4 ms·

So apart from stop buying from Amazon, what else one common citizen of Internet can do?

by amrrs 12y ago

raverbashing 12y ago
Yeah, we can buy elsewhere, but they charge more for shipping and oh yeah, your CC is not working here...
- amrrs 12y ago
  And it's really a pain to jump between different sites for different books and who would want to experience all the pain and again pay more?
- mironathetin 12y ago
  Shipping costs dont't matter, do they? Reading a book takes a while. Why do I care whether it comes free of charge or costs a few cents? Books still are great value for the money. I can read 2 or three a month, maximum. Shipping cost for books are really a negligible point in my total budget. Finally, you always pay for shipping. Either with cash or, as we see, by amazon squeezing the price from someone else. It is not free.
  - TorKlingberg 12y ago
    Shipping costs affect the total price of the books. People certainly care about price, or Amazon wouldn't have become so popular.
  - davidw 12y ago
    If they don't matter to you, perhaps you'd be willing to pay mine. I'd gladly buy paper books from http://www.powells.com/ http://www.powells.com/ and have them shipped here to Italy, but it's expensive and slow.
    - eru 12y ago
      Have you tried bookdepository? They are slow, but cheap.
      - fpgeek 12y ago
        They're also owned by Amazon. I don't have a problem with that, but I imagine someone trying to get away from Amazon would.
        eru 12y ago
        Didn't know that. Thanks!
- yc1234yc 12y ago
  https://ebook.farm https://ebook.farm sells (no DRM) ebooks with bitcoin as one of the payment option (with a bonus)
  - a3n 12y ago
    There's nothing on their front page about how it works. I tried applying for an invite out of a leap of faith, but I don't qualify as I don't have an account with any of the below. I wonder what sort of customer they're trying to filter for. To get an invite: Send a private message to @ebookfarm on Mobilism [Must have an active Mobilism account] Send a private message to @ebookfarm on Reddit [Must have an active Reddit account] Send a private message to Ebooka Farmer on Facebook [Must have an active Facebook account]
- a3n 12y ago
  I live in the Denver area, we're lucky enough to have The Tattered Cover. I've been able to order any book I want from them, and when it arrives I go pick it up. Bonus: I get out of the house. Bonus: I get to sniff the books on the shelf when I'm there. If I recall correctly, in Seattle the University Bookstore has (had?) free shipping according to some deal or condition, and if not you can have it delivered there, and then get out of the house and sniff books. But most of my book buying these days is DRM-free pdfs from O'Reilly.
lotsofmangos 12y ago
Join your local library and make full use of the inter-library lending agreement, or internet 0.1b as I like to think of it.
- dingaling 12y ago
  > Join your local library and make full use of the inter-library lending agreement Soon adds up: 60p (plus £3.40 if an interlibrary loan is necessary) Often cheaper just to find it for £1 plus postage costs on Amazon or Abebooks.
  - nkurz 12y ago
    I think this is a regional/cultural/national difference. I've used interlibrary loans at local (non-university) libraries in 5 different US states, and never been charged a fee. The "overdue" fees are usually about $1/day if you exceed the 2-3 week loan period, but if you return on time you pay nothing. In the US, the interlibrary loan system is a fantastic and underutilized resource.

So apart from stop buying from Amazon, what else one common citizen of Internet can do?

by amrrs 12y ago

So apart from stop buying from Amazon, what else one common citizen of Internet can do?

raverbashing 12y ago

Yeah, we can buy elsewhere, but they charge more for shipping and oh yeah, your CC is not working here...

amrrs 12y ago
And it's really a pain to jump between different sites for different books and who would want to experience all the pain and again pay more?
mironathetin 12y ago
Shipping costs dont't matter, do they? Reading a book takes a while. Why do I care whether it comes free of charge or costs a few cents? Books still are great value for the money. I can read 2 or three a month, maximum. Shipping cost for books are really a negligible point in my total budget. Finally, you always pay for shipping. Either with cash or, as we see, by amazon squeezing the price from someone else. It is not free.
- TorKlingberg 12y ago
  Shipping costs affect the total price of the books. People certainly care about price, or Amazon wouldn't have become so popular.
- davidw 12y ago
  If they don't matter to you, perhaps you'd be willing to pay mine. I'd gladly buy paper books from http://www.powells.com/ http://www.powells.com/ and have them shipped here to Italy, but it's expensive and slow.
  - eru 12y ago
    Have you tried bookdepository? They are slow, but cheap.
    - fpgeek 12y ago
      They're also owned by Amazon. I don't have a problem with that, but I imagine someone trying to get away from Amazon would.
      - eru 12y ago
        Didn't know that. Thanks!
yc1234yc 12y ago
https://ebook.farm https://ebook.farm sells (no DRM) ebooks with bitcoin as one of the payment option (with a bonus)
- a3n 12y ago
  There's nothing on their front page about how it works. I tried applying for an invite out of a leap of faith, but I don't qualify as I don't have an account with any of the below. I wonder what sort of customer they're trying to filter for. To get an invite: Send a private message to @ebookfarm on Mobilism [Must have an active Mobilism account] Send a private message to @ebookfarm on Reddit [Must have an active Reddit account] Send a private message to Ebooka Farmer on Facebook [Must have an active Facebook account]
a3n 12y ago
I live in the Denver area, we're lucky enough to have The Tattered Cover. I've been able to order any book I want from them, and when it arrives I go pick it up. Bonus: I get out of the house. Bonus: I get to sniff the books on the shelf when I'm there. If I recall correctly, in Seattle the University Bookstore has (had?) free shipping according to some deal or condition, and if not you can have it delivered there, and then get out of the house and sniff books. But most of my book buying these days is DRM-free pdfs from O'Reilly.

lotsofmangos 12y ago

Join your local library and make full use of the inter-library lending agreement, or internet 0.1b as I like to think of it.

dingaling 12y ago
> Join your local library and make full use of the inter-library lending agreement Soon adds up: 60p (plus £3.40 if an interlibrary loan is necessary) Often cheaper just to find it for £1 plus postage costs on Amazon or Abebooks.
- nkurz 12y ago
  I think this is a regional/cultural/national difference. I've used interlibrary loans at local (non-university) libraries in 5 different US states, and never been charged a fee. The "overdue" fees are usually about $1/day if you exceed the 2-3 week loan period, but if you return on time you pay nothing. In the US, the interlibrary loan system is a fantastic and underutilized resource.