From the article: Buying French Supplies
As a die-hard francophile, I tend to cut other corners in order to be able to afford the very best French tools, but that's not always possible. I've come up with a list of tips to help you find your "must have" French supplies at the best possible prices, and I'd love for you to share your money saving tips. Share your tips
Amazon.fr for use in the USA
- I've purchased several dictionaries, grammar books, hard bound Asterix comic books from Amazon.fr and saved a considerable amount of money (even with shipping) over the Amazon.com cost. For example, I purchased the Oxford Hachette Bilingual Dictionary (used in our French school here in the USA) for less than half the cost using the French branch of Amazon. Further, I almost always received the packages within a week--but I do live on the east coast of the USA. Not sure how long shipping would take to other places here.
- —goodhikers
Keep Quebec in mind
- Like you, Laura, I'm frugal (or at least careful with my dollars or euros). When shopping for French books, I always check several Quebec-based sites, plus Amazona.ca to get a range of prices. I believe that because of the volume demand for French material in Quebec, it serves as a distribution hub, and often prices are very good. Same goes for Amazon.ca (based, I believe, in Ontario). Sites to try are archambault.ca (huge Quebec music and book chain) and www.renaud-bray.com (another big book/music/CD/DVD retailer). An example: last fall in Paris I admired a new dictionary of "expressions quotidiennes": On va le dire comme ça, published by Balland. In France, it was 32 euros (about $45 to $48 US or Cdn), and it must weigh two pounds. I got it for $41 from Amazona.ca, and didn't have to lug it home because shipping was free. Happy shopping.
- —mcmunch
