How to Waste a Sale

Yesterday I was shopping for a used book at Amazon. If you’re a regular visitor to this blog, you can easily tell which book I settled for (click for a bigger screen shot):

The first one is very cheap, but the seller isn’t telling me anything about the book. They merely pad themselves on the back. The funny thing is I don’t care how great they are. I have no way of verifying it. The only way I can know is if I buy from them and judge for myself. But they won’t tell me what they are selling! Isn’t it backwards? Besides, 93% is not the highest rating. This statement ruins credibility ever further.

The other third party does the right thing—selling the book, not themselves. I’d rather know what to expect (remainder mark, missing dust jacket, etc), than buy blindly from “the name I can trust.”

Welcome onboard the cluetrain!