This article really resonates with me and I'm somewhat relieved to see someone else feels the same way.
I love physical books for general reading and will often buy both physical and ebook format for technical books to get the best of both worlds.
I now cannot stand print-on-demand books and, like the author, I can spot them very quickly. The quality is abysmal, and I might as well be printing them myself at that point.
I too used to default to Amazon, as the price was often about 30% cheaper. However, I've come to realise that you get what you pay for. In the UK, I just buy from Waterstones or local bookshops, as then I can trust that it has likely come from the publisher or at least can inspect in advance.
I haven't found one, like I mention in the article; I'll edit it if someone proves me wrong.
I'm starting to get a feel for a pattern - the books tend to be more expensive, and also take longer on average to deliver (a few weeks, instead of a few days). The latter would be normal for rare editions and some third-party sellers, but if I'm ordering a popular book and it takes longer than usual to deliver I can kinda smell the dead rat. But the only way to know for sure is to open the box in disappointment.
It's not just Amazon. I bought a copy of an ARM assembly book from a proper bookseller (Blackwells) which was a proper hardback for a high price--something like £80, and I received a print-on-demand mess with a hardcover. The print was there but barely legible, a dotty mess which gave me a headache. I returned it.
I can see print-on-demand working very well, but not until the quality issues are sorted out. Being charged top dollar for something which is substantially inferior is unacceptable.
I've experienced this. Actually when I received the book from Amazon I thought it was a counterfeit copy, only to discover that on the very last page it says: "Printed by Amazon Logistica Italia S.r.l".
Amazon's business shouldn't be printing books and obviously they should state clearly that the book you are purchasing is printed by them.
I've bought some older hardcover books from Springer (and not for very cheap, mind you) and even then you can get some absolutely despicable print-on-demand abominations. Some appear to be created by scanning the original works in low resolution and then printing using some crappy inkjet. Good luck deciphering any subscripts in the formulas! Of course, to add to the insult, the binding is usually terrible as well.
It's a shame. Even for many classics the only way to get a decent copy is to either buy them second hand (often unfeasible) or bind one yourself.
I recently spent $2 buying an ebook that is still copyrighted. It is cheaper than the first item in search result that has more reviews. I thought, it's an ebook, what could go wrong.
Upon opening it, I found that the formatting is completely off. Words are concatenated. It was impossible to read.
A few days later, I noticed that the book is gone from Amazon store. I cannot open the link from my order page, and I cannot even ask for a refund. I had to ask customer service to do that. I guess this was a pirated book that was taken down.
It was a shame Amazon did not even notify me of this.
And I hope this doesn't happen on kobo or elsewhere.
I don't have any reason to believe this is not a scam. If Amazon had any good intention in doing this, why didn’t they simply note on the webpage that this book is printed on demand? Those introduction on pages look exactly the same as those for the original edition. It’s only once you’ve received the book that you realise Amazon has printed it themselves. I don’t like this game, and now I never buy books from Amazon unless I absolutely have to.
There are excellent english book stores in Madrid, and if you enjoy collecting books, you'll most likely enjoy the experience of going to one and buying a book there. If the book you're looking for is out of stock, they can usually get it for you the next day. There is literally no reason to buy books on Amazon.
I remember getting some questionable quality books from amazon which didn't match up to the usual standard of a publisher. No Starch Press called this out in the past saying amazon sell counterfieght books. https://x.com/nostarch/status/1183095004258099202
I'm not sure what actually happens, but I mostly stopped buying paperbacks on Amazon a good while ago, and if I do, and I'm unhappy with the quality I'll return it.
I buy books which are classics or longsellers usually from used book stores or at flea markets, or generally from book stores where I can inspect the books before buying.
This is just a symptom of the broader enshittification of Amazon. Buying anything these days requires wading through a sea of low quality shit knockoffs and duplicate product entries all populated with useless reviews.
At some point leadership completely went off the rails on the quality vs quantity of its selection. I don’t shop somewhere because they have the biggest selection, I shop there because they have the BEST selection.
Some of this could be solved with better software via the search and browsing experience but that too just keeps going steadily downhill.
if you appreciate books, you don’t buy them from amazon. that’s been true for a number of years now. of course, if someone is tight on budget and wants to get a book, I wouldn’t go at them for getting the cheapest option available, which in 99% of cases, amazon is. but for people that can afford it? no excuse. I find it to be immoral to buy from amazon. my wife and I have switched years ago: small local libraries > dussmann > amazon
Often local booksellers will have the ability to order pretty much anything in print too. Here in the Netherlands there are only a few exceptions I can't order¹ locally, and even then I can usually find them on the national Amazon alternatives (i.e., Bol.com, which sucks, but isn't nearly as evil as Amazon).
For affordability I would recommend anyone interested in reading to visit secondhand book fairs for the breadth of titles available, and yard/church/jumble sales for the chance finds. Instead of buying a book immediately when you come across a title you like or got recommended, maintain a wishlist spreadsheet and sync that to your smartphone or print it when you go hunting for books. The author of this article follows Umberto Eco's philosophy of book hoarding (as they should, and as I do), so they will have quite the collection to pick from already. Delayed gratification for any desired title is totally compatible with that.
And obviously: if you can't afford local booksellers, join a library — that is way cheaper than Amazon, and better for all concerned.
1: Frustratingly, this includes the mass paperback editions of Brandon Sanderson's The Stormlight Archive series.
The last 3 books I’ve purchased from Amazon (UK) have been of questionable quality. The most recent was Designing Data–Intensive Applications (O’Reilly) and I’m still not sure if it’s print on demand, counterfeit- or just a reject. Roller marks, damaged pages, slightly off print. The returns process is inconvenient, one-offs are okay but on multiple purchases it’s fatiguing and so the book stays.
This isn’t specific to Amazon, I had the same issue with Waterstones in the UK (online)
I now just buy second hand (Abe, WOB) and hope for the best.
I gave up, bought a kobo libra2 that never saw an internet connection (you can find updated firmware online to download) and now just borrow epubs in the soulseek library.
It’s easy to tell when these books are printed by a high-volume inkjet printer. They are not as pleasurable to read. It’s a certain fuzziness, like when cinemas first went to digital, and when planetariums got rid of their optical star projectors.
I had a friend over and we talked about the subject. She owns a Penguin stock copy of Martin Eden and upon checking my print-on-demand copy her first reaction was: "Yea, this looks like crap, but above all, the type is making me dizzy".
I only mention it in passing the article but I'm regretting not showing pictures of how bad the page typesetting can get - perhaps I'll revise it this week. There's a substantial qualitative jump from "this book looks like a cheap knock-off" to "reading this is giving me a headache".
And yes, while I don't have a clue about the printing process, the image of an inkjet printer has also come to mind on occasion!
(trade paperbacks are the larger paperback editions printed on better paper than the mass market paperbacks, but still soft-cover.)
John Scalzi posted about this a few months ago:
"All my recent books went from hardcover to trade paperback and almost all of my backlist in mass market has now migrated to trade. The role of mass market paperbacks is now handled almost entirely by ebooks."
I noticed this years ago with technical books. IIRC, Manning was the first publisher that I noticed doing it. Pages so thin that I could see the text on the reverse side as I was reading it - it drove me crazy. O'Reilly started doing the same.
I had a PDF version of On Lisp (Paul Graham put it on his website for free some time after it went out of print). I used lulu.com to turn it into a printed book (1 copy for myself). I love it. The cover art isn't great (low-res image; not Lulu's fault), but the paper stock is amazing (I got to choose it!). The print quality is also great.
Lulu provides some evidence that you can run a profitable business and still offer users the ability to do _very small_ print runs (1 book). I wish they (or someone like them) could work out a deal with publishers that would let me choose the paper stock I want when I order a book online.
But, maybe there are other options...
Two quotes from the article:
> I purchase most of my books through Amazon. I don’t find the speed of delivery that valuable, but the competitive pricing (especially factoring in Prime), ease of ordering
[...]
> To add insult to injury, print-on-demand books seem to be significantly more expensive than stock equivalents
That's the classic enshittification playbook right there. Hook 'em with low prices. Once you've captured the market, lower your costs and raise prices.
Vote with your wallet. Go to a bookstore. Small and local is fun if you don't have a particular book in mind. If you do have a particular book in mind, check Barnes and Noble's website. It will tell you if it's in stock near you. If not, order it. If you go to pick it up and don't like the quality of the print/binding -- return it.
If you want to buy books nowadays, and care about quality (or about not having your money go to fund fascist billionaires), your best bets are bookshop.org for new books, and alibris.com for used books.
This article really resonates with me and I'm somewhat relieved to see someone else feels the same way.
I love physical books for general reading and will often buy both physical and ebook format for technical books to get the best of both worlds.
I now cannot stand print-on-demand books and, like the author, I can spot them very quickly. The quality is abysmal, and I might as well be printing them myself at that point.
I too used to default to Amazon, as the price was often about 30% cheaper. However, I've come to realise that you get what you pay for. In the UK, I just buy from Waterstones or local bookshops, as then I can trust that it has likely come from the publisher or at least can inspect in advance.
I am never buying a book from Amazon again.
Is there a way to filter out such books when you browse Amazon? They should at least tell you it's an "on-demand" printed book before you order?
I haven't found one, like I mention in the article; I'll edit it if someone proves me wrong.
I'm starting to get a feel for a pattern - the books tend to be more expensive, and also take longer on average to deliver (a few weeks, instead of a few days). The latter would be normal for rare editions and some third-party sellers, but if I'm ordering a popular book and it takes longer than usual to deliver I can kinda smell the dead rat. But the only way to know for sure is to open the box in disappointment.
i don’t know of a way. but even if you can, it will almost certainly be done away with.
i’m so jaded im sure it would end up like trying to filter out shorts on youtube. click the “show me less of this” only for it to show you more.
It's also incredibly annoying that Amazon slurped up AbeBooks way back in 2008.
It's not just Amazon. I bought a copy of an ARM assembly book from a proper bookseller (Blackwells) which was a proper hardback for a high price--something like £80, and I received a print-on-demand mess with a hardcover. The print was there but barely legible, a dotty mess which gave me a headache. I returned it.
I can see print-on-demand working very well, but not until the quality issues are sorted out. Being charged top dollar for something which is substantially inferior is unacceptable.
I've experienced this. Actually when I received the book from Amazon I thought it was a counterfeit copy, only to discover that on the very last page it says: "Printed by Amazon Logistica Italia S.r.l".
Amazon's business shouldn't be printing books and obviously they should state clearly that the book you are purchasing is printed by them.
The current solution? Just return the item.
In my experience, when you return them Amazon refunds you and tells you to keep the book.
> The current solution? Just return the item.
Yes, and write a low stars review explaining the problem. Returns alone don't hurt future sales of identical items.
That sucks for the author of the book though, if their books start getting low ratings for something entirely out of their control.
I've bought some older hardcover books from Springer (and not for very cheap, mind you) and even then you can get some absolutely despicable print-on-demand abominations. Some appear to be created by scanning the original works in low resolution and then printing using some crappy inkjet. Good luck deciphering any subscripts in the formulas! Of course, to add to the insult, the binding is usually terrible as well.
It's a shame. Even for many classics the only way to get a decent copy is to either buy them second hand (often unfeasible) or bind one yourself.
Somewhat related:
Amazon has a huge fake ebook problem as well.
I recently spent $2 buying an ebook that is still copyrighted. It is cheaper than the first item in search result that has more reviews. I thought, it's an ebook, what could go wrong.
Upon opening it, I found that the formatting is completely off. Words are concatenated. It was impossible to read.
A few days later, I noticed that the book is gone from Amazon store. I cannot open the link from my order page, and I cannot even ask for a refund. I had to ask customer service to do that. I guess this was a pirated book that was taken down.
It was a shame Amazon did not even notify me of this.
And I hope this doesn't happen on kobo or elsewhere.
I don't have any reason to believe this is not a scam. If Amazon had any good intention in doing this, why didn’t they simply note on the webpage that this book is printed on demand? Those introduction on pages look exactly the same as those for the original edition. It’s only once you’ve received the book that you realise Amazon has printed it themselves. I don’t like this game, and now I never buy books from Amazon unless I absolutely have to.
Buy second hand books if you can: wider selection, good for the environment, lower price (usually), supports small businesses (usually).
There are excellent english book stores in Madrid, and if you enjoy collecting books, you'll most likely enjoy the experience of going to one and buying a book there. If the book you're looking for is out of stock, they can usually get it for you the next day. There is literally no reason to buy books on Amazon.
I remember getting some questionable quality books from amazon which didn't match up to the usual standard of a publisher. No Starch Press called this out in the past saying amazon sell counterfieght books. https://x.com/nostarch/status/1183095004258099202
I'm not sure what actually happens, but I mostly stopped buying paperbacks on Amazon a good while ago, and if I do, and I'm unhappy with the quality I'll return it.
This is partially why I don't buy print books anymore, unless I have no other choice (like random region restrictions on ebooks I want to read).
Sadly, I'm completely locked into the Amazon ecosystem for ebooks, but at least there I know what I'm getting.
I like to buy books and would never buy from Amazon. Haven't for a long time for many reasons.
I find it more enjoyable to browse a local bookshop or charity shop and, if I want to buy something specific online I'll go with bookshop.org.
It is not just the print, it is also the way pages are cut and bound. The printed area is not where it should be on the page.
I buy books which are classics or longsellers usually from used book stores or at flea markets, or generally from book stores where I can inspect the books before buying.
This is just a symptom of the broader enshittification of Amazon. Buying anything these days requires wading through a sea of low quality shit knockoffs and duplicate product entries all populated with useless reviews.
At some point leadership completely went off the rails on the quality vs quantity of its selection. I don’t shop somewhere because they have the biggest selection, I shop there because they have the BEST selection.
Some of this could be solved with better software via the search and browsing experience but that too just keeps going steadily downhill.
I strongly recommend abebooks for buying physical texts.
if you appreciate books, you don’t buy them from amazon. that’s been true for a number of years now. of course, if someone is tight on budget and wants to get a book, I wouldn’t go at them for getting the cheapest option available, which in 99% of cases, amazon is. but for people that can afford it? no excuse. I find it to be immoral to buy from amazon. my wife and I have switched years ago: small local libraries > dussmann > amazon
Often local booksellers will have the ability to order pretty much anything in print too. Here in the Netherlands there are only a few exceptions I can't order¹ locally, and even then I can usually find them on the national Amazon alternatives (i.e., Bol.com, which sucks, but isn't nearly as evil as Amazon).
For affordability I would recommend anyone interested in reading to visit secondhand book fairs for the breadth of titles available, and yard/church/jumble sales for the chance finds. Instead of buying a book immediately when you come across a title you like or got recommended, maintain a wishlist spreadsheet and sync that to your smartphone or print it when you go hunting for books. The author of this article follows Umberto Eco's philosophy of book hoarding (as they should, and as I do), so they will have quite the collection to pick from already. Delayed gratification for any desired title is totally compatible with that.
And obviously: if you can't afford local booksellers, join a library — that is way cheaper than Amazon, and better for all concerned.
1: Frustratingly, this includes the mass paperback editions of Brandon Sanderson's The Stormlight Archive series.
The last 3 books I’ve purchased from Amazon (UK) have been of questionable quality. The most recent was Designing Data–Intensive Applications (O’Reilly) and I’m still not sure if it’s print on demand, counterfeit- or just a reject. Roller marks, damaged pages, slightly off print. The returns process is inconvenient, one-offs are okay but on multiple purchases it’s fatiguing and so the book stays.
This isn’t specific to Amazon, I had the same issue with Waterstones in the UK (online)
I now just buy second hand (Abe, WOB) and hope for the best.
Your DDIA book might be an international version. Check if it says the edition is only for sale in India.
I gave up, bought a kobo libra2 that never saw an internet connection (you can find updated firmware online to download) and now just borrow epubs in the soulseek library.
I hope the kobo store has rigorous screening of their books, unlike Amazon: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47386280
These days it's hard to even get a proper book to read.
I also just brought the cheapest oldest b&w model kobo reader still on sale and put epubs on it. Haven’t even updated the OS. Just works. Sweet.
It’s easy to tell when these books are printed by a high-volume inkjet printer. They are not as pleasurable to read. It’s a certain fuzziness, like when cinemas first went to digital, and when planetariums got rid of their optical star projectors.
I had a friend over and we talked about the subject. She owns a Penguin stock copy of Martin Eden and upon checking my print-on-demand copy her first reaction was: "Yea, this looks like crap, but above all, the type is making me dizzy".
I only mention it in passing the article but I'm regretting not showing pictures of how bad the page typesetting can get - perhaps I'll revise it this week. There's a substantial qualitative jump from "this book looks like a cheap knock-off" to "reading this is giving me a headache".
And yes, while I don't have a clue about the printing process, the image of an inkjet printer has also come to mind on occasion!
Isn't paperback basically dead in the US because most sales are digital now?
Tbh i've given up on dead tree books with the lone exception of a few hard covers because ... space the final frontier.
Mass-market paperbacks are definitely dying, but trade paperbacks continue to sell (at rates lower than mass-market, obviously):
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/p...
(trade paperbacks are the larger paperback editions printed on better paper than the mass market paperbacks, but still soft-cover.)
John Scalzi posted about this a few months ago:
"All my recent books went from hardcover to trade paperback and almost all of my backlist in mass market has now migrated to trade. The role of mass market paperbacks is now handled almost entirely by ebooks."
https://bsky.app/profile/scalzi.com/post/3m7xzfxxcg222
I noticed this years ago with technical books. IIRC, Manning was the first publisher that I noticed doing it. Pages so thin that I could see the text on the reverse side as I was reading it - it drove me crazy. O'Reilly started doing the same.
I had a PDF version of On Lisp (Paul Graham put it on his website for free some time after it went out of print). I used lulu.com to turn it into a printed book (1 copy for myself). I love it. The cover art isn't great (low-res image; not Lulu's fault), but the paper stock is amazing (I got to choose it!). The print quality is also great.
Lulu provides some evidence that you can run a profitable business and still offer users the ability to do _very small_ print runs (1 book). I wish they (or someone like them) could work out a deal with publishers that would let me choose the paper stock I want when I order a book online.
But, maybe there are other options...
Two quotes from the article:
> I purchase most of my books through Amazon. I don’t find the speed of delivery that valuable, but the competitive pricing (especially factoring in Prime), ease of ordering [...]
> To add insult to injury, print-on-demand books seem to be significantly more expensive than stock equivalents
That's the classic enshittification playbook right there. Hook 'em with low prices. Once you've captured the market, lower your costs and raise prices.
Vote with your wallet. Go to a bookstore. Small and local is fun if you don't have a particular book in mind. If you do have a particular book in mind, check Barnes and Noble's website. It will tell you if it's in stock near you. If not, order it. If you go to pick it up and don't like the quality of the print/binding -- return it.
edit: fixed spacing for quoted text
I don’t have issues with print on demand books but they should be clearly labeled and Amazon should invest in increasing quality.
In fact I love the idea of high quality print on demand books that are distributed everywhere.
The enshittification of Amazon. Full stop. When the MBA types with excel sheets took over everything started to go downhill.
Is it really the enshittification of books, or the enshittification of printers that's responsible?
If you want to buy books nowadays, and care about quality (or about not having your money go to fund fascist billionaires), your best bets are bookshop.org for new books, and alibris.com for used books.