Used - Very Good

[Weeaboolits]

My ass.

I'm a little annoyed right now, actually, that's a lie, I'm more than just a little annoyed.

You see, I recently ordered a book online, "used - very good condition", they said, so I assumed (obviously rather unreasonably) that "Very Good" meant you know, not a banged-up, dirtied library copy with a big crease down the cover and one of those wonderful, near-irremovable library stickers on the back (although I did manage to remove it without damaging the cover through some very delicate use of my pocket knife). So if this is "Very good" what constitutes just "good"? Only having one or two pages missing? How about fair? Just the cover sleeve, maybe a page or two?

I may be getting a little overly worked up with this, but I was expecting something with maybe a couple banged corners or a dent or two, that's what I would call "very good", maybe I'm just setting my standards a bit too high, but the fact that they'd just go dump some high-school library copy (which unlike a number of other sellers doing the same, they neglected to mention) on me just kind of irks me a bit.

[Shadowpawn]

Did you check the rating of the seller?

[Outrider]

I've found that on Half, nobody has the same idea of what each quality means. I've gotten Very Good books that were fairly beaten up (though admittedly, not as bad as yours.) But I've also gotten Good books that looked as if they had been read once.

It's a bit of a crap shoot sometimes, but I still think it's a great way to pick up some books, especially if you're not looking to spend a lot of money.

[Leviathan]

That's why I never buy anything used. Especially over the internet where its simple to lie and you can't really tell how used something is without seeing it yourself.

[SpikeOtacon]

My parents were recently treated to the same lolinternet ebay experience. They bought some figures for my brother in very good condition, only to have them arrive with paint chipped off, pieces broken off, sharpie marks, etc.

This is why I hardly use eBay.

[AIDA]

This is why I download books online and skip the middleman :wacko:

[Lance813]

Jeez, I thought this was about the band 'Used' first, and that you were calling them good...

[Delete]

Sorry to hear that happened to ya, I can't really relate much because I don't like reading, even though I'm in College where, well....you don't have a choice x)

Hope that never happens to you again.

[ashley50]

that's the risk that goes with buying used items online...Though I never buy "used- good condition" ones, I only go for "near mint" or "like new" ones ( though sometimes the seller is a liar...but rarely happens though)

[KodiaX987]

Mom bought a set of used winter tires once. They were listed as being in very good condition.

The treads were gone.

[DreXxiN]

Mom bought a set of used winter tires once. They were listed as being in very good condition.

The treads were gone.

Lmfao.

[Kylie]

I try not to order anything used, and you usually don't have to online because I've been able to find packaged PS2 games from under $20 or $30 - once even under $10, which was great. I do have to order PS1 games used though, and my experiences have been mostly good with that. But books? I don't know; I rarely, rarely read those. >_>

[Leviathan]

Mom bought a set of used winter tires once. They were listed as being in very good condition.

The treads were gone.

>>Used tires.

That's something you aren't even supposed to buy used. :disapprove:

[Nitro Vordex]

You do realize that was Kodia's mom (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?t=74035), right? :disapprove:

[Outrider]

I actually just ordered both a DS game and a book from Half.com a week or two ago and both came in great condition. The DS game was listed as "Like New", so no surprise there, but the book was listed as "Good" and (aside from a price written in marker on the front cover's corner) it's in perfect condition.

Like I said, though, I've had some books/games/whatever that are below my expectations, but generally things show up looking good.

But books? I don't know; I rarely, rarely read those. >_>

A sad trend I've been noticing amongst people here. You should try buying some used ones!

[astuarlen]

I haven't had issues in the past buying used books online--and, honestly, I'm just going to highlight and scuff them up myself, so I'm not too concerned--but I sympathize with those who've gotten screwed by dishonest or clueless sellers. Amazon has guidelines for what counts as "fair", "good", "very good", etc, which I had to use when selling some of my own books online. They're handy but not entirely clear on every point, so I just err on the side of listing individual defects and check for the same when buying.

OT: Seconding Outrider re: the joys of reading. And what's better for your wallet and your community than buying used? Borrowing from the library! Full money-back guarantee.

[Firocket1690]

I dunno, i like the mild age and smell of used books. The wear kinda gives it a bit of character. Same reason I can't stand Borders; not that I don't go, but I go when I need something quickly i.e. class. Everything in Borders feels like it's all fresh from the factory. and such. :/

for everything else, used books are just swell. <3 Strand




But books? I don't know; I rarely, rarely read those. >_>

A sad trend I've been noticing amongst people here. You should try buying some used ones!
dunno how the new quote system works. I can't quote Out quoting Kylie. :/

Eh. Or are you one of those people that only reads those major books that eventually gets turned into movies and such? >_> Or do you avoid the printed media altogether? =(

edit: i still can't get used to new forum workings >=/

[Outrider]

dunno how the new quote system works. I can't quote Out quoting Kylie. :/

Eh. Or are you one of those people that only reads those major books that eventually gets turned into movies and such? >_> Or do you avoid the printed media altogether? =(


I miss the easy quote-within-a-quote as well.

I don't mean to put words into Kylie's mouth, but I think she was just saying she doesn't read books in general.

Which I genuinely think is a shame. I'm not saying that the written word as a medium is necessarily better or worse than any other medium (though I was a Creative Writing major in college, so obviously I'm a bit biased), but anybody who wants to grow intellectually and culturally should really be reading as much as they can. Again, this isn't due to any perceived limitations of movies or games or whatever, but simply because books cover much broader subjects & can more often go further into a topic or narrative than what you would see in the movie theaters or on your game console.

tl;dr - It's not that movies/music/games can't communicate similar ideas as books, but the written word already has a leg or two up on other mediums when it comes to enriching yourself.

[Nitro Vordex]

It actually really irritates me that people in my generation decided that "reading sucks", or it's not cool. I love reading, and I also love writing. I think that from schools forcing kids to read all the time, they view these activities as work, rather than something for quiet recreation. They also complain about how slow they are at reading, or how bad they are at spelling. Simply reading books as a hobby could increase these skills, no problem. "BUT READING IS BORING." That's because you have no imagination, you tool. /rant

I like used books, makes it easier to read. Plus, the spine is usually already cracked, so I don't need to worry. :wacko:

[Weeaboolits]

I miss the easy quote-within-a-quote as well.

I don't mean to put words into Kylie's mouth, but I think she was just saying she doesn't read books in general.

Which I genuinely think is a shame. I'm not saying that the written word as a medium is necessarily better or worse than any other medium (though I was a Creative Writing major in college, so obviously I'm a bit biased), but anybody who wants to grow intellectually and culturally should really be reading as much as they can. Again, this isn't due to any perceived limitations of movies or games or whatever, but simply because books cover much broader subjects & can more often go further into a topic or narrative than what you would see in the movie theaters or on your game console.

tl;dr - It's not that movies/music/games can't communicate similar ideas as books, but the written word already has a leg or two up on other mediums when it comes to enriching yourself.Each medium has its own merit; interactive, animation, still images, the written word, they all have their own unique flavor, if you will, I can't really think of a good way to properly articulate what I'm meaning at the moment, but it's kind of interesting looking at different media, though, and how some things work better in some than others, or at least need to be gone about in a different way.

[astuarlen]

I dunno, i like the mild age and smell of used books. The wear kinda gives it a bit of character. Same reason I can't stand Borders; not that I don't go, but I go when I need something quickly i.e. class. Everything in Borders feels like it's all fresh from the factory. and such. :/

I agree on both counts, though mildewy books are def not good.

I went into a new, fancy-pants two-story (gasp, escalators!) Barnes and Noble recently, and I was just completely turned off by the presentation of materials and the selection. Yes, it's a business (and, yes, my sentiments are not entirely novel), but it just seemed really, I don't know, crass and superficial--reading as commodity, reading as keeping up with the latest fad--all clumsily seductive covers (foil! outsized lettering! stock photos of close-cropped sexy ladies and looming helicopters etc! Curses, that exclamation point really loses its authority after the etc) seen in full-frontal displays, scarcely a hint of the thickness of the massed pages to be seen. With every shouty cover jostling for visual primacy, they mostly just blurred together, the ultimate effect too much like that of flash(y) banner ads that crowd out content. I wasn't thinking about taking one of these puppies home with me and getting cozy on the couch.

The youth and young adult areas were the worst in this respect, but perhaps I am just way too much of an idealist to think you can get kids into the books without turning it into some sort of shopping trip to the toy store. I wonder if the impulse to tart up children's books (and the presentation thereof) to make them seem more similar to other media isn't a mistake. Don't misread this for an indictment of picture books, by the way, which I am hugely enthusiastic about. Check out the work of Rob Gonsalves (http://www.discoverygalleries.com/ArtistGallery.asp?artist_id=23&category_id=2) for some kickass illustrations in that field. Also don't mistake this for an indictment of other artforms. Essentially, I feel the way big, physical, chain bookstores zero in on the glossy exterior and/or movie tie-ins and franchise-y branded materials misrepresents the experience of books, mostly, I think, for the worse.

Anyway, I could go on at some length, but I won't, because this post is already a tangent of a tangent.

tl;dr: the atmosphere of Big Chain Bookstores is, in my opinion, entirely at odds with the core strength of books, both nonfiction and literature, and completely alienating to me as an ardent devotee of inked paper

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[Kylie]

A sad trend I've been noticing amongst people here. You should try buying some used ones!I blame video games. I have no attention span these days. :disapprove:

[DreXxiN]

I enjoy reading non-fiction and researching things VERY much, almost obsessive with it at times.

However, for fictional media, I prefer movies, if anything, plainly because of sound tracks. Music is very important to me.