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22 Apr, 2012
2012-4-22 6:14:19 PM UTC
We've had a few instances of ABE orders being canceled because the book was previously sold, but in all those cases, the seller also had a web presence or an open shop, or also sold by printed catalogue. None of which made us any less disappointed or annoyed, but we understood. We too looked up Strawberry Hill Books and couldn't find that they sell anywhere but on ABE. There certainly doesn't seem to be any way to make a "reservation" through ABE's automated system. Like Stu, we suspect that someone wrote to the seller, having found the book already sold, and made a private offer; or it could be that the seller, having seen the "unprecedented response", realized that he had seriously underpriced the book and canceled the sale in order to re-list or sell otherwise at a higher price. Although ABE's sellers policy doesn't expressly forbid this sort of behavior, it does require prompt responses to sales, frequent updates of the database to remove sold books, and maintaining a high standard of sales completions in order to be a seller in good standing.

Wayne & Christina
22 Apr, 2012
2012-4-22 11:07:54 PM UTC
Those were precisely my suspicions, reading between the lines of the seller's email. No way to know, of course, and no recourse.

So another "one that got away"....

Carl
23 Apr, 2012
2012-4-23 12:44:02 AM UTC
I had a similar experience a few years ago with a seller on ABE. They listed an earlier printing of The Hobbit at a very good price (<$30) so I ordered it immediately. I waited for over a month and the item never appeared. When I notified the seller they immediately refunded my money and stated that it "must have been lost in the post". When I enquired as to any tracking information they had to see where it had disappeared, I was informed that they had no such information. I suspect the seller simply returned my money and sold the book to someone else at a much better price.
23 Apr, 2012
2012-4-23 12:49:49 PM UTC
I'm still not sure why you're all suspicious that the reserving buyer came in after Carl. Since several members of this forum seemed to have received the automated response, & the seller stated there was interest, is it really that unlikely that someone had not already contacted the seller, just prior to Carl buying the book through ABE's automated process? And, that this was not just a query, but someone who had basically said "I'll buy it" (as opposed to "I'm interested..."). Perhaps they didn't like ABE's postage calculation, or wanted to pay by other means i.e. besides credit card --hence contacting the seller. This sounds perfectly possible, even probable. As I said, I don't think I've ever purchased a second hand book from ABE without having emailed the seller first. And, the seller would not remove the listing until the book had been paid for, I wouldn't think.

I just don't see anything unusual (or suspicious) here.

BH
23 Apr, 2012
2012-4-23 1:45:17 PM UTC
I tend to agree with Khamul and indeed i have brought a book (Not this one I would stress) and I emailed to reserve it but wanted another at same time. The seller held it for me but then emailed me saying if I changed mind he now had a buyer -assumingly through ABE.
I doubted it but the listing had indeed disappeared via ABE.

I guess we will never know and i would feel annoyed it it happened to me.

You never know it may end up on ebay for £500 in a few weeks !
23 Apr, 2012
2012-4-23 2:10:26 PM UTC
Because, as I said, reserving a £35 book, esp. one the buyer most likely knows the significance and rarity of, seems highly unlikely. You would think the buyer wouldn't want to take any risk of missing it by proposing a reservation that the buyer has no guarantee the seller will accept, and by the time it takes to determine this.

Would _you_ have done so?
23 Apr, 2012
2012-4-23 2:42:08 PM UTC
Indeed laurel --another reason why someone might not use ABE's checkout. I for one, if I were purchasing several items (particularly from the US), would not individually checkout using ABE. For a start the postage would be highly inaccurate.

I'd possibly want to ask for some sort of price knockdown too, for buying several items. In this example (without paying) one would verbally (email) agree to take a particular book, while browsing their online ABE catalogue for another book that could be slipped into a USPS envelope with the first. Most sellers would hold the initial book for several days while you did this.

Some sellers even "hold" (i.e. reserve) books when you've only enquired about what printing it was, or some such query. On several occasions I've had to tell sellers that my initial enquiry was just that: an enquiry. And, that the book did not need to be held for me & should be made available to anyone else who wanted it. So, again, plenty of reasons why this might have happened.

(Sorry, just read your reply Carl...) It might seem unusual, but £35 is a lot to some poor student, whether they know how valuable the item is, or not. The obvious reason, to me, is as above --they were perhaps buying another item, or paying by cheque. (Or you've been had, as you suggest! )

BH
23 Apr, 2012
2012-4-23 3:45:30 PM UTC
While there is no doubt that "£35 is a lot to some poor student", how would that explain anything? One way or another, the putative poor student is going to spend that £35. (Or even more, in your scenario of "perhaps buying another item".)

Wanting to pay by check is of course a possibility, but would that really be a strong enough motive to risk losing _this particular item_ by delaying to propose a reserve? We're not talking about just any old book here. How many ABE customers don't have credit cards -- particularly among those who would be watching for _this_ item?

Sorry, it all seems very unlikely to me.

NOT THAT I'M BITTER! ;)
23 Apr, 2012
2012-4-23 6:48:27 PM UTC
Hehe... you sound bitter!

I'm just saying there are quite a lot of explanations as to how this might have come about --& in my mind less of them point to you being diddled, and more point to more mundane book buying practises.

In regard to the poor student scenario --they might just want to double check that the listing is in fact what they think it is. They might just be starting out collecting & not believe their luck. Not everyone is confident of just clicking & spending £35. Loads of people don't want to get into a quarrel later on (asking for a refund), after they find out an item is not what they wanted, or in dreadful condition. It's not really that complicated. You're putting great store in the idea that only hardcore know-their-Tolkien types went for this. I just don't think that's necessarily the case.

Your point about the cheque --if the buyer has no credit card logged online (perhaps unlikely, but for about five years I had an ABE account & no credit card stored) --then how do you think they shake hands on a deal? How do you think anyone did it before mouse clicking? If they contact the seller & say "I'd like this book --could you just confirm who to make a cheque out to..." --then, provided they're first in line, a response of "make it out to John Smith" is the hand shake. They don't need any ABE confirmation of this. Most people would recognise this as deal done, even though there is no money in the sellers bank account. The fact that the seller doesn't immediately remove the listing is, frankly, unsurprising.

But, I'm not sure if I can peruade you. Seriously, someone (who even just wanted to pay by Paypal) just beat you to it!

BH
23 Apr, 2012
2012-4-23 8:14:30 PM UTC
Bah, I don't even understand you guys that collect crusty old books of poetry. I still haven't finished collecting all the crap that HarperCollins has turned out in the last 20 years...

:)
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