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Creased book covers peeve


KEV67

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I like looking around bookshops, and I buy physical books not ebooks. One thing I find annoying is when someone takes a book off the shelf, opens it up and creases the flipping cover before putting it back. When I buy a new book, I want it to be in pristine condition, not creased. I wonder how much loss bookshops suffer because customers will not buy creased books. When I pick up a book to look at it, I take care not to bend anything.

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I'm the same way. I won't buy a book that's damaged already - not in a "regular" bookshop. It's different of course if you're in a second hand bookstore, but even then I'll always look for the book in the best condition. Even if it means turning every copy around.

 

That's the reason I almost never buy a book in the bookstore in my town. There's only one small bookstore that's part of a chain and not only are they expensive, but the books are often damaged in the store already. I think/hope they can still sell those books in special sales or do something meaningful with them, otherwise it would be a shame indeed!

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ditto  I will not buy a book if it looks damaged in any way and never the one at the front of the pile.  I am the same with magazines, I don't buy the one from the front of the pile I always take one from further back.

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Me too, even with second hand books I check them first - a bit of foxing on the pages is only to be expected, and perhaps a slight crease to the spine to show it's been read, but anything else is a no go.

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If I'm paying full retail price for a brand-new book, I expect it to be in excellent condition. In a book shop I make sure it is, if I order online then I desperately hope so but on rare occasion have got a (brand-new) book that was slightly damaged. I've never returned damaged books though, as I find it such a huge hassle to deal with returns.

 

If I'm buying a book second-hand, I prefer it if it's in great condition but I do buy books that are in less than optimal condition if they're not too expensive (as in, second hand price vs. full retail price for brand-new). Sometimes it depends on the book, for some authors I don't mind as much as for others. I want books by my favourite authors in great condition. I don't know if that makes any sense. If it's a new author, I don't mind it if the book is in less than great condition, if I'm not spending much money on it.

 

I don't mind creases in the spine if the book is second-hand. If the book is brand-new, I want to be the one who breaks or doesn't break the spine. But for a second-hand book I don't mind if the spine is broken, it means a book was well-loved. I'd prefer if it wasn't broken, but I don't mind it if it is.

 

Gladly, the second hand places I buy books from usually have them in an acceptable condition. I will say that at the book fair I won't take the top book off the pile if it's in less than great condition, I then take one from further down in the stack. But on occasion the books there have a few marks on them and if the book is sold for a cheap price I'll probably still get it.

 

I did once buy a book at a library sale that had part of the cover missing, but since I got it for €0,86 instead of the normal €15ish I don't see any right to complain. I don't know if I would do that again, and it definitely depends on what the book is. I do wish the book had the cover, but it seemed too good a deal to not take it. Other than the cover missing though the rest of the book was in great condition (some kid probably got it damaged, it was a children's book).

 

I don't have a lot of money and since I do read a lot, one has to take what one can get sometimes. I love a good deal. Some of my books are bought brand-new and some of them are second-hand or from a library sale. The books I buy at the book fair are not second-hand but they can be in less than optimal condition (the most common thing being a line or mark on the side of the pages).

 

I guess, I just love books! So I buy them a lot, though of course I prefer a good condition over a bad one.

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I once got a book at a school fete which had the last few pages missing!  Always check all the pages are there before you buy.....

 

I have occasionally received a used book which was described as being in good (or better) condition, but has been in a mess eg stains on the cover (I didn't want to touch it, although I assume/hope it was tea or coffee!), I got in touch with the seller and they refunded immediately and said they didn't want it back (not surprised, I doubt they'd be able to sell it again in that condition), it was only about £3 but even so it was described as being in good condition but wasn't.  this happened twice with the same seller, so naturally I don't use them any more!

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I once read a library book (a loan) with a few pages missing too. So I reported it to the service desk. It was a children's book but gladly the story had already mostly concluded. I didn't know until I started reading it.

 

How annoying about the seller! If they say it's in good condition, it should be in good condition. I've never received a book second-hand with bad stains on it, gladly that hasn't happened to me. It makes sense you don't use them anymore!

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I remember when we moved to our new house, I really didn't want to move. My parents loved the new house, but I hated the prospect of moving. The house we moved to was a kind of demo house for the new neighbourhood they'd built, so it had furniture to make it cosy. In one of the bedrooms, there were two books. The guy who sold the house gave me the book and that kind of won me over a little. Only while reading it did I notice that a few pages were missing right in the middle...

 

@Athena At the Boekenfestijn, I will often go through the entire pile to find the book in the best condition too! 

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