I found a book website that delivers to Taiwan for FREE. And most of the books have a discount on top of that. Amazon.com generally charges more for shipping than they do for the book…but this site gives you cheap books shipped for free. It’s amazing.
Here’s the link: bookdepository.co.uk
And this is what people are buying right now: bookdepository.co.uk/live
Thanks Mordeth. That’s a fantastic find!
Wow. 
This is a great find. Let me tell you. I have ordered from them and they delivered in less than 10 days. Seven calendar days for one of the books. No delivery charge is great. Their selection may not be as extensive as Amazon but the service is good and you will save money. And each of the six books I bought were sent separately. You can price check between them and see the difference. It’s especially nice for those of us who are outside of Taipei and/or may not have access to a used bookstore.
It’s a good find, I’ll grant that. but they don’t always seem to be cheaper than Amazon. Example:
bookdepository.co.uk/book/97 … -for-Women
and
amazon.com/New-Rules-Lifting … t_ep_dpi_1
I was wanting to buy this book but the UK store only has the hardback for $22.64 and Amazon wants $10.85 for the paperback. That’s a big price difference is paperback doesn’t both you. The Amazon hardback is only $16.35 for this one. Plus the UK store doesn’t have Amazon’s selection.
I would just compare and see before I ordered. But this link above is a good find. I’ll definitely use them for some things.
Good find.
Good selection of books in my field of interest: Surf photography.
Bought 4 books at Eslite. Reasonable price for these ‘specialized’ items.
The 3 surf books from Chronicle Books are manufactured in China. These three books do not in any way or form promote the use of paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. (website included) I only discovered this, once I removed the outer plastic protection cover. My bad!
I find this interesting due to the fact that the books are from two of my role models for environmentalism.
The fourth book, got it right. Hot, Flat, and Crowed. It was printed in Great Britain, but still a long way to travel.
Cheap doesn’t always mean the best bargain.
The books at Amazon are cheaper but not when you factor in the delivery charges. I bought seven books from the book depository and they all arrived within a week and a half. The same books at Amazon once delivery charges were factored in would have cost me about 700 NT more and would have taken a month to get here.
All in all, I think the book depository is a pretty good deal.
It doesn’t always work out that way. In the example I gave above, buying that book from Amazon would have been cheaper even taking shipping into consideration. And i’ve never had a delivery from Amazon take a month as long as it was in stock when i ordered it.
Again, it looks like a good site but be sure to compare before you buy.
Hi folks,
I’ve ordered books from these two websites before:
goodbooksnz.co.nz/
betterworldbooks.com/
The first also has a free delivery policy and all of their profits go to Oxfam. The second has a small international delivery charge (although if you want stuff faster it’s higher but still reasonable) and they donate money to world literacy projects 
Just another two to consider when doing comparisons
It seems Amazon got the message. I was about to order last night from the UK site but checked US Amazon just in case. Their shipping has gone done and the total purchase made it US$10 cheaper than the UK site. Gotta compare to make sure you’re getting the best price.
I use books.com.tw (it’s all in Chinese though). Free delivery to your closest 7-11, where you can pay cash for it. If an item is in stock, it usually arrives in a day or so. You get a text message when it’s available for pick up. Prices tend to be lower than local bookstores, especially during sales.
I got a nice little email from the Book Depository when I tried to order. It kind of bursts the bubble on getting free delivery. I copy the email in full:
Dear Mark,
I’m afraid we cannot currently ship to Taiwan, so I have cancelled your order. Please allow 1-3 working days for the refund to appear in your account.
Kind regards,
Stephen Kidd
Customer Advisor
bookdepository.co.uk
Books.com.tw has a terrible selection of English books so that’s out for most of us.
Thanks for the heads up on the Book Depository. Wonder what happened? Guess it wasn’t an option last night anyway. Last time I ordered from them they shipped promptly and I was happy with the service.
well, when I said that they’ve shipped to Taiwan before they said that they have never done so - they don’t have any records of anyone ever doing so. Must be only on my orders where they’ve had problems
Taiwan is listed as a country they offer free shipping to…
http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/help/topic/HelpId/26/Free-delivery-worldwide-as-standard#helpContent
Well that’s BS and makes me wonder about them even more. I ordered two books from them a few months ago and they arrived pretty quickly. If they aren’t going to ship here then they need to drop that “worldwide shipping” crap pronto.
This is their reply - as put very succinctly. I don’ t really think interpreted this wrongly. It smacks to me as they couldn’t really be bothered…
Dear Mark,
According to our record we have never shipped to Taiwan. I am very sorry that we could not have been of more assistance in this matter.
Kind regards,
Samantha Myers
Customer Advisor
www.bookdepository.co.uk
Yeah, well that’s a heaping, steaming pile of BS. Here’s the confirmation email I got from them after my order. Feel free to pass it along:
Order confirmation
Dear David Chesser,
Thank you ever so much for placing an order with us here at The Book Depository Ltd.
Order number: BDG-267-1511446024
This order has been paid for by:
PayPal
This order will be dispatched to:
David Chesser
XXXXXXXXX (my edit)
He Ping E. Rd.
Taipei
106
Taiwan
Book title Quantity Item price Total
Athletic Development 1 $18.52 $18.52
Athletic Body in Balance 1 $18.55 $18.55
Delivery FREE
Total $37.07
If you have any questions regarding your order, please reply to this email so that we have your full order details.
In order to track the progress of your order you can visit BookDepository.co.uk/Track
We have found the Royal Mail to be the most effective carrier for books which is why we use them as opposed to any other company. However if for any reason your order is not with you after three working days from the delivery due date, can you please check with your local delivery office. If they do not have your parcel, please reply to this email so that we have a full record of the order.
For further information on our services or on how to use our website, please refer to the BookDepository.co.uk/help on our website, or send an email to our Customer Service Team at help@bookdepository.co.uk.
Thanks again for your order,
Kieron
Kieron Smith
The Book Depository Ltd.
My books arrived about 10 days later.
I just used a Taiwan credit card to pay for a delivery to Japan, so it can’t be the credit card that’s a problem.
Maybe in the future, we could order books this way:
youtube.com/watch?v=Q946sfGLxm4
Stores wouldn’t have to worry about shelf space or managing inventory!
I’ve been using this in the Yook. They have stuff that’s not easy to find here. Cheaper than Amazon, slightly, for the stuff I’ve bought.
They STILL say they have Taiwan as a shipping destination, though.