Erik recommends avoiding Booklahoma.
I recently ordered some legal texts (a series of seven books) from Booklahoma (http://www.abebooks.com/home/AOTURNER/), which sells books via Abebooks (http://www.abebooks.com/). When you purchase books (or anything for that matter), you are essentially paying for two things: (1) the books and (2) packing, shipping, and delivery of the books. When I received the books from Booklahoma, I was shocked to discover that they had been packed in trash. More specifically, they had been packed in shredded paper, like the kind that you would get from a crosscut paper shredder. There were also bits of what appeared to be candy wrappers and some black dirt-like substance the looked like coffee grounds. Needless to say, it took some time to clean all of the dirt and shredded paper out of the pages of my seven books.
When I complained to Booklahoma, they offered to let me return the books. But I was not complaining about (1) the books, I was complaining about (2) the packing, shipping, and delivery of the books. I suggested that Booklahoma refund the shipping charges. Booklahoma’s reply was, “I have used shredded
paper for five years with no prior complaints but will take your concerns under advisement.” But Booklahoma has not (as of 03/14/06) refunded the shipping charges.
So I recommend avoiding Booklahoma. Unless you like books packed in trash.
Hi again Erik, well, this experience was well rounded in your statement that you will never purchase from Booklahoma again. As I have learned from stating such – please never say never.
The reason new books arrive nicely packed is because they charge you for that experience. buying second hand and getting second hand might also include second hand or foraged packing materials, I know as an active ebay seller I am quite proficient at acquiring the needed peanuts, bubble wrap and boxes necessary to make sure items arrive not broken nor damaged, I have purchased a lot of items from a seller on ebay – over 20 auctions -and I nearly always was disappointed in her packing, too much shredded paper – that added abundantly too much weight. She can create the paper herself and cares not that her customers dislike having to pay for the additional weight of that paper. I finally told her what I thought when I specifically asked her to send me a purse that to her was fragile to me was only beads to reuse on another project and I definitely did not care that they might get damaged – or a few that is, because sending this purse in a flat rate envelope was what I wanted – it arrives much faster than her boxes and would have gotten here in one piece since less handling time required as opposed to parcel post which ended up costing me over $10.00 for an item that could have made it for $4.60. Greed is what its about, and when it arrived, I weighed and she made more than half that amount from the supposedly cost to ship – thats outrageous in my book!! Everything you purchase whether used or new requires some thought – if you buy it used you get someone elses leftovers – but to me that is saving landfill space and since I am all for a greener planet I always choose second hand goods over new – any day. (I will not step inside WalMart unless I cannot find what I need anywhere else in a 100 mile radius!)
I spend one weekend a year travelling to a nearby city to acquire the foam and bubble wrap from behind rental furniture stores (yes I am a dumpster diver for the same reason that I buy used items!!) and fill up my old Dodge van to do so, then I choose to save my boxes from over the counter meds and small type containers such as that to put my minis in, then into a larger priority container with peanuts to cushion and so far have done quite well in pleasing the customers on the handling fee of $2.00 with actual shipping cost to most anywhere in the USA. and if I do charge a bit too much, then I enclose something free or refund the overage. I definitely try to send items wrapped well with recycled materials and probably have sent along a bit of trash when not meaning to because I poured the peanuts in from an already bagged container, most one person operations/ sellers find their time to be VERY important – as I see that you did also in your cleaning up your new lot of books from booklahoma – but the book I bought from him on the history of a ghosttown Tangier, Oklahoma – was not to be found anywhere else and I was so grateful that Booklahoma was there for me, and I would have welcomed that book regardless of condition. to each his own, and thank God we all are different – would be a boring place here with us all alike.
be Blessed,
Glenda
PS. and I might buy again from the over charging seller I mentioned, so I am not saying never – ever! She might actually do something someone wants one day when she is in a agreeable mood, ha ha. We can only hope!! I am a multi purchase, repeat customer on ebay as well as a seller, because I hate the shipping charges so any purchase I make is based on whether they have something else I want on their site that I might buy or win too, and if they won’t combine to save the shipping – I don’t buy from them, I don’t like cigarette smoke either and when things come from smokers I have a hut outside I put the items in until God can send a fresh wave of air over it to refresh it enough to bring it inside the house. OK, I am quitting now, good luck with the daughter blogs!!
Greetings Glenda,
Yes, the books themselves were fine, that is not my point. My point is that the books were packed in trash. Books should not be packed in trash. Nothing should be packed in trash. Except maybe trash. The time that I spent cleaning out the books (seven volumes, which take up about two feet of book shelf) canceled out any savings that I got by buying the books used from Booklahoma. So I would have been better off buying new books, which are not packed in trash.
A bookseller is not just selling books. A bookseller is selling an experience. The user experience begins with the order and (usually) ends with the arrival of the product. Everything else (order processing, packing, shipping confirmation, returns (if necessary)) matters. The same is true for any provider of products and services.
You, of course, may have had a different experience. My experience was wasted time due to books packed in trash. I will never do business with Booklahoma again.
Regards,
Erik
well frankly I bought a book from booklahoma and was well satisfied that they shipped it quickly, it was packed well enough that no damage occurred to the book in shipping.
on your sale – if you did not have time to clear out the recycled packing, I guess you are much too busy. This seems like a very unfair slam against this seller.
Also why should he refund the shipping charges to you, he delivered the books and you said you weren’t complaining about the books, just the leftover whatever it looked to be coffee grounds?
I know he sent my book within the same day he received my payment, middle of snow storm so I certainly would not have griped about getting some bit of whatevers on the packing materials if the books were not damaged from it, and could have also been a way to remove the smell from dank old books anyways – the coffee grounds that is. Him paying your shipping was not allowing him much profit for his time, I dare say he deals in rare and hard to find books so would seem that he is probably not paid as well as you are at your chosen field of career. I feel you left an unfair post against this seller.
He shipped your books to you, you got them, you were happy with books, and yet the problem was the packing? seems harsh to me.
could it be that they were trying to not use those peanuts with a half life of a thousand years, and some yuchh accidentally got mixed in with the excelsior?