5 ms·

Many of the books on that site are pirated reprints. Great way to get cheap textbooks, but it's not surprising that they would attempt to ban some of the countr

Many of the books on that site are pirated reprints. Great way to get cheap textbooks, but it's not surprising that they would attempt to ban some of the countries often responsible for those.

bubblethink 8y ago
I don't think they are pirated per se. More likely, they are student/international editions.
- thrower123 8y ago
  I bought a copy of SICP from them, it definitely did not look pirated, but it was wikdly less expensive than a normal copy.
- chadash 8y ago
  Counterfeits are actually a very big issue in the textbook industry. Anyone who deals with used textbooks knows this and they need to be very careful to avoid legal action from publishers. Do a google image search on "counterfeit textbook examples" and you'll see how many of the counterfeits look pretty similar to the authentic books (often it's small things like coloring that give it away). Obviously textbooks get expensive, but the thing that makes textbook counterfeiting especially successful is that most consumers who get cheap counterfeits don't care. The content is usually the same and it's not a status symbol like an authentic Gucci bag. So as a consumer, there's really not much difference to you, especially if you got the book for cheap. Typically, counterfeits are lower quality, but someone who works in the industry once told me that he's seen counterfeits with higher quality printing than the originals, which makes the real books look like fakes!
  - vkou 8y ago
    Not to mention that the actual consumers of the books - the students buying them - don't have any choice in book selection.
  - nerpderp83 8y ago
    Many professional books these days have issues with registration, bleed, trimming, etc. The quality is quite poor, to the point where I have fatigue determining if a book is "legit" or not.
  - kop316 8y ago
    I would replace "consumer" with "poor student who isn't given a choice on what textbook they can buy", and why they don't care makes a lot more sense. To me the greater issue is the highway robbery that is college textbooks. A lot of professors force the newest and don't care that a single one costs several hundred dollars, nevermind if the material is literally centuries old (e.g. calculus). If textbooks were a reasonable price, the counterfeit effect wouldn't hhappen.
    - InitialLastName 8y ago
      When I was in engineering school, many people who weren't me would just torrent copies of the textbooks. Especially in the case where the book was only necessary for the problem sets, because there was much better presentation of the information available elsewhere.
  - thaumasiotes 8y ago
    > The content is usually the same and it's not a status symbol like an authentic Gucci bag. If the content is the same, in what sense is the book a "counterfeit"? That's just a copy of the book.
    - TazeTSchnitzel 8y ago
      The same way a pirated DVD movie that comes in an identical DVD jewel case to the original is considered counterfeit.
      - thaumasiotes 8y ago
        It... isn't.
        function_seven 8y ago
        What about a $100 US bank note that’s identical to one printed at the US mint, ... but not?
        thaumasiotes 8y ago
        If it's identical to the notes printed at the mint, you're not being cheated in any way when you accept it; you're getting exactly what's being represented and exactly what you expect. Again, that's not counterfeit. A $100 bill that is identical in all relevant respects to all other $100 bills is just a $100 bill. People are more worried about taking money that isn't identical to money that came from the mint. By definition, if it's identical to minted money, there is no way to tell that it isn't minted money.
        function_seven 8y ago
        “Counterfeit” has everything to do with the provenance of an item. It’s not a synonym for low quality or “bad copy”. If I stole a money printing press and began producing $100 bills on my own, I would be counterfeiting money. Even with the very same equipment that the Mint would have otherwise used to make the notes. Same atoms and same outcome, but not authorized. It’s the same with handbags or books.
- astura 8y ago
  There is actually a lot of pirated textbooks. https://booksrun.com/page/on-counterfeit-textbooks https://booksrun.com/page/on-counterfeit-textbooks International editions aren't really a "problem" because they are legal, pirated books are not.
  - wyldfire 8y ago
    They probably are a problem because of market segmentation (this has been a sticking point in other industries, at least). But piracy represents a larger problem.
    - walterbell 8y ago
      The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of book resale, regardless of publisher's market segmentation.
    - astura 8y ago
      No, they are not a problem, nor is this a grey area, they are 1000% legal to buy and sell in the United States. Even importing books for the sole purpose of resale is legal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirtsaeng_v._John_Wiley_%26_Sons,_Inc https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirtsaeng_v._John_Wiley_%26_So.... >Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 568 U.S. 519 (2013),[1] is a United States Supreme Court copyright decision in which the Court held, 6-3, that the first-sale doctrine applies to copies of copyrighted works lawfully made abroad.
  - nkozyra 8y ago
    There are lots but most of what abebooks has are international editions. You can buy some otherwise insanely expensive computer books for < $10 because they're Bangladesh editions.
    - voltagex_ 8y ago
      Yep: e.g. the hardback vs paperback versions of https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/computer-systems-a-programmers-perspective_david-r-ohallaron_randal-e-bryant/247389/#isbn=0137133367&idiq=15560579 https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/computer-systems-a-programmers... - note the different ISBNs.
ro_sharp 8y ago
But it's also one of the best places to buy secondhand books that are rare and/or out of print.

Many of the books on that site are pirated reprints. Great way to get cheap textbooks, but it's not surprising that they would attempt to ban some of the countries often responsible for those.

bubblethink 8y ago

I don't think they are pirated per se. More likely, they are student/international editions.

thrower123 8y ago
I bought a copy of SICP from them, it definitely did not look pirated, but it was wikdly less expensive than a normal copy.
chadash 8y ago
Counterfeits are actually a very big issue in the textbook industry. Anyone who deals with used textbooks knows this and they need to be very careful to avoid legal action from publishers. Do a google image search on "counterfeit textbook examples" and you'll see how many of the counterfeits look pretty similar to the authentic books (often it's small things like coloring that give it away). Obviously textbooks get expensive, but the thing that makes textbook counterfeiting especially successful is that most consumers who get cheap counterfeits don't care. The content is usually the same and it's not a status symbol like an authentic Gucci bag. So as a consumer, there's really not much difference to you, especially if you got the book for cheap. Typically, counterfeits are lower quality, but someone who works in the industry once told me that he's seen counterfeits with higher quality printing than the originals, which makes the real books look like fakes!
- vkou 8y ago
  Not to mention that the actual consumers of the books - the students buying them - don't have any choice in book selection.
- nerpderp83 8y ago
  Many professional books these days have issues with registration, bleed, trimming, etc. The quality is quite poor, to the point where I have fatigue determining if a book is "legit" or not.
- kop316 8y ago
  I would replace "consumer" with "poor student who isn't given a choice on what textbook they can buy", and why they don't care makes a lot more sense. To me the greater issue is the highway robbery that is college textbooks. A lot of professors force the newest and don't care that a single one costs several hundred dollars, nevermind if the material is literally centuries old (e.g. calculus). If textbooks were a reasonable price, the counterfeit effect wouldn't hhappen.
  - InitialLastName 8y ago
    When I was in engineering school, many people who weren't me would just torrent copies of the textbooks. Especially in the case where the book was only necessary for the problem sets, because there was much better presentation of the information available elsewhere.
- thaumasiotes 8y ago
  > The content is usually the same and it's not a status symbol like an authentic Gucci bag. If the content is the same, in what sense is the book a "counterfeit"? That's just a copy of the book.
  - TazeTSchnitzel 8y ago
    The same way a pirated DVD movie that comes in an identical DVD jewel case to the original is considered counterfeit.
    - thaumasiotes 8y ago
      It... isn't.
      - function_seven 8y ago
        What about a $100 US bank note that’s identical to one printed at the US mint, ... but not?
        thaumasiotes 8y ago
        If it's identical to the notes printed at the mint, you're not being cheated in any way when you accept it; you're getting exactly what's being represented and exactly what you expect. Again, that's not counterfeit. A $100 bill that is identical in all relevant respects to all other $100 bills is just a $100 bill. People are more worried about taking money that isn't identical to money that came from the mint. By definition, if it's identical to minted money, there is no way to tell that it isn't minted money.
        function_seven 8y ago
        “Counterfeit” has everything to do with the provenance of an item. It’s not a synonym for low quality or “bad copy”. If I stole a money printing press and began producing $100 bills on my own, I would be counterfeiting money. Even with the very same equipment that the Mint would have otherwise used to make the notes. Same atoms and same outcome, but not authorized. It’s the same with handbags or books.
astura 8y ago
There is actually a lot of pirated textbooks. https://booksrun.com/page/on-counterfeit-textbooks https://booksrun.com/page/on-counterfeit-textbooks International editions aren't really a "problem" because they are legal, pirated books are not.
- wyldfire 8y ago
  They probably are a problem because of market segmentation (this has been a sticking point in other industries, at least). But piracy represents a larger problem.
  - walterbell 8y ago
    The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of book resale, regardless of publisher's market segmentation.
  - astura 8y ago
    No, they are not a problem, nor is this a grey area, they are 1000% legal to buy and sell in the United States. Even importing books for the sole purpose of resale is legal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirtsaeng_v._John_Wiley_%26_Sons,_Inc https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirtsaeng_v._John_Wiley_%26_So.... >Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 568 U.S. 519 (2013),[1] is a United States Supreme Court copyright decision in which the Court held, 6-3, that the first-sale doctrine applies to copies of copyrighted works lawfully made abroad.
- nkozyra 8y ago
  There are lots but most of what abebooks has are international editions. You can buy some otherwise insanely expensive computer books for < $10 because they're Bangladesh editions.
  - voltagex_ 8y ago
    Yep: e.g. the hardback vs paperback versions of https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/computer-systems-a-programmers-perspective_david-r-ohallaron_randal-e-bryant/247389/#isbn=0137133367&idiq=15560579 https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/computer-systems-a-programmers... - note the different ISBNs.

ro_sharp 8y ago

But it's also one of the best places to buy secondhand books that are rare and/or out of print.