I tried getting my books from these merchants and here are the things that you may wanna know before you make your purchase!

1. POPULAR BOOKSTORE SINGAPORE

BUYING OPTION/S: Online & Physical Stores all over the island

MEMBERSHIP AVAILABLE:  Yes; member discount available

WEBSITE: popular.com.sg

WAIT TIME:

• Depends on the availability of stocks, but lead time starts at 18 days.

This is where my story comes in. I placed 2 orders last August and here’s how it went:

ORDER NO. 1

• Aug 18 – Ordered
• Sep 07 – sent email to follow-up
• Sep 12 – received an email update; My order is now ready for pickup after 2 days
• Sep 14 – books received

Total wait time:

27 DAYS

ORDER NO. 2

• Aug 27 – Ordered
• Sep 02 –  email confirmation received
• Sep 07 –  I sent an email for follow-up and customer service replied
• Sep 28 – sent my 2nd followup for my order
• Oct 11 – books received

Total wait time:

45 DAYS

When I ordered my books, everything was “IN STOCK” but according to the Customer Service of Popular Bookstore, they had a problem with my Kevin Kwan book order and it was the cause of the delay.

PROs:

• Buying books in stores mean you can have a look at the actual books before purchasing them.
• Good customer service

CONs: (UPDATE as of November 2018)

• While buying online is more convenient, a month of waiting is not fun. Honestly, I don’t think I’ll take this option again.
• English books/novels are no longer available online. They seized the service as of October 31st 2018.

2. TIMES BOOKSTORE

BUYING OPTION/S: Online & Physical Stores all over the island

MEMBERSHIP AVAILABLE:  Yes; member discount available & vouchers (accumulation of points)

WEBSITE:  timesbookstore.com.sg

WAIT TIME:

• Depends on the availability of stocks. 3-5 days; available for pick-up and home delivery.

PROs:

• Buying books in stores mean you can have a look at the actual books before purchasing them.
• A lot of titles are available here that you can’t find in Popular Bookstores.
• The waiting time is around 6 days and they only have one pick-up point at the moment. But overall, the service was great. You’ll receive a call from the store if you  choose self-collection.

CONs:

• I haven’t tried ordering online, so I can’t list any at the moment.

3. KINOKUNIYA SINGAPORE

BUYING OPTION/S: Online & 3 Physical Stores (Ngee Ann City / Bugis Junction / Jem)

MEMBERSHIP AVAILABLE:  Yes; member discount available.

WEBSITE:  kinokuniya.com.sg

WAIT TIME:

• Depends on the availability of stocks.

(UPDATE as of May 2019)

MY ORDER TIMELINE

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

I usually visit their stores because I love spending time being surrounded by books but the 3 titles that I've purchased are available SEPARATELY. They have them in different outlets, so opted to try their online delivery system.

• 03 May 2019
  • I placed my first order and got 3 books and the email confirmation arrived on the same date. 
  • I opted for PRIORITY SHIPMENT which cost me 4.50 SGD on top of my total bill.
  • I noted that I wanted to have the books delivered in SINGLE SHIPMENT. Otherwise, it’s gonna cost you more.
  • The 3 books were available at the time of purchase & the website mentioned that it’s available for dispatch within 3-5 days.
• 07 May 2019
  • email dispatch confirmation received.
  • delivery will be 1-2 days
• 08 May 2019
  • books were delivered

PROs:

• A lot of titles are available here that you can’t find in Popular Bookstores and Times Bookstores.
• Buying books in stores mean you can have a look at the actual books before purchasing them.

CONs:

• I haven’t tried ordering online, so I can’t list any at the moment. I don’t have any issues with my order and it arrived faster than expected.

4. Book Depository

BUYING OPTION/S: Online

MEMBERSHIP AVAILABLE:  Yes

WEBSITE:  bookdespository.com

WAIT TIME:

Book Depository’s email mentioned the following:

• Books delivered from the UK – 5- 9 Days
• Books delivered from Australia – 5-7 Days

MY ORDER TIMELINE

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

I placed my first order and got 4 books but the email dispatch confirmations arrived separately. 

BOOK 1: Josh & Hazel’s Guide To Not Dating

• Sep 03 – Ordered
• Sep 04 –  email confirmation received; the book will be coming from the UK.
• Sep 14 –  marks as Day 9 – EXPECTED ARRIVAL, but no books received.
• Sep 19 – book received

Total wait time:

12 business days / 16 ACTUAL DAYS

BOOK 2: The Book Ninja

• Sep 03 – Ordered
• Sep 07 –  email confirmation received; the book will be coming from AUSTRALIA.
• Sep 18 – book received on Day 7 – EXPECTED ARRIVAL

Total wait time:

7 business days / 12 ACTUAL DAYS

BOOK 3 & 4: The Bucket List & Why Mummy Swears

• Sep 03 – Ordered
• Sep 06 –  email confirmation received; the books will be coming from the UK.
• Sep 18 –  marks as Day 9 – EXPECTED ARRIVAL, but no books received.
• Sep 24 – book received

Total wait time:

13 business days / 19 ACTUAL DAYS

PROs:

• they offer more than 19 million titles
• Great customer service
• Free Delivery WORLDWIDE with no minimum amount required
• Book prices are LOWER than the local bookstores.

Here’s an example:

Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan (Large paperback copy) Prices:

• Popular Bookstore – S$32.64
• Book Depository – S$22.18 (10 SGD difference)

CONs:

• No tracking number available for your orders so there’s no way to check the status of your parcel.

5. AMAZON

BUYING OPTION/S: Online

MEMBERSHIP AVAILABLE:  Amazon Account needed

WEBSITE:  amazon.com

WAIT TIME:

• Depends on the availability of stocks.

PROs:

• They offer free delivery but there are qualifiers (determined as you order)
• Wide-range of books available, including ebooks and kindle copies.

CONs:

PRICEY DELIVERY CHARGES

While I haven’t tried ordering from Amazon, I tried to check the delivery options. If your order is not qualified for FREE DELIVERY, you have to pay for the INDIVIDUAL delivery charges of the books. So say, you ordered 4 books, there’ll be 4 delivery charges.