Have you heard about Amazon’s Packaging Feedback Program? It allows customers to report whether items shipped by Amazon arrive in good condition and in appropriate-sized packaging.
Fortunately, items shipped from third-party sellers won’t be eligible for the feedback.
Thank God customers of 3rd party sellers are not prompted to be more critical than they already are. I occasionally receive feedback about packaging, for example, “There was almost too much wrapping and difficult to unpack as it was taped over the pre-perforated places…” The book [isbn 0871272547] shipped in a cardboard book-fold for extra protection with plenty of tape. After I read the feedback I checked the title and saw that it was about bad backs – so maybe the buyer did have some special physical needs and the package was hard to open for her…
I would like to add, though, in my experience, Amazon is now more fair about feedback when it comes to buyers who leave mini-book/product reviews rather than reviews about service or a seller’s description. Very recently, I received a “1″ for an omnibus which Amazon clearly described as three previously published books under the new title. The buyer felt the author had written a completely new book – one that he had never read. So, he really went off when he realized he had already read the books way back in the 70s! Thankfully for me, his bad feedback reamed out the book only. I notified Amazon and asked if they would remove the feedback since it had nothing to do about the service provided. And they did remove it: “Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. We have confirmed that the feedback rating you specified was in violation of our community rules. Therefore we have removed the inappropriate entry from your feedback profile. Although it is our general policy not to remove feedback ratings, we are always ready to do so if they violate our Community Rules….”
On a different topic – I recently sold an item that is now currently unavailable. I received an email, supposedly, from Amazon asking if I had any other copies available and if I would list them as there is a demand for the title – is this something new?? Anyone experience this before? [We regularly review the products our customers look for on our website. During the past month, there has been interest in the product(s) listed below, but there was no available inventory from any sellers as of 05/01/2009. As you have listed these products for sale on our website in the past, we wanted to let you know about this buyer interest, in case you want to offer them again on Amazon.com.]
I sell books occasionally and I also buy them – lots of them – to read and collect. Packaging is one of my biggest complaints about both Amazon and third-party sellers.
First, as a seller, I am extremely careful to pack books appropriately. For most books, I wrap them in bubble wrap, then put them in a bubble envelope or a box. I make sure all the corners of the book are protected and that the package can’t be folded. If I put it in a box, I make sure there’s no room for it to rattle around inside by filling the empty space with air paks or other lightweight filler. I don’t like buyers complaining to me about anything so I don’t want to take any chances.
I buy a lot of books and choose carefully when I buy from a 3rd party seller, or even someone on Abebooks. If I order a brand new book, that’s what I expect to get, as flawless as if I had plucked it off the shelf at a bookstore. If I order a used book, I choose one that sounds like it’s close to new. I very carefully read descriptions to see if it appears the seller cares about their books and if they are describing them individually, not just giving a wholesale statement like “May have remainder mark” or “little if any highlighting.”
Still, I am sometimes disappointed when books arrive. You can pop a small paperback book into a bubble envelope with no additional protection, but the larger it is, the more it needs. Sellers often put a large hardcover or paperback how-to book in a bubble envelope that just fits it with no additional protection, and then when I get it, it’s invariably been dropped and now has a smashed corner. Or the resultant flexible packaging of “just” a bubble envelope for a larger paperback has inspired the postal carrier to fold the package before he puts it into my mailbox, thereby creasing the book.
How is what the carrier does the seller’s fault? Well, when I send a book and picture MY carrier with it, I stick in some cardboard to make it difficult or impossible to fold. I pack it as if I’m sending it to myself and as if it’s going to be mishandled.
Amazon’s packaging has been bad for years, and I’m very glad they’ve started this packaging feedback. They used to pack pretty well, strapping everything in your order to a piece of cardboard with plastic wrap and putting it in a box. But at some point that changed. They stopped strapping things down to cardboard and started putting a book by itself in a box that was too big, along with a few lonely air paks, and it rattled around in the box as it made its way to me, arriving with dinged corners or other problems. I have sent books back to them and have written lots of notes to customer service about lousy packaging.
Bad packaging happens to me about half the time, so it’s really a sore point! If I really care about a book, if it’s going to be added to an author collection or is special in any way to me, usually I’ll go to Abebooks and pay more to buy from a seller who seems to have looked at the individual book, given a decent description, and may, therefore, take care that it’s packaged properly. And indeed, as a general rule, I’ve been happier with the packaging of books I buy there.
I realize that sellers who sell in volume don’t have the luxury of time or materials to list each item individually with loving descriptions, or take extra packaging steps in case they have a buyer like me on the other end.
Another point for me is that when I get a book that was supposed to be brand-new or Like New or even in Very Good condition, and it’s been damaged because of packaging, if I later want to sell it, I can’t get much or any return on it because of the damage. If the package got dropped in transit and a corner got smashed because the book wasn’t properly protected in its packaging, then I can’t describe it as anything better than Good. I don’t have a professional seller account at Amazon so I can’t sell anything for less than about $2 without losing money (except for small-sized paperbacks that can be sent first class, of which there are usually an overabundance for any single title). I end up donating a lot of books like that to the library.
As a seller, I agree that we don’t need to give buyers anything more to complain about. But don’t you think that some sellers NEED a bit of feedback on packaging? Some of it’s really bad! A hardcover book in a manilla envelope? Not a good idea! And as an Amazon buyer, I’m very happy to be able to provide feedback on their packaging, as I think it’s been a problem for them for years.
A, you are dead on about Amazon's lousy packaging. I just received yet another large hardcover book from them that has clearly been sliding around in the box; never again.
I have to wonder if this is a result of using "super saver shipping"? Amazon should clearly state whether we should expect a budget packing job along with our budget shipping.
3 Comments
Thank God customers of 3rd party sellers are not prompted to be more critical than they already are. I occasionally receive feedback about packaging, for example, “There was almost too much wrapping and difficult to unpack as it was taped over the pre-perforated places…” The book [isbn 0871272547] shipped in a cardboard book-fold for extra protection with plenty of tape. After I read the feedback I checked the title and saw that it was about bad backs – so maybe the buyer did have some special physical needs and the package was hard to open for her…
I would like to add, though, in my experience, Amazon is now more fair about feedback when it comes to buyers who leave mini-book/product reviews rather than reviews about service or a seller’s description. Very recently, I received a “1″ for an omnibus which Amazon clearly described as three previously published books under the new title. The buyer felt the author had written a completely new book – one that he had never read. So, he really went off when he realized he had already read the books way back in the 70s! Thankfully for me, his bad feedback reamed out the book only. I notified Amazon and asked if they would remove the feedback since it had nothing to do about the service provided. And they did remove it: “Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. We have confirmed that the feedback rating you specified was in violation of our community rules. Therefore we have removed the inappropriate entry from your feedback profile. Although it is our general policy not to remove feedback ratings, we are always ready to do so if they violate our Community Rules….”
On a different topic – I recently sold an item that is now currently unavailable. I received an email, supposedly, from Amazon asking if I had any other copies available and if I would list them as there is a demand for the title – is this something new?? Anyone experience this before? [We regularly review the products our customers look for on our website. During the past month, there has been interest in the product(s) listed below, but there was no available inventory from any sellers as of 05/01/2009. As you have listed these products for sale on our website in the past, we wanted to let you know about this buyer interest, in case you want to offer them again on Amazon.com.]
Peter
Minneapolis
I sell books occasionally and I also buy them – lots of them – to read and collect. Packaging is one of my biggest complaints about both Amazon and third-party sellers.
First, as a seller, I am extremely careful to pack books appropriately. For most books, I wrap them in bubble wrap, then put them in a bubble envelope or a box. I make sure all the corners of the book are protected and that the package can’t be folded. If I put it in a box, I make sure there’s no room for it to rattle around inside by filling the empty space with air paks or other lightweight filler. I don’t like buyers complaining to me about anything so I don’t want to take any chances.
I buy a lot of books and choose carefully when I buy from a 3rd party seller, or even someone on Abebooks. If I order a brand new book, that’s what I expect to get, as flawless as if I had plucked it off the shelf at a bookstore. If I order a used book, I choose one that sounds like it’s close to new. I very carefully read descriptions to see if it appears the seller cares about their books and if they are describing them individually, not just giving a wholesale statement like “May have remainder mark” or “little if any highlighting.”
Still, I am sometimes disappointed when books arrive. You can pop a small paperback book into a bubble envelope with no additional protection, but the larger it is, the more it needs. Sellers often put a large hardcover or paperback how-to book in a bubble envelope that just fits it with no additional protection, and then when I get it, it’s invariably been dropped and now has a smashed corner. Or the resultant flexible packaging of “just” a bubble envelope for a larger paperback has inspired the postal carrier to fold the package before he puts it into my mailbox, thereby creasing the book.
How is what the carrier does the seller’s fault? Well, when I send a book and picture MY carrier with it, I stick in some cardboard to make it difficult or impossible to fold. I pack it as if I’m sending it to myself and as if it’s going to be mishandled.
Amazon’s packaging has been bad for years, and I’m very glad they’ve started this packaging feedback. They used to pack pretty well, strapping everything in your order to a piece of cardboard with plastic wrap and putting it in a box. But at some point that changed. They stopped strapping things down to cardboard and started putting a book by itself in a box that was too big, along with a few lonely air paks, and it rattled around in the box as it made its way to me, arriving with dinged corners or other problems. I have sent books back to them and have written lots of notes to customer service about lousy packaging.
Bad packaging happens to me about half the time, so it’s really a sore point! If I really care about a book, if it’s going to be added to an author collection or is special in any way to me, usually I’ll go to Abebooks and pay more to buy from a seller who seems to have looked at the individual book, given a decent description, and may, therefore, take care that it’s packaged properly. And indeed, as a general rule, I’ve been happier with the packaging of books I buy there.
I realize that sellers who sell in volume don’t have the luxury of time or materials to list each item individually with loving descriptions, or take extra packaging steps in case they have a buyer like me on the other end.
Another point for me is that when I get a book that was supposed to be brand-new or Like New or even in Very Good condition, and it’s been damaged because of packaging, if I later want to sell it, I can’t get much or any return on it because of the damage. If the package got dropped in transit and a corner got smashed because the book wasn’t properly protected in its packaging, then I can’t describe it as anything better than Good. I don’t have a professional seller account at Amazon so I can’t sell anything for less than about $2 without losing money (except for small-sized paperbacks that can be sent first class, of which there are usually an overabundance for any single title). I end up donating a lot of books like that to the library.
As a seller, I agree that we don’t need to give buyers anything more to complain about. But don’t you think that some sellers NEED a bit of feedback on packaging? Some of it’s really bad! A hardcover book in a manilla envelope? Not a good idea! And as an Amazon buyer, I’m very happy to be able to provide feedback on their packaging, as I think it’s been a problem for them for years.
Thanks for letting me vent! -A. from the midwest
A, you are dead on about Amazon's lousy packaging. I just received yet another large hardcover book from them that has clearly been sliding around in the box; never again.
I have to wonder if this is a result of using "super saver shipping"? Amazon should clearly state whether we should expect a budget packing job along with our budget shipping.