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Amazon just bought Book Depository
Oh what :/ I'm not very excited by this news at all. Amazon is horrible for shipping to Australia and it's one of the reasons BD is so good, cheap books and free shipping.Bugger.
I love Book Depository but I hate amazon. *sad*
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I wonder if the UK competition laws will become a problem for this deal – if BD UK & Amazon UK merge then this will mean a huge drop in competition for UK on-line book selling. Just a thought . . .
Well, it's been claimed Book depository and Amazon.com will continue to operate independently of one another. It is also apparently too early to tell whether or not the acquisition will run afoul of UK competition laws. If I hear anything else I'll post it here.M
Actually, no, it's currently being investigated by the OFT. We'll have to see whether they let it go ahead.M
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Matthew wrote: "Actually, no, it's currently being investigated by the OFT. We'll have to see whether they let it go ahead.M"
Nice to know.
But on the other side even when compaines claim they will still operate independently eventually things change over time and that's what worries me.
I was just on Book Depository then and I don't know if its just a glitch or something but there is a whole load of books I've been looking forward to buying (mainly pre-orders) and they are no longer on TBD. So I checked my Order History to see if some of the books I've already pre-ordered are still showing up. The showed up in the Order History but when I clicked on some of the pre-orders that are a few months away there wasn't a page for them! So this is either a glitch or changes have already begun.
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Do what Carmel said Gabriella...they answer really promptly when you email them...or they used to..
Well I went back on TBD today and checked to see if I could find those books again before I emailed them. Good news, I found them. I'll still be checking it regularly though so if this happens again I'll be emailing them.
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oh i don't like the sound of this merger.
Ooooooo...I hope it doesn't go through. If it does I think I'll be looking elsewhere...I don't realy want to support Amazon. I don't have ill feelings towards the company but I've just seen it happen some company gets bought out, promisses to 'stay the same' and they do for a year or so but then the wheels fall off that promiss and the bigger company muscles in and things usually change.
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They sell HEAPS of stuff, not just books...and yes, they seem to have a massive range. I've had no trouble finding what I was looking for. They also have a lot under '50% or more off' as well. Just click on it...it took me awhile to figure out how to navigate their site, but it's good now....
I'm personally never going to shop at Fishpond. I've heard so many bad stories that out weigh the good to bother with that company.
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Oh, that's a shame Laura. I've never had any problems with them....Have you personally had anything bad happen with them?
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Yes, I think so Carmel:)
No certainly not mistaking them for Bigpond...They also sell video games..And just reccently they ripped off a bunch of people by not delievering their goods. No communication from Fishpond at all...People had to raise their complaints by going through their CC companies or PayPal..People were waiting over 5 weeks for their goods. It wasn't just one person either more like a good dozen!
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I hope you don't either Brenda! Besides these complaints in less reccent times I've heard of people just simply not getting their orders and poor communication. I don't know if their book sales is opperated by a different section of people..I'm guessing it would be. But with every problem people have had with ordering games I don't want to bother the risk. I know I sound negative and I might be missing out on bargins but oh well.There is Mightyape.com.au for another online seller...Never bought from them just found them reccently but people have liked their service and haven't had issues like the reccent one with Fishpond.
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I'll let you know WHEN my books arrive:D
And it's wrong to tell people of bad service? There is no way to smooth it over when there wasn't any good communication from the company. I don't want people to go through the same experience that many others reccently had to put up with.
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It's alright Laura....you are doing the right thing...calm down my sweet ;D
I just wanted to pipe up to mention that I've had a really good experience with Fishpond and a missing book. About 18 mths ago, I ordered a book and when I had not received it some 4 weeks after my order, I emailed them and they sent another copy which was received within a week. No questions asked. A week later again, and the first copy turned up. So they had actually shipped it. It had just gone AWOL because of Australia Post. I thought it was really good of Fishpond to just resend another copy.Just sayin...
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Welcome back, by the way..:D
Yeah, 4 weeks is the problem...Within Australia items shouldn't take that long to arrive :/ Unless they source their goods further (ie overseas) so it takes longer for stuff to arrive. Like dstore mentions that all their books come from their US storage.It's great that you got good service Dot. It's always good to hear of pleasing experiences people have had when problems have happened. But I ask, how long ago was this?
I just think it's important to talk about the good & bad experiences people have when shopping online. It's like a word of mouth with a local store ;) I felt the need to mention these reccent bad experiences because it wasn't just 1 person it was many.
Just sayin...
Absolutely Laura. I'm always keen to hear both good and bad about stores. It's so helpful in trying to make an informed decision when buying.My experience was at least 18 mths ago. Possibly as long as 2 years ago. It was with a book.
These days I have a Kindle and buy (or get free) 90% of my books from Amazon. If I can't get it on Kindle, I tend to look at The Book Depository. Like everyone else, I hope not too much changes now that they have been bought. I guess we'll all find out before too long.
I have used fishpond but when I found BD I moved to them. Fishpond are not bad, heaps better than amazon, but they do have the occassional glitch. They don't respond to the glitches so well either.I want to keep The Book Depository!
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I think we all do!!!!
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:) I just hope it doesn't go ahead!!!
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Got to get Alone yet:)
Michael wrote: "Update from Good reading magazine.The Publishers Association has united with the Independent Publishers Guild for the first time to oppose the merger of Amazon and The Book Depository, while ca..."
Thanks for that info Michael
It seems to me Booksellers & publishers need more regulation of some sort, I'm not a lawyer or anything but Large firms like Borders move in to an area, kill off the competition of smaller stores so they close up shop or get takenover :result no bookstores except that store (eg. Borders), then they go broke and close up so there are no more bookstores in that area. I fear Amazon will do the same.
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Pool said: “New authors can self-publish with Amazon, but there will have been little if any expert editorial input, and it is perhaps akin to picking a daisy and dropping it on a display table at the Chelsea Flower Show and hoping it will be given a Gold Prize.”Isn't this a catty remark - she knows all authors who self-publish with Amazon, that's amazing.
'Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer cool, I'm half crazy, all for the love of Pool, it won’t be a stylish marriage, I can’t afford a carriage, but I can buy e-books for less than than your p-books, so who is today’s fool?'
The best I could do, off the top of my head . . :-o)
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Hahaha!!!! Very good Geoff!!! :)
Oooh... down to the UK... Buy books now? :pM
Melanie wrote: "so Im gonna stock up now"I sorta think the same thing just don't have the cash to do it :/ However even IF it happens Amazon wouldn't suddenly change things..Usually (not always) companies say 'they will keep their independance from their main owner' but slowly and surely they change it and then spout some crud how 'it had to happen otherwise they'd lose business' or whatever poop they can think of.
It's actually why I question AMAZON.UK and their sudden 'FREE SHIPPING' to Australia and other parts of the world. Funny time for it to be happening,no?
*mutters*
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"Online book retailing is about to get a little bit less competitive, with Amazon announcing that it will buy The Book Depository.
The cost of the transaction remains undisclosed.
The British company, which is popular in Australia due to its low prices and free shipping, was expected to chalk up sales of £120 million ($180 million) for the fiscal year ending in June, according to industry specialist TheBookseller.com. Last year it had an operating profit of £2.3 million, TheBookseller.com said.
On its website, the company sought to reassure its customers that its service and range would improve after the acquisition by Amazon.
"The Book Depository and Amazon are aligned in wanting to ensure the best possible experience for customers," the group said. "Working with Amazon we will look to continue to increase our vast selection of great titles and provide even better customer experience."
"With the support of Amazon, we look forward to continuing our growth and providing an ever-improving service for readers globally," Book Depository founder Andrew Crawford said.
Amazon's vice-president of European retail Greg Greeley said: "The Book Depository is very focused on serving its customers around the world, and we look forward to welcoming them to the Amazon family.
The deal is subject to regulatory approval.
The Book Depository offers 6 million books for delivery globally."
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/amazon...