Francois le Danque Posted August 2, 2011 (edited) hey guys i do actually know how to use amazon, though i have only done so once before. what i am confused about, however, is how the 'x titles from $y' function works. you know when you look at a book that costs 30 bucks, but they have a thing saying 'used from 10'. how do i get this cheap option? is there some kind of stupid catch like 20 in postage so it ends up not being worth it? i hope someone can explain this to me. also i hope everyone knows that you can donate to erowid simply by making an amazon purchase, if you click the amazon link within the erowid site before buying. doesnt cost anything. Edited August 2, 2011 by frank Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dollarjuice Posted August 2, 2011 The "x titles for $y" as you put it means if you buy x amount of titles they become that much per each. Mostly used for businesses that use amazon to get get more stock I believe. As for the erowid thing, wow I didn't know that. I'll make sure I do it through there next time i got to buy something from there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rabaelthazar Posted August 2, 2011 There should be a button saying "See all buying options". That will bring up a list of new and used items from other sellers, together with seller feedback and postage charges. Thanks for the heads up about the Erowid thing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
synchromesh Posted August 2, 2011 You're not talking about second-hand (or "used") items are you? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rabaelthazar Posted August 2, 2011 they have a thing saying 'used from 10'. You're not talking about second-hand (or "used") items are you? I would imagine so. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Francois le Danque Posted August 2, 2011 (edited) yeah i am talking about the used items i have looked at it closer and it seems to make sense now..though i still dont see how they sometimes manage to be like one dollar for a hundred dollar textbook..even from people with 70 000 positive feedbacks. weird.. finally i wonder if they will all get delivered at the same time, by amazon, or will it be a huge mish mash of parcels if i order like 8 books this way? and i dont actually know how the erowid thing works either, i should look into that. i just remember reading about it in the monthly once. edit: crap, i think i was supposed to click the erowid link BEFORE i put all those books in my trolley or whatever. dang it. edit the second: turns out all those second hand things can only be delivered in the US. i am sad now. i knew my 9 books for 120 bucks was too good to be true. aaaaaaaaaah i thought it was all over Edited August 2, 2011 by frank Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Francois le Danque Posted August 2, 2011 (edited) ITS FINALLY OVER omg that took hours. in summary, amazon is NOT a straightforward site to use. basically what happened was as follows: i order my books, but then when i get to checkout it says "the following items could not be shipped to the given address" and lists all my items. when i click 'more info' it gives me some shit about US protectorates and nothing relevant. so i estimate that the second hand sellers may each decide not to ship to me because i am not in US. however, the only way to rectify this is to individually delete the offending book, search for it again, and try another seller. then repeat this process until you find someone who ships to australia. gee, that was easy, THANKS AMAZON YOU'RE THE BEST they should, i dunno, only show items that can be shipped to my designated country??????? that would make too much sense. /rant Edited August 2, 2011 by frank Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marcel Posted August 3, 2011 I'm a second hand book dealer and here's the scoop: The second hand options on Amazon are not stocked or shipped by Amazon itself. Amazon, as well as being an online retail seller, is also a marketplace for private second hand book dealers. If a text book stocked by Amazon cost $120, and the "buy this product for $1" option is there, it likely means one of the following: - The second hand dealer is unaware of its worth and market and just wants to sell is as fast a possible; or, - The second hand version is an earlier edition; or, - The book's publisher has remaindered the excess stock after retailers (including Amazon) have bought their share. Text books date faster than almost any book (lecturers will usually insist on the latest edition), and most second hand book sellers (myself included) won't touch them with a 10 foot pole. If they have a copy, they generally want to get rid of it as soon as possible. If it's remaindered stock, the seller would have probably bought a "blind crate", a box of random books for almost nothing. Sometimes they score a good seller like this, other times they score absolute crap (and most text books would be considered, from a retailer's perspective, to be the latter). A remaindered book will usually have a texta mark along the bottom paper edge. Like you've already realised, buying second hand via Amazon is annoying when you're outside the US. Perhaps you could try abebooks.com (you can search Australian sellers only, or international). And Amazon products will often arrive in several different packages, even if they're ordered through Amazon itself. They have warehouses all over the world and ship from wherever the book is available and wherever is closest. I've seen their main warehouse in New Jersey and it's incredible. It just stretches on and on and on, as far as the eye can see. Probably the biggest building I've ever seen. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Francois le Danque Posted August 4, 2011 thats cool, thanks mr proust. i know older editions arent worth much, though in my experience i have found lecturers dont care what one you use, unless it is like over four years old. thats why i bought mostly one year old editions this time. i wish i knew about the abe books options earlier. the erowid thing applies there as well, should be noted. also re: blind crates- my friends and i in year 12 found that our school had disgustingly put in the rubbish about 100 perfectly good textbooks that couldnt be sold at the second hand book sale. they didn't just, you know, give them away or put them in the recycling, but the rubbish. but there is a happy ending because we sold them all for about 300 bucks. was great. then we sent a letter to the school telling them so. wasteful bastards. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Francois le Danque Posted August 30, 2011 UPDATE or Franks Further inFuriating Fuckups (regarding amazon) okay so 8 of my 9 books have arrived. unfortunately the 9th is a textbook (as opposed to the 6 that were just for fun) so i wish i got that one earlier, but what can you do? well actually that is my question; what CAN i do? because when i go onto my amazon account, there is absolutely no trace of my order, at all. so i can't check on my missing book. i also can't check how i paid for the books, a fact which i have completely forgotten. there is no money missing from my bank account, i haven't used paypal in the last month, and no extra bills are on my credit card statement. this baffles me. maybe amazon somehow forgot about me and didn't charge me, but still shipped me the books?? if so this is all well and good, but it still doesn't get me my textbook. i tried logging on with my other email in case i accidentally made two accounts and that doesn't seem to be the case either. wtf?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ulca Posted August 30, 2011 UPDATE or Franks Further inFuriating Fuckups (regarding amazon) okay so 8 of my 9 books have arrived. unfortunately the 9th is a textbook (as opposed to the 6 that were just for fun) so i wish i got that one earlier, but what can you do? well actually that is my question; what CAN i do? because when i go onto my amazon account, there is absolutely no trace of my order, at all. so i can't check on my missing book. i also can't check how i paid for the books, a fact which i have completely forgotten. there is no money missing from my bank account, i haven't used paypal in the last month, and no extra bills are on my credit card statement. this baffles me. maybe amazon somehow forgot about me and didn't charge me, but still shipped me the books?? if so this is all well and good, but it still doesn't get me my textbook. i tried logging on with my other email in case i accidentally made two accounts and that doesn't seem to be the case either. wtf?? from the 8/9 you received, how many can you track payments for? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderIdeal Posted August 31, 2011 i wonder if amazon is waiting to send the 9th book before they charge you. amazon's delayed charging routine helped my bank sting me for two overdraw fees. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Francois le Danque Posted August 31, 2011 (edited) from the 8/9 you received, how many can you track payments for? 0 i wonder if amazon is waiting to send the 9th book before they charge you. amazon's delayed charging routine helped my bank sting me for two overdraw fees. erm maybe...see i went to the part about my payment details, and they have listed my old address and my old credit card, which expired in 09... this is concerning. but surely if this is the right account, as opposed to having created a new account for this transaction (which i think is more likely and feasible) then why can't i find trace of my order? if they thought i owed them money, surely they would have no reservations about telling me so loudly? i am going to look on the receipts that came with the other books to see if a user number or something is on there. the lesson is: don't do online shopping at 2AM. much confusion results. Edited August 31, 2011 by frank Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
