| Have you been shopping recently for books and | | | | offer their books as cheap as a penny with shipping |
| noticed your favorite online book seller is now | | | | in the $3 - $4 range. Other sellers offer "free |
| offering used copies for sale? Amazon, for one, has | | | | shipping" but the cheapest they sell a book is in the |
| been selling used books for a few years now and in | | | | $3 - $4 range. Either way you're probably going to |
| today's economy those start to look very compelling. | | | | pay a little under $4 for the cheapest used books. |
| What some people don't realize at first glance is that | | | | Also keep in mind that some sellers offer a |
| those books aren't really from Amazon, they are | | | | discounted shipping price on each book after the first. |
| from third party sellers who place those books on | | | | If you are buying multiple used books then this could |
| the marketplace much like you would try to sell a | | | | be a way to save even more money. |
| used camera on eBay. Some of those third parties | | | | 4 - Beware of Drop Shippers. |
| are bigger than others - ranging from inventories of | | | | Some websites are really nothing more than resellers. |
| millions of books to some hobby sellers with only a | | | | They offer for sale the used books of another seller |
| few hundred in their garage. And Amazon isn't the | | | | and then when they get an order they route the |
| only big marketplace out there. Almost all the major | | | | order to the seller. They make their money by |
| book sellers now offer some platform for selling used | | | | collecting a commission, affiliate fee, or marking up |
| books, with some that offer nothing but used books. | | | | the price a little. Besides often paying a little more |
| But one thing that all the major marketplaces have in | | | | than if you bought directly, there is sometimes an |
| common is that they are not the actual vendor, they | | | | additional time-lag while you wait for your order to |
| are simply the marketplace. The actual used books | | | | pass from one system to another. Wherever possible |
| come from somewhere else. | | | | buy directly from the seller who possesses the used |
| So how do you make sense of it all, make sure you | | | | book you are trying to buy. An easy way to tell if |
| get the best deal, and don't feel nervous about | | | | the website you are looking at is actually in |
| buying a used book on the internet for the first | | | | possession of the book you want is to look at the |
| time? Below are six tips that will help you wade your | | | | Company Info link. All reputable websites have them: |
| way through the ins-and-outs of online used book | | | | the little link that says "About Us". If you can't easily |
| buying: | | | | see proof that the company in question actually has |
| 1 - Choose A Seller With A Good Reputation. | | | | its own distribution centers then you may be dealing |
| The first thing you need to realize is that none of | | | | with a drop-shipper who is marking up your order. |
| the used books on any of the big marketplaces are | | | | Try to find a seller that actually carries their own |
| actually sold by the companies themselves. But in | | | | inventory. The shipping times will be faster and there |
| every case, the name of the seller should be easy to | | | | are fewer layers of customer service if you should |
| determine. And each site has a way of ranking sellers | | | | need to ever address a problem. |
| against each other. Either as a percent or a star | | | | 5 - Beware Charity Look-a-Likes |
| rating. Do not buy a used book from a brand new | | | | For some reason, the book business has many |
| seller that has not yet established a track record. If | | | | companies that position themselves to look like |
| they have not yet been ranked, then choose a seller | | | | charities. Most are for-profit companies that donate |
| that has. You can tell a lot by looking at the ranking | | | | some undisclosed portion of their earnings to a |
| and the quantity of books sold. Read some of the | | | | charity. Some donate very little or none at all and yet |
| feedback and see if other buyers have had a good | | | | use their charitable actions as marketing propaganda |
| experience or not. | | | | in order to solicit donations in either campus book |
| 2 - Check For A Better Price. | | | | drives or parking lot collection bins. In many cases the |
| Once you have found a seller who looks good it may | | | | language on the bins or the book drives is misleading |
| be worth a few moments to try an internet search | | | | and can look like the entire donation is going to |
| on that seller's name to see if they have their own | | | | charity when in reality very little is. There are several |
| website. You may be able to get a better deal | | | | socially conscious companies out there that are |
| buying the book directly from the seller rather than | | | | for-profit that actually donate quite a bit to charity |
| through a larger marketplace. There is safety in size, | | | | and fully disclose how much. If you are looking at |
| however. A large well-known site provides a layer of | | | | buying from a seller that is promoting some sort of |
| security and protection. If the seller decides not to | | | | charity, look closer and see if you can find out how |
| ship you the book or refuses to refund money if you | | | | much is donated to charity and how much they keep |
| run into trouble then any of the large used book | | | | as profit. A little bit of digging into a seller's website |
| marketplaces will step in and advocate in your behalf | | | | can quickly reveal the legitimate from the shady. And |
| and even refund you the money themselves if the | | | | while buying from a shady book seller may give you |
| seller will not. If you are worried about a seller but | | | | a great deal it is bad for society and the used book |
| really want a book they are offering, then pay the | | | | industry in general and should be avoided. |
| extra premium and buy it via one of the big | | | | 6 - Who You Gonna Call? |
| websites. But if you have found a seller that is reliable | | | | Before you buy a book from anyone, look first at |
| and want to save even more then explore the | | | | their customer service policies. If you have a problem |
| option of buying from them directly. The big | | | | with an order, is the website clear about how to |
| marketplaces usually make it difficult for sellers to do | | | | resolve it? Many discount sellers do not offer a |
| much marketing directly to their customers so it may | | | | phone number to call for support in an effort to keep |
| not be obvious at first, but a simple search engine | | | | prices as low as possible. This is OK as long as they |
| query using the seller's name can usually tell you if | | | | have a clear way to contact them via either email or |
| they have a website or not. | | | | a webpage if there is a problem. Also see if they |
| 3 - Prices part deux. What's a good price? | | | | clearly post their Customer Service policies and return |
| OK, so you've found a seller who has their own | | | | policies. Do they offer a guarantee of any kind? A |
| website, and they seem reliable, how do you know if | | | | legitimate website will have any guarantees easy to |
| you are getting a good price or not? The key to this | | | | locate right on their front page. And a link to "Help" |
| is looking at the entire cost of the book including | | | | should be prominently displayed on every page. If it |
| shipping and handling. I'm sure you've already noticed | | | | looks hard to figure out who you would contact if |
| that on Amazon there is a $3.99 S/H charge for each | | | | you had a problem it probably would be. On the |
| used book you buy. Most sellers with their own | | | | other hand, a website that makes it easy to ask for |
| websites have a similar S/H arrangement but some | | | | help is a sure sign that they are in it for the |
| have decided to raise the cost of the book and | | | | customer. |
| lower shipping fees. A reputable seller will always post | | | | Hopefully, armed with these tips and advice you can |
| their shipping and handling fees in an easy-to-find link | | | | safely wade through the market of used books and |
| usually at the bottom of every page that says | | | | used book sellers to find the best and most reliable |
| "Shipping Costs". Only after you know the total cost | | | | sources of cheap used books on the internet. |
| can you really start comparing costs. Some sellers | | | | |