Do you return books that are disappointing?

[Puppmom]

I bought a book on childbirth. To be blunt, it SUCKS! Would you return it? I feel like the book store will think I read it cover to cover and now I''m returning it.

 

[kenny]

If the store''s policy allows returns do not hesitate to return it.

Such a policy increases sales, so don''t feel bad.

 

[radiantquest]

I understand your POV, but if I were a bookstore I wouldnt allow it to be returned. If it was missing pages or something like that, thats one thing. But if they accept it back from you than anyone can go to the bookstore, read books, and then return them. I know that you are disappointed in the book and I too would want to return it, but you have to remember about everyone else in the world that is just trying to get something for nothing. I suggest going in and talking to them about it. I am sure that since you didnt even read the whole thing that it is in excellent shape. I would tell them that it really wasnt what you were expecting and since it is still new looking could you please exchange it with another book that is more what you had in mind. They may be more willing to do that since you would still be purchasing a book.

 

[Circe]

Date: 5/13/2010 2:26:06 PM
Author: kenny
If the store''s policy allows returns do not hesitate to return it.


Such a policy increases sales, so don''t feel bad.

Bravo, Kenny! Exactly.

I return a fair amount of books. Why? Because sometimes they are awful, and I realize that I have no interest in keeping them to read them again. I spend a lot more on books then I do on diamonds, btw: I literally moved 4 tons of books across the country when I moved. I adore books, and I keep almost all of them. But some of them are terrible (coughProspecttParkWestcough), and given how many I buy ... keeping the terrible ones would be illogical.

Bottom line: it doesn''t hurt the bookstores, it''s not dishonest, and there''s no reason in the world to feel obligated to maintain possession of a disappointing book.

 

[lulu]

I return everything that disappoints. Last week I returned a hose reel even though I'd removed it from the packaging and tried it out. Frankly, it was a piece of crap, and I returned it damp. I once returned a bouquet of tulips to a grocery store because they didn't open. Bad stuff irritates me.

 

[sillyberry]

I would not return it. When I''m unsure of a book I use the library. Or if I purchase a book I no longer want I list it on half.com.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

How many pages of the book have you read? One chapter? Half the book?

I kinda think if you make the decision to pay full-price for a new book that you cannot return it once you''ve been reading it. The only time I returned a book was after I bought one and hadn''t opened it but then had a nightmare about it (LOL!). It was about the Black Plague. Probably a poor choice of subject matter to begin with. Oh, and I returned it the NEXT day - obviously unread.

The library *is* there for a reason.

 

[Puppmom]

I''ve read two chapters and do feel guilty about returning it because I should have looked more closely at it before I purchased it. At the same time, it really stinks and I don''t want it. Anything else, I would return without guilt. I don''t know why I''m so hung up on this dang book!

 

[princesss]

I''d return it. A return policy is there to be used - no explanations needed (or if they ask, nothing beyond "It''s not what I was expecting,"). You wouldn''t explain why you were returning a lamp if you got it set up in your house, turned it on, and realized the shade turned your room a funny colour. You bought it, it''s not what you wanted, you can return it. It''s not my job to police how a company does its business - if they''re feeling taken advantage of, they can change their policy.

 

[princesss]

Date: 5/13/2010 3:21:05 PM
Author: puppmom
I''ve read two chapters and do feel guilty about returning it because I should have looked more closely at it before I purchased it. At the same time, it really stinks and I don''t want it. Anything else, I would return without guilt. I don''t know why I''m so hung up on this dang book!

Would you have felt guilty if you read those two chapters in the store and decided not to buy it? That''s essentially what you''re doing - reading a bit and deciding it''s not for you - just in a different venue.

 

[february2003bride]

I have returned a few books before but for the most part any books I read now come from the library. If a book is really bad and I know I''ll never read it again or can''t even finished it, I''ll definitely return it. If I can''t return it, I ebay it!

 

[RaiKai]

Sure, right back to the library!

Anyway, depends on the store policy. If they have a generous policy that allows you to return it still - go for it. Most don't have such generous policies these days.

I used to work at a major bookstore that had a rather liberal return policy for a while which some people really took full advantage of (they used it as a library basically) and then they tightened it up quite a lot. I think a lot of bookstores have done this. Honestly, the amount that bookstores actually make on books is pretty low - the publishers set prices (and prices are printed on the books themselves). A lot don't do returns anymore and they can't afford to do returns every time someone is disappointed in a book (there are a lot of crappy books out there!). I think it costs more to pay the employee to sell it than they probably made off the book! Lots of bookstores have gone out of business over last few years. Think "You've Got Mail", but even bigger stores have closed stores. Most these days make more off of their "gift" items and such.

In other words...bookstores are not libraries, KWIM?

I avoid buying books these days (and I used to be an AVID book collector) as I just have started to rebel against having so much STUFF and since I am a fast reader, it gets expensive. It's the library for me - and I highly recommend it! And no worries about whether or not it was "worth" the buy. If there is something I really want to keep after reading it...I go and buy it or look for it second-hand.

 

[Laila619]

I''ve returned books to both Barnes & Noble and Borders several times. They take them back no problem, as long as the spine isn''t creased and it''s in like new condition.

 

[Haven]

I would return it if it is still in new condition and can be sold again as a new book.

We have purchased televisions and returned them after DH watched a few shows and realized that the quality was not what was advertised or expected. I see no difference between the two situations, and I think that it is my right as a consumer to return goods that are not what I truly want.

This is why I only purchase things from stores with return policies that are acceptable to me.

 

[Liane]

I don''t see anything wrong with returning a book to the store, especially if it''s not something you do regularly (i.e., you aren''t abusing their returns policy) and the book is still in like-new condition.

Personally, I don''t return books, but that''s mainly because I tend to buy books in the same genre I write, and I feel like I ought to support my fellow nerd-authors. Non-celebrity authors make peanuts; the least I can do is help them afford another peanut or two. If I don''t like the book, I just quietly donate it to the library so that someone else can benefit from my expense and read it for free (or for $1 if the library decides to put it on the sale shelf).

I would not want to donate a misleading or inaccurate non-fiction book to the library, though. No sense spreading misinformation. In that case, just go ahead and return.

 

[elrohwen]

If I got a book and only flipped through it or read one chapter, I wouldn''t hesitate to return it.

If I''ve read it cover to cover, I would probably sell to a used bookstore instead. I would feel bad returning something I got full use out of.

 

[doodle]

I''d return it, but if you''re going to feel guilty about it, exchange it instead. That way, you''re not out for the expense, but they haven''t lost any money either. This sounds a lot like my DH with buying movies before he''s seen them, then not liking it. Thank GOD for Moviestop and their trade-ins policy!

 

[zoebartlett]

I return things I''m not happy with, and books are no exception. As Princesss said, you don''t need to give them an explanation.

 

[HollyS]

Date: 5/13/2010 2:24:58 PM
Author:puppmom
I bought a book on childbirth. To be blunt, it SUCKS! Would you return it? I feel like the book store will think I read it cover to cover and now I''m returning it.

I usually go to the bookstore and peruse the books. I can kind of gauge whether I''ll like it before I buy.

While you can''t do that with Amazon, I do rely on other''s reviews.

If I buy a dud anyway, I keep it. I''ll sell it eventually to Half Price Books.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I''ve never returned a book that I haven''t liked. I''m weird, I HAVE to finish books that I start. However, I have a really bad habit of buying books that I already own-side effect of being a paperback whore-and I have returned those books.

Borders used to have a policy about returns where you could return anything with or without a receipt as long as it had been purchased in that store within the last two months. You get store credit, but it''s nice because you don''t have to worry about remembering if you got it at B&N or the local grocery store. If you''re near a Borders you can return it.

 

[kittybean]

Date: 5/13/2010 8:23:34 PM
Author: Hudson_Hawk

I''ve never returned a book that I haven''t liked. I''m weird, I HAVE to finish books that I start.

Me too! I feel like I need to start being more discerning.

 

[monarch64]

After that Seinfeld episode where George returns a coffee table book (if memory serves) and the SA tells him it''s been flagged as a bathroom book, I have a mental block against returning books. I''ve never returned a book I''ve actually purchased, only returned books I''ve borrowed from the library!

Ironically, the only coffee table books I consider buying (and eventually do purchase) are those that are marked way down (to like $5.99) and those are probably the ones that other people have returned after flipping through them in their ahem, super personal space.

I find it difficult to borrow books from the library anymore. I''m really tired of food stains, fingerprints, and just knowing that I DON''T know where that book has actually been. In other news, I can smush a bug with my hands just fine. *shrugs*

 

[Bunny007]

Whether any given book is "good" is a totally subjective determination, which is why I see its purchase as different from say, a tv, where quality can actually be measured. I wouldn''t personally return a book because I was disappointed. I figure its somewhat of a gamble and the onus is on me to check a few reviews or read the first few pages (at the store) so I can make a calculated guess.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 5/14/2010 1:03:27 AM
Author: monarch64
I find it difficult to borrow books from the library anymore. I''m really tired of food stains, fingerprints, and just knowing that I DON''T know where that book has actually been. In other news, I can smush a bug with my hands just fine. *shrugs*

Yeah, the pre-read books and the unknown flip through my mind, too. There''s been a few used books I''ve ordered from Amazon that I''ve tossed directly in the to-the-thrift-store box b/c they''re so stained and yucky.

 

[movie zombie]

no, i would not: its not the anyone''s fault buy my own that i didn''t do more research before i made the purchase and/or didn''t flip through a chapter or two in the store to see if it was what i was looking for.

mz

 

[PumpkinPie]

I would return it. I always use the library to check out new books before spending the money to buy them (if I ever buy them at all - I usually only buy books for professional purposes - I`m with RaiKai on not liking `stuff` around!)

 

[Circe]

I find this thread to be fascinating! So many of you are so disciplined with your book-buying ... you research, you check reviews, you commit to the process of the purchase! Me, I wander into a bookstore, buy ten books, come back the next week, buy another 5, realize one of them is utter dreck, return it, and, in the process, acquire three more.

I wonder what the stats are on book-buying personalities, and how the bookstores adjust for them all ....

 

[lyra]

Date: 5/14/2010 5:54:08 PM
Author: Circe
I find this thread to be fascinating! So many of you are so disciplined with your book-buying ... you research, you check reviews, you commit to the process of the purchase! Me, I wander into a bookstore, buy ten books, come back the next week, buy another 5, realize one of them is utter dreck, return it, and, in the process, acquire three more.

I wonder what the stats are on book-buying personalities, and how the bookstores adjust for them all ....

I think it all balances out. I''m more like you except I''ve never ever returned a book. I''ve thrown out disappointing books (well recycled them)! If it''s a really bad book I don''t even finish it. I do finish a lot of clunkers though. Bookstores make a lot of money from me.

 

[bee*]

Date: 5/14/2010 12:01:35 PM
Author: movie zombie
no, i would not: its not the anyone''s fault buy my own that i didn''t do more research before i made the purchase and/or didn''t flip through a chapter or two in the store to see if it was what i was looking for.


mz

That''s how I feel too. I''d never return a book to a bookshop if I didn''t like it. I just feel it''s my own tough luck for not reviewing it more before I bought it.

 

[zoebartlett]

Lyra, speaking of not finishing books, I used to feel so guilty about that. I would make myself finish a book even if I couldn't get into it. Sometimes I would be happy if I did that, especially if a few books just take a while to get to the really good parts. Most of the time though, I dreaded it. Now, I don't think twice about donating a book that I don't finish. Someone else out there will enjoy it more than me, and I'm happier to get it off my hands sooner.