that are sold at a fraction of their regular price!

The Groovy Giraffe is Singapore's first online remainder bookstore, which sells overstock and overprint books (which are actually brand new). When shopping for books, I usually compare the prices with other online sites, and The Groovy Giraffe seemed to be the cheapest around. Here are some examples:

:: Cookbooks: I love cookbooks, but I'm always turned off by their prices. I'm a huge fan of Jamie Oliver, so I was quite happy to find that there were a couple of Jamie Oliver cookbooks in stock. One of my favourite cookbooks is "Jamie at Home", and the hardcover version was going at SGD$22.90 (compared to Amazon's USD$24.49 and Book Depository's SGD$40.26)! 

:: Children's books: The bookstore also stocks many children's titles, and you can find books by popular authors like Oliver Jeffers, Eric Carle, Dr Seuss and Julia Donaldson (click each author's name for the available titles!). A quick check showed that great titles such as "The Incredible Book Eating Boy" and "Horton Hears a Who!" are cheaper when purchased from The Groovy Giraffe compared to Amazon or the Book Depository.

:: Fiction: There's a whole range of authors in the fiction section, and titles such as "The Life of Pi" were again cheaper when purchased from the Groovy Giraffe (SGD$9.90 versus Amazon's USD$8.40 and Book Depository's SGD$12.13). 

What we purchased from The Groovy Giraffe,
with something for everyone in the family (the hubs has to share my cookbook though!).

All in all, there are titles to suit every taste and age (there are even assessment books!). Not every title is the cheapest around, of course, but I think we'll be getting titles quite regularly from this site from now onwards. There is also a "Bargains" section, with new books showing a certain degree of shelf-wear or having a remainder marking. These books are heavily discounted and are quite a good deal. 

Another advantage of buying books off local websites is the faster delivery. The Groovy Giraffe tries to deliver your order to you in three working days (I was pleasantly surprised, as I received my orders on Saturday, when I placed my order on Friday morning), and shipping goes for a flat rate of $5. Shipping is free for purchases amounting to $60 or more. 

Oh, and if the great prices aren't enough, readers of this blog can now get a further 5% discount off your purchase (excluding those from the "Bargain" section). Just key in the coupon code "mm05" at checkout... so do click the button below and start shopping!

Disclaimer: We are taking part in a blogger affiliate programme with The Groovy Giraffe, and received some store credit and discount for our order. However, we paid for most of the books, and all opinions are my own.