sow the thought seeds

PIC 1

<cover story>

Recognise the month's cover fragment?

pic 2 

under construction

...the edition spring 2009..e               <

This issue <<  Book SOS >>

This issus<<  Deepak Chopra >>

+ This<<  regular features >>

Recognise the month's cover fragment? All is revealed in Cover Story, see entry 17

<foreword>

P+P rip off charges?  Nobody wants to see them and, since last autumn, <the edition> has introduced a fair share post policy which sees many freepost books and all others with subsidised domestic p+p.   But now eBay has got in on the act, and in such a clumsy fashion that it threatens to throw the good venders out with the dishwater. 

eBay's policy review means a flat £2.75 cap on domestic postage except for some 'courier' services for heavy items (which eBay promises to watch) and a £4.50 flat cap for antiquarian books some of which may be valued at several thousand pounds but which will not be able to reflect this in the shipping charge.  It is the clumsiest way of dealing with postal rip-off imaginable.

Putting a cap on postal prices for books is not the solution to rip off p+p charges.  Honest sellers will now have to think twice about selling either heavy or rare books (the latter because postage services that protect the full value of the book will fall outside the cap).

eBay has told me that venders  should absorb the shortfall, and stick the price of the book up.  But how is that playing fair to consumers?  All the vender is doing is balancing one charge against another.   But eBay would say that ... it gets a bigger slice of the selling price for absolutely no added value.  Can eBay be serious about the message it is sending? -- is it trying to kurb unfair p+p practices ... or make more profit? 

Booksellers are encouraged to go the 'courier - heavy' route, but eBay has told me they will lose international visibility.  They will not be able to include international tariffs on their listings and this will effectively rob them of international site visibility.  I can't work out if that is an eBay punishment, oversight, or plain-and-simple short-sightedness.

This entire unhappy affair can only result in bad news for reader and vender alike.  There is bound to be a loss of quality and variety of books for sale on eBay as, either venders migrate to more book-oriented venues, or they use eBay to list only b-grade paperback stock, saving their good stuff for venues that don't penalise them.  If this happens the gradual erosion of quality stock will be accompanied by a gradual erosion of book-buying customers.

eBay, if it is serious about preventing p+p rip off, should have started at the cheap end where the practice is far more prevalent.  As it is, a lot of very slim paperbacks will be flying out at a very reasonable 99 pence but with a very unreasonable £2.75 post tag.  At <the edition> books below the weight of 200g unpacked, and which fall under the domestic tarrif 'large letter', are sent out without p+p charge.  All other books are already subsidised for domestic post, including books that require higher insurance.  What a shame eBay didn't consult its honest book venders before such a clumsy and damaging policy was rolled out.

Happy Reading,

dene october

A new year and time for a new you ... books in the Resolutions theme focus on self-help and self health - spiritual and mental as well as bodily.  For new ways of thinking and being have a look at the Resolutions stock at the edition books. Navigation aid: to check for Resolutions stock either enter the word Resolutions in the search window or select the Lifestyle Change category at the edition bookstore.

<book grading guide>

The following is the system used for grading books ~

Mint ~ New or as new, clearly unread, no tanning to pages, no creasing to spine or cover, no marks or inscriptions. This is the condition you would expect to find in a high street bookstore or on mail-order.

Excellent ~ The book appears to be in fine condition. A closer look reveals some signs of previous ownership, such as shelf-rubbing and in some cases an inscription. Yet on the whole, the book is perfect.

Very Good + ~ Less than excellent condition with no more than mild tanning or foxing to pages, minor creasing to spine or cover, possible shop sticker/pencilled price or previous owner name, but no other marks or inscriptions. This is still a tight and bright copy.

Very Good ~ The book shows clear signs of previous ownership / shelf wear. There may be some tanning / foxing to pages, slight creases to spine or cover, inscriptions from previous owner (typically their name or words of presentation).

Good + ~ The book cover and contents may have faded in colour and there may be creases, wear and inscriptions. However the book is still intact and readable and there is no loosening to spine or pages.

Good ~ This is an acceptable reading copy and there may be several of the reported problems above as associated with age and/or mishandling.

Poor ~ A book such as this is sent to auction for reasons such as the edition's rarity. This will probably not make an acceptable reading copy, and is more likely to have value in relation to its collectable status.

N.B. where a double grading is given, the latter refers to the dust-jacket, wrapper or cover

This grading guide is updated monthly to save you scrolling through archives. 

<in this issue>

01 <foreword>

02 <resolutions>

03 <book grading guide>

04 <in this issue>

05 <biblio-key: book glossary>

06 <book worm>

07 <briefing: book trends>

08 <thematic: identify the edition themes>

09 <feature story: book clinic>

---------------------------------------- NEXT PAGE 

10 <fiver: hairpiece>

11 <feature: deepak chopra>

12 <post+pack tariff>

13 <gift wrap>

14 <bespoke packaging>

15 <book search>

16 <cover story>

17 <endnotes>

<biblio-key: french flaps>

French flaps (like the 'Pink' title by Gus Van Sant illustrated) are the folded in extensions to the covers of paperbacks.  They are increasingly used to add weight and substance to paperback original first editions.  Not only do the flaps frame the book visually, they are tactile, playful and make great bookmarks -- navigating the book is like crossing the Equator and requires you to flip flaps.  French flaps are excellent depositories for synopsis and author biography ... and perhaps even proof that you can occasionally judge a book by its cover.

<book worm>

<briefing: guilty secrets>