The online options, and the brick and mortar options.

Online bookstores

There are many ways to purchase books online in Malaysia, with discounts. Below is the list:

Book Depository

Highlights: The delivery is absolutely free, worldwide! No membership fee is required. Most of the books have discounts. The discount may go as high as 50%. The book price is reasonable. And sometimes it is cheaper than what you can get from any other bookstore. Last time, showing the book price in Ringgit Malaysia was not an option. But since earlier this year RM is there for you to choose. That makes it earlier for your to compare the price with other bookstores. Upon receiving your book mailed from them, you usually find a free bookmark inside the parcel too.

Comments: This is the online book store I like the most. However, you have to be patient waiting for you book to be delivered to you once you place your order. Despite the website says it only take 2 weeks top to deliver the books, it always take nearly 1 month in my case. Other than that, the discount may come and go. Maybe there is a way to get notified if the books in your wishlist have further discounted, but I am not aware of that. Get notified is definitely a good-to-have feature.

Kinokuniya

Highlights: Members can get 10% discounts straightaway if they purchase from Kinokuniya webstore. Even better, as a member you may once a while receive discount coupon code from them. The delivery fee is free if your purchase is at least RM 120. Previously it was RM 150.

Comments: Membership is not free. And, sometimes I find it hard to enjoy the free delivery as RM 120 is not a small amount. Normally I will hold on the books I would like to purchase, until I receive a special discount coupon from them, and make sure the total amount is at least RM 120. And before I purchase the books, I will crosscheck the price with Book Depository.

Bookurve

Highlights: Free delivery.

Comments: This is the latest online bookstore I discovered. You can find many books from the webstore, but the books do not have any discount. I find the books in Bookurve is comparatively more expensive than in Book Depository.

Physical bookstores

Good things about going to physical bookstores to buy books are that you can avoid the delivery time, and not to worry about delivery fee.

BookXcess

Highlights: They sell remainder and overprinted books. Those books are cheap, really, really cheap. The prices are 50% – 80% off the original prices. Normally the books cost (after discount) less than RM 30, and can be as low as RM 9.90.

Comments: On the edge of the books there may be “remainder markings”. Furthermore, the books in BookXcess are really limited. Therefore, they can even provide their full book list. Normally I go there with my “treasure hunt” hat on, hope to discover there the books in my wishlist.

Highlights: We can always find discounted books there. Members can get books with member discounts. However, the membership is not free. Even better, the to-clear books only cost as high as RM 20. There were a few times I spotted some famous books in the to-clear section, with the lowest prices which I cannot find anywhere else. Whenever there is a big book fare somewhere nearby, high possibility that they will put up some special discount for all books in the store too.

Comments: Do not buy books if there is no discount, unless necessary. The type of books in the bookstore varies, depend on where the bookstore is.