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

[redboat45]

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

it doesn't hurt Amazon it appears to hurt the author.

 

[disney-inspired]

I wouldn't return a book but rather resell it to a used book store or something.
I don't read physical books much and prefer audio books now but for physical books, check out ThriftBooks.

I have subscription to Scribd that has a ton of audiobooks and I pay $12/ month. It's a rental service and much better option than Audible.

 

[redboat45]

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!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

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!

Khol's is perfectly fine with that arrangement

I've returned to Khol's before because it was a free option (the closest one actually to my house). I've returned to UPS too because it was a free option, one time they gave me a coupon for a percent off of their services, I see no difference in that.

I've only returned a few items in recent years and they were clothes, I hate buying clothes online but sometimes Amazon has exactly what I'm looking for but I don't if it will actually work out. I'd prefer to buy in store when I can sometimes I just can't.

 

[NotUrsula]

Zip Books is a grant-funded program from the state of California, and the standard disposition of those items is for the book to be added to the collection once the original requestor has returned it. This is what we call PDA; patron-driven-acquisition. A lot of the "anytime" ebooks you'll see on Overdrive have been purchased the same way; the library will have their policy set to convert to an unlimited license if a certain number of requests for the item hit the system within a certain period of time. (though Zip Books are paid for by the State of California, not the local library system.)

Library ebook purchasing terms generally do not allow them to be lent outside the client system in their entirety, though some allow chapters to be supplied as copies (which is often the case for non-fiction items, where a patron only wants a certain topical section.) Most library electronic book systems use Adobe Digital Rights Management to control lending terms, and most often use a one-patron-at-a-time-per-licensed-copy purchasing model, though metered-access PDA purchase models are available. A notable exception is HooplaDigital, which is fully PDA; patrons of client library systems have access to the entire catalog of the vendor, and the library pays via transaction fees. Most library systems do limit how many Hoopla items each patron may download per month. (Hoopla contains a lot of indie books; they pay royalties directly to the author off each transaction fee that is collected.)

Here's the thing about returning digital titles that's a problem for me: publishers don't refund the money. They don't guarantee content. Books have always been and still are purely caveat emptor; there is no refund from the publisher if you don't like it or if you misunderstood the content. (Same for movies, too; you can walk out, but the box office won't refund your money unless everyone had to leave.) There is no law that says that a publisher has any obligation to offer a synopsis of any title, let alone an accurate one; book jacket blurbs are there purely for marketing purposes, and will always be chosen from the best bits. Personally, I'd love to get money back for every book I've purchased that my patrons didn't read, but it doesn't work that way. Being an indie author is a total gamble: marketing and WoM are all you have to make back your investment, and marketing is expensive, so you'd better make your product good enough if you want to break even. Reading indies is a gamble, too; if you don't want to deal with that risk, then don't take that leap and buy. Publishers only refund for functional issues, such as missing pages, corrrupted file structure, etc., and IMO, so should any bookseller that is acting as a publisher (which includes Amazon.) Having distributors paying refunds that publishers will not back warps the system, and will eventually cause it to collapse.

 

[DisGirlAllie]

Incredible that people do this when libraries (and Libby) exist

 

[AndreaA]

Yeah, no. Not okay. I can pretty easily finish a 500 page book in less than a day - generally in one evening. I would never think to then “return” it whether it was physical copy, or an ebook. I’d actually probably be LESS likely to return an ebook because they generally cost a nominal amount and take up no space in my house.
Buying a book is a risk you take. There are usually a few pages to read or a ”sample” to download, and if you can’t stand it, then don’t buy it. If you get suckered in anyway, then you chalk it up as a learning experience, same as if you tried a new sandwich at a restaurant and didn’t like it even if there was nothing actually wrong with it.

Although now I’m wondering if people do that too?? I remember my young son trying something new at a fancy eatery, and he ended up hating it so we bought him a second meal. We didn’t ask for them to take the first one off the bill although it‘s possible they knocked something off just to be nice.

 

[RamblingMad]

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

Library doesn't carry all the books I want to read.

 

[RamblingMad]

Incredible that people do this when libraries (and Libby) exist

Lots of books aren't available over Overdrive.

 

[_19disnA]

I think some people feel they are 'getting away with something' by returning a used book. The ones who throw a fit about not getting a refund are likely the worst offenders and try to hide the fact they got caught pulling such a stunt. I would expect book stores where you buy in person to generally have a 'no return' policy to prevent such behavior. If it is an electronic book you bought online, they would obviously know the date when it was purchased, so trying to return it a few weeks after you finish reading it probably won't be acceptable.

I think for any type of book only if pages are missing or the electronic file is unreadable should you be allowed to return/exchange it.

 

[CdnCarrie]

Library doesn't carry all the books I want to read.

Libraries have suggestion forms and inter library loans, you could also look into getting a card for local academic libraries.

 

[Planogirl]

I wouldn't return a book whether I liked it or not. My reasoning is that it's probably just not my thing and I move on.

 

[SirDuff]

You know that's not what either I or the other poster is talking about or referring about. Please don't stir the pot just to stir the pot. You're free to PM though if you have further thoughts on the matter.

Just because you are ignorant of where the word comes from, doesn’t make it not a racial slur. The word has an organ whether you are “talking about or referring about” it or not.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Just because you are ignorant of where the word comes from, doesn’t make it not a racial slur. The word has an organ whether you are “talking about or referring about” it or not.

Feel free to pm, thanks!

 

[AppleDumpling]

Buying a book is a risk you take. There are usually a few pages to read or a ”sample” to download, and if you can’t stand it, then don’t buy it. If you get suckered in anyway, then you chalk it up as a learning experience, same as if you tried a new sandwich at a restaurant and didn’t like it even if there was nothing actually wrong with it.

I feel the same way. This thread is certainly eye-opening. I don’t read ebooks, but it would never occur to me to return one merely because I didn’t like it, no matter the reason (poorly written, offensive, ...whatever). How about downloaded music or movies from a streaming service? Do you watch a movie, then expect to get your money back if you didn’t like it?

 

[Disneylover99]

Please stop with the racial slurs. Look up the word and see where it comes from.

This is a word I use at times, without even knowing or realizing it’s origins. I will try to do better. Thanks for bringing it up.

 

[kymom99]

People still buy physical books? Or actually BUY any book? My wife's hobby is downloading, reading and then rating the free books from Amazon on her Kindle. I just got a new library card, probably haven't had one in 50 years, and I can check out e-books for free.

I do

 

[slo]

Why not just go to a library? Seems like a lot less hassle. Or download it on a ereader.

I 100% agree with this.
I use an ereader (Kindle) and get my books for that from the library.
Around here the library is not used like it used to be - I don’t know if people don’t like it or forget about it

 

[BadPinkTink]

One of my friends self published a book on Amazon. People who think whats the harm, Jeff Bezos doesn't need the money disgust me. Its not Jeff Bezos who is loosing money when you return an ebook or physical self published book to Amazon, its the author. People self publish on Amazon mostly because they don't have the money to go the traditional publishing route and have to do everything themselves.

There are so many hidden costs in self publishing a book and most of the time, it takes authors years to break even, never mind make a profit.

Amazon also take a huge % of the selling price. My friends ebook cost $8.79 on Amazon but she will only receive about $2 for each sale.

Self publishing on Amazon is an amazing service for authors who might not have been accepted by traditional publishing companies but its not the money maker that people think it is.

 

[slo]

Library doesn't carry all the books I want to read.

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.