Order a book on Amazon, read it, return it: do people really do this?

[Wendy1985]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1532056209658105862

I never would've thought to do it, but I learned a long time ago there's a whole segment of humanity I don't want to contemplate.

Am I understanding correctly that the Arthur owes Amazon

 

[Disneefun]

Am I understanding correctly that the Arthur owes Amazon

Yup. Amazon pays out the royalties to the author, but if there are enough returns, it can push the balance into the negative and the author owes that money back. Say (just fun numbers) amazon pays me $5.00 for my sales this month, but there are $8.00 worth of returns, then I owe them $3.00.

 

[dvcgirl67]

I don't read e-books, but it sounds like Kindle Unlimited is a membership, which is like the one I have with Audible, also an Amazon company. I've been a member for around twenty years now, as I have a job where I can listen to books...for most of my day. I can't remember when they began to allow returns, but they do now, as long as you have a membership and you don't abuse it. I've even seen marketing from Audible (Amazon), where it highlights their "return policy". With Audible, when you go into your library and click on any title, and then "title details", if "Return this Title" is at the bottom of the list....you can return and instantly get your credit back. If you've returned a couple/few books recently, it won't be there....and you need to wait awhile for the instant return policy to return.

I find that this option actually helps me discover new authors/series that I would not have otherwise found. If I see the option is available I'll try something completely new that I might not want to spend my credit on otherwise. And like books or movies that we've purchased and are now a part of our library in "the cloud".....audiobooks are the same in that I have built up a library over time of my favorites...ones I'd never return and go back to enjoy again. Some...again and again. I have 430 titles. The return feature comes in handy in the case of literary fraud as well, in the case of "A Million Little Pieces", and "Hillbilly Elegy".....had those both in my library for a number of years and went back to return them because the authors ended up being conmen.

Anyone looking for a good new book in general...but always a great audiobook because the author narrates....Happy-Go-Lucky....by David Sedaris. I have almost all of his books, except the relatively recent, "A Carnival of Snackery", which I purchased the day it was released, and returned when I realized that for the first time, he wasn't narrating the whole book, which completely changed the experience for me. I was happy I was able to return it.

 

[MrsPete]

It's actually easy to tell if a book has been read, as it cracks the spine adhesive throughout the volume, but it requires seeing the volume in person. The simplest thing would be for Amazon to refuse to accept book returns that are processed more than one day after delivery, or 48 hours at the outside ...

... As to the demise of the physical book? Nope. ...

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing: Amazon can tell whether a book's been read -- so if the book's been read, it shouldn't be returnable. What's the problem?

I'm a dedicated e-book reader -- I love reading, not collecting books. I love that ebooks don't take space, that they don't wear out, that I can carry literally thousands of them anywhere in my purse. STILL, I don't see DTBs disappearing. Some books are not "good" in electronic format; for example, I don't like cookbooks or reference books on my Kindle. They're cumbersome, and sometimes "sidebars" end up in the wrong place /are difficult to connect to the main reading. I don't like the Bible in electronic form -- it takes too long to switch from this point to that point in Sunday School, and I sometimes want to write notes in the margin.

Some unscrupulous authors have indeed done this--broken up their books into tiny segments and charged $2.99 or whatever for them. But that's not "largely." It's "some."

It may be that you've seen this a lot with authors who've interested you, but this is hardly a common practice.

Yeah, they have this new concept called "Vella" in which you purchase the book segments at a time -- this isn't new; it's kinda like Charles Dickens, who published his novels in segments in magazines /left every chapter on a cliffhanger so people would buy the next month's magazine. You don't even know how many segments will eventually be in the book, so you can't know what the book will cost. I really want to read one of the books they're offering, but once I read how Vella works, I decided I would NEVER support it financially. If I'm going to buy a book, give me the book.

I predict this concept will disappear soon, as I don't think I'm alone in my dislike of the idea.

Dont feel too bad for Amazon. Jeff Bezos is a billionaire, something in that neighborhood?

Yeah, he won't have go miss a meal because of your book return -- but the author, the little guy, may be hurt.

And Everyone, an author writes a book. Arthur is England's Once and Future King.

Something similar used to happen on the Budget Board - people returning backpacks for new ones.

I think that's different. Higher-quality backpacks often advertise "lifetime warranty on seams and zippers" as a selling point. If the company promises you that these typical weak points WILL NOT FAIL, you have every right to take them at their word. They would not replace a bag that was just worn out or a bag that had been abused -- but a bag with a busted zipper or seam, they'd take back.

When I was in college, I worked at a high-end camping store, and one of my jobs was taking back /returning to the company backpacks that had broken. It was the company's choice to repair or replace the bag (hint: they always replaced), but it took MONTHS. People often ended up needing a new bag before their claim was completed.

And if they return it to Kohls they'll actually make money because they'll get $5 Kohls cash upon return. This is just crazy to me!

Hey, I made an Amazon return to Kohl's yesterday -- no $5 for me. I didn't even think about it.

At my library I can request them to get a book and most times they do.
You should ask at your library if they would do this too.

It's called Inter-Library Loan, and your high school English teacher should've taught you this is a thing at ALL public libraries. In theory, you can get any book. It's free (to you, the customer -- not free for the library), but it's not always fast.

Libraries are amazing places with some great services.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

In theory, you can get any book. It's free (to you, the customer -- not free for the library)

1) Not every book is available in systems, not even in theory.
2) It's not always free, it's free for you to request from your library system but if the library system that has the book won't loan it out for free they will send the request back to your library system with the price associated with your particular loan system. Depending on your library system they may bounce the request back to you advising how much the other library will charge and you can choose to pay that and they will send it to you or you can decline it. For my particular library systems they may also choose (if they either feel it's a good addition to their library system or if they've gotten enough requests where it makes sense to) to purchase a copy of the item you have requested.

It can be slow or fast depending on many factors. I've gotten books from Australia that have arrived faster than books that came from Seattle, WA and books that came from England faster than NJ. For my library system in particular if the item is coming from my state they will send a driver to go pick it up, driving hours and hours to get it.

 

[Atlas722]

1)I don't return books that I buy from Amazon.
2)I buy books from Amazon when the two local library systems don't carry them.
3)I don't read e-books.

 

[sk!mom]

I read a lot of ebooks on my Kindle but I’ve never returned one. I didn’t realize that you could until this thread. That being said, I mostly borrow through the library and only buy through Amazon if it’s a best seller, popular, or from a well known author that I can’t wait for library availability. I have abandoned many books that were “purchased” as my free first of the month Prime benefit. They are often very low quality and not worth reading.

Amazon allows a large amount of self published low quality books through. I can see that if I spent $2.99 or so on one, I might return it if it was as bad as a few I’ve gotten on the first of the month free.

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

I think Kohls does not always give the $5. I was wondering about that myself. And the author can ever go into the red. just be charged back for royalties he already received.

 

[Lilsia]

People have ZERO integrity anymore. I'm not sure what Amazon should do. I've been gifted two books before, purchased through Amazon, that I had previously read. When I received them, I immediately returned them unopened. Also returned one this way, long ago, to a bookstore. I'm sure they don't want to put a no-return policy on books because it might stop people from gifting, but it is ridiculous.

They should do what most brick and mortar book stores did, not accept returns.

 

[Lilsia]

If the book is bad, I definitely return it.

That is the equivalent to going to a restaurant, eating you whole meal, and then complaining how bad it was and not wanting to pay.

 

[mom2rtk]

They should do what most brick and mortar book stores did, not accept returns.

That's kind of the problem. If you can't see the item and flip through it, you almost have to take returns. Maybe the potential fraud at the margins is part of the cost of removing brick and mortar stores.

That said, I have never returned a book in my life.

 

[Brett Wyman]

You can't returned open DVDs or video games. They should do they same for books. Just need to shrink it in an official wrap. If its removed, no returns.

 

[Lilsia]

That's kind of the problem. If you can't see the item and flip through it, you almost have to take returns. Maybe the potential fraud at the margins is part of the cost of removing brick and mortar stores.

That said, I have never returned a book in my life.

Flipping through a book is not going to give you any clue on if you are going to like it or not. You read the description, like you can do online. I am an avid reader, I read pretty much every day. I own hundreds of books. I have never returned one, ever. Even if I don't like it.

 

[mom2rtk]

Flipping through a book is not going to give you any clue on if you are going to like it or not. You read the description, like you can do online. I am an avid reader, I read pretty much every day. I own hundreds of books. I have never returned one, ever. Even if I don't like it.

Not all books are fiction. Some are photo anthologies and the like.

 

[sinansuman82]

I don't read e-books, but it sounds like Kindle Unlimited is a membership, which is like the one I have with Audible, also an Amazon company. I've been a member for around twenty years now, as I have a job where I can listen to books...for most of my day. I can't remember when they began to allow returns, but they do now, as long as you have a membership and you don't abuse it. I've even seen marketing from Audible (Amazon), where it highlights their "return policy". With Audible, when you go into your library and click on any title, and then "title details", if "Return this Title" is at the bottom of the list....you can return and instantly get your credit back. If you've returned a couple/few books recently, it won't be there....and you need to wait awhile for the instant return policy to return.

I find that this option actually helps me discover new authors/series that I would not have otherwise found. If I see the option is available I'll try something completely new that I might not want to spend my credit on otherwise. And like books or movies that we've purchased and are now a part of our library in "the cloud".....audiobooks are the same in that I have built up a library over time of my favorites...ones I'd never return and go back to enjoy again. Some...again and again. I have 430 titles. The return feature comes in handy in the case of literary fraud as well, in the case of "A Million Little Pieces", and "Hillbilly Elegy".....had those both in my library for a number of years and went back to return them because the authors ended up being conmen.

Anyone looking for a good new book in general...but always a great audiobook because the author narrates....Happy-Go-Lucky....by David Sedaris. I have almost all of his books, except the relatively recent, "A Carnival of Snackery", which I purchased the day it was released, and returned when I realized that for the first time, he wasn't narrating the whole book, which completely changed the experience for me. I was happy I was able to return it.

I totally agree. Recently, I just used one method that helped me in learning. Too bad it didn't happen when I was in school. Maybe my studies would be easier.

I aam too don't read

 

[Wendy1985]

To the person that compared audible to kindle unlimited not at all the same

Once you use the credits on your membership they are gone however kindle unlimited is like a library but no waiting list

 

[AprilsZoo]

RamblingMad said:
If the book is bad, I definitely return it.

That's not really fair - whether a book is good or bad is subjective. You'd be better off going to the library.

This is why every single kindle edition has an option to get a sample of the book sent to you for free.
Some samples are longer than others, but most will include at least a couple chapters.

The shorter “novellas” may have only part of a chapter, but it’s typically pretty easy to figure out if an author has split what should have been a single book/novel into a series of short ones. Look for things like if it has many books in the series (book 5, or 8, or more…) or in the details secbtion of the description it will say how many pages there are— if it’s less than 200, I wouldn’t call it a novel in its own right. A novel should maybe leave a cliffhanger if the author intends to write a sequel, but it should mostly resolve/ finish the main story.

Imho, a reader should never feel like the book is wholly unfinished when they’ve reached the “end”. You shouldn’t wonder, “where’s the rest of the book?”
Unfortunately, that seems to be becoming the trend with quite a number of newer indie authors— what would’ve been one novel, is serialized and broken into multiple “books”. I think it’s so they can publish they book in parts as they are writing it, instead of having to finish the entire novel before publication.