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Second hand Amazon books |
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andrew (21:46 9/1/2011)
filecore (22:39 9/1/2011)
VincceH (23:59 9/1/2011)
trevj (06:27 10/1/2011)
andrew (20:40 10/1/2011)
filecore (07:55 11/1/2011)
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Andrew |
Message #116198, posted by andrew at 21:46, 9/1/2011 |
 Handbag Boi
Posts: 3439
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Do you feel obliged to buy a book new so that an author gets a share of the proceeds? Or do you just go for the cheapest available? I've only bought second hand when I've spent quite a lot on a single author or when I haven't had much available money. |
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Jason Togneri |
Message #116200, posted by filecore at 22:39, 9/1/2011, in reply to message #116198 |
Posts: 3868
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In the past, when I bought huge quantities of books, I always bought second-hand for exactly that reason - I was young and didn't have so much disposable income, and went through quite a number of the things. People would always buy some as new for birthdays, Christmas, and so on. I was always happy to keep the curious little second-hand bookshops alive. This was before the internet, of course, and so the charm of the dusty, poky little second-hand bookshop squeezed into some odd little storefront or converted house is rather lost when buying online.
Still, I tend to go for second-hand from Amazon or eBay, or sometimes ex-library books, than buy brand new. To me it's value for money vs. requirement - most books I want will almost never change (fiction in particular) while others are updated every few years (such as a book on foraging that I recently bought new). But I don't buy them hardback and rarely new otherwise, and I'm not too concerned about proceeds to the author.
On those occasions that I do buy new, it tends to be mostly when travelling if the book I've taken runs out mid-way, or if I see a good two-for-one type offer. One exception to this rule is compilations; I'm a fan of a particular compilation series ("Best New SF #xx", edited by the excellent Gardner Dozois) because it always gives me a broad variety of story types and an introduction to new authors, so I usually buy that new due to the gap between finishing one and the next being available.
But no, to answer your question in short form: I certainly don't feel obliged to do so. |
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VinceH |
Message #116202, posted by VincceH at 23:59, 9/1/2011, in reply to message #116198 |
 Lowering the tone since the dawn of time
Posts: 1600
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My answer more or less echoes what Jason has said, though it differs in some specifics.
For example, many years ago one of my clients was a lass who needed a bit of training and ongoing support in the use of Sage accounts. Her office was above the second hand bookshop run by her partner. Out of pure convenience with the benefit of price (including a good discount), therefore, I tended to buy a lot of books from his shop.
These days, most of my books are bought new, online from Amazon. The only time I buy second hand now is when I'm looking for a specific book that's out of print, or even just out of stock.
I certainly don't feel any obligation to buy new, it's just what I happen to usually do. |
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Trevor Johnson |
Message #116203, posted by trevj at 06:27, 10/1/2011, in reply to message #116198 |
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I prefer to keep the secondhand market alive. I've no idea what proportions authors receive but expect that most of the profit probably goes to the publisher anyway. And I've sold a few items myself on amazon marketplace too, so I guess for that reason I'm more inclined to support similar sellers when I buy. |
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Andrew |
Message #116204, posted by andrew at 20:40, 10/1/2011, in reply to message #116203 |
Handbag Boi
Posts: 3439
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Thanks for the views. I think if the author is still alive, ideally I should buy new if possible, otherwise get second hand.
[Edited by andrew at 20:40, 10/1/2011] |
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Jason Togneri |
Message #116205, posted by filecore at 07:55, 11/1/2011, in reply to message #116203 |
Posts: 3868
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I prefer to keep the secondhand market alive. I've no idea what proportions authors receive but expect that most of the profit probably goes to the publisher anyway. Well, depending on how you look at it, it's quite similar to how the music publishers treat musical artists. But one important factor that everyone's overlooking is the environmental one - recycling old unwanted books, or buying everything new? I'm all for pulped dead tree versions, don't get me wrong, but again it's one of those things where (to me) buying new doesn't make sense also from this point of view, when the book is already available.
<rant>
And although I understand that there may sometimes be licensing issues or something, I hate it when they reprint entire runs of something just to change the cover (especially the likes of Discworld novels where they reprint it with a bland Americanised cover missing Kirby/Kidby's artwork and with just a couple of random images on it). Like these prime examples, or this particularly hideous one. this appears to have been designed by somebody who has no creative imagination and who hasn't read the thing, while this one just appears like a rather weak effort in all respects, particularly the tagline there.
Sorry, this has bothered me since I first saw an alternate cover many years back, and they've gone downhill ever since. I think my grand prize for Least Connection To The Content goes to this.
</rant> |
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