How do you find the prices? I’ve only ever looked on Amazon but even for new releases they seem to be considerably discounted from the publisher’s list price.

Good question. It depends on the publisher. I usually look up both. If Amazon is significantly cheaper (tens of dollars), then I'll order from Amazon. If they send me garbage, I'll order from the publisher and return the Amazon book.

I may be in a niche circumstance, but most of the books I order from the publishers are within about $5 of Amazon. I don't know the exact count, but I have approximately 600 books. Worth it to have nice ones!