Trek Books for 1 Cent Each--What is your reaction?

[Snaploud]

I often see trek books on amazon marketplace for one cent each. What is your reaction to seeing that price? Is it a scam? Is it just their way of marketing themselves as online sellers (so that you'll buy something else of theirs for a higher price)?

Have you ever purchased a trek book online for 1 cent (plus shipping)?

 

[Smiley]

It's probably just a way for them to unload the books to people who want them and free up space. It also establishes a good reputation for the seller.

 

[Stevil2001]

Also, it probably doesn't really cost them Amazon's default price to ship it, so they're making more money off it than you think.

 

[SicOne]

My suspicious nature leads me to think that Amazon gets a significant cut off the shipping, and if they're selling the book for a penny, that also means they bought 10 copies or more for a penny. That, and they want to free up warehouse space and are willing to take the hit.

 

[OmahaStar]

Those copies aren't being shipped by Amazon. They're people selling the books through the Amazon marketplace, and shipping rarely really costs the amount they're charging. As noted above, they are making money off those shipping costs.

It's not just Trek books, it's all books - and cds, and dvds, and toys, and anything else you care to look for through their marketplace.

 

[DGCatAniSiri]

I've gotten a few books from Amazon that were listed as being one cent. Generally, they turn out to be in pretty good condition - maybe a little used, but the pages aren't torn or ripped out and the cover's intact. I'd suspect it's probably something like what Smiley suggested - clearing space and building a good reputation.

 

[ShinRa Actual]

Pay notice to what condition the book is advertized as being in; if it's advertized as "good" or "like new", etc, you'll get what's advertised in my experience. Books with serious defects usually list what those defects are, otherwise you get something with nothing more than some shelf/storage wear&tear. I've bought a couple of the penny books, and none of them have been a disappointment yet.

As for it being cost effective, as Smiley and Steve already mentioned, it's a mixture of clearing out stock that's otherwise not moving and the profit of the 'handling' side of Shipping & Handling fees.

I've noticed that online retailers have the problem of having older stock when they have something that isn't in a store somewhere, they have trouble unloading it since 99.9% of the buying public isn't looking for it. Online retailing may be neat, but it's still not the same as old-fashioned store browsing, something a lot of new businesses aren't grasping (but that's another rant for elsewhere...).

 

[Christopher]

Pay notice to what condition the book is advertized as being in; if it's advertized as "good" or "like new", etc, you'll get what's advertised in my experience. Books with serious defects usually list what those defects are, otherwise you get something with nothing more than some shelf/storage wear&tear.

Just to be clear, "good" is a much lower standard than "like new." Assuming it's the same as in comics, you'd have a scale going from Mint to Near Mint to Fine to Very Good to Good to Fair to Poor. So "Good" is actually pretty low on the list -- intact and readable, but fairly worn and tattered.

 

[ShinRa Actual]

The books I've gotten off Amazon in "Good" condition have usually been the kind of books that look like they were read once or twice, then put back on a shelf. Admittedly, I only have a few in that category so I might've just gotten lucky. The lister/seller is the one who picks what condition to list the book as, so it can be a subjective judgement based on that person's opinion as well. Checking other customer's reviews/feedback for that seller for books in similar condition can help in figuring out if it's in good enough condition for you, too. I haven't tried buying comics off Amazon, but I've noticed many book listings for books in worse condition that usually list what the major problems are (ie; torn cover, water damage, etc.). In the end run tho, it's always a case of buyer beware, and your milage may vary.

 

[ltcmmanderdata]

i'm cynical when i see anything sold for one cent if its true then its a steal

 

[Snowhiker]

I often see trek books on amazon marketplace for one cent each. What is your reaction to seeing that price? Is it a scam? Is it just their way of marketing themselves as online sellers (so that you'll buy something else of theirs for a higher price)?
Have you ever purchased a trek book online for 1 cent (plus shipping)?

1) Probably a used book that may/may-not come directly from Amazon.
2) Not a scam.
3) Independent book sellers that "sell-through" Amazon Marketplace.
4) I'm sure Amazon hopes you'll purchase a non-$0.01 as well.
5) Yes. I have bought $0.01 books before.

I have bought many used book from Independent book sellers/dealers that sell through Barnes&Noble. I'm sure it works the same way for Amazon. I always buy new books if available, but many of the TOS book I have bought were 10-15+ years old.

All of the $0.01 books that I have bought were used and had an added fee of $3.50 for shipping/handling. The books were shipped to my house via USPS and came directly from the Independent book sellers/dealers. I believe the USPS shipping was around $1.00 each (or $1.50 for 2 books) so a profit was made.

As far as the Independent book sellers/dealers go I've only had ONE problem when a used book I ordered (and my CC was charged) was never shipped. I contacted B&N and a replacement arrived a few days later.

Now if this is a new book actually from Amazon for $0.01 then I would guess that Amazon is simply clearing out the warehouse. They are making a bit of money on the shipping and handling.

 

[Smiley]

With $3.99 shipping being nonnegotiable for the buyers on Amazon Marketplace, many books won't sell if the net price is much higher than $4.00. They are competing not only with other online sources but with half-price used bookstores. Since $7.99 is the current cover price for Trek books, and many older titles are less than that, the sellers in the Marketplace have few options if they want to unload their stock.

 

[Frazzled]

I've got some books up for a penny on Amazon Uk at the moment. They take a hefty cut, I think about 80p, so on paper it looks ridiculous, but actually I still make about 70p because I get the obligatory £2.75 p&p on top, and it only costs just over a quid to ship inland.

What I'd like to know is what do Amazon do with their 80p? does anyone know if any of it heads back to pocket books (if its a trek book) and/or the original author? Or does Amazon keep it all?

What about ebay, what do they do with their cut?

I got my copy of Mosaic for a penny, well, £2.76 (sorry, authors reading this!) You could tell it had been read but it was nice and clean and not at all dog eared. As has been said I've so far found the descriptions of the condition to be honest.

 

[William Leisner]

They keep every p. The publisher and the author get absolutely nothing on the sale of used books.

 

[Astraea]

I recently got most of the Lost Era books off of Amazon's Marketplace. All of them were under $0.10 (plus, of course, the $3-4 shipping), and I was pleased with the quality. There are cover creases on the spine, but the binding's well intact. Some of the pages are a little warped, as if they've been exposed to moisture, but there's not a single one I'd send back because of lack of quality. (And I would tend to say that most sellers' evaluation of mint/near mint/etc. isn't graded with nearly the precision of, say, baseball cards. Just avoid the ones that are "fair" and below.) Occasionally, I've even had a seller throw in a freebie like a good-quality bookmark, which is always a pleasant surprise.

And, yeah, they're making the money off of shipping. Anyone who's ever sold on eBay could tell you that. My guess as to the cut that eBay or Amazon takes goes towards pure profit.

This thread reminds me...I need a new copy of Masks, as my first finally mostly-disintegrated. And, fortunately, Amazon appears to have nearly 100 copies.

 

[seigezunt]

I got a bunch of classic hardcovers for $4 ( one cent plus $3.99 shipping). They are fine. Go for it.

I was just on ebay, and I noticed that the prices of ST books are way up --- the new movie?

 

[donners22]

It's nice that actual Trek books are on eBay as opposed to the dodgy eBook listings.

 

[JAG]

That kills me, when I have seen it.

 

[OmahaStar]

It's nice that actual Trek books are on eBay as opposed to the dodgy eBook listings.

What ebook listings?

 

[Steve Roby]

Right now on eBay, someone who goes by the user name amazonmoneyman2525 is selling a DVD-R of Star Wars and Star Trek ebooks for $10. No way is that legal.