My transaction went well... Will yours?
Written: Jun 16 '07 (Updated Jul 06 '08)
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I just came back from Tombstone, Arizona and saw a few books that I wanted. Of course, these books were quite expensive in Tombstone - double the usual purchase price. So I checked out Epinions for help with online book sites. All I had to do was read drdevience's review of Alibris and decided to check them out.
Alibris is well designed and the user interface is quite easy to navigate. They had all five titles that I wanted and the prices seemed a bit cheaper at Alibris over that of Amazon. The prices range depending on condition, of course. You can buy a book for mere pennies if you can live with folded pages, writing inside, torn covers, etc.
Finding your book is simple. You enter the name of a book or a partial title, its ISBN number, the author's name or the subject/genre. My monitor came alive with many options. Options include, new or used, soft or hardcover and list by price (ascending or descending). They also have notes as to the condition of the book, its pages and its jacket (whether it has one and what condition it's in).
Alibris also offers college textbooks which can save students a mint. They also have areas for new books, bargain books and rare or out-of-print books.
There's also a section to donate books to schools, libraries, kids in need and seniors. These are great ideas for people less fortunate. Instead of tossing out books I no longer want, I'd feel better by adding books to someone's wish list.
Conversely, you can also set up a wishlist of your own by way of their "Book Fetch" section. Simply fill out the online form and Alibris sends you an email when they have found your book and info about it.
Shipping was the standard $3.99 per book at both websites. If I had found two or more at one particular vendor, the shipping would have been less. I tried - no such luck.
Alibris seemed to have more first edition, signed and hardcover opportunities than Amazon as well.
My shopping list:
"Inventing Wyatt Earp: His Life and Many Legends"
"Doc Holliday: The Life and Legend"
"Wyatt Earp: The Life Behind the Legend"
"The Earp Brothers of Tombstone: The Story of Mrs. Virgil Earp"
"Bloody Season" (Another book about Tombstone and the Old West)
(Can you spot the running theme here?)
I received my first book in three days and it was wrapped in plastic wrap then tucked into a cardboard USPS mailing envelope. The book's in good shape and I can't wait to get reading - once I finish "Marley & Me" of course. The next day - another book showed up. Within a week's time all five were in my home. One of them was not packed so well, so the jacket was a bit damaged. Not a big deal since I paid very little for the used hardcover book.
Four of the five books came from private book stores from all around the country while one came directly from Alibris' warehouse.
All five books came with a coupon for future purchases.
Oh, and they also sell movies and music too! Since I have not purchased any movies or music from them yet, I can't really comment on that part of the site yet. Although, just for fun, I searched the film title, "A Fish Called Wanda" and there were used copies starting at $1.99 and new copies starting at about $10. And I did a quick search for BB King in their Blues section. They did have a great selection, but the new CDs are the same price you'd find in stores so there's no advantage there. The used section offered great prices if you don't mind a used disc.
I can't make any comments for or against their customer service since my transaction was (for the most part) flawless. Their return policy is great so they seem like a company that's easy to deal with.
I have read a few reviews and surveys about this company here at Epinions. And one complaint seems to be that customers/reviewers couldn't get a tracking number for their shipments. Well, take my order for instance... I ordered five books that came from five different vendors. Multiply that by thousands of orders every day and the multitudes of vendors and there's just not that kind of time in the day. Alibris sends out an email when your order has shipped. I was happy with that.
I like Alibris for book shopping. As for movies and music, that remains a mystery until I shop them again. Like any company, I think they've worked out some of the "kinks" and are a bit better than some of the earlier reviews I have read here at Epinions.
IMPORTANT UPDATE: After reading the complete horror stories about Alibris from so many people, I have had a change of heart. While my first (and only) transaction went smoothly, I keep reading horror stories about this company and their lack of any contact phone numbers and their apparent lack of customer service. For this reason, I can no longer recommend Alibris. Best to stick with Amazon.
Recommended:
No
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Five books about Tombstone, Wyatt and Doc
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criteeker
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Location: Lost Angeles, CA
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