(urth) The Perils of Partnership

[Matthew Weber]

> Greetings:
>>> Just got my first three replacement copies of my missing Wolfe's:
>>> Innocents Abroad, Starwater Strains, and Strange Travellers--all short
>>> story collections in case any of the titles in these are on the May Is
>>> Gene Wolfe Shorts Month project.
>>> Annoyed as they are all ex-library books: which the Amazon "partner" did
>>> not mention in his/her description. I did not pay a lot, and these are
>>> all fine "reading copies", but given a choice between a ex-library book
>>> with stickers, mylar wrap and stamps and things inside...and a actual
>>> "new" copy without any of that, I'll choose the new one.
>>> Am I a cranky book collector or what?
>>>
>>> --
>>> F.P. Kiesche III "Ah Mr. Gibbon, another damned, fat, square book.
>>> Always, scribble, scribble, scribble, eh?" (The Duke of Gloucester, on
>>> being presented with Volume 2 of The Decline and Fall of the Roman
>>> Empire.) Blogging at The Lensman's Children
>>> (http://theeternalgoldenbraid.**blogspot.com/<http://theeternalgoldenbraid.blogspot.com/>
>>> ).
>>>
>>>
Fred, there are Amazon Marketplace vendors that pull this crap all the
time--listing books in "good" or "very good" condition when they've been
defaced with library stamps, written in, etc.  I suggest being a complete
pain in the ass and giving the seller a "poor" rating (and giving specific
reasons why the seller earned that rating).  Quite often the seller will
contact you and ask that you revise the rating, which you should only do on
condition that they pay for return postage and a refund.

On the one hand, it's good that Amazon Marketplace has allowed all kinds of
booksellers to piggyback on Amazon's infrastructure and keep their
businesses going.  The downside is that any schmuck with a stack of
withdrawn library books can go online and sell them, and in so doing muddy
the waters for experienced bookmen who know their trade and are trying to
do a conscientious job of describing what they're selling.  I've been where
you are several times, and it's extremely annoying.



-- 
Matt +

Give a sop to Cerberus.
    Greek and Roman saying
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