The Absolute First Choice for New Books
Written: Aug 03 '01
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The Bottom Line
For avid readers, Half.com is the place to be to find all the latest releases at bargain prices.
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| Full Review |
I have been an Amazon.com customer and reviewer for years, and I'll talk about them on their page. My first choice for brand new books, though, is Half.com.
This is a site where private and corporate sellers alike list their brand new and nearly new books for sale. Well, when I joined a couple of years ago, it was books, music CDs, and videos only. However, not too long ago they expanded into electronics. Because my main concern is books, books, and more books, my book buying and selling experience is what I'll describe.
SELLER'S POINT OF VIEW: I have several books from my library for sale at Half.com. I have sold only one, though, a watercolor book I had bought at Amazon.com and didn't like. Not being out for a profit, I put it up for sale there and it sold in three days. Half.com sent me a check for the sale price, plus they reimbursed part of the shipping cost. I give the customer a choice of Media Mail or Priority Mail. Most choose Media Mail, and I do, too! I wrapped the book carefully in newspaper, and slipped it into a bubblewrap envelope and mailed it off immediately. That's the key to getting good ratings: give good service, the kind you'd like to receive yourself.
I think a lot of sellers are getting either too big to service their customers properly and in a timely manner, or they are too small to care about making a good impression on people. Two facts are true: You MUST be truthful about the condition of the item you are selling, and you MUST mail it on time or before, because if you don't, just like at eBay, the customer will let the world know about it. Unlike eBay, thank goodness, it is difficult to receive spiteful feedback from sellers who didn't appreciate that you were unhappy with them and told about it! I'm happy to say that my customer gave me a five-star rating!
On the other hand, I do think some customers get rather anal when it comes to the difference between Very Good and Like New. I think those people were intending to resell the book they had found, rather than adding it to their own personal collection to read and enjoy. I find that it is good to undervalue your item, so that the customer can either get what they expect or be pleasantly surprised!
BUYER'S POINT OF VIEW: Now, I'm also a frequent buyer at Half.com (more than I am a seller). I'll give an example of the deals I've found. Last year Natalie Cole's book, Angel on My Shoulder, retailed at $23 at Barnes and Noble and Borders (these two always charge way too much for their books) and about $21 at Amazon.com. I found a brand new hardcover with dustjacket without a mark on it for $13! Right now, a like-new hardcover copy (it's too new to be in paperback yet, I think) of David McCullough's biography of President John Adams, retail $35, is being listed for $18.75.
One of the keys to shopping at Half.com is to pick your sellers wisely. It's always better to wait for a better-rated seller to list the book you want than to take a chance on a seller with a rating of less than about 4.25. On the other hand, don't be afraid to buy from a seller that's not been rated yet, as he/she may be eager to win that first rating and thus offer you top-notch product and service!
Another thing to look for is confirmation time. If the seller takes more than 8 hours to confirm, look elsewhere. When someone is interested in a product and they place the order, an e-mail goes immediately to the seller. If the seller is at work, they won't see it until they get home; and if they have books listed for sale they ARE expecting e-mail, so there's no excuse for taking longer to confirm. When they take longer it could also mean that they are trying to stall getting your book in the mail. If they are on vacation, responsible sellers won't list it at all, or suspend the sale until later. And if the seller is a business, there is absolutely NO excuse, IMHO, for them to take forever to confirm.
I ALWAYS use Media Mail when I buy, because it's way cheaper than Priority (books always go through USPS, by the way), I'm never in that big a hurry to get a book, and besides, I usually get my book within a week to ten days with a good seller, and that's plenty of time for me.
Like at Amazon.com (and Epinions.com), there is the opportunity to offer a book review of the item you buy. Wannabe editors and writers have yet another outlet to spout their two cents!
PROBLEM AREAS: There are a couple of things I think could be improved upon. Ideally, the seller tells you what you need to know in the comments section. For example, that the book is listed as Like New should speak for itself, but there may be a slight mark or tear on the dust jacket, or maybe the book has been autographed, and the seller will use the comment section to tell you about it. Unfortunately, though, any further communication between buyer and seller is difficult, but not impossible. Problems are reported via the (wouldn't you know it) Report Problem button in the Your Purchases page, which sends an email of the problem to the seller. Other than that, there's really no other way to communicate. Buyer and seller remain pretty much anonymous throughout the transaction. I like this, but I would like to be able to send a gentle reminder to the buyers to please leave a rating for me, or thank them for buying my book.
The second thing I'd like Half.com to work on is finding more sites to compare prices with. On the right side of the page there is a little box that compares prices of the book in question to some of the online sites that sell the book retail. I don't think there are nearly enough sites here. Barnes and Noble, AlphaCraze, buy.com, and A1 Books are the only sites listed. I've only heard of two of these. Amazon.com needs to be there, as well as Borders.com, abebooks.com, and others. This would give a better idea of what the going prices are for both new and nearly new merchandise.
Overall, though, I have very little to complain about concerning Half.com. Using common sense regarding sellers and being a smart shopper helps, and I've never had a purchase I've been disappointed enough to give lower than a 4-star rating for. Even then, I was nitpicking. Half.com is the best!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
imgeorg
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Location: Oklahoma City area
Reviews written: 20
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
Writer and artist wannabe.
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