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Amazon allegedly resells damaged books

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Re: Amazon allegedly resells damaged books

#111

Post by Cthulhu_ »

mips_r4300i wrote: post #97
bmitc wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Their packing has gotten comically bad, particularly for sensitively items like books and such. I've greatly reduced my Amazon buying over the years due to issues with damaged items, and lately, Amazon is getting more aggressive about discouraging returns. But I'm not going to pay $30+ for a new hardcover that comes damaged and covered with dirt and grime.

Ordered a new cable modem and received it today. They put the shipping label ON the retail packaging. No box! This is FBA. Of course it was scuffed and scraped all to hell.

In theory, the boxes that items come in - especially electronics - should be good enough for shipping, they're often full of padding and the exterior is glossy / lightly water resistant; I've ordered a few items that came without a box like that, it's fine, the packaging has no value. It's more that retailers can be anal about box quality because that's how items were sold at one point.

Re: Amazon allegedly resells damaged books

#112

Post by alpaca128 »

lb1lf wrote: post #105
alpaca128 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And that's just the immediately visible problems. In some product categories it's difficult to find a single product where the description doesn't outright lie about features or quality, and the only way to tell is the price. Louis Rossmann recently tested some of the highest-rated fuses sold on Amazon. It took over 8A to blow a 2A fuse. By now I only order there if I can't find a more local alternative, the only rem…

There's a lot of 'That depends...' when it comes to fuse ratings; for instance, a tardy porcelain fuse of the kind used domestically in Scandinavian countries until fairly recently were rated to take 90% over rated load for 1hr before melting; they were basically only going to provide short circuit protection. Depending on the category of fuse and the time it held at a lower current before ramping it up to 400%, it m…

He increased from 4-8A over a period of over 5 minutes. After going to 10A the fuse failed instantly.

Re: Amazon allegedly resells damaged books

#113

Post by wil421 »

willcipriano wrote: post #93
steve_adams_86 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This exact thing happened to me and for weeks it would spontaneously cross my mind. I thought one of my kids did it yet I couldn't guess why, until one day it hit me: they were on vacation with their aunt when I received the books and found the toilet paper, and the book was slightly damaged when I got it. Then it dawned on me that someone had read this book before, likely while on their toilet. For that and a few ot…

I used to work in a Brentano's. Typical retailers will flag any books that have been in the restroom to prevent this.

Brentano’s sells coffee, bran muffins, you’re surrounding by reading material, its entrapment I tell you!

Re: Amazon allegedly resells damaged books

#114

Post by washadjeffmad »

sparky_z wrote: post #23
washadjeffmad wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The contention, to me, is if returned or refurbished items are being labeled and sold as 'new', then Amazon may be running afoul of FTC truth-in-advertising laws.

If I go into a physical bookstore, buy a book, walk out with it, walk back in and return it still in good condition, should they not just put it back on the shelf? Would that be fraud? It's technically no longer "new" at that point. True this was returned as "damaged" but how damaged was it? We aren't told and there are no photos.

The condition doesn't matter, either because of one of two scenarios.

1) This is the author, and these are rejected proofs or author copies. In which case, Amazon does not have the rights to sell them because they were not "returns".

2) This book has been sold once, and royalties have been paid, but it was returned, relabeled as "new" and sold again without a royalty being paid on that sale. The author and the customer have been cheated.

The thread has likely developed, but this is just going by my limited familiarity with publishing.

Re: Amazon allegedly resells damaged books

#115

Post by joabaldwin »

sparky_z wrote: post #9

Before getting pitchforks out, I'd like to see what this person considered "damaged". If - and I know this is a big if - but if it's something extremely minor, such that almost anyone would consider it to be in "like new" condition, then frankly that would be a case of Amazon doing the right thing, rather than pulping a perfectly good book and printing a new one. The fact that this person is apparently not providing…

Feel free to bring out some pitchforks! Here's more info about the damage.

https://twitter.com/joabaldwin/status/1741484863985770912

I'm calling it "damage" just for simplicity's sake on the note, although some were properly damaged (bent covers, weird creases, etc, although not during shipping since they were surprisingly well packed in this case), while some were miscut/misprinted.

Regarding royalties, it's better explained on the reply I posted to the main thread. But I'm still unsure about how that might resolve, but I have the specific order number and will try to get an answer. I have not had time to deal with KDP support yet (will as soon as I get home next week).

Re: Amazon allegedly resells damaged books

#116

Post by wrp »

manicennui wrote: post #51

If you care about the condition of books you buy, don't buy from Amazon. They'll throw a $100+ hardcover in a lightly padded envelope and chuck it around. Or they'll put it in a box with some other random item and a few inflatable shipping bags, but not enough to keep things from shifting around freely.

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders many years ago did use packaging that completely protected books from damage. I guess they found there are enough people who really don't care, so that the sellers don't have to care either.

Re: Amazon allegedly resells damaged books

#117

Post by smsm42 »

aowiejtriawj wrote: post #83
bmitc wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Their packing has gotten comically bad, particularly for sensitively items like books and such. I've greatly reduced my Amazon buying over the years due to issues with damaged items, and lately, Amazon is getting more aggressive about discouraging returns. But I'm not going to pay $30+ for a new hardcover that comes damaged and covered with dirt and grime.

It seems like all shipping companies have gotten comically bad in the past year or two. This past summer I mailed boxes to seven family members via USPS. Only 3 of 7 boxes made it to their destinations intact. Three were delivered but destroyed, crushed, like either someone drove over them with a truck or literally jumped up and down on them several times, and one just disappeared. UPS has also delivered to me severa…

Same here, noticed a lot of stuff from Amazon lately arrived in a condition as if somebody used it as a piñata. Fortunately, for the stuff I ordered it didn't really ruin anything except the external packaging, which I didn't need anyway, but I hate to think what it'd done to a book...

Re: Amazon allegedly resells damaged books

#118

Post by Judson »

cool_dude85 wrote: post #77
Judson wrote: post #64

The realities of a warehouse operation make this inevitable (I’ve run an 8-figure/yr online distributor). Amazon cannot take the customer’s word on return condition. Folks just click “damaged” to get a refund and Amazon has to have warehouse workers, not professional book inspectors, receive the returns and note their condition. This is good enough since someone buying the used copy can also return it if they disagre…

>Amazon cannot take the customer’s word on return condition. Why not? Doing so prevents this exact scenario. I'm curious if you think this is appropriate in other circumstances too: a customer at the grocery store returns a bag of candy. Do you want the cashier to check it and decide to put it back on the shelf for you to buy? >This is good enough since someone buying the used copy can also return it if they disagree…

This is almost exactly how it _does_ work in big box grocery except there are blanket policies re: disposal for food items. Fwiw, Amazon also has near identical policies for food items.

Re: Amazon allegedly resells damaged books

#119

Post by Judson »

cool_dude85 wrote: post #84
xboxnolifes wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why not? Doing so prevents this exact scenario. And creates other scenarios.

Well, like what? The book gets thrown away?

Maybe it’s more apparent in the opposite case. Customers who say the item is totally fine, but have shipped back a box of rocks.

Re: Amazon allegedly resells damaged books

#120

Post by cool_dude85 »

Judson wrote: post #118
cool_dude85 wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Amazon cannot take the customer’s word on return condition. Why not? Doing so prevents this exact scenario. I'm curious if you think this is appropriate in other circumstances too: a customer at the grocery store returns a bag of candy. Do you want the cashier to check it and decide to put it back on the shelf for you to buy? >This is good enough since someone buying the used copy can also return it if they disagree…

This is almost exactly how it _does_ work in big box grocery except there are blanket policies re: disposal for food items. Fwiw, Amazon also has near identical policies for food items.

I worked for years in a grocery store and never saw a returned item go back on the shelf. Hope I never shop at the places you're talking about.
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