Does anyone have any tips for getting a good price on new/used programming-related books? I've looked at some of the more popular books (like DDD and GoF), and even used they can be pretty pricey. I'm not saying they aren't worth it, but I feel like there might be a more focused book store or exchange or something just for devs and/or IT professionals that I just don't know about.
Any tips at all would be appreciated.
Amazon always offer secondary sellers which have used books. Used them a lot for school.
You can look for Books on Google Shopping and from there you get really good deals if you sort the output list by Price. I always get good bet from there.
Opamp Technical Books in Los Angeles CA is a wonderful place to browse on Saturday morning, and they frequently have very good deals on used books. They also have a web site and will do mail-order.
And they will have things that NO ONE else has. I got my copy of "Structured Programming" by Dahl, Dijkstra & Hoare there, in 2004. I saw a copy of Kleinrock's two-volume set on queuing theory there a couple of years ago. Around the same time, I picked up a classical mechanics text that is almost as old as I am (maybe older - and I'm 54!). On another trip, I found a computer engineering text from the very early 1960s: the first half of the book was dedicated to analog computers.
I would go with Amazon used books if you are considering buying only a book or two every year.
However, I bought Safari Books Online and have never read so much in my life. There are thousands of books and with the subscription based service I don't have to think about how much does a book cost. I just read.
I originally was buying a book here and there and was always counting out how much it cost. I didn't try Safari for a few years because I didn't think I could / should afford the yearly subscription. Now, I can't see myself without it.
I even blogged on why I have found Safari to be so incredibly valuable. Sorry for the self promotion.... :-)
I'd recommend getting a subscription to Safari Books Online (http://www.safaribooksonline.com). You get access to a LOT of books, as well as a number of tokens which you can apply towards downloading PDF versions of books. You can also access books via a smartphone, and I regularly read books on my Blackberry while out walking.