[austechwriter] Re: Bookseller discussion for tech writing books

No Rhonda, I'm afraid the internationals don't offer competition to put
ours out of business. The service provided by our companies puts them
out of business. If I told clients the stuff that Dymocks told me by
Email, I wouldn't have any... (Would you like to see the Email?) It was
unbelievable stuff.

Look, if I had been told by Dymocks that it is going to cost an extra
$30.00 Aussie to get the books to my door by delivery in the next
fortnight then I wouldn't have gone to Amazon. For all I could have
cared, they could then have bought the things from Amazon themselves.

They structured the Email to imply (very, very strongly) that they
didn't want my business. So I took the hint.  

Bugger 'Em. Let 'em go out of business, we're better off without'em. The
same happened to our car makers with the 'Button Plan', and look at what
we are producing now... Its all World class export quality. 

(Please don't take offence I mean none to you or anyone on the list,
just don't support companies that don't deserve it). I support Aussie
industry first, but only when it is good enough.

Regards Warren.

-----Original Message-----
From: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Rhonda Bracey
Sent: Wednesday, 23 July 2003 11:53 PM
To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [austechwriter] Re: Bookseller discussion for tech writing
books

Further to this, I had a very comprehensive reply from the Operations
Services Manager at Angus and Robertson, Melbourne - if anyone is still
interested, email me off-list and I'll forward it to you. One
interesting thing to come out of that discussion was A&R's flat rate
shipping charge of $6.50 AUD, no matter how many books, nor where
they've been sourced from. Another was the fact that their search engine
is not working correctly! The price I found on their website of $180 AUD
for the Chicago Manual of Style was for their UK database; their US
database price is $98.50 AUD for the new 15th edition - but you can't
find it except by an ISBN search, not a title search.

And my apologies for the shipping charges for Amazon - I noted the
CD/DVD charges, not the book charges. The charge from the US to
Australia for a single book is $11.98 USD ($18.25 AUD) bumping the
Amazon price up by approx $10 AUD. Sorry about that.

However, it doesn't change the fact that there are some serious
competitive threats to Australian booksellers by the Amazons of this
world who have (almost) unbeatable prices and excellent service.

Rhonda

Rhonda Bracey
rhonda.bracey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
http://www.cybertext.com.au
AuthorIT Certified Consultant

-----Original Message-----
From: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Rhonda Bracey
Sent: Tuesday, 22 July 2003 9:51 PM
To: Austechwriter
Subject: [austechwriter] Bookseller discussion for tech writing books


Coming in late on this discussion... 

Leaving aside the cultural politics of WHERE you buy and why (Australia,
UK, US, wherever), I took a look at the pure $$$ side of the equation,
using the latest release of the Chicago Manual of Style as my example
(15th ed, released earlier this month in the US).

Here's my findings from a little bit of internet searching today:

AUSTRALIAN: www.writersbookcase.com.au - 14th ed for $98 AUD + $4.40
shipping = $102.40 AUD. Availability - unknown; no 15th edition
mentioned 

AUSTRALIAN: www.dymocks.com.au - 14th ed for $109 AUD + $7.95 shipping
(outside Sydney) = $116.95 AUD. Availability - unknown; no 15th edition
mentioned

AUSTRALIAN: www.angusrobertson.com.au - 14th ed for $179.87 AUD!!! (via
UK!!); shipping - unknown until you actually place an order (not
friendly); Availability - unknown; no 15th edition mentioned

US: www.amazon.com - 15th ed for $38.50 USD (RRP $55.00) + $6.48
shipping  = $44.98 USD = $69.03 AUD (www.xe.com) Availability - now; to
your door in 11-16 days (cheapest shipping rate). (And cheaper still if
you buy their recommended companion book too!)

US: www.barnesandnoble.com - 15th ed for $38.50 USD (RRP $55.00) + $5.95
shipping  ($12.95 if you want it in 7-21 business days) TOTAL: $44.45
USD = $68.27 AUD. Availability - now; to your door in 7-10 weeks
(cheapest shipping rate).

So, you have a choice for this ONE book:
$68.27 (2003 15th ed avail now but you have to wait 7-10 weeks for
delivery)
$69.03 (2003 15th ed avail now and wait 11-16 days for delivery) $102.40
(1993 14th ed; unknown availability) $116.95 (1993 14th ed; unknown
availability) $179.87+ (1993 14th ed; unknown availability)

Even if the US stores charged the full retail price of $55.00 USD,
they'd still come out cheaper at: 
Barnes and Noble: $93.51 AUD
Amazon: $94.33 AUD

From personal experience just last week, Amazon delivered exactly on
time and for the price expected. It was my first experience with them -
and it was a good one. I've had experiences with Dymocks similar to
those others have mentioned - they want a 25%+ deposit, then you wait
weeks, make numerous calls, and FINALLY you might get to see your book,
then you've got to go a collect it from your local Dymocks store. A&R's
price on the Chicago Manual of Style alone would wipe them off any
consideration list I had...

Just my $0.02 (AUD) worth...

Rhonda


Rhonda Bracey
rhonda.bracey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
http://www.cybertext.com.au
AuthorIT Certified Consultant


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