3 ms·

I wonder how much of this is because Amazon started out selling books and CDs. Those things don't really have quality issues, and are pretty much fungible. Now,

by cwp 7y ago

I wonder how much of this is because Amazon started out selling books and CDs. Those things don't really have quality issues, and are pretty much fungible. Now, decades into their "everything store" strategy, they're still trying to treat everything like books.

sligor 7y ago
Yes, but... there are also many fake books sold on Amazon, and with bad printing quality
bluescrn 7y ago
Even books need shipping with some amount of care to arrive undamaged. Amazon isn't even good at that these days, piling items fairly loosely into oversized boxes.
bsdubernerd 7y ago
I disagree. I have about 10 books on my shelf published by various editors but which have been printed by amazon printing services. I had to return several because of poor print quality. Some had splotches, some missing or blank pages, some had horrid patterning all over the book. I own a ton of books, and my decision process is generally: - go to library - read/like a book - buy it for late reference For this reason I rarely checked books as I ordered them (I assumed they were fine). After realizing a couple of books I had were unreadable (and way past the "warranty"), I now flip through the entire book just to check for glaring print problems. Thank you amazon, I guess?
remotecool 7y ago
I have had a book business for the last 8 years and in the last 3, there has been a massive increase in counterfeit books. The biggest issue is that there isn't any way to really know if it's a counterfeit unless you send them to the publisher. Many are so good, you can't really tell the difference unless you really know what to look for. I tried this once and in response they sent me a cease and desist letter claiming I was knowingly selling counterfeits. They went away after I got my attorney involved, but it isn't really helping the publishers because I still don't really know how to spot counterfeits, besides the obvious signs. The publishers really want to get rid of the secondary markets because they don't make any money on it...so they are using attorneys to squash it instead.
cwp 7y ago
Ok, point taken, books can have quality issues too. But especially in Amazon's early days it was pretty easy to deal with - just buy from reputable publishers. They've pretty much destroyed that too.
lsc 7y ago
Fake books are a problem too. I mostly see publishers complain about it, but that probably has more to do with my social circle than with the proportion of people complaining https://twitter.com/billpollock/status/1183094406573748225 https://twitter.com/billpollock/status/1183094406573748225 and of course, nobody buys CDs anymore, but I do remember people complaining of unauthorized copies/burns of various quality.
ReconBob 7y ago
Amazon's media category is a mess. Unfortunately, the crooked sellers are willing to dupe Amazon's search engine to have better SEO than the publishers, studios or record labels. Finding an authorized listing is challenging. Furthermore, it sucks to pay for a new book, CD or DVD and receive a used or counterfeit one. used one or buy a DVD or CD that is

by cwp 7y ago

sligor 7y ago

Yes, but... there are also many fake books sold on Amazon, and with bad printing quality

bluescrn 7y ago

Even books need shipping with some amount of care to arrive undamaged. Amazon isn't even good at that these days, piling items fairly loosely into oversized boxes.

bsdubernerd 7y ago

I disagree. I have about 10 books on my shelf published by various editors but which have been printed by amazon printing services. I had to return several because of poor print quality. Some had splotches, some missing or blank pages, some had horrid patterning all over the book. I own a ton of books, and my decision process is generally: - go to library - read/like a book - buy it for late reference For this reason I rarely checked books as I ordered them (I assumed they were fine). After realizing a couple of books I had were unreadable (and way past the "warranty"), I now flip through the entire book just to check for glaring print problems. Thank you amazon, I guess?

remotecool 7y ago

I have had a book business for the last 8 years and in the last 3, there has been a massive increase in counterfeit books. The biggest issue is that there isn't any way to really know if it's a counterfeit unless you send them to the publisher. Many are so good, you can't really tell the difference unless you really know what to look for. I tried this once and in response they sent me a cease and desist letter claiming I was knowingly selling counterfeits. They went away after I got my attorney involved, but it isn't really helping the publishers because I still don't really know how to spot counterfeits, besides the obvious signs. The publishers really want to get rid of the secondary markets because they don't make any money on it...so they are using attorneys to squash it instead.

cwp 7y ago

Ok, point taken, books can have quality issues too. But especially in Amazon's early days it was pretty easy to deal with - just buy from reputable publishers. They've pretty much destroyed that too.

lsc 7y ago

Fake books are a problem too. I mostly see publishers complain about it, but that probably has more to do with my social circle than with the proportion of people complaining https://twitter.com/billpollock/status/1183094406573748225 https://twitter.com/billpollock/status/1183094406573748225 and of course, nobody buys CDs anymore, but I do remember people complaining of unauthorized copies/burns of various quality.

ReconBob 7y ago

Amazon's media category is a mess. Unfortunately, the crooked sellers are willing to dupe Amazon's search engine to have better SEO than the publishers, studios or record labels. Finding an authorized listing is challenging. Furthermore, it sucks to pay for a new book, CD or DVD and receive a used or counterfeit one. used one or buy a DVD or CD that is