HALF.COM - The Only Place To Buy Books!
Written: Aug 22 '01 (Updated Aug 22 '01)
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The Bottom Line
Half.com has some problems, but without a doubt, it is the best place to buy used books on the internet!
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| Full Review |
I must say that I am in love with half.com. Half.com lists books, movies, computers, electronics, sporting goods, and trading cards. I go there mostly to buy used books, and they are so much cheaper it is unbelievable! I have bought there over 20 times.
I will start with my two cons. First, you cannot have easy communication between buyer and seller. I must say that I have only been on the buying end and trying to talk to your seller is near impossible. I have been waiting now for over 2 weeks on a book and the system will not let me contact my buyer for another 16 days because it was supposed to have been mailed media mail. This is horrible because you cannot make sure that the seller has sent your item, when you think the right amount of time has passed.
My second con is that you cannot see the actual item that you are bidding on. They will show you a picture of what the item should look like, but sometimes it doesn't. This goes into total trust which is extremely hard over the internet. I have used its partner company eBay over 100 times as buyer and seller and I only buy when I can see the actual item, but I have still gotten burnt. I have never gotten a bad item from half.com, but I can see how it could easily happen.
Now to leave it on a good note because I love it. I am a cheapskate, there is no denying it. I am always looking for a better deal and half.com is where it is. I have bought great books for as low as 75 cents. That is awesome when compared to $20 for a new one in the store. I would say that my average price for books is probably about 70% off of what you would pay for them, and at times I have been lucky enough to find them for 90% off. You can definitely get the cheapest books around, if you do not care how old the book is. That has been my buying key, because you can find books that are maybe 10 years old for 75 cents paperback and around $2 in hardback. This is great if you are like me and you go through books as quick as you can get them.
Furthermore, they have a wonderful selection of books. I have found many items that I have never even heard of from my favorite authors, so if you are a collector, this can be a great tool. I said earlier you can also find many old and out of print items which is also great if you are a collector, which I am. I love first editions and you really can find a lot of them listed at half.com.
Another reason to use them is that 95% of the time I have gotten my items quickly, even when they were shipped media mail.
I will explain the process of buying an item, so that you can see why you get it so fast. First, you log onto their site, which is extremely easy to navigate. Second, in the search bar, type what you are looking for (let's say you are looking for a book called Joe's Book). Third, they take you to a screen where all items that are close to the name Joe's Book are listed. This may include 5 different copies of Joe's Book because it may have been published 5 different times. Fourth,you choose the item that you want from this list. Fifth, it takes you to a screen where every every copy of Joe's Book that is published in that year is listed. On this screen it shows you who the cheapest is, and all your other choices (usually with a description of it and all the others) Sixth, if you want to buy one, you click buy it. Seventh, you fill out your shipping information. Eighth, you fill out how you will pay for it (you only choices are Visa, Mastercard, and Discover) and then this will finish your transaction. Ninth, they send you an email saying that you bought it, and they notify the seller that you have paid for it. Tenth, the seller confirms that they know you paid for it and you get another email saying that the seller has confirmed your order. Eleventh, Then you get your item!
One last hint, to insure that you are most likely dealing with a good seller, look at their rating to make sure that they ship on time, send the right items, and are honest about conditions. 5.0 is as good as you can get, but I recommend only dealing with sellers that are 4.5 or higher. If you have doubts, click on their rating, and you can read the specifics about why they have a bad rating.
I think that every book lover should at least try half.com at least 2 or 3 times in order to see if they like it. This goes especially for college students (I mean the poor by that) and those who just graduated because you can get what you want for pennies on the dollar. Overall, I have to say half.com has some problems, but it is worth it to get stuff this cheap.
Recommended:
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About the Author
Location: Asheville, NC USA
Reviews written: 16
Trusted by: 5 members
About Me: I am an avid camper, backpacker, mountain biker, fisherman, reader, and movie fan.
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