Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Another irritating textbook buyback story
From thecolonialist.com:
I decided to sell to the cart outside of Kogan on H St. I buy coffee from the guy twice a week and he always seemed to be a fair man. I gave him five books to scan, and he did so with out speaking a word. After a few moments he said, “five dollars.”
Now, I’ve been screwed on books before, but one dollar a book seemed a little irrational. I told him that I was going to take the books over to the bookstore, but I’m confident he had lower prices, so I’d be back. The following is a transcript of our actual conversation:
Coffee Guy: If you come back, I’ll only give you fifty cents for each of these books. $2.50 then, instead of $5.
Travis: What? Why would you do that?
Coffee Guy: Because I control the prices.
That pretty much sums it up. College kids - buy all your books online, then sell them online when you're done. Professors - don't require the latest edition of a textbook when the last edition has all the same information. Take away their control. Help stop the epidemic.
Labels: book buyback, college bookstores, reselling, textbooks
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Keep an eye out for these -
- Once a Runner (1978) by John L. Parker, Jr.
The cult classic distance running novel; the long-awaited sequel, Again to Carthage, was released in November- Football Scouting Methods (1962) by Steve Belichick
Legendary college football scout’s playbook, used by coaches and players to develop winning game plans- Sex (1992) by Madonna
The pop icon’s controversial book of erotic photos- Promise Me Tomorrow (1984) by Nora Roberts
An early novel that the bestselling romance novelist refuses to reprint, describing it as “mediocre”- The Lion’s Paw (1946) by Robb White
A children’s adventure story about two orphans who travel around Florida in a boat- The Principles of Knitting (1988) by June Hemmons Hiatt
An indispensable resource on hand knitting- Raven: The Untold Story of the Reverend Jim Jones and His People (1982) by Tim Reiterman
Chronicles the inner workings which allowed the Peoples Temple to flourish- Aran Knitting (1997) by Alice Starmore
History and how-to about the Irish knitting technique- One Way Up (1964) by John F. Straubel
The story of of helicopters and vertically rising aircraft- Dear and Glorious Physician (1959) by Taylor Caldwell
A novel based on the life of Saint Luke
From bookfinder.com journal
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
This month's special:
Published by T. Longman, B. Law, J. Johnson, et. Al., 1796.
This antique hardcover cookbook is bound in full leather, trimmed in gilt, with patterned edges. No cover or spine letters. Half-title page notes a price of six shillings bound; title page notes that the book "far excels any thing of the kind yet published ... in which are included one hundred and fifty new and useful receipts, not inserted in any former edition." Also included are "the order of a Bill of Fare for each Month; the Dishes arranged on the Table in the most fashionable Style." Some cover wear; inner pages browned, but clean, with very little foxing. A great example of one of the first widely-available cookbooks. 418 pages; approx. 5"x8".
Price:
-Buy it-
Labels: antiquarian bookselling, Books, Specials, Terms of Sale
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Abebooks draws ire for charging comission on shipping
The decision by AbeBooks to place an 8% charge on seller shipping expenses has caused outrage among many of the online retailer’s booksellers, who called the move shortsighted and one that discriminates against international booksellers. Hannes Blum, Abe CEO, said that in order to cover rising costs and compete in a marketplace that includes Amazon and Alibris, Abe needed to find a way to boost revenue. The benefit of instituting a charge on shipping fees is that it has the dual affect of raising revenue while discouraging gouging on shipping costs by booksellers who sell books for (literally) pennies and make their profit on shipping charges.
This is a BIG deal. Eight percent is no small chunk of change; we routinely eat up to $20 on shipping as it is, to add another 8% is going to kill a lot of smaller dealers.
Labels: abebooks, comissions, international shipping, shipping costs
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