I ordered a book….

… from one of Amazon.com’s selling partners.

Live fron NY

A oral history from the cast and crew about 30 years of Saturday Night Live.

The book lists for $40.  Amazon sells it for $32 (new).  Suposedly there are 242 different associate sellers that have copies from .01 cent on up.  I found a seller who had a “very good” used copy for $2.95 plus shipping.  They have a 99% positive sellers rating.  I paid for expedited shipping, so all together it’s going to be under $10 and should be here in a couple of days. 

I’ve never bought used before… and have always been skeptical.  How can they sell a book for a penny?   I know they probably make something on the shipping, but still…..

I’ll keep you posted.

9 thoughts on “I ordered a book….”

  1. Interesting to see how this goes…I order books from Amazon also, but I’ve always been skeptical about the 1¢ sellers. Seems like too much trouble to go thru if you don’t like what you receive.

  2. I *always* buy “used” books from Amazon (actually they are independent vendors). Every book I have ever received was in brand new, flawless condition.

    Why pay Amazon more money when you can get the same thing for a fraction of the cost? And shipping is typically “media mail” ($3.99). That’s a bargain too good to pass up.

    The reason they’re so cheap is because they’re closeouts: the publisher isn’t printing them anymore and they represent surplus inventory. Even getting only $0.01 for a book is better than simply pulping it for recycling.

    The only time I pay full Amazon prices is when a “used” copy is not available (and my library doesn’t have one).

    I’m sure you’ll be quite pleased with your bargain book.

  3. Amazon actually takes a cut of the seller’s pay too, so there’s a chance the seller might even be taking a loss selling the book!

    It’s basically called “the cost of doing business” – They sell you something for cheap in order to get their feedback/transaction score up as well as getting some inventory room.

  4. I buy from half.com and Amazon’s used books all the time, and have *never* had a bad experience.

  5. Just remember, it may just be that someone read that book while nude…and it just might have been Gene Schalit.

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