Comments on: Abe raising rates again..

By: RexKelly

RexKelly — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:02:17 +0000

I agree that the overcharges are unacceptable. But what ABE is doing is charging a handling charge on shipping of something which they never actually handle. The question is, are charges like this legal in the Canadian and American judicial system.

Thank you for this blog; I hope more booksellers promote their web site URLs in the product descriptions so that buyers can find them directly in the future. That is the best use of ABE, to redirect buyers to sellers so they can be treated fairly.

By: prying1

prying1 — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 05:40:30 +0000

I’m still waiting for those collecting funds from me for listing my books online to send someone over and help me list books. – Hopefully someone that can spell.

How long should I hold my breath???

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By: Bruce K. Hollingdrake

Bruce K. Hollingdrake — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 01:37:32 +0000

Wayne,
Thanks so much for your input. I think both your solutions have merit and being one of those dealers that plays it straight with my shipping charges, I especially like the idea of sorting by the ‘real’ price. Why is it so easy for us to see these solutions but Abe management is blind/ignorant?? They really seem to have no vision for long term success; it baffles me.

By: Tom

Tom — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 20:18:38 +0000

I can’t imagine this will deter anyone from loading the shipping price – because most searches default to lowest book price (rather than lowest total price), they still get most of the benefits of the deception. I would imagine the biggest impact on shipping prices would be everyone raising theirs to account for the extra hit – makes their argument seem pretty disingenuous.

By: Wayne

Wayne — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 15:00:19 +0000

Nora’s comment is, I think, on the mark. Of course, it won’t really impact the people it is targeting. ABE is frustrated that they aren’t getting a cut, whereas I am frustrated that they show price ranking based only on the so-called ‘price’ of the book, hence making the high-shipping-charge crowd show up first on the search. I would think one of two alternatives would allow ABE to get what they want while helping create a little equity in their approach.

First, institute standard shipping rates. Pretty easy to do and it eliminates the issue altogether. Having a way to request increased shipping for heavier than normal items, as we now have, would make this system work. I know some folks complain about this approach on Amazon, etc. but the complaints are mostly associated with not being able to ask extra for heavy items or sets, etc.

Second, Sort price based on the combination of book price and shipping, so people would see the “real” price they are paying AND it would rank hits based on actual cost to the purchaser. Both of these are automated and hence inexpensive, which is the reason they instituted the policy they did versus policing the site, which is labor intensive (== costly) and prone to error.

As it is I just don’t see how this will do anything more than cause a few pricing adjustments by all dealers, then back to start, with a slight increase in price. Not being the kind of shop that sells $1 (or even $5) books, it is a minor hassle to me. Just a few more pennies out the door that I will have to make up elsewhere.

By: Nora

Nora — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 18:03:57 +0000

I suspect taking a cut off the shipping is aimed at sellers that were using excessive shipping charges as a form of fee avoidance. You know them when you see them, the seller charging $8 for a $1 paperback shipped inside the US that arrives in a flimsy envelope. They’re making the money on the shipping AND avoiding giving ABE any of it.

It’s that sort of tricky dealings that they were targeting. Policing their site for that sort of fee avoidance would actually fix the real problem AND improve customer satisfaction. But they’ve opted for a heavy handed method instead that really won’t do much to fix the underlying problem.

What should be done by an actual human (ie, enforcing existing policies) is instead handed off to an automated system that will penalize many, many people unfairly and do little to fix the real problem. Those that were gaming the old system will find a way to game the new one.

By: Debra Trylinski

Debra Trylinski — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 14:06:57 +0000

I agree with all your points raised in this post Guy.

I also sell on Abebooks and have been doing so since 2002.This business of taking an 8% commission off of the shipping amount is ridiculous. And, as I am from Canada, it is 8% commission plus 5% gst on the commission amount.

Debra