tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post1937552177772284074..comments2024-03-27T20:09:00.283-04:00Comments on Tenkar's Tavern: Amazon Payments vs. OBS: A Cautionary Tale (Guest Poster Pete Spahn)Tenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-71804550203944310382015-09-08T12:41:12.318-04:002015-09-08T12:41:12.318-04:00Amazon is pretty terrible for many other reasons t...Amazon is pretty terrible for many other reasons too, of course. They allow people to "self-publish" stuff that is not their IP so long as they claim the work is an 'orphan' (copyfraud); they enable the Kevin Roebucks of the world to publish book-length collections of Wikipedia articles identified as original works by the author/publisher (see also: Emereo publishing); they enable drop-shippers to rip off customers and sellers simultaneously (bookjacking); Kindles are made to be disposable rather than repairable because screw the environment; not to mention effectively being a massive corporate queen by bypassing sales taxes and property taxes, and being horrible employers, at least for the armies of 'pickers' in their warehouses. <br />What they do well, they do well enough to satisfy most customers though, and CreateSpace has enabled a lot of people to self-publish, even if they do bully them into offering their work for free or greatly marked down for their promotions, so it's not entirely evil.Mike Monacohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11474135378521139178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-49207677965296548822015-09-04T14:26:54.136-04:002015-09-04T14:26:54.136-04:00Amazon is customer-friendly and that's all tha...Amazon is customer-friendly and that's all that matters to me.Doc Savagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08783244633195233970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-1719472535899675072015-09-03T20:12:02.010-04:002015-09-03T20:12:02.010-04:00Yeah, I stopped selling on eBay for this exact rea...Yeah, I stopped selling on eBay for this exact reason. Delivery Confirmation was not worth the trouble for the stuff I was trying to sell, mostly old RPG books I no longer wanted. I wanted to be able to media mail and have done. Kirt Dankmyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15176693641755312121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-14133793896830799632015-09-03T17:16:11.329-04:002015-09-03T17:16:11.329-04:00The problem with Lulu is that it is really badly i...The problem with Lulu is that it is really badly indexed. You have to know what you are looking for there and even then the search algorithms may not be able to find it. You realy can't browse for new stuff (which is the prime advantage of OBS).Reverance Pavanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01217657347160811310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-84441908983407448822015-09-03T16:19:11.727-04:002015-09-03T16:19:11.727-04:00Yea, I don't think PayPal charges buyers anyth...Yea, I don't think PayPal charges buyers anything to dispute, either. And it is incumbent upon the seller to prove delivery, not on the buyer to prove the failure of same. They call it "Buyer Protection." Heh... Anyway, good info Pete, thanks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-27814333959428223412015-09-03T16:07:41.717-04:002015-09-03T16:07:41.717-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.petespahnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01003977036485078376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-18638592447009931592015-09-03T16:07:38.829-04:002015-09-03T16:07:38.829-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.petespahnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01003977036485078376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-53196284507623293252015-09-03T16:04:52.814-04:002015-09-03T16:04:52.814-04:00iDungeonCrawl thats exactly my point. If the publi...iDungeonCrawl thats exactly my point. If the publisher can prove it's a bogus claim, the buyer should have to pay the fee. Fair is fair. petespahnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01003977036485078376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-77961790429014738422015-09-03T15:58:50.553-04:002015-09-03T15:58:50.553-04:00It's a very similar situation with eBay and Pa...It's a very similar situation with eBay and PayPal. Lots of horror storied over there. Almost every seller now uses Delivery Confirmation, some even signature confirmation, and tack on the cost to their shipping. Amazon and eBay may be big, but not necessarily seller-friendly. For sellers of any size.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-65670204817164919592015-09-03T15:27:35.414-04:002015-09-03T15:27:35.414-04:00Thanks for the info Pete. Very helpful. Thanks for the info Pete. Very helpful. Gothridge Manorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11371740532802642972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-35775337874636705432015-09-03T14:17:41.842-04:002015-09-03T14:17:41.842-04:00Why not just charge the arbitration fee to whomeve...Why not just charge the arbitration fee to whomever Amazon finds to be responsible? No, you shouldn't have to pay a fee for a product that wasn't received, but a publisher shouldn't have to for one that was.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-70771966392676087542015-09-03T14:14:15.560-04:002015-09-03T14:14:15.560-04:00One of the reasons i just laugh when one of my cus...One of the reasons i just laugh when one of my customers asks why i don't sell on Amazon.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11058261570136162299noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-11575101088337487752015-09-03T14:12:05.118-04:002015-09-03T14:12:05.118-04:00I just downloaded the For Gold and Glory PDF from ...I just downloaded the For Gold and Glory PDF from Lulu not ten minutes ago.TheShadowKnowshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11073693648569864707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-26932313683600229322015-09-03T14:10:51.822-04:002015-09-03T14:10:51.822-04:00Especially considering that Kickstarter is full of...Especially considering that Kickstarter is full of ripoff artists. Forcing backers to PAY to dispute the charges after being fleeced by some charlatan just adds insult to injury.TheShadowKnowshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11073693648569864707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-89389422500076439702015-09-03T14:03:52.391-04:002015-09-03T14:03:52.391-04:00Do you think I should have to pay a fee to file a ...Do you think I should have to pay a fee to file a claim that a product wasn't received? You seem to imply that. That wouldn't be fair to a customer who didn't receive an item he paid for. Doc Savagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08783244633195233970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-14411860472937332632015-09-03T14:03:21.741-04:002015-09-03T14:03:21.741-04:00Lulu also has a much more user friendly cover desi...Lulu also has a much more user friendly cover design apppetespahnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01003977036485078376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-40369158447288726762015-09-03T13:33:13.651-04:002015-09-03T13:33:13.651-04:00Yes, PDFs are available for sale on Lulu in additi...Yes, PDFs are available for sale on Lulu in addition to printed products.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00998634909843109937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-51317690858594960552015-09-03T13:12:48.841-04:002015-09-03T13:12:48.841-04:00Yeah, Amazon sucks for small vendors.
This is may...Yeah, Amazon sucks for small vendors.<br /><br />This is maybe why Kickstarter dropped Amazon Payments and are doing things internally now.<br /><br />What about Lulu? Doesn't Lulu do PDFs? A lot of OSR folks sell their stuff on Lulu.Matthew Schmeerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11348372645986806502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-53458776162950342382015-09-03T12:27:52.089-04:002015-09-03T12:27:52.089-04:00I think of it more as an Amazon (Payments) rallyin...I think of it more as an Amazon (Payments) rallying cry.Smokestack Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06253933872608999580noreply@blogger.com