Question about Green metropolis

[Bigbananas]

Hi

I am thinking of joining green metropolis to sell and buy books. Does anyone know what the average delivery costs come out as?

Also has anybody used this site and has any feedback, positive or negative? I am thinking of putting a lot of my old books online and just want to make sure I am doing the right thing.. Such a sad time getting rid of my babies :cry:.

:thanx:

[Polka Dot Rock]

Hello!

I'm a relatively new seller at GreenMetropolis: I've sold three books so far and each has gone smoothly (so far!). There are quite a few experienced GreenMetropolis sellers on this forum.

They have info on postage here (http://www.greenmetropolis.com/help/faq.asp#FAQ_Q20), and they also allow you to add extra depending on the book's size. Its very fair.

And don't be sad: they're going to people who want them. I end up feeling quite chuffed for them as I'm packing them to post :)

(P.S. Has anyone else noticed how some cheeky sellers are selling those new Penguins on GM? They're selling them for £3, when they only cost £2 in the first place! :7_mad: How wrong is that?!)

[Bigbananas]

:) Thanks PDR

[Purple Poppy]

I've used Greenmet for about nine months. It is an excellent site and I like it because 5p of your money goes to the Woodland trust. The only problem is that books do not always shift very quickly. The best sellers move quickly, but even then, because of the way they operate, books are placed to go out in the order they were placed on the site. So, there might be another six Labyrinths before yours. It's a fair system, you just have to be patient.
I have to say that if I want a book for this forum, or our local bookclub, I turn to GreenMet. It's a great site and I fully recommend it.
Pp

[Polka Dot Rock]

Don't forget, there's also the Buy, Sell or Swap Books (http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=13) bit here on this forum :) That can be a good way of shifting books too, especially non-bestselling type ones.

[Nathan]

What happens when a book gets lost on the way?
(@GreenMetropolis)

[Purple Poppy]

What if my book doesn’t arrive?

Unlike auction sites, when buying books from GreenMetropolis.com your transaction is always with us and not with the selling member, therefore if your book doesn’t arrive you can reply on our Buyer Promise to either source you a replacement or issue a full refund.

FAQ Greenmetropolis

Visit the link below for all FAQ s

http://www.greenmetropolis.com/help/faq.asp

Pp:)

[Kell]

I am thinking of joining green metropolis to sell and buy books. Does anyone know what the average delivery costs come out as?A small-to-average sized paperback will probably cost about 55-90p to send. Thinker ones cost a little more, but I think the most I've paid out to send a paperback was somewhere around the £1.39 mark. With the hardbacks, you can add a little postage onto the price to help cover costs, but there's a rough guide drop-down menu provided when you list a hardback.

i've been using GM for about 18 months and have bought and sold many books during that time without any problems at all. just remember to get a proof of postage certificate and keep it for 6 weeks to cover your back. :mrgreen:

[Michelle]

Thinker ones cost a little more, but I think the most I've paid out to send a paperback was somewhere around the £1.39 mark.

Most of my books seem to fall into this bigger size.. which means just £1.60 'profit'. Sometimes it doesn't seem worth the effort of listing and posting.

[Kell]

It also depends how you pack them - if you're wrapping them in bubble wrap or using padded envelopes, this adds to the cost as Royal Mail postage now goes by size as well as weight. If it can fit into a C5 envelope and have the excess taped up, or use one of those strong plastic envelopes, it costs less, as there's not as much bulk.

As for those books that only cost about £2 new, well, you have the option of knocking a quid off the price for those or where the book is either very thin or in a bit of a battered condition.

[Nici76]

Don't forget that the cost of stamps goes up on Monday.....

[Polka Dot Rock]

Ooh I totally forgot! Thanks Nici! :)

[Michelle]

Kell, I still find that most of them are too thick, and end up at £1.39. Plus I'm always worried about them being protected properly. I know I've seen people on RISI getting quite upset because the packaging wasn't padded.. even if the book had been ok! :(

I had no idea postage was going up again... considering I've had 2 pieces of important mail go missing recently, I'm not too impressed they want to charge even more!!

[Michelle]

Wow, just as a guide.. a packet weighting 201 - 500g (which is what the majority of my books seem to come in at) is going from £1.39 to £1.52.. that's an extra 13p! :(

[Kell]

Don't forget that the cost of stamps goes up on Monday.....I forgot about this, but I actually went and bought 2 books of 12 stamps today (12 1st class & 12 2nd class) as I'd completely run out due to sending a letter yesterday - good timing there! Of course, that doesn't help with the packages...

[aromaannie]

How many books do you sell a month through there and do you find a subject that sells well?

I sell around 4 a month and find any true life/crime sells particularly quickly.

[Kell]

Mine all seem to sell in fits and starts. Some months I'll sell none and other months I'll sell a dozen one after the other. Children's books sell quite well, but also books that are part of well-publicised things such as Richard & Judy's book club sell quite quickly. I've sold books of every genre on there.

[~V~]

i think i'm being thick here.

i'd never heard of green metropolis (http://www.greenmetropolis.com/) until this thread and so had a look.

all books £3.75. but i can buy new books in tesco or asda for £3.73!

i suppose it's good for those books that are not brand new, or the supermarkets aren't stocking (they only seem to do familiar authors or if a book becomes extremely popular) but for a brand new book by a popular author, you are just as well getting it from the supermarket

i know it's a sorry state of affairs when supermarkets are the best option for something as precious as books

[Michelle]

With regards supermarkets, I don't have a Tesco anywhere near me, and Asda is quite a way off. Sainsbury's books always seem quite expensive, and in Morrisons (my nearest), they don't get cheaper until they're older. :(

However, I tend to use GM for the slightly older books, rather than brand new ones, so it does have it's uses! :)

[~V~]

With regards supermarkets, I don't have a Tesco anywhere near me, and Asda is quite a way off. Sainsbury's books always seem quite expensive, and in Morrisons (my nearest), they don't get cheaper until they're older. :(

However, I tend to use GM for the slightly older books, rather than brand new ones, so it does have it's uses! :)

yes, that's what i was thinking.

at the moment i'm thinking i should read the philip pullman stuff and so it looks like a good place to do so. i do have books listed on RISI but everything on there is so .... random

(agree about sainsbury's prices too - very expensive)

[Purple Poppy]

It's true that if in demographic reach you can buy books cheaper, but the point about Greenmet is recycling, and the 5p which goes to the
Woodland trust. If you are not into that then by all means buy new.

One of the featured Authors, I think it was Carole Matthews, talked about royalties going down because of second hand books. I am now considering buying new books for current and new authors and getting older books on GreenMet. Maybe I'll include very well known best sellers like Terry Pratchet and Ian Rankin as they are established, but lesser known and new authors, I am considering buying new.

Pp

[Polka Dot Rock]

That's actually a very good point, Susie :) I think I might try and do that, too.

[Nici76]

What an excellent site! Thanks to Kell replying to my wanted books, I have now ordered them here! I think £3.75 for a book and free P & P is a bargain so thanks again Kell! :D

[aromaannie]

I've sold 6 so far this month through - my most ever:)

[Kell]

I'm sending off another one today...

[Nici76]

Kell there is a postal strike starting tonight at 7pm certainly in England, I don't know about Scotland so it may not be great to post it today......

[Kell]

The strike in Scotland starts at 7pm on Friday night and only affect the Saturday delivery, and it's being sent to London, so it might slip in between the two strikes and make it to them by the weekend - LOL! :lol:

[Polka Dot Rock]

Oh how strange: I haven't sold any for ages then sold two last week! There must be a rush on :lol: Actually, they have been advertising in the Guardian.

[Michelle]

I took all mine out a while back.. they weren't selling, and I kept forgetting to update my list if I gave the book away. I may stick a few back on. :)

[Polka Dot Rock]

It could be well worth it, Michelle: one of the books I sold last week was one I thought would never sell! Turned out a bookshop wanted it.

[aromaannie]

Has anyone noticed that instead of being able to buy the first 2 books listed you can now view 10 of them and pick which one you want?

[Kell]

Ooh, they must have just changed that - that's great news!

[aromaannie]

I'm not sure if I like it. On one hand it will be good when buying hardbacks as some people add silly postage on but on the other if books which aren't rated excellent or as new actualy sell anymore? I think it might encourage people not to be so honest with their book ratings now so that they sell more quickly.

[Michelle]

I've had to contact GM a couple of times recently, as I oredered 'excellent' books, and they had spine creases etc. I'm always very honest, and mark mine down if anything, and I think it's unfair if people mark theirs as excellent (which isbound to sell quicker that good) when they're not.

[aromaannie]

I've had to contact GM a couple of times recently, as I oredered 'excellent' books, and they had spine creases etc. I'm always very honest, and mark mine down if anything, and I think it's unfair if people mark theirs as excellent (which isbound to sell quicker that good) when they're not.


What was their response Michelle?

[Michelle]

They were very nice, and said they'd have a word with the relevant sellers.

[Kell]

I've only had a problem with one of mine - it said it was in good condition, but there were pages falling out and actually several pages of the introduction notes completely missing. Fortunately, none of the story itself appears to be missing, but I was a bit miffed that the description was so badly off. The GM staff were very nice about it and said they'd contact the seller about it.

Other than that, I've had only very positive experiences from GM - I'd say that 99% of the sellers are very honest in their descriptions and on the whole, people tend to be very exacting and have very high standards - I received books marked as "good" that were in almost perfect condition, which was a lovely surprise!

[aromaannie]

Well I've just sold my 3rd of the week (only listed it yesterday) so maybe I might like these changes!:)

[Polka Dot Rock]

I received books marked as "good" that were in almost perfect condition, which was a lovely surprise!

Yes, that's happened to me too! Only thing is, it makes me paranoid that ones I've sent might not have been quite up to scratch :lol: But I am honest and I think I have quite high standards when it comes to book condition :)

The GM staff are great so if anyone does exploit/abuse their descriptions, I'd imagine they'd sort it out without fuss.

[Michelle]

I guess I've been unlucky then :(

[Maureen]

They don't deliver here! :(:(:(

[Polka Dot Rock]

Just a quick update on selling progress - I've just looked at my records, and I've averaged between 1-3 books a month (I've been selling since March). Business is picking up again!

[aromaannie]

8 this month for me which is double the most I have ever sold in a month before:)

[Michelle]

No-one wants the ones I've just added.. and they new/excellent <sulking> lol

[Polka Dot Rock]

8 this month for me which is double the most I have ever sold in a month before:)

Wow! :icon_eek: If you don't mind me asking, what did you sell? Were they new releases or classics, for example?

No-one wants the ones I've just added.. and they new/excellent <sulking> lol

Aw! :friends0: :lol: Don't worry, Michelle: I'm sure someone will want them! As I've said previously, I recently sold one I thought no-one would ever request!

I think sales can be very influenced by trends/new releases and even articles - I've just sold Norwegian Wood and I think it might be because Murakami's new (paperback) release has been reviewed over the weekend.

Also, it's holiday time: perhaps a lot of people are buying their holiday reads from GM!

[Kell]

I always seem to sell in fits and starts - one month I'll not sell any, then the next I'll sell six in the space of 2 weeks or something like that. Sometimes it's older books, other times it's newer ones. You can never tell what someone will be looking for...

[aromaannie]

Wow! :icon_eek: If you don't mind me asking, what did you sell? Were they new releases or classics, for example?


Yep mainly new releases although I've had the Ian Rankin one on the site for ages

Relentless Simon Kernick
Confessions of a Working Girl Miss S
Rebus: The Early Years Ian Rankin
Judge and Jury James Patterson
Chart Throb Ben Elton
Wicked! Jilly Cooper
Secret of Crickley Hall James Herbert
Blue Zone Andrew Gross

[Karen]

This thread has inspired me, so I signed up with Green Metropolis today and have so far listed 11 books. I'll probably add some more tomorrow.

[Louiseog]

I've sold one in my life ... ever

[Karen]

The books I've listed are ones that I'll probably never read again and they're only sitting in my cupboard so I guess its better listing them and having the possibilty of selling them then them just sitting gathering dust, which is what they're doing just now.

[Lilywhite]

I sold nothing for ages and then I've sold four in a few weeks.

It's a great idea for getting rid of books you won't read again and for finding those books you want.

[Nici76]

I have put my first book on there today! :D

[Pierced Musie]

I may have to consider selling some books on that site. It is nice to find a website where you don't have to worry about being charged to list.

I have a load of Buffy books somewhere. You think they will be popular?:lol:

[Kell]

They may well be, Musie - the ones that tend to get snapped up from my list are usually the ones I expected to sit on the shelf for ages, where the ones I thought would be selling like hotcakes are the ones that wait and wait!

[Pierced Musie]

I just noticed that they sell textbooks as well. This will help me so much if I get accepted into college next year :). I've already found books that I want to buy but can't afford for a few days.

[aromaannie]

I just noticed that they sell textbooks as well. This will help me so much if I get accepted into college next year :). I've already found books that I want to buy but can't afford for a few days.


I sold a text book onthere a cpuple of weeks ago. Didn't think it would sell as the postage was £5 and it was a '98 edition. Went in a couple of weeks:D

[Pierced Musie]

I have a problem. I have a hardback book that I would like to sell soon and it is in excellent condition. I put the ISBN number in to Green Metropolis and it came up with the same book but a different cover and more pages.

Can I still sell?

[nicnic]

I have a problem. I have a hardback book that I would like to sell soon and it is in excellent condition. I put the ISBN number in to Green Metropolis and it came up with the same book but a different cover and more pages.

Can I still sell?

Yes, absolutely, but if you notice there is a box for 'other comments' about the book when you come to list it. Just put a note in there advising the buyer that it is a different cover and has a different number of pages. You can even describe the cover if you want to!

[aromaannie]

Has anyone noticed that next to users names there is now a star rating. Any idea how these are calculated? Mine is 3.96 stars from 74 ratings apparently. I have never rated anyone so where do they get this calculation from?

[Michelle]

Oh yes.. I have 11 ratings, but I have also never rated anyone - how odd! I'd also like to see why I got marked down to a 4.. I describe well, send quickly, pack well etc.

[Kell]

I've no idea how they calculate it - I never even noticed it, so it must be brand new - I've certainly never rated anyone. I also have a rating of 3.93 from 81 ratings. No idea how or why as I always describe things as exactly as possible, package well and send the books as soon as possible (with a rider on all the books saying I can usually only post on Saturdays, so everyone knows that if they order on a Monday, they might have to wait till the end of the week for me to post it).

[aromaannie]

I think the rating may come from the bit that you click on to say you have sent it or the bit that other people click on to say they have received it. I can't think of any other way they could get a rating without buyers input

[lovesreading06]

Some people are never happy.

[Michelle]

In case anyone doesn't get the newsletter...
New Seller Ratings!

Following feedback from both our buyers and sellers, we’ve made a number of changes to the way our books are listed and displayed for sale, which we hope you’ll all appreciate.

One of the biggest changes is the introduction of our new ‘Seller Ratings’. Buyers can now rate each purchase once a book has been received to reflect the accuracy of a seller’s condition rating, the promptness of dispatch and the level of packaging. This feedback is then used to produce a ‘Seller Rating’ for each seller, which is then displayed next to every book listed for sale, giving more choice to buyers when deciding which book to buy. These ratings are displayed next to the ‘Seller ID’, however we encourage all members to logon to their MyAccount homepage and set their ‘Display Name’ which will then be displayed next to their books listed for sale instead.

To start off the Seller Ratings, we've given every seller a score rating of 4 (out of 5) for every sale already made (meaning ‘satisfactory’), and then made adjustments for any cancellations, returns etc.

We hope these changes will not only give more choice to buyers, by enabling them to select between Price, Condition and Seller Rating, but will give more control to sellers, as we also increase the number of books which are eligible for postage payments, giving sellers more choice on whether they wish to add postage or discount their books, while still encouraging them to remain competitive and compete against other sellers.

In the meantime, with the holiday season fast approaching, we’ve put together a selection of great books ideal for the plane, train or a slow boat to china.

[aromaannie]

I've sold 10 books since the rating system came in and only 1 person has bothered to confirm the book has been received & rated me. :irked: I could be only nearly 5 stars by now instead of my 3.7:roll:

[lovesreading06]

I think its quite dear for a second hand book. £3.95 mabey more if there add postage on.

[aromaannie]

Nearly all my books that I sell on there are 'as new'. So I think for a new book including delivery £3.75 is good but I also agree that if the book isn't 'as new' then they can be a bit dear.

[Kell]

It depends, Lovesreading - I've had many books that were actually brand new and at £3.75 (which includes the postage on the paperbacks) are a bargain, as some of them cost anything up to £10 in places like Waterstones. I've also managed to get signed hardbacks for £3.75 plus minimal postage charges (when a new book costs £10+ and isn't usually sgned) which were brand new too. Absolute bargains!

[lovesreading06]

Another question here.
The charity shop i help sometimes have books there for ages and i know this is awful but there have to bin them. I thinking of mabey taking some and putting it on Green metropolis. The money i get i will give to the owner of the shop ( I know him and his wife a long time).

Do you think that will be fine?

Say i listed a book for them would my address show to the person buying the book?

[Lilywhite]

You might be better putting them on e-bay Laura as I'm not sure if you can actually get the money from greenmet. As far as I know it's a credit to buy more from the site.

[Karen]

You can transfer the money over to your bank account though can't you? I'm sure you can, although I've never been sucessful on that site so I might be wrong.

[Lilywhite]

I just had a look and you can cash in your credit. You provide your bank details and they put it in there for you.

And you don't have to give your address to the person buying from you. You only give your address if you're the one buying.

[lovesreading06]

Do you think its risky give my bank details to them?

I was just trying to think of a way to help make more money for them.

I would like to buy books from that site but you don't know who at the other end selling that book.

[Kell]

The person at the other end does not have access to any of your details - all sales go directly through the site.

[Michelle]

GreenMet are a professional company Laura, and I wouldn't have any worries about them having your bank details.

As for buying from them, I've had no problems at all. In fact, I believe it's less 'risky' than the likes of ebay, because they say that if a book you buy doesn't turn up, they will find you another copy. :)

As for selling though, I don't have much luck, even though I tend to only list new or excellent books. I might 'mooch' them instead. :)

[lovesreading06]

They have to know your address to send it on to?

[Michelle]

Yes, when you buy a book, the seller is sent your address.. but that's the same no matter where you buy from. :)

[lovesreading06]

You are right because i don't know the people on this site but i give them my address for books.

I looking for a book and i'm fed up with have to reserve and return it to the library and i not finshed it.

So you would recommend using it?

[Michelle]

I have bought quite a few books through GreenMet, and I've had no trouble at all. :)

[aromaannie]

I use Green Met a lot but mainly for selling. I transfer my money to my bank account every time I reach £50 and have no problem with them knowing my bank details. If I have ever had to email them with a query of any kind they are always quick to respond and very helpful. I would 100% recommend them.

[lovesreading06]

I not sure of what ways there accept payment?

Can you view the people ratings once regester?

[Kell]

You register (for free) then you uplaod however much you want to into your Green Met account from your bank account (you can transfer it back to your bank account whenever you want to). The transactions on Green Met all happen via your Green Met account, so the seller never has access to your bank account details and you don't need to use anything like Paypal or send cheques (they don't even know your real name unless you use it for your user name).

Everyone who sells books on Green Met gets rated by the buyer. All buyers can see this rating before they decide to buy from that person. The ratings is a recent development - everyone was automatically put to being 4 stars. If anyone has a 5-star rating it's because they've had a lot of successful sales since it was brought in and have a lot of very happy customers.Most people are still at the 4-star stage unless they've been particularly bad sellers, in which case their rating will have dropped significantly.

You can also contact sellers for more information on the book they're selling to ask things like which edition (if you're a first edition collector) or whatever else you want to know. Again, it's all done through Green Met, so your email address isn't given to the seller. Your identity is protected at each step.

[lovesreading06]

Thanks guys i will have a think about it.

[Kell]

If anyone has any more questions about Green Met, I'd like to direct them straight to the official FAQ section of their site HERE (http://www.greenmetropolis.com/help/faq.asp).

Don't forget, you can also contact them directly with any questions not answered there (they're very nice people, I promse! ;) ).

[Lilywhite]

I have nothing but praise for Greenmet and their staff. I have no hesitation buying and selling on there.

[Kell]

I was just totting up today and realisd I've sold 30 books through Green Met this year alone! I've only bought 19 though (and about a dozen of those were for Tadpole). I've always had excellent service through them, both as a buyer and a seller. On one occasion, I had two people request the same book within second of each other and could only obviously send to one of them, so I let the Green Met staff know that I would send to the one whose email had come in first and they dealt with the rest of it - they found an alternative copy for the 2nd buyer.

There's only been once that one of the books I sent got lost in the post. Again, the Green Met staff dealt with everything, letting me know that the book hadn't arrived and making sure I knew how to claim back from Royal Mail with my proof of postage (which you shoudl ALWAYS get when you send out a book for sale).

There has only been one instance of a book not arriving at my end and one other instance where the seller discovered they no longer had the book after all - the Green Met staff sorted out everything - in one case they were able to source an alternate copy for me.

I've only once had a book arrive that was not in the condition described (it was described as being in excellent condition and hactually had pages of the introduction missing - althoughnone of the actual story was missing, thank goodness!). I got in toch with the Green Met staff and they spoketo the seller about listing their book conditions honestly - can't say fairer than that!

I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Green Met both to buyers and sellers. It can take al ittle shile to get selling, but it largely depends on what you list and how much in demand those books are - I had been listed for about 6 or 7 months before I made my first sale, but I've now made almost 100 sales ove the past couple of years - it's a nice little fund of pocket money for my book buying sprees - LOL!

[aromaannie]

I'm loving the new look Green Met. What are other peoples thoughts on it's updates.

[lovesreading06]

I got a book on monday and its sentacceptable to me its good.

It take did a few days to arrive but was withthin the time.

[lovesreading06]

Sorry to double post but with a book not in stock there nothing to add it to wishlist. i sent an e-mail to them about another book they did get back to me.

Thats a downside of it.

[aromaannie]

I'm pretty sure there is an option somewhere as I have used it in the past. Will check another day for you when I'm not on my 3rd glass of wine

[Kell]

Sorry to double post but with a book not in stock there nothing to add it to wishlist. i sent an e-mail to them about another book they did get back to me.

Thats a downside of it.
Click the 2nd circle when searching:
Search books: books in stock all books (to add to Wish List)

Sometimes they take a few days to get back to you as they're very busy. Quite often the questions have been answered in their FAQ swection, so it pays to check there first.

[lovesreading06]

There take 2 days to get back. To me that is Excellent and there are very helpful.