Sometimes you see a pattern of behavior, and it lets you safely infer that certain unstated things are going on.
I have noticed a dealer selling a healthy number of textbooks, and at the same time having a low feedback count.
Normally large inventory counts come with commensurately large sales, especially in the textbook marketplace. When the kids are buying textbooks, they’re buying by the truckload.
There are a few explanations that are plausible. One is that this dealer is engaging in what is colloquially known as ‘spidering’.
Spidering is a polite term for finding an item on one online marketplace, let’s say Half.com, and then cross-listing that item as your own on another online marketplace, such as Amazon.com.
When you spider, you use an app to find listings for a given item on one site and then note the price. Your app then marks up that item and places it for sale on the other.
I can’t say where they’re spidering from, but I believe DailyDeal USA is spidering for at least some of their listings.
One tell-tale of this behavior is feedback for lost books. The USPS’ rate of losing properly packaged books is well under 1 in 1000. If buyers are relating in feedback that the book is being lost by the post office, you’re probably looking at a spider. Note that I didn’t say “a buyer” in that last sentence, I said buyers in the plural. If you can find a ‘seller said book lost in mail’ on the first page, that’s highly suggestive. If you can find two, that’s very suggestive.
| 1 out of 5: | "Never received item purchased. Seller replied after sending second email and said item was lost in mail. I do not believe that it was lost, but did receive money back." Date: September 5, 2011 Rated by Buyer: Rachael H. |
| 2 out of 5: | "Ordered on July 30th, estimated time I would receive product was August 22nd. Its September 4th today still no book!! As a student this lag in delivery time is VERY inconvenient. " Date: September 4, 2011 Rated by Buyer: Sunnie Ayers |
| 5 out of 5: | "The outside box was pretty battered but the contents were is perfect shape. The shipment came from Germany so some battering was to be expected. Came earlier than expected as well." Date: September 3, 2011 Rated by Buyer: John Rogalsky |
Another spider-sign is customers opening a package and discovering an invoice in the package with a lower purchase price on it than what they paid. This occurs when the spider orders a book from a lower-priced seller for shipment to a customer who has paid a higher price.
In your example below, the spider charged $66.75 and paid $47.02.
| 1 out of 5: | "I was charged $65.75 for this order however when the book arrived the invoice indicated that the total order came to $47.02. When I confronted the seller with this, I was told "...the wrong invoice..." came with the order. Do you believe this???" Date: September 2, 2011 Rated by Buyer: Richard Bond |
On Amazon, you wind up getting paid 85% of the selling minus about $1.35 or so.
So, in this case, our spider got $54.53 and then had to spend $47.02 to get the product for his customer.
I'll tell you what, if you told me my job was to order books online and that you'd pay me $7.51 each time I checked out, you'd have an employee for life! Not a bad deal from the spider's perspective.
In a few instances, they're accused of having cancelled an order and then having re-listed the same item again.
What people don't realize, of course, is that they didn't own the item to begin with; they sold the item to you, then the guy they tried to spider FROM was out of stock, so they cancelled on you. Their spider app doesn't know about the history of a given title, so it goes ahead and slaps it back up there the next time it runs.
Two feedback suggestive of this:
| 1 out of 5: | "Seller cancelled order and sold for higher $.BEWARE!Seller canceled order per own convenience. Seller stated my book had been sold and said that the ones listed on the site were higher quality then the one I ordered. However the book ordered was Used-Like New and the other one they were selling was Used-Old. 1day later post my cancel, a book Used-Like New was posted for HIGHER $" Date: August 30, 2011 Rated by Buyer: Christian G. |
| 1 out of 5: | "Had ordered the book they cancelled saying it was out of stock. Looked the book up again they (DailyDeal USA) had put the book back up for more money. Will never do business with DailyDeal USA." Date: August 29, 2011 Rated by Buyer: Caleb Fisher |
As I scroll down their feedback, I come to yet another 'lost in mail'. That pretty much cinches it, these folks are spiders:
| 1 out of 5: | "I didn't receive my order and when I contacted the seller they responded that it must have been "lost in the mail". No tracking number was ever created and I suspect that my order never shipped. " Date: August 25, 2011 Rated by Buyer: Ellyn P. |
| 1 out of 5: | "I ordered package on July 13, received an email informing me of its shipment July 18. August 4 I contacted Daily Deals to find out where my package was and was told to contact them if it wasn't there by the 19th. My package never arrived, I was told a refund would be posted and six days later, after contacting them again, was told that they didn't post it and I am still waiting. Bad Experience!" Date: August 25, 2011 Rated by Buyer: Johnathon B. |
Notice two of these, on the same day no less!
As an aside, on some forums this type of seller is referred to as a drop-shipper.
While it's common usage online, the term more properly refers to a wholesale provider that fills orders placed by a retailer for direct-to-consumer shipment.
When applied to the online marketplace in transactions like this, DailyDeal USA isn't the drop-shipper; rather, all of the other sellers they order from are drop-shippers.
Here's the final nail in the coffin:
DailyDeal USA Storefront
 | 4.7 stars over the past 12 months (669 ratings) | See more information about this seller. |
Showing 1 - 24 of 429,302 Results
Notice that they have 669 ratings with an inventory of 429,302 different products.
If you carried a physical inventory that large with sales that poor, you couldn't afford the rent.
And, their feedback:
DailyDeal USA
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In and of itself, I don't think that spidering would make you a bad bookseller.
However, it seems that one thing frequently leads to another.
In this case, spidering results in unhappy customers, and 12% negative feedback. There's no excuse for that.
Therefore,
Bad Bookseller, DailyDeal USA! No Cookie!
[The cookie you're not getting today is for my favorite Sesame Street character, after The Count.]
Sometimes I'll see that a vendor has an insane number of items even though it appears to be an individual or family, not a giant company, and I've wondered how that was possible. Now I know.
ReplyDeleteOh wow! I am so glad you put this website up. This company is awful and everyone should avoid them on amazon. I have ordered from them, so I know first hand.
ReplyDeleteDaily Deals is HORRIBLE>>>> Don't use this bookseller. I am still waiting for a package ordered back in November... and it is mid-December. It was promised on 12/3 and then miraculously -- Amazon website now says before 12/20 which means Amazon doesn't have to give me a refund yet. This was a text book, for a high school student and prompt delivery was the reason I ordered it. What a nightmare. Avoid this company!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI ordered a used book from DailyDeal USA through Amazon; they supposedly had several copies, one of which was significantly less expensive than any other seller. After several days they canceled the order, claiming the book was damaged and they did not have any other copies. Their other copies are still listed as for sale on Amazon, at higher prices. I smell a rat.
ReplyDeleteThey are not from Germany. They actually called me to demand me to remove feedback. The caller ID, however, is from the Washington area on one of the islands. The voice, diction, and other indications were of well-educated East Indians and their automation suggests the best honed programming from a 3rd party-dropseller I've seen to date. They refuse to identify themselves and refund readily. Suggest buyers use Amazon's A-Z program when having trouble with refunds.
ReplyDeleteI ordered 4 text books from DailyDeal USA. Thanks to this experience I will look much deeper into the sellers I purchase from in the future. I chose DailyDeal because I thought they were located near Seattle Washington. Since I live in Washington I thought it made sense to order my books from as close to home as possible. Of the 4 books, two had tracking info and I was astonished to see them coming from places like California and North Dakota. The 2 that didn't have tracking info came from Missouri and Massachusetts. I left them a "3" stars for seller feedback and merely complained about where they shipped the books from. After they spammed my email asking me to change my feedback to a higher score I started looking into who the hell these people are. They are most definitely spiders with shady business tactics, and that is being polite. Just minutes ago I got a voicemail message on my phone from them giving me instructions on how to change my seller feedback. I am really sick of how they do business and I would like to do everything in my power to prevent other buyers from getting into this same mess. I really wouldn't care but then they started spamming my email and my phone. Not cool.
DeleteI just did the same thing. I am on Whidbey and saw them as WA local and thought I would get my items quicker that way. Looks like I will be getting my book after my power point is due on the subject. That sucks.
DeleteI believe DD is in India. They use a mailing/shipping service on the west coast. When the internet went down in India for a few days a while back, DD vanished. When the internet was restored to India, DD reappeared. It was a most pleasant 3 days without having to contend with DD.
DeleteHow does having to contend with them hurt you?
DeleteI did not say they "hurt" me. I said it was a pleasant few days without having DD underpricing my listings on high-end items that they obviously do not have. Where did you get "hurt" from? Odd way of interpreting, you have.
DeleteSince you remarked on it being pleasant to not have to contend with them, I assumed there was some negative business impact.
DeleteIf contending with someone didn't do something to my business, I would consider someone's absence to be neither pleasant or unpleasant.
As I said, it was a very pleasant few days. And if you want to change the topic to discuss this, then please start another thread. You're off mark.
DeleteAs we have no disagreement, one of us is bad with semantics or diction.
DeleteUnderstanding a sentence is context-sensitive. As a seller, I understand "It was a most pleasant 3 days without having to contend with DD".
DeleteThis all makes a lot of sense. They have an extensive network of people demanding you pull a bad rating. Amazon is not supposed to allow thins kind of behavior in the marketplace, yet they are allowing it to happen. Now they are doing so much volume that Amazon has to have signed off on them by now because regular people hit velocity limits and get their accounts evaluated.
ReplyDeleteFolks, if you are being harassed unreasonably by a seller after you tell them you will not remove your feedback, complain to Amazon.
ReplyDeleteIf regular Amazon support won't get the situation resolved, you can escalate to jeff@amazon.com by email.
Jeff Bezos won't actually read your email, but the managers rather than the peons will make sure your concerns are handled, and properly.
wow, my first experience with dailydealusa and I got the wrong book. no invoice and return address is Motor City Books in Auburn, WA.
ReplyDeleteObviously they are a spider, and now I know.
I've never had encountered this practice before. thanks to the author for the education.
Question: Why did you pay higher DailyDeal price instead of ordering from lower price Amazon seller?
ReplyDeleteI paid slightly higher price to DailyDeal USA as they said in the description that their item would be shipped from Washington State (I live in the US) so I thought I would get it quicker. It turned out the book was sent from a UK seller (who also sells the same book on Amazon Market Place), and it took two weeks to get here. Non wonder they don't provide tracking number.
DeleteYes! I received multiple PHONE CALLS from them to removed feedback until I finally replied and demanded that they stop. Their number is listed on their Amazon account as (206) 855-3932.
ReplyDeleteDON'T call back!, even if they bug the living crap out of you.
They have buying problems with their drop-ships, blame the drop-shippers and insist you ship the book back to the drop-shipper instead of them. They do NOT want to give out an address. I have a distinct feeling they operate off-shore.
Here is what they have listed on Amazon about calling them, then they claim to follow Amazon's rules by saying they will email back. But actually, when I look up the rules, they are NOT supposed to request your email address either.
About Seller
DailyDeal USA is committed to providing each customer with the highest standard of customer service. We respond to all emails within 12 hours. Phone number: (206) 855-3932...
Thanks so much for posting these comments. I have a different perspective. As a seller, one who has sold maybe 200 books over the past 8 years, as I am an individual, I have found that this seller keeps trying to undercut my price by 2 cents every time I list an item. Overnight, I find that this has happened on almost everything I have listed. I started reading their negative feedback, and without mentioning them, listed what I do, according to Amazon rules, in my listing on every item I had listed. Hopefully, potential customers won't think me paranoid or mad. I realized that this seller doesn't own the books he/she lists. The deceptive labelling of perfect condition, unused, when looking at the buyers' later feedback about substandard condition, the pressure for 4 and 5 ratings, and the delayed shipments from various sites all told me that this seller is very unethical and doesn't have the books he/she pretends are in stock. Once I posted my comments on my books
ReplyDelete(indicating that I follow specific, normal Amazon rules), suddenly this seller backed away from trying to undercut me. I think that he/she realizes someone might read his/her feedback for details. I have a hard time understanding why potential customers don't read that feedback very carefully, to realize what is going on. Once you have purchased or sold on Amazon, you learn to read that feedback critically.
Anonymous, posting 07/25/2012 at 4:06 PM, there's not a chance they're manually choosing to not undercut you.
DeleteAll of those spiders use automated software, and have TONS of books listed. In fact, based on the above, 429,000+ listings at the time I made my post.
They don't look at listings for 99.9% of books they've listed. They'd have to hire a few hundred employees to do that.
Unless you've contacted them directly about a listing, the odds are exceedingly low that they've taken any notice of you.
There may be a chance that they are indeed manually undercutting. It appears that DailyDeal gets a small seller in their sights and then just goes after them. There are others who use software, but who also use manual pricing too. So yes, there IS a chance they are manually undercutting at times. The reason I say that is that, as a small seller, DailyDeal will undercut me regardless of where I am in the queue...doesn't matter if I am the cheapest, or mid-range, or high-end and that there are a dozen other listings for the book both cheaper and more expensive. But they seem to just go after my listings wherever they are. I thought I was being paranoid, but they seem to be following my listings regardless of whether I raise or lower the sales price. Sometimes if I sell a book, DailyDeal then removes their listing for the same item within hours.
DeleteI intuitively knew that something was awry with DailyDeal USA. Again, another lost book in the mail! Just going to see how everything works out during the refund process. Once that's done I will re-post here as to my experience in toto!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, thank you for your research and information. You have analyzed and presented this material fairly and accurately. The beauty of the internet and straight up reporting. GREAT JOB!
Thank you all!!! I was just about to purchase a couple of books from them. I thought the prices were too good to be true so I googled them which led me here. Wow, this has been an education. Good on ya!!!!
ReplyDeleteOh dear! I just came on this website, half an hour after I purchased a much-needed textbook from them! Will let you know how the experience goes, but I wish I had read up on them FIRST!
ReplyDeleteWould like to share my very recent and very frustrating experience with Daily Deal USA. Had ordered a book from them through Amazon. The listing stated that the book is located in WA, USA and would take 4-14 business days to ship. As I thought that the book was being shipped within the US, didn't expect for it to take 3 weeks to arrive. I needed this book for a class, and of course the book didn't arrive in time, so I had to purchase another book, this time directly from Amazon and pay for next day shipping. I had contacted the seller several times, and of course they could not provide me with any tracking details, but said that if I no longer need the book when it arrives, that I should just return it for a full refund. So when the book did finally arrive, I could see on the shipping label that it was shipped in from Germany, no wonder it took so long to arrive. And when Daily Deal USA provided me with a requested return shipping label, it was addressed to ship to United Kingdom, and USPS wanted $53 to ship the book! Amazon was nice enough to reimburse me the shipping fees ( after my numerous complaints ). I shipped the book back to them on October 16, now it is already November 16 and I still didn't get my refund. In fact I can't even get a response back from the company to confirm whether they received the item back or not. Needless to say, I am pretty upset with the whole situation and ready to file a complaint with the Consumer Advocacy Group.
ReplyDeleteThank you Tom Jones. I, to, am an individual seller on Amazon and I also have been watching and wondering about this seller DailyDeals USA. I knew there was something fishy about this seller. I agrre with anonymous from 7/26/2012, that they do pick on a small individual seller and are under cutting there prices. I had this one particular book that I listed and I was the lowest priced seller at the time of my listing and they had there book listed much higher than mine. The next day they had undercut me by a few cents as another seller. I lowered my price and they undercut me again. So I decided to watch and play with them to see what they would do. I would lower my price every day a little bit they would undercut me. I checked on other books that I listed with them and they didn't under cut me on those, but those other books weren't as high as this one particular book. Finally, I noticed that I was the lowest priced on this one particular book again. I checked the listing and they weren't listed anymore, so I assumed that they sold their book, so after I sold mine. I happened to check the listing of this book a few days later, and DailyDeals USA had listed the same book again at a much higher price. Hmmmmm! Now I understand, Also as you, I was wondering how they get so many feedbacks in one day, and I have been a seller on Amazon for almost two years now and sold hundreds of books and other items, and I can hardly get anyone to give me a feedback. I didn't know about spidering, now I know. Thank you. I think Amazon should do something about spidering. Also, you might want to check into anybook. They may be legit, but they sure look like they are doing what DailyDeals USA is doing, but with much, much higher prices. Just saying.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned anybook.
DeleteI'm almost certain they are spidering, at least for some of their inventory. The percentage of listings they're present on makes no sense otherwise; it's like they have a wider selection than Amazon.
I ordered two items from Amazon on the same day. The one from Daily Deal USA was reported as "shipped" before the other item (from another seller), yet I've had the other item for over a week now.
ReplyDeleteIt was shown for both items that I would receive them before December 22. Now, however, the book from Daily Deal USA has the potential arrival date pushed back to January 4. If it has been shipped already, how could this be? If Daily Deal USA has this information from the shipper, why don't they share the information with me or provide a tracking number? Obviously, they are not honest.
After reading all the posts here, I've come to a couple conclusions: 1) I'll likely never see the book I thought I would be getting; and 2) I may or may not get a refund for ordering a book from Daily deal USA. It begs the question - how much money are they making in interest by commandeering our money in this fashion?
Follow-up to December 15:
ReplyDeleteSo, I got my book before December 22, regardless of the date switch. Of course though, it came from a seller in Tennessee, not Washington, and a half.com come sales receipt was enclosed (for $5 less than I paid).
I feel compelled to inform all you other sellers that this experience has put me off Amazon. As a consumer it only drives home the fact that I should do a little more homework before ordering, and lesson one is that "bigger is not necessarily better." I'd rather find some obscure little guy and use Amazon as a very last resort.
There is also "DailyDeal UK". Same pattern of behaviour and sharp practices. What gets me is the _constant_ lying to customers with made up stories that can be gleamed from a glance at the feedback.
ReplyDeleteI have complained to Amazon about them. I wish more people complained and Amazon took notice. They need to stop lying.
Jan 8 2013 Anon:
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Amazon knows.
I believe Amazon lets the customers decide when it's a problem:
If your metrics are bad enough and you're running 85% positive, then you might get kicked out.
If Amazon gets one or two complaints of counterfeits.. same thing.
I find this funny, I actually worked for a very large spider company for a few years I had left just recently to move across state, Amazon was very aware of our business, we were referred to by Amazon as consignment sellers.
ReplyDeleteI can confirm Dailydeal and anybook are spiders, but DailyDeal is fairly new to the game. The reason you may not find any information on anybook is because just like most of the big consignment sellers they pay blog owners or forum posters to have their posts removed.
Jan 25 2013 Anon,
DeleteInteresting. Thanks for that info.
Thanks for this online post, I stumbled across this while trying to find out information about Daily Deal, I receive daily orders from them and finally just figured out their buyer name and wanted to share it. DailyDeal are definitely drop shippers. They buy under the name Library Services or WCN Library Services. They don't ask to ship w/o invoice as many other drop shippers do.
ReplyDeleteOther book drop shippers include: Woodys Books, International Books, Bookloads, Book Holders, Comfy Couch Books, Anybook, Brookebooks, Castle Rock Media, Green Street Books. I am a veteran online bookseller (12 years+ experience) and constantly get orders from these outfits. I have seen a huge increase in drop shipment requests from Chinese outfits.
http://www.bookholders.com/ actually has STORES from which they ship the books on their website: College Park MD| Towson MD| Blacksburg WV | Richmond VA | Morgantown WV| Tampa FL| Austin TX. I've ordered from them a couple of times with zero problems (and zero books from other shippers).
DeleteOk just waited 3.5 weeks for a new book. What I just recieved was a highlighted and underlined book. Called amazon was told to deal with daily deal USA. The issue for me is not that Daily deal USA is crooked, hell the world is full of that its more that amazon has been aware for 1.5 years. I will not use daily deal USA again and will no longer need amazon for services. Amazon allowed this to happen by failing to react.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had known about this before now...
ReplyDeleteI just received a book from them; the item was not as listed, and the order number on my invoice does not match, nor was there even a price listed on the one I received in the mail with my book. Also, the seller name is not listed on the invoice as DailyDeal, but as Book Warehouse. I wonder if I'm wasting my time hoping to get this straightened out?
Lily,
ReplyDeleteIf you contact them, they'll make it right.
In fact, aside from being deceptive before you GET the item, folks like this provide very solid customer service.
The business model wouldn't even work if they didn't; their feedback would dip too low and they'd get shut down.
I've been waiting 2 weeks for a book from DailyDeal USA. I need it for my book club, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I'll be buying it from a local bookstore (all copies in library are claimed). When I placed the order on Amazon, I had a weird feeling about them. Your blog post was very informative. I think I'll be taking my business back to brick & mortar stores for awhile.
ReplyDeleteIf it's been 2 weeks, you probably won't get the book.
ReplyDeleteOnce they get your order, they'll try to order it from somebody else within the next day or two.
Call it two business days. Once they order it, the guy who has a copy should mail it within a day or two.
You're out to 4 business days.
If they go Media Mail, NYC to Los Angeles would be 5 days.
You're now out to 9 business days.
Two weeks means 10 business days. If it isn't in the mailbox by dinner tonight, find another copy.
Unless you're in a remote part of Maine and they bought from a seller in San Diego, it should be there by now, 90% chance.
Well, lucky for me & for DailyDeal USA, the book arrived tonite. Honestly, I was shocked to see it in my mailbox. It was shipped from a bookseller in Hendersonville, TN. No postmark date, so I can't even tell when it was shipped. I'm guessing it did not ship 2 days after I bought it. I'll carefully avoid these types of sellers in the future. Thanks for your research.
DeleteGlad it worked out for you, and you're welcome!
DeleteIf you click on the Feedback Left For Others, you will find out how many books DaillyDeal USA ordered from Half.com.
ReplyDeletehttp://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=library_services&ftab=FeedbackLeftForOthers
Thanks, Anna, that's brilliant!
DeleteThey sent me a wrong book, from Philadelphia, and they responded me to send it to Maine when I contacted them!!! Am I suppose to pay for their shipping? Seems like that. I wonder if there is any consumer association, or a way to claim, because I am not willing to pay for the shipping, and lose my return........
ReplyDeleteLet Dailydeal know you would like them to pay you for the shipping, or send you a pre-paid shipping label.
DeleteOperations like this are usually pretty good when it comes to handling customer service once the item has shown up.
If it comes down to it, Amazon will make things right.
DailyDeal USA, is just one of dozens of companies that do the exact same 'spidering' all over Amazon, Half.com, Abebooks.com, Alibris.com etc. Even Alibris itself does a similar thing - they will mark up the books listed on it's site and sell them on other websites like Half.com and Amazon, and then when they sell the item on another site, they charge the seller a 20% commission instead of 15% - as if they have done the seller a favor (so if you see Alibris as a seller on another site, just go directly to Alibris for the best deal and use their coupons as well!) I have a list of over 40 sellers that do some form of the 'spidering' that I avoid. Some will actually sell a similar edition and not even sell you the correct item. Some of the other major ones include Woody's Books, TSCBooks, quality7, amitcj, any_book, techdirectllc on half.com, etc. etc. etc.
ReplyDeleteHere is one of the replies that I received from DailyDeal USA about a book sale that went horribly wrong:
ReplyDeleteOnce again, it appears you are reverting the mistake back on us, I am not sure why you cannot seem to comprehend that we cannot simply change the title, we do not have control over the Amazon website, you can confirm this by contacting Amazon, perhaps if you do not believe this from us maybe you will believe it from them.
I am not sure how you can claim that Amazon pays for our mistake, as the mistake was not our own, Amazon created this page, hence in the Amazons terms and condition it specifically states "Any issues with the Amazon website should be reported to our technical team" - have you not read the terms of conditions before selecting I agree when signing up?
While we accept and respect your decision to not remove your feedback, I am very sorry to hear you are still very hostile and negative in your emails, judging by your hostility it appears you must be coping with a lot of stress and hard times, for your own benefit I am hopeful you are able to take some time off to simply relax, as this much anger and stress is diminishing to one's health.
Perhaps there a a few books in our self help section that may provide some help during these times. Please use the search bar at the top of the following page to search for some items you may be interested in.
In any case, on behalf of the DailyDeal team we are sending our best wishes and hope you get well soon,
-- Andy
Interesting.
DeleteBased on context, I am guessing that you got a book that didn't match what they sold.
I am further guessing that they blamed Amazon for changing the catalog page between the time they listed the item and the time you ordered the book.
Am I right?
Ordered a book on march 20 from pbshop, and got an email confirming shipping fron UK, sent an email to cancel as shipping time (up to April 9th), and no savings on price made no sense.
DeleteTheir return email stated book had shipped. Still waiting. Word to others considering pbshop, don't order if you are in the America's. after reading your post, I realize they are spiders with over 399 thousand books listed.
There's never a reason to order from them.
DeleteIf you're tempted, just go to www.bookfinder4u.com and find the folks they're going to buy from and then cut out the middleman.
If you can't undercut them using that site... then they're just going to fraudulently charge your card and then refund in 21 days when your book 'gets lost'.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI ordered a book (A mothers Legacy) to be written by the mother,answer questions,to be for the mothers children, I received the book three days later than promised, and to my surprise,with another mothers written history. I have asked for a shipping lable to return the book, and a full refund of $21.62. I have received $8.82 (Where did that come from?)No return lable yet. So, the game is on!!!!!
ReplyDeleteNEVER BUY FROM DAILYDEAL BOOKSTORE VIA AMAZON
ReplyDeleteI ordered a book (CWNA Guide to Wireless LANs) for my class and it took to arrived to me 5 WEEKS!!!!!. Even I ordered 12 days ahead before my semester. I don't receive tracking number, and no traceable and emailed 4 times about the book which said it will sent from the same State where i live. I can not wait and bough the same book from another store and received within 1 week. Now waiting the another 1 week already for return ticket and nothing improved .. beware of !!!!
April 10 2013. So I contacted amazon A-Z. the issue was resolved and I received a full refund. But none the less this has been a real hassle with DailyDeal USA. and I would not recommend them under any circumstance. thanks to amazons immediate response.. (A mothers Legacy)
ReplyDeleteOne problem with them forcing you to use an A-Z claim is that you only get to file so many of those claims before Amazon gets a little skeptical of you, and the results become less favorable.
DeleteI made the mistake of ordering from Daily Deal USA via Amazon and am very sorry that I did so. Thank you for your posts and information. Daily Deal USA sold me used-up scratch and sketch art activity books. Andy then sent me a rude email stating that because all of the pages were intact that the books qualified as "good condition." He went on to recommend to me that I purchase higher quality books in the future, as my dissatisfaction of course was my own fault. I've filed my first amazon A-Z claim, after ordering via amazon for 10-years. I think it would be nice if Amazon took some action against this seller. If Daily Deal USA gets enough bad feedback, I'm guessing that they would just use another name and continue the same business practices. This whole experience has made me not trust the Amazon 3rd party seller process. Fortunately I'm not out much money. Lesson learned.
ReplyDeleteAmazon's current condition guidelines are here:
Deletehttp://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=1161242#books
Used - Like New: Dust cover is intact, with no nicks or tears. Spine has no signs of creasing. Pages are clean and not marred by notes or folds of any kind. May contain remainder marks on outside edges, which should be noted in listing comments.
Used - Very Good: Pages and dust cover are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine is undamaged.
Used - Good: All pages and cover are intact (including the dust cover, if applicable). Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting. May include "From the library of" labels.
Used - Acceptable: All pages and the cover are intact, but the dust cover may be missing. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting, but the text cannot be obscured or unreadable.
Interesting stuff! My thanks to the writer and commenters on this blog.
ReplyDeleteI'm an author and sell my own books on Amazon. I recently found a 'used - like new' copy of one of my books being sold by DailyDeal. What caught my eye was that in the "condition" box it said, "Contains remainder mark on bottom outside edge."
I found this strange because I can account for ALL copies of this book and know for a fact it has NEVER been remaindered. That made me suspicious so I googled their name and phone #, and that led me to this blog. I am thankful for all the info shared here on this business. I had never heard of spidering before....
I decided it would be good to see if DailyDeal was selling any of my other books, so just checked Amazon. I found they are selling 4 copies of one of them, and 4 copies of another (one listed as New, with remainder mark -- again impossible).
In the past I have noted places like Anybook and Woody's selling "New" copies of my books that I knew for certain they could not have. I have a suspicion that some of these sellers are actually scanning books with Optical-Character-Recognition software, then running them through Print-On-Demand programs in order to have books to sell.
I don't have any idea what to do about any of this...
Don't bother doing anything about the remainder bit.
DeleteThey write that the "Like New" copies have a remainder mark because if they blindly order copies in that condition from other sellers there is a substantial but not certain chance that those copies will be remainders.
As to your suspicion that Anybook and Woody's are counterfeiting your product, I can tell you that I've never heard of them doing this.
Their business model is offering stuff they don't have for sale and ordering it from other people that do.
I'm aware that these guys *DO* have a small quantity of items which are real, but the odds of any given item in their catalog being real are extremely small, so don't worry about it.
In your shoes, I would completely ignore this.
Hi Tom, thanks for your reply.
ReplyDeleteAs to the counterfeit situation, here’s why I think that might be happening.
One of my books was published 19 years ago. After 12 years, the publisher decided to OOP it when the last copies sold. I asked him to sell me any returns that trickled in, but none did. For 1 ½ years, genuinely “used” copies showed up frequently at Amazon, but after a while the numbers were down to just a few, then stopped completely for several months. After that brand new copies started showing up on Amazon. They were being sold by sellers such as Woody’s Books, Anybook (both of which had new and used/like-new copies), the Book Depository, a few others, and strangely, Amazon UK.
At this point I checked with the publisher, who’s always been very trustworthy. He was able to explain where 4 of the new books had come from (his UK distributor selling off the last of what they had), but not the others. I ordered a few of these new books, trying to see if they looked any different than the originals, but they didn’t. The same thing started to happen with one of my other OOP books, and then with yet another book to which I own the copyrights but didn’t write. I wondered how these NEW copies kept turning up, when most if not all of the inventory had been accounted for. After a while I got so discouraged I stopped checking, knowing there was nothing I could do.
As of today, there are 5 brand new copies of my book that’s been out of print for 7 years available on Amazon UK, and another one on Amazon US. Another of my OOP books shows 8 new copies (DailyDeal and Anybook are among the sellers). For 6 years I’ve controlled the only “new” inventory available on both these books, and because I have only a few left I stopped selling them about 3 years to save them for family members. So where are these new copies coming from? That is why I’m suspicious some of the big sellers might be printing up new copies.
Thanks for your blog; it's been a real revelation to read.
I would submit that some of the inexplicable "new" copies are sellers who are selling non-new copies as new.
DeleteSimplest explanation in my mind, because the economy of scale just isn't there for you to scan your book and then put it back in print.
These companies are BIG, they have plenty of other things to do besides invent weird book counterfeiting scams.
Tons of used books never get opened... dust jackets never get scuffed.. they get bought at an estate sale by a bookseller for pennies and then wind back up at the warehouse.
Somebody sees the book, grades it as new, and puts it in the pipe.
I would speculate that there are NOT five copies; there might be one copy on half.com and five spiders are relisting it.
DeleteI proved this on an item I had for sale on half.com; it was an uncommon item and I had the only reasonably priced copy. I doubled my price and watched the listings on Amazon. A couple of days later three of the Amazon sellers had raised their prices proportionately. [I did this test for a dozen items and almost always, the same spiders' listings reacted - either raised or vanished. It was all sellers mentioned in other comments.]
I'm sure you're right, and I've seen the same thing.
DeleteThese sellers do not make digital copies of OOP books. Where are the new copies coming from? Many times these are the review copies being sold off. Also, there are certain employees at different distribution centers and warehouses who are secretly on the take from one of the big discounters and they skim your orders and pilfer your inventory. If your book was to be pulped, sometimes a double agent employee at the warehouse gets an entire carton out the back door and delivered to these other sellers. Also, some people actually DO store books for years. It is entirely possible that someone has a new copy of a book out of print for decades because someone decided to archive it at the time of release.
DeleteWith any book search I see many sellers that have six digit feedback items. It is obvious that this market is over run by companies using these tactics and Amazon is ok with it. Your article was very enlightening and I will be more careful about whom I buy from in the future.
ReplyDeleteBook ordered --- 2 May
ReplyDeleteEmail conformation sent - 3 May
Sent by USPS with No tracking number, a bit strange
5 days later -- still not here and it was sent from a town 1 hour north of me
They weren't able to source a unit.
DeleteThey will claim that they sent it but that it was damaged in transit and returned to them.
Then they'll refund you.
Daily Deal USA located WA, lied to me. They said they shipped with in 2 days but they gave the order to another company which shipped it 7 days later via DHL which took 9 days to give it to usps. Daily Deal said they did not have tracking information. I have since learned this company has bad reputation; called a spider. They used Motor city Books in MI to fulfill the order. DHLGM#1072390683377013
ReplyDeleteI will not do business with them again.
Amazing that Amazon does not deal with this seller
NEVER BUY FROM DAILYDEAL BOOKSTORE VIA AMAZON
ReplyDeleteWish I had found this blog prior to buying from DailyDeal. I am an 80 yr old geezer who got took!
Ordered a month ago, have a multitude of various emails from DD, all apologetic, but no book and no refund.
In addition to spidering, they (and Amazon) are "kiting money" - - - billing you immediately, then holding it for 30 days (Amazon policy).
Also found it difficult to communicate directly with Amazon about this problem (EBAY is much easier to communicate with, and their refund policy is 5 star!, not 30 days)
Hope others will complain to Amazon, so they remove this rotten apple from their barrel of suppliers.
The truly unethical part of this is, in fact, that they knowingly charge credit cards of consumers in some cases when they KNOW for a fact that the book has not shipped.
Deletelastest reply from DD:
ReplyDeleteThank you for your message and for your continued patience with this delivery.
My apologies, I have just been informed by the carrier that the shipping method selected for this order (Standard), does not come with point-to-point tracking. I was assured, however, that you order is still on it's way and should be arriving shortly.
As per Amazon policy, I am not able to consider this item "lost" yet as the Estimated Delivery Window provided by Amazon has not yet expired.
We do make a full refund available for any items that are lost in the mail (it's rare, but it does sometimes happen). If this order has not arrived 30 days after your order date please let me know and I would be happy to post a full refund to your account.
-- Andy
This should confirm that they are "spidering" - - - also that they, and Amazon, are kiting money with this "30 day refund" policy.
Amazon should remove DD from their list of vendors, and also reduce time it takes to get a refund.
ps// Will someone pls explain how DD got such a rating for themselves on the Amazon site?
Most people are thrilled by their kind words and apparently good customer service.
DeleteIt sounds silly, but it is true.
Here's the real truth on feedback and spidering... Many spiders list and purchase brisk selling popular books just to boost their feedback rating. Typically, these books are purchased and drop shipped from a reseller and sent to their customer at a break even price just to hopefully boost their feedback numbers. As a veteran bookseller, I have seen this tactic used over and over again. Popular nonfiction titles such as "Babywise", "What to expect when you are expecting" are favorites for those wanting to boost feedback (as long as something doesn't go wrong). I sell these over and over to these outfits. Daily Deal (Library Services) likes to purchase "Grapes of Wrath" to boost their feedback.
DeleteThese places purchase these fast sellers from better sellers at break even pricing to prop up their failing feedback. Using highly rated booksellers with an excellent reputation, that state they ship daily and the book does not have a remainder mark and use tracking usually insure the sale will go through to delivery without a hitch. Daily Deal and other spiders use this tactic to dilute all their negatives. As a bookseller with 14 years online experience, what bothers me most is the spiders that purchase my like-new books and then list them on their own site as New. Then, the same spider buys my new inventory to boost their own failing feedback. If I cancel the spiders order, my own seller metrics are negatively effected. Amazon monitors post sale cancellation rates and if this metric gets too high, a seller can use their selling privileges on Amazon!
The other thing to keep in mind is that DD is not an American company. I believe they are located in India, and use Portland for a shipping address. Portland has companies that offer receiving services and postal addresses for foreign-based mail order businesses. Some time back, when the internet was down in India for a few days, DD was absent from the internet. When internet service was restored in India, DD magically reappeared.
ReplyDeleteI have received this same exact message several times from DailyDeals-USA
ReplyDelete================================================
On Nov 30, 2012 6:26 PM, "DailyDeal USA - Amazon Marketplace" wrote:
An employee at our warehouse notified us that your book has an unacceptable amount of damage pertaining to the spine. This damage has caused your book to lose some pages.
I wanted to make sure you are 100% satisfied with your purchase and did not want you to receive a damaged product.
As such, I have just disposed of this book and posted a full refund to your account.
I would have preferred to send a replacement item to you. However, we no longer have any more copies of this particular book.
I sincerely apologize for this.
Regards -- DailyDeal
================================================
After not receiving a book for over 45 days, I sent this message..
ReplyDelete"I still have not recieved my textbook."
----------------------------------------------
They responded back...
Thank you for contacting us.
We have received your question and will get back to you as soon as possible.
Your total satisfaction is very important to us.
We will do our best to resolve any concern you have encountered.
Kind regards,
DailyDeal
------------------------------------------------
Then They responed back...
"I'm sorry to hear that your order has not yet arrived. Your order was received on January 1 and shipped within two business days."
Here's the shipping address:
First Last
Address
City
ST
Zipcode
United States
Is this address correct?
Thanks,
-- Jennifer
------------------------------------------------
I responded back...
"Yes, This is my mailing address, and nothing has been delivered."
------------------------------------------------
They responded back...
An employee at our warehouse notified us that your book has an unacceptable amount of damage pertaining to the spine. This damage has caused your book to lose some pages.
I wanted to make sure you are 100% satisfied with your purchase and did not want you to receive a damaged product.
As such, I have just disposed of this book and posted a full refund to your account.
I would have preferred to send a replacement item to you. However, we no longer have any more copies of this particular book.
I sincerely apologize for this.
Regards -- DailyDeal
-------------------------------------------------
They DID NOT give me a refund. I had to file an A-to-Z Complaint to get my money back. DO NOT USE THIS AMAZON SELLER - EVER !!!!
Is just ordered a book from these people. From what I have read on here...I hope this book reaches me. D: They said its already shipped.
ReplyDeleteI'm having the same type of problem with this bookseller. Why Amazon allows this is a good question. Oh, wait, the reason is money.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, thanks for the posting it was very helpful.
I also had a problem with this seller, and the book was not the condition as described. That was bad enough, but they lied about Amazon's condition guidelines -- I researched the guidelines, and quoted the guidelines back to them -- I never received a reply or apology. BTW, when I first contacted them, I too, got a snarky comment that if I wanted better condition I should have ordered a higher quality book. The ability to buy hard-to-find books with Amazon is a good service, and I think that it is to Amazon's benefit (I think Amazon gets a percentage), but it does make me annoyed with Amazon.
ReplyDeleteJust to add to the list of complaints.
ReplyDeleteI ordered 2 books in May. One arrived but turned out to be a different book when I gave it to my mother (it was greek so I didnt realise at first).
The second didnt turn up for 2 months, they refused to refund me meanwhile. When it did arrive it was from a third party in a different country, was in poor condition and wasnt priced at the amount I paid Dailydeals but much lower. Still refusing to refund me at present.
Yes this company are a fraud. Ditch them AMAZON please
Looks like I am lucky my textbook arrived. I was all prepared to give them a good rating (book arrived a day before the arrival window began and was nicely wrapped) until I realized the invoice in my package had a price on it that was $15 less than I paid DailyDeals USA. Then I noticed the package was actually from Half Price Books in Houston. I suppose I was naive to think the reseller actually had the book in their hands.
ReplyDeleteI was just about to buy a book from them because they claim to be in WA (where I am as well). Good thing I researched first. Thank you for this blog post.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why this arrogant, shady business is still allowed to sell on Amazon after seeing this website. DailyDeal USA sent a $100 book out to me poorly packaged, no tracking number, and from some random individual. I gave them 3 out of 5 stars. Found out that due to the poor packaging, the book was damaged. I asked about their refund or exchange policy. They sent me a response saying remove the negative feedback I left and then e-mail them again. Contacted Amazon and was told they are not allowed to demand me to remove feedback in order to get a refund. Amazon sent them an e-mail telling them to notify me of their refund policy. They still refused. I had to put in an A-to-Z Guarantee claim through Amazon and it was just granted. I received a full refund and did not have to go through the hassle of shipping the book back probably because we have no idea where to ship it back. If I had any control over Amazon, DailyDeal USA would be forbidden to continue any business on the site, especially if they think they are above to responding to Amazon or think they do not have to follow policy. Luckily, I haven't had any other problems with other sellers on Amazon, just this one.
ReplyDeleteFirst, thanks to Tom Jones for publicizing these ctimes. You've done a great service. But to all the readers of this blog who've written again and again, "Why doesn't Amazon do something about this?" or "We should notify Amazon..." etc., I say, "Well what are we all waiting for?" Tom can't do it all alone. Let's bombard Amazon with complaints about these "spiders" and let's get the word out to everyone we know. Call your local newspapers, call your local tv stations. Put it on Twitter. Put it on Facebook. Write about it in your own blogs. If we don't fight back, who will? Bad publicity may be the only weapon we can wield for free but it is a powerful one indeed. Enough bad publicity and every player in this arena will be forced to clean up their act. Congress may be gridlocked but WE aren't. WE are the change we've been waiting for.
ReplyDeleteI am soooooo grateful for this series of information. I purchased a book for my son for school on July 17th from DailyDeal USA on Amazon. My Amazon account states that the book was shipped 2 days after it was ordered (and for which I paid $49.30) but gives no tracking information. I contacted DailyDeal USA on Aug 9th and again on Aug 13th and on both occasions received a generic message signed by an Andy telling me that the book had been shipped. On Aug 14th I filed an AtoZ Guarandtee Claim through Amazon, for which I have not received a response. On Aug 14th I was also called on my office phone by a woman who presumably DailyDeal USA purchased the book I ordered from them from (she is an Ebay seller) and to whom DailyDeal USA gave my name and mailing address to. She is being asked for a refund, again presumably by DealyDeal USA (her sale price was $16 BTW), for the book that she put into the mail to me and that has been lost by the USPS. So right now, this woman is out of her book, DailyDeal USA is asking her for their $16, I filed a refund of my $49.30 from DailyDeal USA through Amazon, and this PUNK, whomever he/she is, is still doing business. I think is time for US the people to shut DailyDeal USA down! At least until they set up shop under another name.
ReplyDeleteSo upset right now.
ME TOO, I think Amazon should completely ban any one from that company from using them. The customer service dept emailed me after I wrote a really harsh comment asking me to "REMOVE" what I said. Apparently after a day of comments it was moved out of sight anyways. (DARN) I placed exactly what happen and was completely honest. I told them if they give me a GOOD honest reason I may remove it, still have not heard back.
DeleteEven though this company is still in operation and doing well, I thinkt hey should band this seller. The book I ordered sold for $2.62, its a used text book that's a short read for a philosophy class. Well they never sent it to me, and upon checking they had it for sale still, but for $17.60 as used. IT didn't make since that they sold it to me already, and then figured they could get it for more money after they "sold" it to me. So instead of explaining why they didn't send it, and being honest, they said sorry we don't have it, while Amazon customer service could see they company did have more, but was the company was deceitful and acted like they had no idea of having more copies somewhere.
ReplyDeleteThey actually never had it. They list books the other sellers have on their site, and once someone purchases the book from them they then go and try to purchase it from someone else. My guess is that they cannot find another copy cheap enough to send you.
DeleteWow, I wish I saw this a week ago. I ordered a book from Daily Deals USA for $24.57. It arrived today but was from Book Depository with an invoice for $19.41 and different order number. I sent a message to both DD USA and Book Depository. I chatted with Amazon ad found out the 2nd order (from BD) was made on my behalf from Campus Purchasing and with a gift card. What the heck? Sounds like fraud to me.
ReplyDeleteProbably use the name Campus Purchasing for some of their buys to stay under the radar of the competition.
ReplyDeleteI doubt they're embezzling or using stolen gift cards to buy... if they were, they'd have gotten busted years ago.
Is there any way we could MAKE money off of this little endeavor. Say we all order a high dollar item from Daily Deals USA, claim that it was damaged in shipping and ask to return it. When they refuse we do the A-Z Guarantee from Amazon and get our refund and keep our pricy item... think it would work?
ReplyDelete-Eric
They would let you return it, I believe.
DeleteIs there some evidence you're aware of that they refuse returns?
Tom, you may want to remove that message from 'Anonymous' on September 8, 2013 at 7:00 AM.
ReplyDeletePromoting fraud could get your blog taken down, not to mention the moral implications.
Given that he posted a non-workable plan, I'm leaving it up.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteYes Tom you make it difficult for those that have a real Issue with DailyDeals USA. I for one, this company is a rip off, I suggest that every person that has had a problem with DailyDeals USA report them to the Better Business Borough, Complain about them to Amazon (if you went through them) also file a complaint with your states attorney,the local DA, you're Governor, and their states attorney, DA and Governor.you can go as far as the congress, and the White house if you want.
ReplyDeleteSpent $5.00 after shipping for a former library book in good condition. It is so heavily water damaged, the pages so wrinkled, the book won't close properly. Even the library noted the damage next to a big pink stain on the back inside cover. There's a big green "D" and other markings on the front inside cover - does that mean "discard"? To top it off it was drop shipped from Auburn, WA, although Atlanta, GA was on the invoice. I gave them one star and a scathing review, got an email from them offering to refund, ignored it. Rather get the truth out than be bought off. Will contact amazon and the BBB.
ReplyDeleteIf your book was sent from Atlanta Book co. They have free shipping. File a complaint with the local U.S. District Attorney for wire fraud if daily deals charged you shipping. That's what I'm doing on Monday in Seattle.
DeleteThey are just a middleman. I ordered my item on 9-6-13 @ 6:29 pm through Amazon. They said they shipped it on Sunday, 9-8-13 @ 8:34 pm. I received it on 9-19-13. It came from a different bookstore. They do not have a website, address or email.
ReplyDeleteI also am a victom I wish had seen this before I ordered through Daily Deals USA. I purchased my sister in laws new book which was only supposed to be preordered the book doesnt come out till Oct 1st. They sold me a distrubuters copy which is a sample book to see if they want it for there stores which clearly states not for sale and they charged me a hard cover and recieved a soft copy that is when I asked her about this and she asked me if the book said not for sale. I said yes it states that and this seller sold me this!!I cant believe this experience its nice to know the writer. So now I know I will order not through Amazon because i dont know the 3 party if they are trustworthy. I will end up buying it from Barnes and Noble. She did say that her book is only comming out in hard cover not soft cover and also comming out on Kindle. Know I am waiting for my full refund. This business also asked me to take my negetive feedback off I dont think so and Amazon said they are doing a investigation on this company I hope they dont let them sell on Amzon anymore. This happened to alot of people. We need to stop this from happening
ReplyDeleteI ordered a book from Daily through Amazon. When the arrival date came and went, I contacted Daily. They said there was no tracking available and they couldn't refund my money until my book was a month late. My book came shortly after I contacted them. It was in an envelope with no wrapping, leaving the corners to bang around. And there was no paper work. I wrote a review on Amazon giving them one star, saying I would never buy from them again. The next day I received this email:
ReplyDelete"We received negative feedback for this order and it appears that your order was slow to arrive.
I have been authorized to give you a partial or full refund to your postage and packaging costs, whichever you feel is appropriate.
However, I am hoping that you will remove your feedback (though this is not required) by clicking on the following link."
Sorry, Daily. Washington maybe for sale, but I am not. People need to know about you.
I agree, something smells here.
For all of you that have had issues with shipping time... when you choose the $3.99 standard shipping you are paying for USPS Media Mail, which is a slower rate and does not include tracking. If you are so desperate to get your stuff shell out the extra $2 for expedited shipping, which will most likely be UPS or USPS Priority Mail and requires tracking.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteActually, the problem with shipping time is the time it takes them to order from someone who actually has the book, and then that person to ship... or cancel, at which point Daily Deal has to find another vendor.
DeleteI ordered a book from DailyDeal USA and only later came across this website, although I did "due diligence" about this Amazon Marketplace Seller.
ReplyDeleteI braced for the worse. But lo and behold, the book arrived as expected and in pristine condition. But the packaging was minimal and damaged. The following feedback was left about the Seller on Amazon's feedback page:
"Where is DeailyDeal USA? The book arrived quickly, as advertised, in new condition. However, the thin and barely padded envelope was torn open with part of the front cover showing through. The return address, somewhere in New Jersey, was illegibly scrawled on the envelope with no receipt or packing slip enclosed. Rather sloppy. Relieved the book arrived in the promised condition."
An hour later, the following email appeared in my Inbox:
"Thank you for your Amazon purchase.
We received negative feedback for this order and it appears that your item arrived in sub-par condition.
I have been authorized to give you a partial refund to your book cost to make up for the less-than-perfect quality.
However, I am hoping that you will remove your feedback (though this is not required) by clicking on the following link:
* http://www.amazon.com/gp/feedback/remove-customer-feedback.html/ref=fb_ty_rm?ie=UTF8&marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER&feedbackID=A2ZMWEOWOYSSFM&isCBA=">Feedback Removal Link
Thank you. I look forward to your response."
Are they serious? While I appreciate the partial refund, they do not address the problems/issues raised in my feedback. In light of the comments left by others on the blog, I have forwarded their email to Amazon, asking if such behaviour by a Marketplace Seller is permissible? Smacks of "quid pro co." Rather interested in what response, if any, will come from Amazon.
Keep us updated!
Deletebelltowerbooks in Amazon is also DD. Some other book sellers that I find practicing spider (i.e. giving me fake tracking info, the same scripted email-response from seemingly different sellers): Silver Arch Books, motor_city_books, ph9.
ReplyDeleteaka DD: digital frontier US, any_book
ReplyDeleteThanks for that, I'd never guessed on some of those!
DeleteNo no no, Silver Arch and Motor City is part of Thrift Books, they are not DD. DD probably purchased books through these outfits and you are probably seeing their names on the packing slips. DD is somewhat new on the scene, Belltower has been around for a long time, they are definitely not DD. Any-Book is a notorious long time drop shipper, very well known among book sellers, definitely not DD although they operate in a similar fashion.
ReplyDeleteI just canceled a DailyDeal USA order. If you are in the state of California or the United States and have a pending transaction with
ReplyDelete"DailyDeal USA" This practice should be illegal in the State of California for the reason, I was a victim of identity theft and I don't want Amazon using my credit card as a proxy transaction. DailyDeal USA (i.e., Amazon) does not list the location of the item, From looking at this thread this is a very dangerous business practice on Amazons' part.If you have dealt with one of these proxy shippers I would advise you contact the California attorney generals public inquiry unit about Amazon's (headquarters are located in California). (http://oag.ca.gov/consumers) Basically Amazon is allowing these 'fishing' and allowing it. As a consumer and a victim of identity theft why shouldn't have to endure this 'bait and switch or steal' tactic. Does anybody know if this book/drop shipper related to the eBay seller: dailydealsusa? Amazon just lost about half its credibilty with me. Lesson -- SCRUTINIZE ALL AMAZON transactions.
Yes, Daily Deal USA on Ebay is the same. Daily Deal purchases books from third party sellers under the name of Library Services on Half.com (cheaper shipping there plus this way Amazon can't track Daily Deal as a drop shipper or spider. Many "spiders" sell on one venue and purchase what they have shipped to you from a totally different venue where they have a different buyer name that will not be recognizable. Many Daily Deal purchases are made on Half.com and shipped to their Amazon customers. I sell books across many venues including Amazon and Half.com and 90% of their purchases from my store are through half.com. I sometimes get five to ten orders from them a day during periods of rapid sales such a semester start-ups and Christmas shopping. If you purchase a book through Daily Deal, rest assured, if they purchase the book through my store to fulfill your order, I pack and wrap every order to ensure safe undamaged arrival. I know many other veteran sellers will do the same, this is why many customers leave Daily Deal positive feedback. It is the amateur sellers that screw things up, if you had a bad experience with a Daily Deal order, it was probably a novice seller Daily Deal used for the purchase and this seller messed things up. Unfortunately, if you would have selected my store instead of Daily Deal, you would have saved money. My feedback is much better than Daily Deal so it always perplexes me why the sale will go to them over me. I guess they look reputable because they have millions and millions of sales every year, vs. my two thousand sales a year. Daily Deal likes to purchase Brand New books from me because I always note in my seller description that the book doesn't have a publishers remainder make (like many discounted books do) and I always forward tracking information and shipment notification emails. They must like this because they give me quite a lot of business these days. I also fulfill many of their international orders, these are purchased from my store through Amazon and I ship them to their international customers. I get many positive feedback's from Daily Deal and I always leave the same.
ReplyDeleteDaily Deal's business model is different that some of the other drop-shippers, they only make a few dollars per sale and rely on volume to add up their profits. International Books, Quality7 and Brookebooks are the sleazy ones that really overprice.
To everyone here - speak with your States' Attorney Generals' offices, or your States' Corporation Commission, etc. By allowing this fraudulent behavior to continue after being notified repeatedly, Amazon is violating the Federal Trade Commission Act. It is your right as consumers to file with both State and Federal regulatory bodies. Amazon's practice of allowing this is anti-competitive, bad for the consumer, bad for honest vendors, and in the end will be bad for Amazon's stock price as people jump ship to other modes of transacting business. I know I will never be doing business with them again.
ReplyDeleteI so wish i had found this post before ordering from this useless company. The fact i live in Washington and the delivery date was so long should have been a clue but at least now i know what seller to avoid.
ReplyDeleteFolks, I believe the process of drop shipping is bait and switching. For these reasons. Amazon and eBay are in collusion with the United States postal service. Let's take a look
ReplyDeleteat the key word --- collusion.
1. First of all a shopify.com guide in drop shipping states - under the section. "Exposure of Sales Data...ultimately push(ing) out other merchants selling through its marketplace."
Now you know why when you search on Amazon you do not see your local bookstore's site or your local bookstore's is buried amongst the drop shippers? eBay is doing the
same B/S by pushing local eBay sellers and padding searches to favor these drop shippers. This can be demonstrated by searching eBay's 'completed items' search. Many a time I've seen local sellers or item that are either won by a drop shipper or not sold at a premium prices because the low rated seller is ignorant of the legerdemain.
2. The United States post service (USPS) in conjunction with Amazon and eBay offer free shipping but there is no DEFINITIVE manner in which a transaction can be tracked. Only if it's purchased through Amazon or certain eBay sellers
can one be guaranteed tracking.
Recently, the post office renamed delivery confirmation now calling it 'tracking' but there is caveat. As a result of choosing the lesser of two evils -- free shipping. The USPS is shipping your item to these non-union processing postal sorting facilities. . This is one on the West coast...
(see: http://www.yelp.com/biz/united-states-post-office-bell-
gardens?nb=1) the complaints are in black & white. Remember there is no 'delivery confirmation'? There is something wrong with that picture. The majority of the time during the payment process the -- consumer -- is not offered tracking or an option of using the major shipping competitors DHL, FedEx or United Parcel Post. These companies are favoring these bulk
drop shippers and shutting out local book dealers.
I get the feeling too many consumers aren't complaining and local merchants are getting the worse deal when it comes to utilizing Amazon and eBay because these internet titans
are favoring drop shippers via the USPS.
Did anybody note that Amazon recently showed sic., location where the item is being either processed or shipped? They're still not revealing where the item is coming from?
Amazon needs to reveal the name of the business and actual location where the book/item is coming from.
I can best liken the scenario of browsing eBay/Amazon as walking down the streets of third world city with the nagging (drop shippers) merchants.
There is one clue to circumvent the dreaded drop shipper. Email them via Amazon/eBay and ask them about the item/book if they're a drop shipper, if they are in possession of
the item/book. Insist on an alternative shipping method -- not the USPS. If they fail to respond then move on.
I bought 3 books represented as new, that were most assuredly not new. They are collectibles. I paid an absurd amount per book. The first book arrives. It is so mangled that it is virtually unusable. I complain to the seller. I tell them there is no way I am paying to have a fraudulently sold product returned to them, that they have already wasted enough of my time and money with their fraud, and that they will send me a pre-paid shipping label and the required packaging to return their book back to them. I get my money back, and I will send the book back. They give me a prewritten response, "You should have received the item EXACTLY as described. Our apologies, we ship so many items that some times things fall though the cracks. Keep the book and we will refund 50% of the cost, or return it for a refund in full." I respond with a mail reiterating that there is no way I am spending one more cent or even a little of my time to correct their fraud, "you send me all the materials I need to return your book, and I will return it to you." Daily Deal USA gives up and refunds my money and simply says, "Keep the book."
ReplyDeleteThen, the remainder of the order arrives the following week. Each of the books was sent from a different buyer. This validates the feedback on the Blog that Daily Deal USA is nothing more than a company using a spider/crawler to find things to sell. Big Problem for them ... the other books I received were from a Goodwill Industries in Florida, and from Thriftbooks, two reputable sellers of USED BOOKS!
So, I write Daily Deal and tell them, you are defrauding people. The books you sold me were listed as New/Unused/In perfect condition. Give me all my money back. Send me the mailing materials at your cost to return the items to you. When you credit my account my money, I will return. They hit me back with the same standard e-mail about how it is rare but sometimes things fall through the cracks. I reply confronting them with the fact if things through the crack on are occasions, that is impossible that every book I received from one order 100% fell through the cracks. Daily Deal USA goes silent. So, I involve Amazon.
At this juncture Amazon has told the seller to send me return shipping and to refund me completely. I'll believe it when I see it, but more so.... I have told Amazon that this is a case of documented fraud and they need to shut this seller down. I will post results if and when they come in.
Thank you, blogger and all commenters - I'm an Amazon Seller (5+ years) and have run into problems with Campus Purchasing and Library Services. Have decided to handle existing issues with them by insisting they use Amazon's official return/refund procedure, and canceling orders.
ReplyDeleteSpidering, arbitrage across the Canadian border - all those people can wallow in their own mud. No need to do business with them.
I'm a UK seller. Campus Purchasing bought a book from me on US Amazon site and DailyDeal USA sold it to a US buyer with 30% markup on my price on US Amazon. Presumably the US buyer bought it because he thought it would come from USA.
ReplyDeleteDailyDeal's sin - and it's a big one - has been consciously, routinely and systematically offering buyers "brand new books in perfect condition", and then, to complete a sale, ordering a copy that they know to be used, to be drop-shipped from a third party vendor. This is outright fraud, and constitutes the legal definition of fraud. Any car dealer caught doing the same thing with used automobiles would go to jail. Amazon's book-grading terms: Fair, good, very good and like new are vague enough to be open to interpretation, where fudging can be gotten away with, but "New" has a definite and specific legal meaning. And if Amazon itself is aware of DailyDeal's ongoing fraud, they could also be prosecuted, (or sued by a clever and ambitious lawyer) for collusion - after all, it could be shown that Amazon directly benefits from these sales, as they often receive two commissions instead of one - the initial customer order, and then Daily Deal's second order, from another Marketplace vendor. There are also Federal implications, as these fraudulent transaction almost always cross state lines...
ReplyDeleteThe bookseller/commenter above that claims that DailyDeal just makes a little on each transaction is quite wrong, as DailyDeal's own Amazon feedbacks will attest. Just today (Dec 10) there are at least ten negative feedbacks complaining of less-than-new condition for allegedly New book purchases, and three of them share their purchase price compared to the price sticker ($1.00 in one case) on the book.
In the last couple of weeks, DD seems to have backed off from its aggressive "New" book listings, dropping down to third or fourth least expensive in this category. Perhaps they follow this blog and have gotten a bit nervous.
We sell books on Amazon, and sell to many drop-shippers. While most seem to be forthright about matters of condition with their customers, we suspect that Dailydeal is not alone. But in our experience they are by far the worst and most blatant offenders in the New/Used misrepresentation game.
And how do they keep the negative feedback down? This is what they sent me after I complained about the 30+ day shipping time for a single book:
ReplyDeleteThank you for your Amazon purchase.
We received negative feedback for this order and it appears that your order was slow to arrive.
I have been authorized to give you a partial or full refund to your postage and packaging costs, whichever you feel is appropriate.
However, I am hoping that you will remove your feedback (though this is not required) by clicking on the following link:
[...]
Thank you. I look forward to your response.
-- Nadia
Hah! Sorry Nadia, no deal for you.
Here is a list of other sellers that appear to engage in similar practices:
ReplyDeleteHighland Park Book Company
University District Books
OwlsBooks
Bobs Books (JRM) of Romulus, MI, U.S.A.
Sparks Distribution Services of Sparks, NV, U.S.A.
After reading all of this feedback I have to say that I ended up pretty lucky with my purchase but did encounter some of the sketchy problems mentioned throughout the comments. I just recently ordered a textbook through this seller on Amazon. The textbook was nearly $100 (which was still actually way cheaper than I would've spent buying it elsewhere, so I decided to purchase it.) It shipped on time and since I live in WA and it said that the seller ships from WA I figured I would receive it in a few days. I was slightly concerned however that after a little more than a day, no tracking information was found. Luckily about a couple of days later I received my book. Though when I got the package it said on the packaging that the bookseller was located in and the book was shipped from Oregon. The invoice did not indicate a price, so I can't say for sure that the book was bought for a lower price by DD USA. The book was also in a more used condition than was indicated on the description on Amazon but other than those things, my experience went smoothly. But based on those few things and everything else I read on here, I will not be buying from that seller again.
ReplyDeleteI just had a similar experience with this outfit.
DeleteAs a book publisher and author of 17 books; there is more that goes on than this. These online stores undercut the publisher by a very small amount, saying they also have the book as "new." Say, I publish a book at $14.95, they will offer it new at $14.50. They do not carry the book on their shelves, they print it on demand through Lightning Source.
ReplyDeleteYou see, a book that is $14.95 brings us as the publisher about $6.00 on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. If it is sold by another store on Amazon, our percentage drops down to about $1.85, because that site, who undercut us gets the rest of that $6.00.
In other words, they do not carry the book, they have not put any investment in the book, they just undercut and list it, stealing the sales from those that worked hard to bring that book to life. Then, at each sale, they process it as a print on demand from Lightning Source (www.lightningsource.com/).
This is downright stealing. I have called Amazon and Lightning Source and they act as though they could care less.
I am also intrigued - simply don't make your POD files available to Lightning Source - or, make sure that the contract you have with them doesn't allow them to sell your books to retailers. It's all part of the contract agreement you set up , as the copyright owner , with Lightning Source. it is not stealing / theft - it's you not having set up the correct contract with LS
DeleteWow - This is fascinating! I just visited the Ingram (bigtime, mainline book distribution company) site, which www.lightningsource.con sent me to. Are you saying that other vendors are submitting your pdf file to them, having it printed/made into an ebook, and then selling it under your price? This is outright copyright infringement!
ReplyDeletePlease add more detail!
"I ordered a new book for $25.98. My gift recipient received a $2.00 used book. The seller did not refund my money. They responded promptly that there must have been a mix up on the invoice - which was exactly correct, except that the description of the item (used, $2.00) did not match the description of the item on the invoice on the order on the Amazon website (new, $25.98)."
ReplyDeleteM S., January 18, 2014
Certainly a scumbag move, there.
DeleteI am a seller on half.com and I believe that user "Library_Services" is the dropship account for Daily Deals. I had not experienced this in past sales, at least that I recognized, but I sold a dozen or so books this past week all to said seller and all were mailed to various addresses throughout the US. I can't complain because I get paid, and hopefully the end buyer is happy as I try my best to list accurately and conservatively BUT obviously cannot control for what middle-man is offering to end buyer. Its fascinating to me that these dropshippers have effectively found a way to add another layer as a second middle man: Me -> Half.com -> Drop Shipper -> End Buyer. The internet is there folks, look at ALL suppliers to find ME!
ReplyDeleteBottom line is if you are buying books review seller feedback. It's easy. When I buy I will be willing to pay a bit more for a book that has a description that was clearly authored by a person and actually details flaws with the book. Also I pay more attention to length of account than # of inventory or # of sales.
Ditto. I got BURNT by this scam artist posing as "Campus Purchasing" but when the buyer complained that the condition of book was misrepresented for the price (Campus Purchasing had conveniently told me NOT to send any pricing info with my sale)...C.P. came THREATENING me w/A-Z claim! I had NOT misrepresented my book & it even included photos! I refunded and asked for book back. When book arrived, Lo & Behold, the "secret identity" unmasked--Campus Purchasing is DailyDeal USA for the REAL BUYER the recipient was smart enough to enclose the CORRESPONDENCE between who he bought from ...nice little "operation" they have a VIRTUAL inventory & bank all shipping fees PLUS any complaints, they offer a refund or knock something off price & let poor victim buyer keep book while they KEEP BIG PROFIT and the ORIGINAL AMAZON MERCHANT gets burnt!
DeleteYou are 100% correct. I too sell on Half.com and have sold many books to "Library Services" yet every book would go to someone different. Only recently did I finally make the connection. They are finding the books on Half and posting them on Amazon at a marked up price. The logic of the complaints here escapes me... If you are looking for a book at a good price, then spend a little time looking beyond Amazon. Skip the middle person and save the money by putting some effort into searching for the book at a better price.
DeleteI ordered a book from Daily Deals ten days ago for shipment to New York state, and it still hasn't arrived. I ordered two other books from two other independent sellers that same day, paying the same shipping rate, and those two arrived within like 2 to 4 days. I bet I am going to get burned, and will have to order a copy from Amazon directly (luckily only $12). Thank you for exposing these scam artists.
ReplyDeleteWe are a seller based in the UK and we drop ship quite regularly for a buyer "Campus Purchasing" but upon some digging we have worked out they are a competing seller "DailyDeals UK"
ReplyDeleteDailyDeal USA also has automatic undercut pricing, so that if a seller lists an item under their price, their program will undercut it within a few hours. Two such programs, battling against each other can turn a thousand dollar book to one cent in a matter of hours.
ReplyDeleteDailyDeals USA currently has numerous used books listed $999.11. Can someone please explain to me what could possibly be the purpose for this? Many are new best sellers, but some are small publications by up and coming authors. And for those guys especially, their price effects what the authors can set their price at. What on earth is the purpose of this??? They even are listing Roku devices (used AND new!?!) all for that strange price.
ReplyDeleteWe think that these super-high prices serve as DailyDeal's place-holders for those books/items; they aren't yet prepared to offer it for sale (no one will actually buy them for that price), but are then primed to do so when another vendor offers it for sale at a price that they can then do something with. Their automatic pricing software, which they have probably refined and developed for their own purposes, will then alert them to the opportunity, and lower their $999.11 price to a competitive price.
DeleteAs a small, independent bookseller, I am sick and tired of the shady business practices of these spiders. Look at all the comments above by people that will not order from Amazon AT ALL because of a bad experience with Daily Deal, or Any_Book, and any of the others. These bad experiences damage the business of those of us who are honest sellers, who only list what we sell, who package books properly for shipping, etc.
ReplyDeleteSince I don't condone, nor do I want to support spider practices, whenever I've identified one of these operations as buying from me on Half.com, I've added their buyer names to my eBay blocked bidder list so they can't buy from me on Half. If all sellers did this, thereby cutting off their source of supply, they wouldn't be in business very long. But as long as sellers continue to fulfill their orders, they aren't going to go away. And people who could have been OUR customers will continue to get burned.
Easy to explain, they keep the Amazon fees if buyer cancels and 15% (average) is $149...Not bad for an outfit that carries a VIRTUAL "inventory".
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what you mean here: DailyDeal doesn't keep the Amazon fees. If the order goes through, the 15% Amazon fee (commission) goes to Amazon. If the order doesn't go through, if it's cancelled, the 15% Amazon fee doesn't go to Amazon. It doesn't go to DailyDeal regardless.
Delete"Book listed as "new" quality. It was DEFINITELY not new quality. It was only at best. Also, packing list showed a price of "$0.96" though it was listed on Amazon for $18. Why such a difference?? I'm not happy and WILL NOT be buying from DailyDeal USA again."
ReplyDeleteCourtney, January 25, 2014
"Seller dropshipped my order from an outside website with a substantial upcharge. The quality of the textbook was much worse than described (possibly because DailyDeal USA never actually touched the textbook?) and DailyDeal USA ignored my return request for over a month, then closed the request with a false reason. Avoid if you're looking to buy from an honest seller."
ReplyDeleteMatt M, January 25, 2014
I looked up a book entitled "Green Hell" by Julian DeGuid on the Amazon website. There were a few used paperback editions available with the lowest going for something like $24.95. and three of them for a bit more.
ReplyDeleteThe last one from DailyDeal USA was for $999.11. A new hardcover is under $100. Who are these guys? They are hoping somebody misclicks and orders the $999 paperback.
I tried to alert Amazon.com and wondered why they would include an obvious ripoff as a seller but received only a response from Amazon that I had the wrong address. Stay away from DailyDeal USA. Seems to me they are running a scam.
JT
"Hello, my name is Jvon Howard, The reason for my email is to inform you that there was writing and check marks in pencil on the pages of the book "Six Weeks to Word Power" that I spent $90 on and I really do not appreciate it. When you sell something stating that what your selling is "NEW" not "used" you should not charge new prices for used items; that is considered false advertisement."
ReplyDeleteJvon H., January 31, 2014
"This book was advertised as "NEW". New is defined as "Brand New, Unread Copy in Perfect Condition". I'm thinking when excerpts are highlighted with a yellow highlighter and pages are dog earred, the book is no longer "Brand New, and Unread"! NOT COOL DAILYDEAL USA!!!! Watch out for false advertising from these guys!!"
ReplyDeleteNancy M., February 4, 2014
"I purchased a NEW copy from you and what I got was a USED: Very Good with Rare marks and Light Wear which was bought from e-bay #341585830088-93945352101. This is very very disappointing as it has cost me so much for this copy US$83.19. It is going to cost me a lot to send this back within the 7 days as stated on the Packing Slip."
ReplyDeleteKhalied, February 6, 2014
I purchased a textbook for a college class on January 2, 2014 that was sold by Daily Deal USA on Amazon. The delivery estimate said book would arrive 1-9-14 to 1-24-14. I contacted seller, and they kept saying to wait another week for delivery. I could not wait since my class started, so I had to purchase another copy of the book elsewhere. The book finally arrived way past the delivery deadline, and I did not accept it, and it was sent back to Daily Deal USA. The book was mailed from Turkey- no wonder it took so long. I thought they were in Washington. I was denied a refund. Do not do business with this company.
ReplyDeleteI published thru Createspace back in 2008. My book was taken out of print a year ago. Still listed as "new" on Amazon Marketplace thru Daily Deals. In fact the only copies available are thru Daily Deals on Amazon. Two copies listed as new. 7 more copies are listed as good and used. I find this hard to believe when I own most of the copies and very few books were printed. Sent DMCA notices to both. Amazon still does not stop Daily Deal. Should Amazon and Daily Deal continue to get away with this? Small Publisher and Authors should wise up. Our intellectual rights are being ripped off.
ReplyDeleteFrom the eBay number above, the book appears to be "Geographic Information Systems", 6 used copies of which are currently available on eBay for $11.78
ReplyDelete"Let me start by stating that I am not an impulsive and upset customer. I'm writing this review after many attempts to resolve the problem privately. This seller is a fake and all of these "great" reviews are fake also. Amazon knows about this but have informed me that they cannot change the sellers reviews. DO NOT USE THIS SELLER. Just leaves you out however much money they charged you."
ReplyDeleteMichael M., February 12, 2014
"Person claimed to have book, but only bought it from UK and had it shipped over to me. It would have been cheaper to buy it from the UK myself. Person made a huge profit off me. It just arrived yesterday, too, well after I needed it. Never buying from this person again."
ReplyDeleteElizabeth Mazorra, February 14, 2014
Daily Deals could be using a foreign printer such as one on the UK to print books and drop ship from Amazon Marketplace Could be how they get away with continuing selling on Amazon. This law may be of interest content purchasers and creators especially indie publishers: http://www.scotusblog.com/2013/03/opinion-analysis-justices-reject-publishers-claims-in-gray-market-copyright-case/
DeleteAnonymous of Feb 20 0602... thanks for that update, it's informative.
DeleteDailyDealUSA is a horrible bookseller. They are the most over-priced seller on Amazon. They also do not honor returns easily. If you don't believe me look on Amazon. I have seen dozens of new books that are offered for $10 form most sellers, yet the same book (in used condition) is literally a $1,000. CRAZY. Do NOT order from this awful company.
ReplyDelete"I was promised a book with a jacket in excellent like-new condition. I received the book without a jacket, with a very worn cover with grime & dents.(I took photos if you want to see them.)Also the book smelled musty to the point that I wanted to put it down. To think I was charged $191. for the used book. For that price I expected the 'new' condition they promised. This was a negative experience."
ReplyDeleteKaren February 18, 2014
"I contacted the seller: "When I purchased this, the condition was advertised as Brand New, Unread Copy in Perfect Condition. The book I received has a sticker on it saying Used - Like New. Others sellers charge much less than $34 for a book in this condition. Will you send me a new book or a refund of the price difference?". The sellers did not respond. They misled me and overcharged me."
ReplyDeleteDaren J., February 21, 2014
"i bought a new book from daily deals usa for $24.61 and they went and bought a used book from betterworld books for about A $1.00. and shipped it to me .. buyers beware of daily deals usa"
ReplyDeletenolan, February 21, 2014
I absolutely suggest using bookfinder4u or other similar sites in the future. It looks like you would save money doing so.
Delete"The dictionary was advertised as new, it was not, it was slightly used. There was a packing list inside that said that the total charged wa s$13.98. I was charged around $72"
ReplyDeleteJohn C., February 23, 2014
"I believe they knowingly sent me the wrong book. I was sent a "USED" book not in perfect condition. Bad business on their part, the right way would have been to advise me that the book I ordered was no longer available and could they send a used book that cost less.(They charged as if they had sent a BRAND NEW book) Did they think I wouldn't notice? Insulting. The whole process was a hassle."
ReplyDeleteFran R., February 23, 2014
"The seller, "DailyDeal USA" apparently ordered this book from "Better World Books" in Mishawaka, Indiana, because that's where it was shipped from. This is not very honest for a seller to buy from another seller in order to fulfill an order, but I'm learning that this is common practice with this seller. Sad, & DailyDeal USA even emailed me a week ago asking for a 5-star review!"
ReplyDeleteJulie February 24, 2014
"I ordered two books - One arrived relatively promptly. DAILY DEAL advised that their books "ship from multiple locations to speed up the delivery process and to provide you with the least expensive prices.". The 2nd book, however, never arrived.
ReplyDelete"The invoice that was enclosed clearly described the item but the charge on the invoice was $25.00 less than the amount on my amazon charge. I felt my Amazon account should have been credited but I was told the amount on the invoice that was enclosed with the book was incorrect."
ReplyDeletejulie , February 24, 2014
"We ordered a new book from dailydeals and they sent us a used one. After a number of emails they still refused to refund the full price, charging $55.61 “restocking fee”. We had to use Amazon’s safe buying guarantee to get them to return the full price. We are VERY unsatisfied with dailydeal."
ReplyDeleteDonald February 25, 2014
"DO NOT BUY FROM THIS SELLER!!!! I purchased a brand new book for $63.43 and I received a used book with a packing slip for $4.22. The seller offered to refund 50% of what I paid. I told them this was unacceptable because the used book was only $4.22. I have emailed 3 additional times with no response. I still have a used book and they still have my $63.43."
ReplyDeletekim , February 25, 2014
"Buyers should be aware that this seller spiders their materials. Product arrived with other company's invoice showing the price DailyDeal paid for the item. Book was NOT in the condition listed. Strongly recommend not doing business with this seller."
ReplyDeleteLuke S., February 25, 2014
"I purchased a book labeled as "New, Perfect Condition" and received a used library book - with rips, wrinkles and writing. After contacting the seller I received a response that this was "unusual" and they could not send me a replacement because they did not have a new book (even though they still have one listed). They offered a 50% refund which is 4x what other sellers are selling at. Awful."
ReplyDeleteAimee , February 26, 2014
Try anyone else before you try this person. Here's my story....
ReplyDeleteOrdered a NEW book from them, Got it at a reasonable time frame. Unfortunately, it was not a NEW book. Those things happened. (The cover and first two pages are creased. The front, right lower edge has been bumped to 3 pages back. The front, top right edge cover has also been bumped. The back and front covers have numerous scratch/indented lines. There's a light pencil line at the bottom of the title page.)
So I wrote and ask what they would like me to do. No response. Waited several days and went through the Amazon refund channel and received an email from Ashleigh immediately, saying, "I will be escalating this issue with our supplier to get the best possible outcome for you." Next day (2/5/14), I received a simple response to return the book and then they will give a refund.
Sent book out with tracking information. Shows delivery on 2/15/14). Waited till 2/22/14 and no refund. So I wrote asking about a refund and got a response from Andy, "To date, our warehouse has not received the returned item. I will continue to check with our warehouse every 2 days to see if the returned item was received. I will send you an email when the refund is posted.". I wrote back same day. Told him I have the tracking number (sent it) and that the USPS shows it was delivered to his place 7 days ago." No response as of 2/26/14.
Maybe Andy should be in another business.
WARNING - Do business with anyone but this seller.
"I ordered a book from them advertised in perfect condition but they sent me one from a different seller who advertised their book for $25. less with shelf wear. What's worse is they pocketed the $25. difference in price and would not credit me for the over payment when I brought it to their attention. I would advise anyone to not buy from them, but if you do be sure you get what you paid for."
ReplyDeleteRon J., February 27, 2014
"They sold a book to me at USD112.98 perhaps got from another dealer in Germany for Euro 30.06. And this is the WORST "New" book that I have ever bought with torn cover and stain mark in pages. Before I also contacted them for checking delivery but got no response."
ReplyDeleteRay C, March 4, 2014
"where is the book ordered weeks ago? never told it would take up 23 days to receive upfront. are you taking orders before you have the product? up to 23 days and no on line tracking information? prime customers have higher standards of customer service and that is why Amazon gets their business .
ReplyDeleteFYI: please do not pair yourself with amazon by calling yourself the daily deal as misleading."
customer, March 4, 2014
"the book i ordered was described as "new"not only was it used but there were yellow markings in it on several pages...the wrapping was homemade with newspaper...i have ordered many books on amazon & this was the first that i feel ripped off & deceived...they said if i keep the book i would get 50% back the book was $20 and i only got $7 back...
ReplyDeleteartistkarina, March 7, 2014
Ever wonder about the veracity of those glowing feedbacks? Take a look at:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.freelancer.com/work/fake-seller-feedback-amazon/6/
Oh what a sewer Amazon Maketplace has allowed itself to become!
"Liars & thieves! I ordered a NEW (unread) copy with a dust jacket (coming from Washington State). What was delivered was a USED copy without a dust jacket from a vendor in Nebraska. I contacted DailyDeal USA and they tried to bribe me: "Keep the book with a 50% discount" or "ask for a return address for a full refund". I threatened legal action and they folded and refunded my money."
ReplyDeleteA Reader, March 15, 2014
1 out of 5:
ReplyDelete"Would not recommend getting foreign lang. bks from this dealer. Said book locally in stock w/ shipment from WA state; they actually bought book from dealer in Spain and had it shipped via an intermediary dealer in the UK. Cost was about $9 more than if a person ordered it on Amazon from the dealer in Spain. They refused to respond when asked multiple times to explain this unseemly practice."
Everyday Joe, March 18, 2014
"I have had too much SPAM and SOLICITOR PHONE calls. I am offended by sellers using the Amazon message system to send requests for positive feedback and ask for direct contact outside the Amazon system. I have had some actually call me to demand positive feedback. Contacting customers with the intent to request positive feedback is contrary to the Amazon terms of service. Stop it."
ReplyDeleteNA, March 17, 2014
Sending requests for feedback through the "Contact Customer" system are permitted. Calling you on the phone or emailing you outside of the messaging system are probably outside of 'the bounds' as it were.
DeleteI feel the same way you do about feedback, though. If people bug me for it, especially more than once, I'm probably leaving a "1"
"When I submitted the order, Daily Deals claimed to be selling for $9.11. Instead I was charged $999.11! I didn't think it would be a problem to get the money back, but later figured out that this is some sort of a scam for this company. Amazon's A to Z guarantee was wonderful and they finally made it right for the $990 error, but I still lost the money for the book. Unreal."
ReplyDeleteMarch 22, 2014
"I ordered and paid significantly more for a new book and was sent a used one with a statement for a price that was over 50% less than the one I paid and was charged. After contacting the company and going back and forth arguing about refund possibilities I finally just agreed to whatever they would send me because I was sick of having to deal with them! Very unsatisfied with product and service!"
ReplyDeleteMarch 21, 2014
DailyDeal USA has just changed their name to Daily Deals, a much more generic name that now makes this blog page and others (see https://www.facebook.com/Amazon/posts/10151487229413124) much harder for their current dissatisfied customers to find. "Daily Deals" is a phrase often used in ecommerce, including by Amazon itself, as in: Kindle Daily Deals, which also gives the false impression that this sleazy enterprise is actually affiliated with Amazon. Especially when coupled with their supposed Washington State location.
ReplyDeleteIn the past, Googling DailyDeal USA always brought this page up in the first few listings; Googling Daily Deals just brings up a lot of irrelevant clutter. It would be a shame to lose all of this useful consumer information to the ether.
I just changed the title of this post, although I'm skeptical it'll help much.
Delete"Daily Deals formerly DailyDeal USA: A Spider... "Spidering": Finding an item on one online marketplace and then cross-listing that item as your own on another online marketplace such as Amazon.com. Books came from different places, tracking number was not provided. One book was not as described; spine completely separated. Scratches due to poor packaging. I will use my Amazon Prime only next time."
ReplyDeleteCL&B, March 25, 2014
"I will never buy a book on amazon again. I lost my money"
ReplyDeletemaria March 28, 2014
"they sent me the wrong bible, I ordered one and paid $117.99 and they sent me a 79.99 bible and then refused to reimburse me the full amount they only reimbursed me 91.00 which I have not received yet!! Very upset about this so unfair."
ReplyDelete"Book inaccurately graded, library discard, not noted as such. Damage due to plastic unpadded shipping envelope. Contacted vendor who after several exchanges agreed to a full refund, as a one time good will gesture ! They may be assured that it will be one time."
ReplyDeleteDVC, March 28, 2014
"Book advertised as new, however, it did not include dust jacket, and "lack of a dust jacket" was not posted with book description. Also, poor packaging: book arrived damaged, with one corner severely bent in. For a steep price of > $70.00, this was not the service I expected. I've been thoroughly disappointed, to say the least, with this purchase from Daily Deals."
ReplyDeleteCarrie L., April 1, 2014
"Fantastic, UNLIKE rotten sellers Monoprice cables, nangsuer, Mehra Books, DailyDealUSA, massbokstore, njused, Booktastic, dvdlegacy, moviemars, experiencedbooks.com, amazinsalebooks, Adsrus_Media, Seashell Books, Op OeBooks, sortfloorbooks, books-fyi, METISMEDIA, Yankee Clipper, Thriftbooks, Book_Smith."
ReplyDeleteAvid sci fi bookreader, April 1, 2014
This is currently the highest volume book seller on Amazon.Their feedback is better than most mass book sellers. They must be doing something right.
ReplyDeleteIf their feedback is not rigged in any way,
the volume of their sales must be moret than 50 million dollars a year.
What makes me a little weary if the consistency of their feedback volume, which is highly unusual considering the drops over the seasons that every seller experiences, but yet their is almost mathematically averaged out.
Yes- I can say, as an Amazon seller, that their positive feedback content is nothing like ours, which is consistently just a few short words. Their positive feedback is also unlike other drop-ship no-inventory sellers, such as any-book, or indoobestsellers, etc. It does lead one to wonder, especially in light of the post above, which highlighted: http://www.freelancer.com/work/fake-seller-feedback-amazon/6/
DeleteIronically, there are other drop-shippers on Amazon that seem, from their feedback at least, to be even worse actors than Daily Deals. Hopefully some day Amazon will discover this thread, read the whole content and take action banning this activity.
"Daily Deals has a totally unethical business practice and should hold itself accountable for an international investigation."
ReplyDeleteWilliam B., April 2, 2014
"I contacted the seller about not receiving my book, and the reply I got is that they dont refund for items lost in the mail. If you use this seller dont get expensive items just in case it gets lost. They can keep the $5.50 and put it in the account of other buyers lost items."
ReplyDeleteSharon Snodgrass, April 4, 2014
"The item I purchased from Daily Deals was described as being new and in perfect condition, but the item the seller sent me contained a receipt in the box with a lower price than I had payed for it and had a description that listed some of the defects the item contained."
ReplyDeleteJames Burr, April 4, 2014
"BE WARNED! Do NOT order from Daily Deals. I ordered a new book as a gift. They sent me a USED book with a TORN dust jacket! I had to mail it back AT MY EXPENSE and now they CLAIM they didn't receive it! This experience has been nothing but a nightmare for ME when the FAULT was theirs! I wouldn't advise ANYONE to order from Daily Deals! I gave 1 star because it wouldn't send with NO stars!"
ReplyDeleteLinda, April 5, 2014
Please add Wisepenny Books and Goodwill Books to the list of 3rd party market frauds As Amazon and these thieves continue to laugh at us at the bank.
ReplyDelete"This is the second time I've had trouble with Daily Deals. They sent me a book not as it was described. Noticed they use the same generic description for every book. I eventually got a full refund but only after customer service sent the same canned response, blaming it on their distributor and then playing the game of only offering a 50% refund. DON'T TAKE YOUR CHANCES WITH DAILY DEALS"
ReplyDeleteJimmySwim, April 11, 2014
"Only received half of my order and I pre-paid for all items. I can not get a status of pending items, only that "they will ship soon." Highly disappointed, as I never had this experience with Amazon purchases."
ReplyDeleteKimberly C., April 11, 2014
Third party sellers like Daily Deals give buyers the impression that they provide "one stop shopping" for ordering multiple books, from their enormous inventory, located in one place and readily at hand. In fact, these individual books come separately from all over the Western World, if they come at all (see Daily Deals Amazon feedback for the large number of books that never arrive, which is invariably blamed on the Post Office).
Delete"The Harry Potter Hardcover Box Set Books 1-6 "SET" did not exist. Books 1-6 sent in 3 separate shipments no set, one book with no jacket and a broken spine. Contacted to return, but was never given an answer as to where to return, since they did not arrive together. Horrible customer service, misrepresented item. Disappointed - trying to replace my son's books that burned in Dec 26th house fire."
ReplyDeletebearhollow, April 15, 2014