|
|
USE OUR QUICK BOOKSEARCH ON THE LEFT TO SEARCH USED BOOKS IN OUR WAREHOUSE
Welcome to the home of Bookcollector.net, serving our customers since 1979. Explore our warehouse for used and hard to find books. Put items you want in your shopping cart (You can edit them later). Proceed to checkout on our secure server when you are ready. We ship daily and accept MC/VISA/AMEX and Paypal.
 ADDITIONAL USED BOOKS FROM OUR NETWORK OF DEALERSClick here to buy a Kindle, the newest way to readNEW BOOKS - SEARCH HEREYOUR GUIDE TO BUYING BOOKS ONLINE10 Guidelines for a Happy Buying Experience
1. PROS and CONS
Buy from pros and avoid the cons. The bookselling community doesn't include many scoundrels, but not all on-line sellers are part of the community. Use the resources of the site you are using to investigate the seller. Does he have feedback? What does he say about himself in his "About us" page? Are you comfortable that he knows enough about books to know what he is selling? If you are making a significant purchase, spend some time to find out about the seller.
2. READ THE BOOK DESCRIPTION
Some bookselling sites separate the book grading from the seller's description. Make sure you have read both. Has the seller described what he is selling? Does his description match the grading (condition) listed for the book? Some sellers say they don't have time to grade every book, so they enter a "one-size fits all" description such as "May have remainder mark, underlining, and highlighting" or "Fast shipping, Thousands of books sold". Beware of the generic description. It means that the seller does not care enough to take the time to tell the buyer what he is buying.
Does the description make sense? Has the seller listed a book as an ex-library copy but listed the condition as "like-new"? As we all know, an ex-library copy has markings, markings are flaws, and a book with flaws is not "like new".
3. ABOUT BOOK GRADING
The first rule of book grading is that a book that is "good" is not very good, and a book that is "very good" has noticeable flaws. So let's start at the top of the grading scale and work down.
"NEW" - indicates that a book has never been sold at the retail level. It's more of a legal term than a condition. In some cases it could be New Old Stock (NOS) , and if so, the seller should mention that in the description. A book that has been previously sold at the retail level is USED, no matter what its condition.
LIKE NEW or FINE- indicates that a book has no faults.
VERY GOOD - This grade means that the book has flaws (all of which must be enumerated) but overall it falls into the subjective ranking of very good (pleasing to the senses, nice, etc).
GOOD - Most other books that have a number of flaws but lack significant structural damage. Since this grade includes most used books, the levels of wear and damage will vary greatly and you need to rely on the description to detail the book's problems.
FAIR or ACCEPTABLE - This grade means the book has major problems, a broken binding, badly torn pages, missing endpapers, library discard stamps, pockets, and wear. A fair book should not be missing any text, but may appear unattractive, defaced, and badly soiled.
POOR - A poor grade usually means that some portion of the text is missing, or a board is missing or detached, or the book is mildewed and basically undesirable. Poor books should only be considered if they are rare and unavailable otherwise.
4. WHERE IS THE DEALER LOCATED?
The dealer's location affects both the end price you are paying and the amount of time it will take for the book to reach you. Obviously, if you are in the US and the dealer is in Europe, shipping the book to you is going to cost more and take longer (usually). You may be able to find the same book in the same condition from a dealer closer to you, and even if the dealer's price is a little higher, you may be a happier buyer if you get the book quickly.
5. ABOUT BOOK PRICING
What is the total amount you are paying including shipping? Check the dealer's shipping rates. Most all dealers charge a dollar or so more than actual postage costs for shipping. This is meant to offset the cost of mailers, bubblewrap, tape, etc. Beware the dealer that charges much more for shipping. He is probably doing that so that he can low-ball the book's price. This is a deceptive practice and you should avoid those dealers.
Most book dealers know what their products are worth and charge accordingly, but remember that some on-line sellers are not book dealers. This is why you will find "like-new" copies listed for a penny less than a "fair" copy. The seller is using a computer program to reprice his inventory without regard to the book's condition. You can often get a great buy from uninformed sellers, but you are taking a gamble on this seller because he has already shown you that he doesn't know what he is doing. You can also get cheated by sellers using computerized pricing programs, because these programs can also price a "fair" copy one cent below a "like-new" copy of an expensive rare book, so compare carefully.
6. SHOULD YOU GIVE YOUR CREDIT CARD ON-LINE?
The most important thing to know about security of your personal information is that you can't be reckless in disclosing your social security number, credit card numbers, and passwords on-line. Make sure you know who you're giving the information to, and that the site you are on is a secure server. The little yellow lock should appear at the bottom of your screen to indicate a secure site. Never give out personal information in response to an email and never follow a verification link in an email to an on-line site even if it appears to be one that you know.
The best policy is to restrict how many sites you give the credit card to and hold your buying to those sites. Sites such as eBay, ABE, Amazon, Alibris and PayPal all retain the information and once you have the numbers on-file you can return through any portal to the sites and buy without having to re-provide the information. PayPal is useful because many small dealers accept it. You can tell a dealer to send you a Paypal invoice and there's no need to give that dealer your personal information.
7. FINDING THE BOOK YOU WANT
All bookselling sites have search engines that will usually accept the name of an author or a book title, and sometimes a keyword to find a book. Some sites search the inventories of many dealers. Some of those include ABE, Addall, Alibris, Amazon, Antiqbook, Biblio, Biblion, Bookfinder (just to list the A's and B's). When you search at these sites, you will access the listings of thousands of dealers. You can also usually get an advanced search window to get more specific about the binding, edition, publisher of the book you want.
After you select a copy, you can put it in a shopping cart and purchase it. If you haven't purchased through that venue before, you will be sent to the new account screen to set up an account.
Some sites allow browsing by category. You could select business books or history books and browse a dealer's collection. This can be very helpful if you are not sure of the title you want.
8. WHAT IS THE DEALER'S RETURN POLICY?
Most selling sites require a seller to state a refund policy. That doesn't mean that all sellers will accept all returns for cash refund without qualification. Many don't. Look for sellers that have a 100% satisfaction guarantee. They will accept a return without any questions. They will give cash refunds (credit to your credit card account). If the return is their fault (bad description, overlooked flaw, etc.), they will also refund the postage costs. If a seller's refund policy is lacking, if it seems restrictive, or if it makes you jump through hoops to send something back, avoid that seller.
There is another way that refund policies can be deceptive. Dealers who sell books at ridiculoulsy low prices (penny sellers) often have very liberal return policies, but since they haven't described the book (can't afford the time at a penny), and won't refund the shipping (because they didn't make any representations about the book), they will gladly refund your penny if you want to spend the $3 or so to send the book back.
9. IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS
If you are unhappy with your purchase contact the dealer immediately. Don't use "feedback" to relay your displeasure. Many dealers don't read the feedback and won't see your comments. Tell him you want to make a return and the reason. If you think that the book was mis-described, use the selling site's link to the listing to confirm that you are correct before contacting the seller.
10. LEAVE FEEDBACK
Let the dealers and other buyers know about your experience with the seller. Most rating scales are 1-5, with 5 being the best rating. The convention is that if the seller shipped promptly and properly and the book was as described, the buyer gives a rating of 5. If there was something the seller did that should be improved on, then the rating is lowered accordingly. Avoid a tirade as your comment will exist forever on the selling site.
HAPPY ON-LINE BOOK BUYING
Buying books on-line is fun and economical. Just think how many used bookstores you would have to visit to find a title. Now, in seconds, you can search through most of the available books in the world. Happy searching.
Books About Book Collecting
|
|
