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I don't like the new Conditions for Books
I noticed that Like New condition has disappeared, and been replaced by Excellent. Those are two different things. "Like New" is a lot more specific than "Excellent".
Replacing "Very good" with "Great" - I guess? As long as the definition is on line (it wasn't when I checked a few minutes ago (https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201889720&initialSessionID=time%3D2082787201l&ld=NSGoogle&ldStackingCodes=NSGoogle
As a buyer, I would certainly want to know the difference between "excellent" and "Like New".
To me, "Like New" is something you could give as a gift to an acquaintance - it looks like brand new, not something you bought second-hand.
I can easily see someone selling something obviously second hand, that should be "very good" (or Great) with an "Excellent", unless "Excellent" means that it looks and feels like New. The definitions should be easy to find - they aren't. it should provide sufficient differentiation. It's hard for a seller to know the difference in seller's terms for "Great" and "Excellent".
151 replies
KJ_Amazon
Hello from Amazon @Seller_lyztNmXC2vTOc . Thanks for checking in with us about those book conditions.
Our team is testing some new condition types. Buyers may see conditions such as 'Perfect' and Excellent’ in their Used Offer and All Offers displays. These ‘testing’ conditions won’t appear in Seller Central or Invoices.
I passed along your comments to our Amazon partner team, and will keep an eye out for feedback.
KJ_Amazon
Seller_ryoOfWTBs51EG
I have VERY GOOD listings displaying on the options list for the buyer as only GOOD. This must be fixed IMMEDIATELY!!!!
Not only is this HIGHLY UNETHICAL, but possibly ILLEGAL. This not only destroys thousands of good faith listings by the sellers, it impacts buyer price expectations, price comparisons, repricing programs and continuous repricing efforts by sellers, and pricing comparisons across marketplaces by both buyers and sellers.
THIS IS A TRAVESTY!!
Seller_IFxBqjk9Kk6A3
"Most problems are caused by solutions." KJ_Amazon, what was the problem?
Are these new conditions for used books defined somewhere? Labeling a used book as Perfect is like saying, "Hey, let's play Russian Roulette." Excellent is way too broad a term. Very Good combined with Good? (One man's trash is another man's treasure.)
Buyers don't always look at descriptions, just conditions. I see a spike in returns just over the horizon.
A good sampling of the best book sellers' views could better identify the market and its needs than making changes on the fly inside a corporate team with little if any real world experience. No offense intended, just reality.
Seller_kznbKplCgAoV4
KJ - why does Amazon make drastic changes for sellers without alerting us as to what the changes are? We get no warning and have to find out about them on our own. We are constantly having to change our business plans quickly to adjust for the changes. Don't we deserve a heads up about the changes and some time to rethink and adjust our business?
KJ_Amazon
Hello, Sellers. Thank you for your comments and feedback. I am collecting the responses from the different forums threads and I will be sharing them with the team. If you have any comments or issues arising from orders of buyer comments, please pass them along.
I would like to clarify one point: the condition types and tiers are not solely for book listings. They appear for multiple different categories and product types.
KJ_Amazon
Seller_9e9O9DUyGquP9
Let me chime in with another NO for changing the condition descriptors.
You have industry standard terms that book/media buyers and sellers both understand. You do not need to re-invent the wheel. Has there been a clamoring from the selling community to change these terms? I think not. Looks to me like an employee or team trying to justify their paycheck(s). They failed mightily.
My sales tanked yesterday with this foolishness going on. Thanks for nothing.
Seller_lyztNmXC2vTOc
I don't quite understand this new forum. I get emails from the forum, because I signed up for it, to see how the thread was going.
I got an email from you that does not appear in this thread. I don't know why not.
In that post, which was sent at 2:04 on Sunday, you said, "I would like to clarify one point: First, the condition types and tiers are not solely for book listings. They appear for multiple different categories and product types."
that is a really bad idea. I can't think of any other product, except maybe some other media, where the condition has such a wide range of possibilities, and makes such a huge difference in value.
The thing is, for these to be of any use at all, the definitions have to be clear, complete, and unambiguous.
I don't see how marginalia is relevant to anything other than books. It's really important for the buyer to know if the pages have been marked up. That needs to be specified in the definintion.
Seller_ID3XMJ3M2XudA
For THREE DAYS I am seeing no Very Good and 2 Acceptable categories. This isn't testing. This is incompetence.
Seller_Z0MYVEdkuCObn
Yeah why not use the descriptions that have been around the book trade for, IDK, 100 years? They work, they're known, and they are useful. They are NOT that confusing if used properly.
I have no idea of the difference between Excellent and New, and the jump between Good and Excellent seems huge,
Makes little sense. Trying to dumb down the site just makes it more confusing, and LESS likely I'll buy used books on Amazon because I won't fully know what I am getting.
Seller_Z0MYVEdkuCObn
Different items often need different kinds of descriptions. Trying to group millions of items under single 4-5 types of descriptions is just silly. Esp. if you don't make people describe their items in much detail.
Seller_8heIxAf1mLwgp
The changes are confusing, especially for sellers who rely on the old terms and don't use lengthy comments in most of their descriptions.
Seller_BeWo5Xt3t43rn
Obviously these changes were made by someone who never sold books!! AMAZON claims to be a global marketplace but these new terms will NOT translate well! This will lead to a lot of returns and many unhappy buyers (and sellers)
Seller_h3xQTgX8DSlh5
Bumping this from ShopLinguology, who replied this to KJ_Amazon, but is not readily visible to this thread since the reply is buried in the new forum format:
These are the traditional book grades (copied from AbeBooks), and the currently tested ones clash with them too:
As New: The book is in the same immaculate condition as when it was published. This could be the description for a book that has been kept in a warehouse for years, never shelved, thumbed or even opened yet may still be some years old.
Fine (F or FN): A Fine book approaches the condition of As New, but without being crisp. FN means Near Fine. The book may have been opened and read, but there are no defects to the book, jacket or pages.
Very Good (VG): Describes a book that shows some small signs of wear - but no tears - on either binding or paper. Any defects should be noted by the seller.
Good (G): Describes the average used worn book that has all pages or leaves present. Any defects should be noted by the seller.
Fair: A worn book that has complete text pages (including those with maps or plates) but may lack endpapers, half-title, etc. (which must be noted). Binding, jacket (if any), etc., may also be worn. All defects should be noted.
Poor: Describes a book that is sufficiently worn. Any missing maps or plates should still be noted. This copy may be soiled, scuffed, stained or spotted and may have loose joints, hinges, pages, etc.
Binding Copy: Describes a book in which the pages or leaves are perfect but the binding is very bad, loose, off, or non-existent.
Reading Copy: A copy of a book usually in poor to fair condition that includes all text presented in a legible fashion. The copy is fine to read but nothing more.
Seller_qTJiCxRI8PpIZ
Sounds like Amazon is channeling Bill and Ted to me. 😂
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