Restless...

I feel very frustrated by the price war going on in the children books market! There is some fishy stuff going on in the industry apparently. Although consumers always benefit from price war among sellers, people who have already spent good money on the same items (like myself) often suffer (sometimes psychologically)!

Let me make myself clear. Usually, suppliers (local or overseas) distribute their books to local bookstores and schools, the books are priced accordingly to cover the cost of copyright, printing, shipping, shop rental and sale persons etc. Occasionally, you find major distributors also selling books to individuals directly, so they can charge cheaper (no middle man, shop rental and etc). All fine and good, I suppose. It depends on the buyers to be educated and source for the best price.

Nowadays, consumers are flocking to online bookstores, bulk purchases and overseas sprees for cheaper alternatives. The savings can be quite substantial (sometimes up to 50%), not to mention that some of the items cannot even be found in our local market. Now, I am quite keen on finding the best deals for children books because we do not visit libraries (pathetic from variety to quantity to service to policy) and children outgrow their books very quickly which means we have to keep buying suitable books. However, I am also skeptical about "cheap" deals. Nothing, to me, comes cheap without a "buyers beware" tag behind.

So beware buyers... If it is very cheap, it is released a year or more ago and the distributors or sellers need to clear stock. Sometimes, it does not matter because the books are classic anyway. However, certain books are updated and even amended in their latest edition so buyers beware. I would not buy a book about our solar system if Pluto is still a planet. Of course, some books are also too yellowish and old to sell at their usual price. I mean, some sellers even admit candidly that their prices are slashed because they have stocks to clear. Sometimes, the books are no longer in print and the "set" sold by these sellers are actually incomplete. Mind you, "10 books in a set" is not the same as "complete set of 10 books"! Another possible reason for price cut - errors in print. Personally, I have bought bilingual or chinese books with very misleading or even mistakes in translations.

In short, be careful and look for the history of the seller. Any complaints? Any problems such as delays in shipping or delivery etc? Sometimes, the book may be very cheap (first payment), but the shipping (second payment) may end up a few times more costly than the book itself. Also, keep your correspondence open and public so that you can help inform one another and understand the procedure and potential issues involved. Check the terms and conditions, you will find that all sellers tell you they will not not be responsible for anything with their goods and you "must be comfortable with the terms and conditions" aka "buy at your own risk"! Of course, these sellers are also not obligated to keep your mailing details confidential. It is common to see sellers acting unprofessionally. When it comes to terms and conditions or when a problem arises, they refer you back to the "agreement" and "declaimer". But if they fail to reply your enquiry promptly or there is some delay in delivery, for instance, they will give you ":P" and say "sorry hor, it has been a busy week for me, so..." etc. Totally unprofessional.

If you still feel "safe" buying from them, always do some checks on the items before you make the purchase. Ask for date of release, ISBN or anything that can help you search for its retail price in major bookstores. Research for book reviews and check for future publications before deciding if they are worth buying. I am speaking from experience (mistakes) and I have nothing to gain from sharing my views on this industry. Of course, there are also genuine and good sellers out there so good luck and happy shopping! Time to go on a spree again!!!