Easy Ways to Save Money on Books in Switzerland

Reading is a popular pastime in Switzerland. Here, moneyland.ch offers simple tips which can help you enjoy a lot more reading for your money.

1. Use discount vouchers

You can often find discount vouchers for the big stores like Buchhaus.ch, Ex Libris, Orell Füssli and Weltbild on the coupon pages of popular newspapers, and on special coupon websites. Some of these can only be redeemed in the online store, while others also work in physical bookstores. Unused discount vouchers are also sometimes sold by private people on classifieds websites. If you will be buying new books, running a quick search for discount vouchers before buying is a no-brainer way to save up to 20 percent of the cost.

2. Look for unused gift cards

You can often find unused Swiss Book Voucher gift cards and paper vouchers being sold at a discount on Anibis, Tutti, and other classifieds platforms. These can be redeemed at face value for purchases from around 400 bookshops across Switzerland, around 60 of which have online stores. If you want to shop at the big chain stores, gift cards for shops like Ex Libris, Payot, and Orell Füssli can also be found on classifieds websites.

3. Compare prices

You can find mainstream books and bestsellers at many different bookstores, but the prices vary hugely. The same book can easily cost you 25 percent more at one bookstore than at another, and in some cases much more than that. Taking a moment to quickly check the prices at other bookstores online before you buy can save you a lot of money. Comparison portals like Billigbuch.ch make it easy to compare prices at Swiss online bookstores.

4. Check publisher stores

The prices which Swiss publishers charge in their own online stores are sometimes lower than the price tags at many book stores. Before buying a book, take a moment to check if the publisher has its own store, and what price it charges.

5. Collect customer loyalty rewards

Some bookstores participate in popular customer loyalty programs. For example, you can claim Migros Cumulus points when you shop at Ex Libris, and Miles & More airline miles for purchases from Orell Füssli. Rewards are small, but it is worth claiming them for purchases which you already make. Paying with a rewards credit card in addition to claiming store loyalty points lets you earn two kinds of rewards on the same purchase.

6. Consider e-books and audiobooks

While there are exceptions, buying a book as an e-book is normally cheaper than buying the same book as a paperback. If you are okay with reading off a digital device, then it is always worth checking the prices of both the paperback and e-book versions. If you read several books per month, getting an e-book subscription (like Nextory, Scribd, or Skoobe, for example) or audiobook subscription (like Audible) which gives you unlimited access to books for a flat monthly fee can be much cheaper than buying books individually.

The Internet is also full of books in all genres which are offered completely free of charge in e-book format. Take a look at the free e-book sections of online bookstores like Amazon, e-book.de and Weltbild. Online libraries like Project Gutenberg which collect non-copyrighted books are also a good source of free e-books and audiobooks. 

There are also e-book subscriptions (like Readfy) which are funded by advertising and data collection, and give you unlimited access to a huge library of e-books for no monthly fee at all. If fan fiction and experimental writing are your cup of tea, you may find free social publishing apps like Inkitt and Wattpad entertaining. You can find thousands of audiobooks on free streaming platforms like Dailymotion and Youtube.

7. Head to the public library

Many Swiss towns have public libraries, many of which are very well stocked. You can generally read in these libraries free of charge, and annual subscriptions which let you borrow books are generally very cheap or even free. In addition to hardback or paperback books, many Swiss libraries also give you access to e-books and audiobooks. 

Many libraries have special bookcases or tables where books which are being phased out are sold at very low prices (a few francs a piece, for example), or even offered for free.

8. Search classifieds websites

If you are okay with reading pre-read books, make a habit of searching popular online classifieds and auction platforms as a first stop when looking for a book. If the book you want is being sold by a private person, you can expect to pay about half the price which you would pay in a store. You also have the option of negotiating better deals.

9. Sift through giveaway boxes

In many Swiss towns and cities, it is habitual to place unused books in front of homes for passersby to help themselves to. These giveaway boxes are a regular hit and miss, but it only takes a moment to peek at the titles as you pass by. You may just chance on authors you love, or books you never even knew you were looking for.

10. Peek into public bookcases

Public bookcases are very common in Switzerland. Many are housed in decommissioned phone booths, but they can also be found in train stations, parks, and other public areas. The idea of these is that you deposit books you do not need, and take books that you want free of charge, but there is no obligation to leave books there. Like giveaway boxes, these are a hit and miss, but because there are a lot more books, the chances of hits are bigger. In the best case, you could end up leaving with a book or two which you would otherwise have bought. You can find a list of many Swiss public bookcases here.

The online platform Bookcrossing is worth a look if you want to take the bookcase experience a step further, and are willing to put in a little work tracking books which you take or return. This platform lets you quickly find specific books available in bookcases near you.

11. Drop into the brocki

Some secondhand stores have nicely maintained book departments where you can find a wealth of books – many of them very lightly used – selling for a few francs a piece. If you tend to find books by browsing rather than looking for specific titles, secondhand stores or “brockis” as they are popularly called in Switzerland are worth checking out.

12. Take a walk through the flea market

Swiss cities host numerous flea markets, with some taking place every week. Whether or not you will find any books you want is anybody’s guess, but if you do find them, they will generally be cheap.

13. Go for a swim

In many Swiss “badis” or public bathing areas, you will find a shelf full of pre-used books, often containing titles in several languages and genres. The price-tags are typically five francs or less. If you are going swimming anyway, taking a moment to browse these shelves might just unbury a couple of literary gems.

14. Browse children’s exchanges

Some communities organize exchanges where parents can sell and buy toys, books, clothes, strollers, and other items for kids. Children’s books are often sold for a fraction of the price which you would pay in the store.

15. Take a peek at crowdfunding goodies

In most cases, the minimum “donation” you have to give to become eligible for crowdfunded books is fairly high, but there are exceptions. Taking an occasional look at book projects on crowdfunding platforms can help you catch those rare offers which give you goodies worth much more than the required donation.

16. Join a book swap club

A book swap club is a group of people who exchange books between themselves. You can find many groups which swap books by mail on popular social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. If you enjoy meeting and trading in person, look for book swap clubs on platforms like Meetup. Trading books you have read for different ones which you would otherwise buy is one of the best ways to save money on books.

17. Sell unused books

Making a habit of selling books after reading them helps you recover some of what you spend. Classifieds websites, auction platforms, social media groups (like Facebook Marketplace), and bartering platforms (like Exsila) are all options for trying to sell books without a huge amount of effort. Book dealers like Momox and Byboox (for reference books) which pay you small amounts of money for used books are a good last resort if you cannot get more elsewhere. You can find more tips in the guide to selling secondhand in Switzerland.

18. Upcycle damaged books into sellable items

If you are into handicrafts and have old or damaged books which you cannot sell, try upcycling them into things which you can sell or use in your home. Examples include book sculptures, paper lamps, and furniture or jewelry laminated with pages of old books, to name a few. You can find plenty of ideas and guides for upcycling old books on the Internet. While the money-saving potential is marginal, upcycling books can be an interesting hobby and give a second life to books which would otherwise be thrown away.

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