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Kathryn
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| Posted: Jan 01 2010 at 9:24pm | IP Logged
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Ok...please forgive what may seem like complete ignorance but I've rarely bought things off the Internet. That seems odd in light of the fact that I've sold things on ebay for almost 8 years so go figure. Anyway, when I buy from Amazon it's usually brand-new through Amazon...not another seller. However, sometimes Amazon doesn't have it and so it will of course show the available books new or used from other sellers. Are they all (the books and sellers) just as good as the other? Sometimes there is such a price discrepancy that I wonder, "Is that too good to be true?" I see they have a rating system similar to ebay so how should I consider that? What should I be looking for?
Thanks for your advice,
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Kathryn in TX
(dd 16, ds 15, dd 8, dd 5)
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folklaur
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| Posted: Jan 01 2010 at 9:26pm | IP Logged
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i pay attention to their ratings - but i can say i have never had any problems.
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JennGM
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| Posted: Jan 01 2010 at 9:43pm | IP Logged
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The hard thing is you have to pay extra shipping, I think the standard is close to $4.00 per book.
I rarely buy a new book. I hate paying full price for a book.
I buy through many of the booksellers and have had no problems. If you have an option of new vs. used, I try to evaluate if the starting price plus shipping is close to the new book with free shipping, I'll go new.
Otherwise, I choose a book by condition, cheapest price, but also a closer location to me, since they usually come through media mail and I want the book sooner.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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guitarnan
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| Posted: Jan 01 2010 at 10:14pm | IP Logged
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I've done this several times with excellent results. It's worth a few minutes to look at seller ratings, but I have not had any problems.
Amazon is very customer-oriented, too, and that adds another layer of protection. (As does paying with a credit card - the Fair Credit Billing Act allows you to dispute charges for non-delivery, for example, but I know many people try to avoid paying with plastic.)
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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Paula in MN
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| Posted: Jan 02 2010 at 6:42am | IP Logged
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By now I should own Amazon with the amount of books I've purchased over the years. The few times I've had a problem with an Amazon purchase, new or used, it has always been handled immediately and satisfactorily.
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 Paula
A Catholic Harvest
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stefoodie
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| Posted: Jan 02 2010 at 7:49am | IP Logged
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We've bought MANY books from Amazon sellers (I'm an Amazon seller too  ) -- and have only had two bad experiences: one was a smoke-smelling book, I complained and said that I wouldn't have bought the book if the seller had disclosed that it smelled of smoke. She apologized and offered to refund but I decided to just donate the book rather than have to send it back to her, etc; the other one was a used calculator advertised as "like new" and which had a loose key that wouldn't work when we got it -- I had difficulty with the seller not wanting to issue a refund right away and trying to drag it out and make *me* prove that the calculator was defective when I got it, so I had to go through Amazon to get all my money back, including shipping.
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stef
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Natalia
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| Posted: Jan 02 2010 at 9:27am | IP Logged
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I have bought through Amazon Sellers many times. The only problem I had is that a couple of times, the bookseller ended up not having the book in their inventory and had to refund the money. Aside from that, no problem at all.
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Natalia
http://pannuestrodecadadia.blogspot.com
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Willa
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| Posted: Jan 02 2010 at 11:35am | IP Logged
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I pay attention to the rating and to the condition of the item.
With Amazon used books, if the book is marked in "good condition" you may still have some highlighting within the book as long as its still in readable condition -- so if you hate highlighting, you might want to check the "comments" to see if they note that or else look for books in "very good" conditions.
The other thing is the shipping, as Jenn said -- when I buy new from Amazon I usually save up my booklist until I can buy for free shipping. But you can't do that at the Amazon Marketplace.
I think the discrepancy is fine because if there is an overload of second-hand books out there -- let's just say something by Dr Phil, or something else that was widely published but not necessarily a "keeper"-- you will get books selling secondhand for 1 penny (plus 4 dollars shipping). Meanwhile, the "new" price will still be substantial.
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AMDG
Willa
hsing boys ages 11, 14, almost 18 (+ 4 homeschool grads ages 20 to 27)
Take Up and Read
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JodieLyn
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You can also get that apparent discrepency between other sellers because the new books are more or because of the sellers.. I think the sellers that sell huge quantities can sell for less than others. Also, it may depend on when the book was posted to Amazon. $5 for a used book may have been fine when that book was first released.. but now there's a glut of them so they're for a penny.. but that first person never came back and changed it.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Jan 02 2010 at 1:42pm | IP Logged
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And if you're looking used.. don't necessarily stay with Amazon. If the used price is still higher.. check half price books and abe books etc.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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Karen T
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| Posted: Jan 04 2010 at 6:35pm | IP Logged
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I always check amazon's used prices, as well as www.betterworldbooks.com and www.wonderbook.com (excellent shipping from both of those places, plus wonder is in my town so I can just order and pick it all up at the store, bagged up, no shipping!)
I've bought a lot of books through amazon marketplace and like others, always compare what the total is going to be with shipping compared to a new book with free shipping. You can't usually beat the penny books! I've only ever had one problem ordering from there - the last book I ordered (3 months ago) never arrived. I notified the seller and they said they'd shipped it, but without tracking how do you know? I haven't pushed them b/c it was only about $6 total, and I hate to leave bad feedback when it was probably a mail problem, but still. It's not a very common book so I ended up buying new from Amazon after all.
Karen T
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Kathryn
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| Posted: Jan 04 2010 at 6:51pm | IP Logged
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Thanks for all the tips and insights. I def. will feel more comfortable looking at the used books. My Amazon "new" wish list is getting quite long and as everyone knows, the $$ really adds up quick!
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Kathryn in TX
(dd 16, ds 15, dd 8, dd 5)
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Amanda
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| Posted: Jan 05 2010 at 12:11pm | IP Logged
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Just FYI, my husband and I try to have really low prices on the books we sell on Amazon because we don't have room to keep the books for long! It's more important for us to sell fast than to make the biggest profit possible.
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St. Margaret Clitherow Homeschool
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: How to buy from Amazon-Other Sellers
