Lives up to its name!
Written: Dec 14 '01 (Updated Dec 11 '02)
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The Bottom Line
Unless you have to have it today and can get it today, what do you have to loose? Plus you can get things you can't get any other way.
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| Full Review |
I don't remember how I stumbled on to Half.com but I'm glad I did. I like to read and like to browse in used bookstores. Sometimes I just browse by category and sometimes I am looking for a specific book or author. Half.com allows a buyer to search by author or title or subject. I have found the results to be superior when searching by author or title. By contrast it is difficult to just browse on half.com. They do operate based on some catalog they purchase and if the book isn't in that catalog, it can't be listed. I have found several times that I have in hand a book that they (that catalog) say doesn't exist and at least one occasion where the ISBN said it was a different title than it actually was. Parenthetically, Epinions apparently has the same limitation. I know I've tried to submit a review of a book that wasn't in the catalog and could not do so.
*Prices: Many current novels and very popular nonfiction books can be had for .75 plus shipping. Sellers set their own price. Most are half or less-sometimes way less! I have found many for just .75, the minimum listing price. I don't do fiction much so I'm not really knowledgeable about it but I've looked at a few books and they tend to be pretty low. Bargains are plentiful.
*Speed: I've always got my books pretty fast. Quicker than the times I've ordered from Amazon which I did recently for a couple of books I wanted and couldn't find on half.com.
*Shipping and billing: The buyer pays the shipping and for the book to half.com via credit card, and half.com in turn pays the seller by electronic deposit or check. It works pretty smoothly each way. Paying the shipping individually on each item since all the sellers are individuals who have listed their extra books is the only drawback to the whole system. This is partially offset by no sales tax.
*The biggest advantage is the depth of inventory. They have items that are obscure and hard to find. Plus searching for the odd book is easy, much easier than browsing through used bookstores, just not as much fun.
Recommended:
Yes
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About the Author
Reviews written: 10
Trusted by: 2 members
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