Quotations from P G Wodehouse are copyright of, and reprinted by permission of, the Trustees of the Wodehouse Estate © 2012 The P G Wodehouse Society (UK)

Advice on buying online

This is a page for members to pool their experience and give others advice on Internet buying. Please tell us of your experiences good and bad. Email to webeditor@pgwodehousesociety.org.uk.

May 2008: Mahendra Gonsalkorale emails to say: "I find eBay quite an useful source of buying Plum books. You can buy used paperbacks and often some first edition books for reasonable prices."

Jan 2006: We hear news of Peter Jones in Scarborough, who deals only in Wodehouse. We have not dealt with him ourselves, but he does offer Society members a 5% discount. See his site www.pgwodehousebooks.co.uk

Heledd Wynh_wyn@hotmail.com says: “I too buy books online and have recently stumbled on a great website if you are in the UK. It is www.countrybookshop.co.uk Unlike other online bookstores, there is no p&p and the books are cheaper than those in bookshops. I am a student and find that this is a great way of buying. My book came really quickly and in perfect condition. I have yet to buy anything by PG Wodehouse, but I am going to look into it. I have bought Wodehouse books online from Amazon which was great as I find it difficult to get hold of any Wodehouse stories in shops near me. Again, they came quickly, but the downside was the expense and also the fact that the Wodehouse novels I received were American versions hence different spelling for some words. It was a little odd as Wodehouse, to me, is so quintessentially English.”

Joe Harkins joe@harkins55.freeserve.co.uk reports that the website address for the WH Smith online store is www.bookshop.co.uk “All orders over £50 have the maximum p&p of £2.95. I have an account with them - you send your Visa or Mastercard details over an encrypted server - then choose your purchases and deposit them in your shopping basket. When you go to the checkout you have the chance to adjust your order before it is confirmed. They then email you to confirm your order, email you again when the order - or part of it- has been despatched and your payment is shown on your next Visa or Mastercard statement. I have used this company extensively and can thoroughly recommend their efficiency. The order - if they have it in stock - is despatched and at your door within two or three days. Really good service - in my experience. They also have an extensive range of books by Plum and I have ordered over £300-worth so far. They have hardback and paperback editions- all at least 10 - 20% cheaper than in the High Street stores. They also have a search facility and if you just enter Plum's name then they come up with over 100 titles to choose from.”