Buying books in bulk online is cheaper than buying in your local bookshop, but the traditional stores are better value for individual purchases. That's according to a survey carried out by the new consumer website bestvalueireland.com.

First bestvalueireland shopped around for the best prices on the Republic's five top selling paperback novels in four different book shops.

Then the site checked the prices on a random selection of five other novels and finally it checked out the prices for all 10 books on the popular website amazon.co.uk.

Of the book shops surveyed, Hodges Figgis was the cheapest, Eason was slightly more expensive and Waterstones was the most expensive overall. Amazon worked out more expensive for purchasing one book at a time. However, customers buying several books at a time benefit from reduced shipping charges. The cheapest shipping rates from Amazon are £3.68 per shipment (#4.67), plus £1.25 per book.