this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2023
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using amazon for books is like using aol for internet access
not arguing, but what do you use instead (other than your local book store)?
https://m.alibris.com
Is there a way to see specific reviews of sellers or is it strictly a star system? I love the site design, it doesn’t e n d l e s s l y dick around with you like amazon’s current setup.
I do not recall, i have not used it much since i got my college textbooks in 08.
Ooooh, thanks for this! They have a UK site too, and they have second-hand books. I already did most of my college textbook shopping on AbeBooks (owned by Amazon), but if Alibris have the other ones I need, phase 2 will happen there.
lol my city has several libraries which aren't book stores.
What do you mean? Kindle store is not bad at all
yeah, where else do you expect self published authors to make their mark?
I've extremely enjoyed the self-pub route so many authors can take these days. Some of my favorite series come from people who didn't even want to bother with the traditional publisher and I am so much happier for it.
So I mean, if you have some alternatives for self published authors to reach a broad audience with a minimum of fuss, that's great. I'm just not seeing a valid replacement, myself.
edit: that said, some are dumpster fires in a pit of eternal despair. but I'm a big boy, I can figure that out for myself.
I very much appreciate the self publishing that's been possible, but I do know that the way they enable this is pretty exploitive and I think we still have massive room for improvement. My understanding is that it relies heavily on exclusivity agreements to force the majority of players onto their platform. I think we would've seen the Amazon self publishing business smacked down by anti trust lawsuits ages ago if we lived in a more sane timeline.
Despite the exploitation going on now, it's still better than the old monopolies the traditional publishers held, but I hope we can eventually see self publishing flourish outside of the Amazon ecosystem
Amazon is terrible for physical books though. I have never bought a new book off Amazon that didn't come damaged. Not once. Used books are ok usually, because the sellers take care to pack them properly. But Amazon simply does not care at all. Oversized art book loosely thrown into a box too big so it gets to slam around the inside constantly in transit is the norm. I use Alibris these days.
yeah thats on me. im old and remember them for selling physical crap forever ago, plus i forgot people pay for digital stuff.. again, not my thing.
Oh grandpa, digital stuff is great! You can read any of those hundreds of books on the go (given you didn't forget your glasses, that is)! You should definitely try it next time you go fishing!
If you forget your glasses all ya gotta do is enlarge the text size. Digital is pretty groovy.
Until they pull a 1984 and delete your copy of 1984
I mean, do you really want to miss out on such a real life dystopian experience?
I bought most of my college books used on Amazon way back when. I did that again the last few years, sometimes Amazon had the best price and or lead time. I also used a few other sites.