How to KILL the AU used book sales and cost Aust Post $

[fuggsy]

I have posted this on the PS forum but as many bookies dont seem to go there I will post here as well

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 I knew they would arrive on the AU eBay site eventuatly.

This company worldofbooks-australia they are part of the UK giant and they are bulk flooding the book section

They state that they are in Wahroonga, New South Wales but thats not correct from the emails I have received from them, they are shipping from the UK and eBay is allowing them to LIE about their stock location. What they have in Australia is a PO box only and all their contact details including phone numbers are all in the UK

Now most of us the used book sellers can compete on price all be it bare bones and near go out the door pricing BUT what costs us $11.20 (standard AP 3KG bag price) to post interstate they are shipping to Australia for $2.99 and AP are delivering it for FREE.

So how much will AP lose this year that they will pass onto us ($22 million last year) if there is any of us bookies left to sell and post on here that is.

So a question for AP, how do we in Australia compete with you delivering these items for FREE and compete with the super low UK postage prices compared to our prices.

Answer is .. we cant.

PS their address in Wahroonga that they claim they are shipping from, is actually to a PO box of a lawyers office

[misterforgetfulsbooks]

I'm thinking if we were able to use an alternative and we were able to boycott Aus. Post for a fair period, they would soon feel the pinch of o/seas loss making deliveries hitting their balance sheets and have to change their pricing for us.:-p

[straybooksoz]

they would soon feel the pinch of o/seas loss making deliveries hitting their balance sheets and have to change their pricing for us.

I'm sure they would - upwards.

[misterforgetfulsbooks]

It's really dumb business to price your best customers out of the market in any category, not just books.

You may moan and groan about the 2nd hand book dep. WOB but they are only there because of Australia Post, if they had to pay as much as we do to post a book within Aus. I'd like to see how good their sales would be then.

I notice that even when buying something at the new depot, if they are currently unavailable, there are alternatives like a.e and their main seller is WOB lol 😄

[ss1630]

I bought 2 books from ... think it was borders... pretty sure they dropship as it took weeks, and they both arrived, new, but they are such shoddy quality, the cover is cut short (seems to be common with these books)...and the spine warped. My sister had the same experience with another dropshipper...

They weren't that cheap, but when i'm after a book that I can't find second hand..

What is happening to the quality of new books with these sellers and do their customers care?

Guess I'm back to the B&M shops to spend $30 plus on a new book so at least I know it will last a read! Free shipping scmipping.

[flashback_deals]

They probably get the books at a discounted price as they are rejects - similar to Cheap As Chips when they have books for $2 - books are new but the covers arent perfect

[ss1630]

Yes they do seem a little like seconds.. although the actual covers and pages are thin and do not seem like proper books IMO, ! I guess they are the cheap versions... but i couldnt help feeling a bit ripped off. I could have returned them but... renewed my love for quality second hand books 🙂 Guess i'm wondering if customers are going to have a similar experience to me, and will they return to the dropshippers despite that... ? hmmmm

[farawaynearby]

There are a large number of overseas produced books which use cheaper paper and cheaper card for the covers.  Scholastic is one company that springs to mind.   Australian books generally (but not always) use a higher standard of paper.

[book-a-brac]

Why does seller WOB seem to be exempt from the listing guidelines that the rest of us have to follow?

The majority of their inventory (many, many 1000's of items) are listed in duplicate and sometimes 4-6 replicas of the same item can be found.

We already know Australia Post is subsidising this organisation's postage (why?), which puts the rest of us resident Australian sellers at a distinct disadvantage. Why are they also allowed to swamp our listings with masses of duplicates. My sales have dropped off, almost in direct proportion to the growing rate of dissatisfied customers this organisation seems to be amassing.

Buyer satisfaction is obviously not a priority - at last count they have received nearly 200 negative/neutral feedbacks in the last month - which should be a concern to ebay,

In addition, I notice WOB initially (fraudulently?) listed item location in their listings as Australia, when it was common knowledge within the trade that they were operating from the UK. One would think that providing misleading item location information (on many thousands of items) must be in contravention of Ebay listing policy?

Is it too much to ask Ebay to assist the rest of us bookies just a little by monitering the masses of listing duplication, take note of below par feedback and obvious lack of buyer satisfaction, force full disclosure of item location (including misleading seller id's containing the word Australia used by WOB and other offshore sellers), and ensure that this organisation follows the same listing guidelines that the rest of us have to follow.

Unfortunately unless some of these concerns are met, and after weathering many previous Ebay storms, this could be that famed straw that does this bookselling dromedary's sagging back in.

[marginaliabooks]

A fantastic post right there - with many unanswered questions that unfortunately will probably remain unanswered.

Here's a mob who enters the eBay marketplace with a fraudulent location (even now 16,500 books are still erroneously listed as Australian, possibly housed in their solicitor's office in Wahroonga!), and despite all the negative feedback, continues to treat Australian customers as mugs. Didn't you know? They're saving the environment!!

This is a shameful episode in EBay Australia's history. I can stomach the dropshippers plying their trade as long as they're honest about their location, but all we're asking for on this occasion is a level playing field - and a little bit of honesty and decency when trading. Too much to ask?

[Anonymous]

After my purchase from Wob Australia - they sent me an email with an apology & an invitation to shop at their website with a discount voucher...

They admitted that all their stock is sent from UK and they're taking steps to 'fix' their ebay au listings as UK location...

When I received the email...yes - they had edited most of their listings...there was only about 5,000 still listed with the incorrect location...

Right this minute there's over 16,500 books that are listed with 'Australia' as the item location.

FRAUD