We recently did some heavy lifting at a few popular bookstores, in case you want to know the best places to pick up a little light reading.

Our evaluation began with selecting 23 titles – new and old, best-selling and not – that ranged from a hardcover suspense novel to a classic self-help paperback to a cookbook companion to a TV show. We even threw Jane Austen’s “Emma” into the mix. Then we approached the obvious choices – Barnes & Noble, bn.com, Borders and Amazon.com, which fills online orders for Borders.com – to see who had the lowest prices, the best buying club and the most generous return policy, among other things. The list price for our selection of books was $565.

The biggest conclusion: Go online for biggest savings.

Amazon won the price war, with discounts on 21 of the 23 titles to leave us with a total price of $360 – a savings of 36 percent off list. Barnes and Noble’s online store, bn.com, discounted 18 titles to produce a total price of $456, or 19 percent off list.

As for walk-in stores, Barnes & Noble and Borders representatives told us that prices generally were the same in all the stores in a chain. Further, the Barnes & Noble rep said they’re usually higher than online. Indeed. Walk-in stores discounted only a few new releases and best sellers: We paid $537 at Barnes & Noble and $543 at Borders, for a savings of about 5 percent. In most cases, the price gap remained after factoring in online shipping fees (about $3 per order and $1 per book) and applicable sales tax.

Self-service kiosks might make browsing easier at Borders than at Barnes & Noble, where you must ask a clerk for help.

We also looked at some programs and policies at our booksellers:

l Gift cards. Such cards from Barnes & Noble and Borders never expire, don’t have dormancy or maintenance fees and are redeemable in stores or online. If you buy a Barnes & Noble card worth more than $200 online, you must pay for air delivery, at $8 to $12. Amazon.com offers gift certificates (shipping is free) that typically expire after two years.

l Frequent-buyer clubs. If you buy a lot of books, it may pay to join a frequent-buyer club. The Borders Rewards program is free. It diverts 5 percent of your calendar-year buys into a holiday account redeemable from Nov. 15 to Feb. 1. Spend $50 or more during any month at Borders or its subsidiary, Waldenbooks, and you’ll earn a shopping day with another 10 percent off everything – in the walk-in stores.

For the Barnes & Noble club, you pay $25 a year, which earns an extra 10 percent off hardcover best sellers plus 20 percent off other hardcovers (except children’s books) and an extra 10 percent off other items. Discounts apply at Barnes & Noble stores and affiliates (including B. Dalton and Doubleday) and online.

Find that the book you bought isn’t exactly a page-turner after all? Retailers will accept returned books only in condition for sale. For a book with signs of use, they’ll give you a partial refund.

Borders and most Barnes & Noble stores have a 30-day cash or credit-card return policy if you have a receipt. If you lack a receipt, both chains will give you, as a gift card or credit, the lowest amount for which the book sold. Within 30 days of shipping, purchases made at bn.com can be returned to any Barnes & Noble store for credit.

Returns of new books in original condition to Amazon.com are prorated after 30 days: You’ll receive 80 percent off the purchase price.