Order a book on Amazon, read it, return it: do people really do this?

[CdnCarrie]

I do!

But, it's through the local library system and it's called ZIP books, where if the library doesn't have a title that you want to read, you can order it through their ZIP books program (it has to be available on Amazon and be under a certain dollar amount (like $25). It then ships to the address you have on file with the library and you have 14 days from receipt date to return it to the library with all the paperwork that Amazon sends to have it marked as "returned". After the 14 days are up, I think the fine is $1-2/day until returned (standard library fine is usually 25-cents a day) and after x days, they charge you the full price to your library card and you can't check any more books out until the fine is paid.

Sounds like it would just be easier for the library to keep the book and catalogue it.

 

[starry_solo]

Sounds like it would just be easier for the library to keep the book and catalogue it.

I think they decide whether they will keep the book and catalogue it into their system. I never actually checked to see if any of the ZIP books I had them get actually made it into the system. But I think I still have the emails that they sent saying the ZIP book request was approved so let me go check...

 

[Miffy]

It's incredibly prevalent but I'll say it's perhaps genre-based not author-based like you are suggesting where it's just authors I've selected. Most of what I read is romance (a wide variety of it) but there's some young adult thrown in there and those two markets are ripe for exactly what I'm talking about. I read hundreds of books in a year by countless authors.

Sometimes what they will do too is have too many books in a series that they consider interconnected so you want the answers to something big from book 2 you need to get book 7 to get that and most though not always the quality of the books suffers the more the author drags it out. Honestly that's normally not a huge deal because a lot of people like more books but you don't want to feel stringed along where you just have to keep purchasing to get things and there are books where that happens. Most complaints I see are when the ebook is under 150 pages or less but 60 pages is also a common length (it should really be called a novella but the point becomes the same).

I'm not saying I blame the authors but that there are both sides.


I once read a book through Kindle Unlimited where the heroine was raped by the hero's brother in very graphic detail 49% in. I DNF (Did Not Finish) right then and there and returned to Kindle Unlimited which I hardly ever do that because I like to finish my books. You bet your butt if I had just purchased it I would have done the same. That was not listed in the trigger warning (which is common among e-books with sensitive topics) no mention of "dark".

Not quite the same as what I had been talking about the length of this book was perfectly fine at 346 pages. I got it through KU but the list price is $4.99. Here's what my review had (and blessedly eReaders make it easy to search this stuff because I sure didn't actually count it lol):
Murmur(s)=111 times according to my Kindle
Mutter(s)=87 times
Grumble(s)=28 times
Whispers=45 times

This is also from a best selling, USA today, Wall Street Journal author (according to her Goodreads page). Oooh I was so tempted to return it just for the above stuff but I pushed through it because I wanted to know how it ended. If it wasn't in KU I may have returned it IDK, it was a very frustrating read. I think if this had just been solely a published physical book the company might have picked up more easily on just how prevalent the authors lack of variety was. Seriously the author in that book never once said "He said" it was "he murmured"...but it became comical after a while.

_____________________
If I had to maybe describe the situation it's more like ebooks have become a victim of their own success. They allow for many authors to be self-published and get their stories out there, they allow for people to perhaps read more than they ever could realistically but they also can allow for actions (both on the author and on the reader) to come out. It's sorta become a really bad cycle I would say because I don't think then intent from many avid readers is to leave the author high and dry (and Amazon pays attention to how many returns you do) nor do I think many authors are trying to leave their readers high and dry but it can certainly feel that way on both.

As for someone mentioning "just get it from the library" even though they were originally talking about a physical book I do that a lot but not all books are found within libraries. I have several library systems at my disposal in my area and one of the interconnected very large series I was reading by an author I had to buy (when the book was $0), read through Kindle Unlimited for other books (and eventually the author left KU so it was good I got those when I did) and borrow from 2 different library systems for their ebooks because the whole set was not available in one spot.

Thanks for your thoughtful reply. I certainly would've returned the book you mentioned as well and I admit that I've returned 1 or 2 Kindle books that I'd read more than 20% of, probably because I'd gotten to point X in the book and realized that I didn't want to partake of it anymore, for any number of reasons.

Indie authors' books generally cost far less than books by trade-published authors. An indie $2.99 or $3.99 book could easily be the equivalent--in many ways--of a $9.99 or $14.99 trade-published book. And indie authors pay for everything--the editing and proofing, the cover art (which can be hugely expensive), advertising, marketing, web hosting, etc.--and the big-selling indie authors spend a fortune on this type of thing.

Just sayin'.

Amazon has no way of knowing if someone returning a Kindle book for a refund is doing so because they feel upset or offended or gypped--surely one of the reasons why their return policy has been so lenient.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I think they decide whether they will keep the book and catalogue it into their system. I never actually checked to see if any of the ZIP books I had them get actually made it into the system. But I think I still have the emails that they sent saying the ZIP book request was approved so let me go check...

I think what you're describing is similar to like an Interlibrary Loan program only it's partnered through Amazon vs library systems of the world. Our libraries here however do not do eBooks for loan requests from other sources. I suspect due to licensing fees and that may be why yours does the system it does even if you're talking about physical books. I know with our interlibrary loan program sometimes they opt to purchase a book if they've noticed they've had enough interest in it or if the book you wanted is unavailable for free they sometimes consider purchasing it anyhow (although you can also pay for it if you want). I've had a few times where I can see it was routed for "consider for library purchase" but I think they've only done that on a few items I've requested. I haven't done interlibrary loans since the pandemic though. I sorta feel bad for requesting a book that may come from Australia or England in these times I guess.

 

[Pooh2]

I have had to return books a few times that I bought as gifts but came with food and smudges!
So gross!
Go to the library if you don't want to pay for the book!

 

[GoingSince1990]

I've bought hundreds of books on my Kindle since getting it, and only once was a book not what I expected and I abandoned it a couple of chapters in, and claimed a refund. Anyone who abuses Amazon's return policy is likely to be flagged eventually and possibly banned from their website.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Amazon has no way of knowing if someone returning a Kindle book for a refund is doing so because they feel upset or offended or gypped--surely one of the reasons why their return policy has been so lenient.

You have to select why you're returning the book, there's drop down options and yes you can let them know the reasons you mentioned. You only have 7 days to do it. Amazon will also flag people's accounts for too many returns. I'm not saying they always do this consistently but they do do it. If you return anything on their site too often you'll get flagged. Your account can also be suspended along with access to all your books.

And indie authors pay for everything--the editing and proofing, the cover art (which can be hugely expensive), advertising, marketing, web hosting, etc.--and the big-selling indie authors spend a fortune on this type of thing.

They do which is why unfortunately there's excess errors, poor formats, content not super strong sometimes, etc. You have to give a wide berth to new authors, it's the only way you're going to foster publishing. But you also can't blame the consumer who has negative feelings for your book riddled with typos or is frustrated because you've mixed up Paul with Max for the 5th time. You can tell the authors who are using at least some sort of reputable enough software system to help out.

As far as the cover art you can find the same cover art is on a variety of ebooks because it's coming from one person who is selling their work and yes you'll have to pay for it. One thing I do think is particularly a problem in the eBook world is plagiarizing. I've even read a few myself without realizing it where I'm like "gosh I feel like I've read this story before" some of them are blatant. That's IMO even more detrimental to ebooks than returning after reading because it's your content being sold under someone else's name, the morals and the financials both a problem.

But I don't disagree it's a hard knock life out there without some large publishing company behind you, but I don't know that we can argue against there being higher checks on having a big publishing company behind you either.

 

[anniemae]

Nothing surprises me. Years ago, when people still bought books, I worked with a woman who did this regularly. I was horrified at how normal it was for her. She justified it by saying, "hardcovers are too expensive and I can't wait that long for the paperback to come out, so I buy it, read it and return it." She had multiple authors that she loved and waited for the new releases. She was quite proud of herself. This inspired many coworkers to brag about how they bought nice dresses for "one time" events like weddings, reunions and graduations etc. and would wear them for the event and return them.

 

[Her Dotness]

Not at all surprising, and it's nothing new, nor is it indicative of social decline that's recently begun.

I worked at now-defunct Waldenbooks and then Borders for a decade that concluded about 15 years ago.

People also often returned books that looked dreadful, no receipt, some had had drinks spilled on them or kids had marked them up--and expected a full refund. They'd also pitch hissy fits if our register showed the book had been discounted, meaning they weren't getting the list price plus tax refunded.

Just my opinion as a former bookseller--If you dislike the book or find something in it distasteful or offensive, trash it or donate to Goodwill or your public library. The only good reasons to return a book, IMO, are things like missing pages, pages bound upside down, and similar printing defects or shipping damage.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

If you dislike the book or find something in it distasteful or offensive, trash it or donate to Goodwill or your public library

You can't do that if it's an e-book...which is what the topic is actually about.

I would do the same thing you're suggesting if I purchased a book or I would see if a buyback option was available through Half-Price Books or something like that but digital content is very different in that respects. You can lend your book out though if you want to but I don't blame someone for wanting a refund either, if it's after 7 days you don't get a refund anyhow and would just have to delete the book from your digital library.

 

[mom2rtk]

I worked at Waldenbooks all through college. We would refuse a return if a book looked read.

 

[RamblingMad]

I think they decide whether they will keep the book and catalogue it into their system. I never actually checked to see if any of the ZIP books I had them get actually made it into the system. But I think I still have the emails that they sent saying the ZIP book request was approved so let me go check...

My library doesn't keep everything electronically. I have a six month wait on one book right now.

 

[Her Dotness]

I worked at Waldenbooks all through college. We would refuse a return if a book looked read.

We did, too, when I worked there. "Resellable condition" was on the receipt fer heaven's sake.

However, a couple of the Borders managers I had the misfortune to work under were fond of the "JTO policy" for books we sellers suspected were being returned after being read. As in, "We'll give you a refund (or store credit if no receipt) just this once."

Of course, that meant the regular returners were careful to check who the backup manager was when they tried their recycling bit.

We booksellers got very weary indeed of that gambit.

 

[mom2rtk]

We did, too, when I worked there. "Resellable condition" was on the receipt fer heaven's sake.

However, a couple of the Borders managers I had the misfortune to work under were fond of the "JTO policy."
As in, "We'll give you a refund (or store credit if no receipt) just this once."

Of course, that meant the regular returners got careful to check who the backup manager was when they tried their recycling bit.

We booksellers got very weary indeed of that gambit.

When I worked there, it was just small stores in malls. One manager, an assistant manager and a handful of booksellers. Lots of individual decisions made by managers.

 

[EACarlson]

2) Authors have largely gone to breaking up their books and charging a fortune on them and many times it's not disclosed how many books are in the series. This usually leads to people feeling jipped on having to keep purchasing and purchasing

Amazon has no way of knowing if someone returning a Kindle book for a refund is doing so because they feel upset or offended or gypped--surely one of the reasons why their return policy has been so lenient.

Please stop with the racial slurs. Look up the word and see where it comes from.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Please stop with the racial slurs. Look up the word and see where it comes from.

You know that's not what either I or the other poster is talking about or referring about. Please don't stir the pot just to stir the pot. You're free to PM though if you have further thoughts on the matter.

 

[JaxDad]

I think it's awful that people take advantage of businesses this way.

They’re just evil corporations. They can afford it.

/sarc

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

I was in LL Bean years ago and there was a man returning his 30+ yo LL Bean boots.

Keep in mind, LL Bean has a policy of allowing you to return anything that goes bad for you during the life of the product. Even though these boots had long outlived their natural life, LL Bean took them back and gave the man another pair. They were apologizing to him for not having the exact pair that he had previously purchased and they were asking if the current pair met his requirements.

People who heard this were walking by, saying out loud how cheap he was.

@GreatLakes is right. People are cheap.

If you're going to do that with a book, you should be using the library and not Amazon.

Something similar used to happen on the Budget Board - people returning backpacks for new ones.

 

[nw6675]

I have returned two e-books, but neither were read past the first few pages. I even felt weird about that. When bookstores were still prevalent, it used to annoy the mess out of me to see people reading magazines, etc. in their entirety and not buy a thing.

Another in general return comment - I worked at J.C. Penney's in the early 90s in high school. I was thoroughly disgusted when a manager made me accept a return of long underwear (mid-summer) that had OBVIOUSLY been worn. And, I mean WORN.

 

[disney-inspired]

If the book is bad, I definitely return it.

That's not really fair - whether a book is good or bad is subjective. You'd be better off going to the library.