This is more a reminder than a new tip: Don’t overlook the bargain bins in large bookstore chains like Barnes & Noble. Just as your local record store has its “cut-out” rack full of cheap records, many of which you might be looking for, so do large bookstores have table after table of what are known as “remaindered” books. There, for reasons I do not know, the selection is heavily weighted toward picture books and big coffee table volumes. Some of them aircraft, ship (and occasionally, if you swing that way, armor) books. Yesterday, my neighborhood B&N had the Osprey Men at Arms Series Waffen-SS book for three dollars. It is normally one of those outragreously priced, thin paperbound books. I have no use for it whatsoever, and even less interest in the subject. However, I figure it might be trade bait someday. Even better, I got a large-format, slick paper, hardbound, 300 pp. photo history of Eric Hartmann, including some great postwar photos of his tulip nosed F-86s. Cost me 10 bucks, or about a fifth of its publisher’s price. I’ve gotten many, many great, often out-of-print, reference books in the bargain bins of mainstream bookstores. Do yourself a favor and look the cheapies over when you go to the local mall boostore.
Awesome tip, sharkskin! I’ll be keeping my eyes open.
Thanks for the tip
I got a aircraft dictionary thing like that (orange book, good for jet stats, not good for pictures though, only one for each jet -__- ) And it’s only current jets I guess… (and Helos too… )
I always check the sales tables at the local bookstores & have picked up many valuable references at bargain prices over the years.
Regards, Rick
I got an illustrated “History of the U.S. Air Force” years ago for a few bucks in a remainder bin at a Waldenbooks, and I used it so much it finally wore completely out. I’ve never been able to find another one. Some of you may remember it. It had great two-page color profiles of planes going back to the beginning of the AF, as well as a great number of photos, many in color, that just weren’t seen other places. On the dust jacket was a giant AF roundel over which was a collage of photos, including a spectacular picture of an F-106 firing a Genie rocket, making the entire Dart look as though it were on fire. Anyone runs across this book, pls lemme know. I miss it terribly, or could you tell?
We have a store here in Columbus called “Half-priced books” and as the name implies… they’re almost all half off. Some of the brand new books that are just seconds aren’t always half off but they’re none the less at a great discount. I try to get there at least every few weeks as they buy used books and are always getting in little gems.
Yeah, I forgot about them. Half-Price Books is a giant chain of used bookstores, if you can imagine such a thing, but they also stock a great many new remaindered books, and I have found such things as out-of-print Squadron/Signal softcovers and Detail and Scale Books at the stores in Houston. Naturally, here in the self-proclaimed Center-of-the-Cultural-Universe, there is no store. Only The Strand, the world’s largest used bookstore, which has an occasional aviation book. And to think, a few years ago New York had a bookstore devoted to nothing but aviation subjects. It went under after a bunch of years in business, unfortunately.
I’m always scouring used book stores, thrift stores and alike for ref books. The other day I picked up a couple of old additions on WWII bombers at the Comox air museum they were discarding.