Posted by Janette Balogh on November 29, 2001
Mike JacksonMore and more I've been buying used thru Amazon.
I've had terrific luck with it.
The books and CD's I've bought at a steal, and the condition of them haven't disappointed me yet.
A few months ago I bought a watercolour book that sold
for 75 bux new at the bookstore. I paid $16, and it was in mint condition. Like the pages were never flipped!
I also bought a huge coffee table book that was out of print. It would have been at least $80. anywhere else. I paid $28. Once again, ... Like new condition.
Amazon is already a pretty good deal for new books, but buying used has been great! They have a rating system for the condition of the books. I've found they have always been clear and honest with that too.
I just love a bargain!
Janette
The other day I was looking for the song that ended the last show of Northern Exposure. I found a bunch of Northern Exposure web sites on the net and found the answer. Then I went to Amazon.com and found the CD available as a used item for less. Amazon has a note at the bottom of the page saying they will stand behind the sellers they let sell used items, so you are supposed to rest assured you won't get ripped. I assume the same goes with the books. In my case, I went ahead and spent a few dollars more to buy direct from Amazon because I wanted another title. That saved me some shipping costs about equal to the difference in the discount.
Maybe I will feel more confident to buy used now.
I buy quite a bit of things through eBay, and have what I would call acceptable results. You can certainly find a large variety of things there. The photo above came from an interesting looking booklet I bought for about $5. There wasn't much inside of merit, but I really liked the cover. Add in $1 for postage and $.85 for the money order and I am into this item for around $7.50. On a trip out east a few years ago, we stopped in and visited David Butler for a few days. David and I went around to a few antique stores in the area and we ran across some interesting looking paper goods. There was a nice stock certificate he wanted that cost about $10. On the way out the door, he was gleaming over his find. He said, "You know, I know a lot of people with $10, but I don't know any other person with one of these." When I buy something like this book, I chuckle and say the same thing.
Some day, do a search on eBay for Stock Certificate or Stock Certificates (do both searches because they will give different results). You will find a lot of really nice designs for not much money.
Denver Chapter of the Letterheads