marooned5

Hi there
Moving to Shanghai soon. Our sons and me and OH all like to read. Would I be better to buy a load of books here in the UK and take them with us (and use up our luggage allowance) or can I order books from Amazon or similar when we are there? While I am pretty sure Amazon deliver to China, I don't know if I will have to pay import tax / duty etc on things, making it all too expensive. Also does it make a difference if I buy from a secondhand / used book website located in the UK - is tax different on used goods?
Or are there lots of English language bookshops / secondhand bookshops there with not too inflated prices and loads of choice....
Has anyone any experience of this?

Pigletsleftear

I know it's not for everyone, but how about a kindle? I never thought I would want one but wouldn't be without it now. So convenient for travel.

penguinsix

Amazon Global ships internationally, but not everything.

Also take a look at bookdepository.com and fishpond.com both of which ship internationally for 'free'

Vexcore

Amazon china, you will need to use (they sell english books) but cost more...

http://z.cn <---Amazon china. (Yes the URL looks short.. but trust me that is legit Z.CN) lol

vincentthelibra

agreed with Pigletsleftear. you might wanna consider buying a kindle and you can buy digital books from amazon.com (yes you can still order books from amazon.com) because that is what i'm doing now.
or there are foreign bookshops in big cities like Beijing, Shanghai, etc...

marooned5

Thanks for your answers and help - very useful.
So you can order from amazon.com and there's no issue with import tax / duty / customs etc?

vincentthelibra

theoretically according to the regulations of China Customs, you do not need to pay custom tax for things you buy at a price lower than 800 to 1000 RMB (or the equivalent amount in other currencies). so i guess if you're not buying too many paperback books at a time, that should be okay. the only thing you need to think about is the shipping cost. i have a friend who's from Australia and she's subscribe to a magazine and have them deliver to china every month but that's really expensive...
so again if you're not against to ebooks Kindle might be a good option.

marooned5

Thanks - really useful. It seems like we may be OK buying off Amazon.
Yes, I know a kindle is the obvious answer - maybe I should give it a go - but I have luddite tendencies - and books are just such nice things to have around...

vincentthelibra

Agreed. The quality of the paper and the smell of the printing ink...it definitely feels more real to read printed books.

Oh and BTW, welcome to China.