Powell’s says it won’t sell books on Amazon anymore • Hacker News Board

Re: Powell’s says it won’t sell books on Amazon anymore

#151

Post by ghaff » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 6:12 PM UTC

sybercecurity wrote: post #82

On a side note, Amazon really only delivered the coup de grace to independent bookstores. Large chains like Borders, Barnes and Nobles and box stores like Target and Walmart weakened them so much they couldn't compete when Amazon took away their sole advantage: ordering hard-to-find books from small publishers. Had a parent that worked in an independent bookstore. The store couldn't match box stores in price. They ha…

And even before the chains, there was a big independent bookstore near me that had the remarkable innovation of selling books at less than list price--which was probably the first real shot at the small independents in the area. They eventually shrank and then went out of business, during the Borders/B&N era I believe.

Re: Powell’s says it won’t sell books on Amazon anymore

#152

Post by gen3 » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 6:14 PM UTC

jjulius wrote: post #125

AlexandrB wrote: post #92

I'm going to take this opportunity to grind my personal axe: Amazon is extremely lazy about shipping books, throwing them into lightly-padded envelopes. Books shipped from Amazon usually arrive with at least minor cosmetic damage and sometimes much worse. For me this is reason enough to avoid buying books on Amazon.

They do the same thing with vinyl records. I opted to roll with Amazon because I was impatient and wanted it soon, even though I'd rather have given my money to an actual record shop. Sure enough, they packed the record like they pack everything else - in a box that's too big and not specifically made for the product, with a couple of InstaPak air sleeves; it was almost comical. Lots of cosmetic damage on the record…

I’ve had a really good experience with shipping on Discogs. Better then what you get buying directly from the artist (though I do try to do so when possible). I’ve bought from record stores domestically and overseas. Would recommend.

Re: Powell’s says it won’t sell books on Amazon anymore

#153

Post by jccc » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 6:18 PM UTC

AlexandrB wrote: post #92

I'm going to take this opportunity to grind my personal axe: Amazon is extremely lazy about shipping books, throwing them into lightly-padded envelopes. Books shipped from Amazon usually arrive with at least minor cosmetic damage and sometimes much worse. For me this is reason enough to avoid buying books on Amazon.

I 100% share the frustration with carelessly damaged books from Amazon and don't disagree with your comment, but just want to say it's not Jeff Bezos or "Amazon" doing this to your shipment.

It's underpaid, overworked and (these days) health-endangered warehouse workers pushed beyond their limits by crazy quotas and efficiency measurements trying avoid losing their jobs.

[Well, I guess I should say it is Bezos/Amazon, but you know what I mean.]

Re: Powell’s says it won’t sell books on Amazon anymore

#154

Post by jurassic » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 6:18 PM UTC

duxup wrote: post #103

AlexandrB wrote: post #92

I'm going to take this opportunity to grind my personal axe: Amazon is extremely lazy about shipping books, throwing them into lightly-padded envelopes. Books shipped from Amazon usually arrive with at least minor cosmetic damage and sometimes much worse. For me this is reason enough to avoid buying books on Amazon.

I've had a run of damage to books, but from what looks like printing ... for what I suspect are actually fakes. The binding is a bit off, or pages just didn't print right / are malformed, or strange sort of "weathering" like effects over time, and etc.

I've definitely received counterfeit books from Amazon. I bought two volumes in a set of George Orwell essays and the difference in quality between the genuine one and the fake one was absurd. The real volume was a high quality trade paperback and the fake was a low-quality scan of the book printed on extremely cheap paper, binding stiff and hard to open. I emailed the publisher to let them know it was happening and never heard back.

Re: Powell’s says it won’t sell books on Amazon anymore

#155

Post by blacksmith_tb » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 6:19 PM UTC

Nicholas_C wrote: post #149

AlexandrB wrote: post #92

I'm going to take this opportunity to grind my personal axe: Amazon is extremely lazy about shipping books, throwing them into lightly-padded envelopes. Books shipped from Amazon usually arrive with at least minor cosmetic damage and sometimes much worse. For me this is reason enough to avoid buying books on Amazon.

To me this is preferable to putting it in a large cardboard box with bubble wrap like they seem to do for even tiny but durable products like finger nail clippers. It’s much less of a waste and I don’t mind if a book is slightly creased.

Powell's (for example) have a good alternative, they stack several books on a piece of cardboard the size of the box's bottom, then shrink-wrap the books to the cardboard. The books can't slide around, and can't move much. I've never had any arrive damaged (unlike AMZN).

Re: Powell’s says it won’t sell books on Amazon anymore

#156

Post by mumblemumble » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 6:20 PM UTC

helldritch wrote: post #139

mtnGoat wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They do the same to Lego, which sucks because it actually damages the resale value for collectors. Oddly, Lego damages their own stuff too, no way to guarantee uncrushed boxes I guess.

I order meat from The Great British Meat Company and my meat arrives 2 days later, still refrigerated, in a hard polystyrene case packed in with still frozen ice cube bags. It costs a little more to deliver, but it arrives upright and in a perfect condition at 3 degrees Celsius (~38f). Its ridiculous that something of regular shape, in a regular box, is so difficult not to damage in transit especially from a company…

Those meat packages end up getting very different handling, because of the dry ice that's used to keep them cold. It's necessary to keep a careful track of the dry ice and know how much of it you're loading into a container, in order to avoid asphyxiating your colleagues. Most packages are just tossed along as quickly as possible, because there's a tight schedule to keep. But you have to temporarily slow way down when a package containing dry ice comes down the belt.

It's a little bit like that photographer's trick of packing a starter pistol with your camera equipment when flying, in order to ensure that the baggage crew is extra careful with your stuff.

Source: I used to schlep packages at a UPS hub.

Re: Powell’s says it won’t sell books on Amazon anymore

#157

Post by mumblemumble » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 6:26 PM UTC

x87678r wrote: post #121

greenie_beans wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm conflicted over this business. It's ran by good people but I don't think it's the right solution for independents to compete with Amazon. Just go straight to the local bookstore's website. A lot of the stores on bookshop also have an online store. Bookshop is a supplement and basically just plugged straight into Ingram (the distributor), so they're able to sell whatever your local indie's web store lacks.

I tried but local store really is much more expensive, like double or at least 50% - that is if they can even get it. I dont ever want to go there and browse, just buy some books. For me Amazon is sooo much easier and much cheaper as well, I wonder what the point of supporting local is for.

> I wonder what the point of supporting local is for.

It's arguably comparable to paying extra for fair trade products.

Re: Powell’s says it won’t sell books on Amazon anymore

#158

Post by maxioatic » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 6:31 PM UTC

I love Powell's. I've spent way too many hours in both of their Portland locations (and the old Technical store, RIP) over the last 20+ years. I've lived within walking and biking distance to both the whole time.

That said, these days I buy a majority of my books from Amazon, and have for a while. The simple reason is that for the books I buy most, which are technical in nature, the prices on Amazon are so much better.

For example, on Wednesday, I bought (from Amazon):

- Programming TypeScript

- Effective TypeScript

- JavaScript: The Definitive Guide

- Eloquent JavaScript

(I'm learning TypeScript/JavaScript for work...)

In order, the prices on Amazon vs Powell's:

- $27, $50

- $27, $40

- $52, $70

- $25, $40

totals: $131, $200

I can't justify spending that much more at Powell's, sorry not sorry. If the prices were similar, as in 10%-25%, I would for sure buy them from Powell's, but they rarely are.

Now - what I do buy at Powell's is every other type of book! I'll never buy a regular old paperback off Amazon, or a cookbook, or a travel book, or ... It's the categories of books that I don't spend a lot on, for which I will gladly pay an increased price. I feel this is definitely justified by the experience I get perusing the stores, finding books I never knew I wanted. (Sometimes the books at Powell's aren't more expensive or actually cheaper, especially the used ones).

Re: Powell’s says it won’t sell books on Amazon anymore

#159

Post by jasonv » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 6:34 PM UTC

_Nat_ wrote: post #91

It's always weird to read a story where someone's rooting for something like old bookstores to remain in-business. The thing's that I don't mind the economic shift nor the format shift. I don't particularly care for bookstores or even old-fashion books; I think electronic media with active content is vastly superior. I look forward to further advances in technology, where the line between static media and computation…

Some of my favorite moments in time are traveling to some city and carving out time to visit a locally run bookstore. I can point to books on my bookshelf and recall precisely the year and store from which I purchased it.

Maybe bookstores are a problem the way you describe them... I also have a friend who does the annual holiday musical/dance/theater productions in her local town. Auditions, rehearsals, musicians, dancers, actors, etc. Her studio loses money. Her partner contributes most of the matching funds needed to break even. They book theaters and sell tickets, etc. It doesn't make money, it's not a high profile cultural event, it's a hobby but the people who do it, and attend year after year, love it.

I'm not saying bookstores are like that, for better and worse. I personally think bookstores can and should survive in our economic environments. They're a universal funnel of product, output, art, commerce and community. We can buy things from them and they can employee people and survive.

That said -- I just looked up the new Beowulf translation. Powell's is out, Bookshop is out, but Amazon can says it's "In Stock". Sigh^3.

Re: Powell’s says it won’t sell books on Amazon anymore

#160

Post by khazhoux » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 6:50 PM UTC

samcheng wrote: post #135

pschastain wrote: post #130

Kudos to Powell's, I've spent literally thousands of dollars over the years at that magnificent store and will continue to do so; spent hour upon hour there in my childhood getting lost in wonders it holds. They don't try to undercut smaller bookstores by offering discounts on new books like B&N, Amazon, etc., their employees seem to actually enjoy working there, it's a family-friendly environment and the selection s…

I've never lived in Portland, but try to visit annually; Powell's has earned its place as a 'must go' destination every year. I mean, it's a bookstore, with active curation, that spans a city block. Amazing! I end up with the book I had in mind, plus half a dozen books discovered along the way...

One of the few "perfect mornings" in my life was a day off during a Portland business trip: with a Stumptown coffee, a Voodoo donut, and Powell's. Simply magical.