Maybe the lucky person will post a picture for interest of hte jacket?????

I'll be happy to do so when I get it, but in the meantime there's a picture of the front of the dust jacket here:

http://www.tolkienbooks.net/php/details.php?reference=11480

I tried to get this too as soon as I got the notification (obviously, no dice). My curiosity on how and when we were all notified is now piqued (I have had theories, but too little data to test). For those who have wants on ABE for this particular book, if you are willing can you forward me your email notification from ABE? I am interested in the ID assigned your want, how you defined your want, and the timestamps for creating and posting the want. Feel free to delete any other personal information, other wants, etc. I am not sure if the want ID number could be used by a third party somehow, so I don't suggest posting that on the forum (and I promise to delete it myself after I concatenate and share any patterns seen).

I am wondering if when the want is created, or how it was created (title? author? both? more complex match?) affects when the emails go out. Mine was timestamped 7:33 PM (or 10:30 PM Findegil's time, so 4 and a half hours after his email was sent, two hours after he received it).

A four-plus hour advantage seems like something worthy of understanding and leveraging for these ultra-uncommon titles...

I have just received this e-mail from the bookseller (David Southwell, Strawberry Hill Books, 44 (0) 1435 830 871, [email protected]):

"I am sorry to have to tell you that we shall not be able to supply you with
A Spring Harvest. We had an unprecedented response to the listing of the
book. Another customer sent us a reservation on the book before your order
and has subsequently taken up their reservation. We have tried to find a
solution but as you appreciate it is a rare book. I shall officially refuse
your order on the abe system so that your money will be repaid. Please
accept my apology for our inability to supply in this instance."

Any booksellers, and particularly ABE booksellers, on the list: is this sort of rejection of a duly-placed and accepted ABE order in favor of a private reservation consistent with ABE policies and/or accepted bookseller practice?

And would I be justified in asking the bookseller for an explanation of how a private reservation came to be placed on a book offered for sale on ABE?

Thanks,

Carl

Simple answer: yes.

Some sellers on Abebooks are pretty old school. If they sell a book (including, perhaps, as in the case, a "reservation"), but don't remove the listing (either at all, or promptly), then someone may well proceed through the ABE checkout procedure, thinking they've bought the book. But if the seller no longer has the book, or has effectively sold the item (although in this case the other buyer hasn't paid for it), then... well, it's sold.

I've bought a few books on ABE only to be given a refund & told that the item had been sold at a convention, or some such story. Some sellers may be at these things for a long week. They'll take items with them, but in the meantime their listings remain active. There is always the possibility someone might purchase an already sold item.

In this case "reservation" perhaps rankles --but if they agreed on a sale (previous to your checkout), then I think that person is first in line. They may just have been paying privately; an arrangement both parties are quite entitled to enter into.

Bad luck tho'!

BH

There is a big difference between "submitted" ABE purchase and "accepted". Did the bookseller accept the order, then subsequently decide to cancel it? The only way to accept the order is manually, so that would be unethical to do so then withdraw the item due to "unprecedented response".

If however ABE took your web order, but the bookseller never confirmed it, they are well within the standard practice of selling through multiple channels, and having one beat out another before they could handle the response.

For example, I just went back to my email archive for my last ABE purchase a week or two ago:

First email (order submitted) subject is "AbeBooks.com - Your order has been received"

Second email (seller confirmed the order) subject is "Abebooks Order Processed: Sales Order #xxxxxxx" where it says that the bookseller confirmed and acknowledged the order.

Did you ever get the second email? If so, I would file a complaint with AbeBooks.

No, I did not receive an order acceptance from the bookseller, which is why 5 days later I was already fearing that some such move by the bookseller before I received today's email from him.

I am curious to know how a reservation came to be placed on the book. Since ABE doesn't support reservations (so far as I can see), it would have to have been done privately. I can see no record of "A Spring Harvest" being offered on the Internet by David Southwell or Strawberry Hill Books prior to or even in conjunction with its listing on ABE, nor does SHB have its own Internet storefront or, so far as I can tell, a public shop. And besides, who would bother with a _reservation_ on a £35 book?

In any event, I probably have no recourse through ABE, but I shall needless to say be very careful to watch for any subsequent resale of this book on ABE, or mention of it elsewhere....

Carl

That is a real bummer. I've had similar experiences (but with eBay) several times, but different circumstances. Once, I was quite excited when I nabbed a Lord of the Rings 2-2-1 with dust jackets for Buy-it-Now $100, only to be told shortly after I paid that the listing was in error.

Stuff like this is always frustrating and disappointing...

Most likely someone contacted the seller with a better offer, but you will probably never know. Unfortunately these things do happen sometimes. Better luck next time.

I don't think I've ever bought a second hand book from ABE without using the "ask question" function first (--this would be how anyone would get into contact with a seller privately.) I assume(d) this is the norm for most buyers who want to double check, or clarify, details. This being the case, it's not hard to see how this book may have been bought (or "reserved") privately in this manner.

I understand, Carl, why you'd wonder about reserving a £35 book --why not just buy it? Who knows. But there is a pretty obvious reason why a buyer would initially contact a seller through ABE, but continue communication privately. For a start you can ask the seller to discount 13.5% (or whatever ABE's commission now is) from their ABE price...

BH