Refund or Discount on poorly formated ebook

oldbwl · 09-23-2010, 05:31 AM

I don't know if this has been discussed before, the search terms I used brought up too many threads to be sure.

If I buy a new paperback from a book shop and find a page missing or damaged I would expect to be able to take it back for a replacement or refund.

If I download an ebook and find it poorly formatted including missing and corrupted words etc, and the DRM in place prevents any amendments (why should I anyway) wouldn't I be entitled to the same consideration, i.e. a refund and the license revoked or a discount on the original purchase price refunded to me? Especially so if the ebook is not significantly cheaper than the physical version?

I have found some conversions to be appalling and wonder if I should be doing something if only to prevent it happening again to others.

(Ha! pity I can't spell formaTTed LOL!!!)

HarryT · 09-23-2010, 05:34 AM

Most eBook stores will give you a refund on a book if it is so poorly formatted as to spoil the reading experience for you.

oldbwl · 09-23-2010, 05:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Most eBook stores will give you a refund on a book if it is so poorly formatted as to spoil the reading experience for you.

That is quite subjective, I can see some people considering that if they paid for a story, it should be all there, properly laid out and to a good professional standard. Afterall the hardcopy version almost certainly will be.

Do we have a place or thread here to name and shame books bought and not adequate?

AlexBell · 09-23-2010, 06:08 AM

Yes, there have been several threads - I started one called 'Hall of Shame' If I've got it right the link is
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ght=Hall+Shame

Regards, Alex

mjhudston · 09-24-2010, 04:02 AM

I recently purchased a copy of raise the titanic from the apple iBook store. The grammar and spelling were so bad that it spoiled the reading of what is a great book. I contacted them, and was refunded within 2 days.

ficbot · 09-24-2010, 07:22 AM

I would worry that if you ask for a refund too often, they would blacklist you or something...

MrPLD · 09-24-2010, 07:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ficbot

I would worry that if you ask for a refund too often, they would blacklist you or something...

Or offer you a job as a critic/quality-control.

Ravensknight · 09-24-2010, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrPLD

Or offer you a job as a critic/quality-control.

That's assuming "they" actually care about QC

MrPLD · 09-24-2010, 08:03 AM

It depends. If they start getting a lot more complaints/refund-demands then yes, they may actually get to the point where it'll be cheaper to get someone to do QC. That said, it could also be that they don't give a damn because technically it costs them almost nothing to refund and they'll still gain profits through people who 'cannot be bothered' to request the refund. ( a bit like those mail-in rebate scams ).

Paul

JoeKeppler · 09-24-2010, 09:27 AM

I tend to think a lot of the horrific typos and weird formatting comes from the relative newness of the medium.

Just as an example: Was talking with a couple folks from a big home building book distributer about e-books. Basically what they told me was that they were in the very early stages of going through and re-formatting their entire catalog for e-reading. This was back in May, I believe. Their goal was to have a very large chunk of their stuff ready to go before the end of this year, and then most of, if not all of the rest, by next year.

Seemed pretty quick to me, especially considering that their distribution wing is just a very, very small part of the larger company, which is simply a home building association.

My thought is that a lot of the "big dog" books from authors with advertised names and expensive promotion campaigns are being re-formatted as fast as possible to meet the sharply rising demands of this "new" market.

And I think that in that rush, a lot of quality control is being sacrificed. (Probably not a ground breaking revelation, I know!)

Didn't mean to completely go off tangent from the OP's question, though I think I did! My apologies. But it's good to know from the comments that e-books can be returned to most places like a regular print book!

MrPLD · 09-24-2010, 09:36 AM

What I've found already in converting various books here is that a lot of the finer details that make the text 'beautiful' are mangled to death, so you end up almost having to go through and typeset your book again. Fortunately a set of decent grep/sed/Calibre scripts can bring sanity back into your day.

Paul.

poohbear_nc · 09-24-2010, 10:26 AM

AFAIK Amazon is leading the way in replacing defective ebooks at no charge. I just received a corrected edition of Cloud Atlas today. I don't know if they are responding to customer complaints or if they do this if/when publishers release corrected files.

ProfCrash · 09-24-2010, 10:45 AM

I have received several emails from Amazon asking me if I would like to swap out versions of a book due to formatting changes. They let me know that I will lose notes and book marks associated with that bookif I complete the swap.

Also, I have returned books to Amazon with no problems. I think that they are fine with it as long as you have not finished the book and/or they know that there are formatting issues due to other folks compaining.

09-23-2010, 05:31 AM	#1
oldbwl Zealot Posts: 122 Karma: 164 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Old Ynysybwl Device: Sony PRS-300	Refund or Discount on poorly formated ebook I don't know if this has been discussed before, the search terms I used brought up too many threads to be sure. If I buy a new paperback from a book shop and find a page missing or damaged I would expect to be able to take it back for a replacement or refund. If I download an ebook and find it poorly formatted including missing and corrupted words etc, and the DRM in place prevents any amendments (why should I anyway) wouldn't I be entitled to the same consideration, i.e. a refund and the license revoked or a discount on the original purchase price refunded to me? Especially so if the ebook is not significantly cheaper than the physical version? I have found some conversions to be appalling and wonder if I should be doing something if only to prevent it happening again to others. (Ha! pity I can't spell formaTTed LOL!!!)

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09-23-2010, 05:34 AM	#2
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Most eBook stores will give you a refund on a book if it is so poorly formatted as to spoil the reading experience for you.

09-23-2010, 06:08 AM	#4
AlexBell Wizard Posts: 3,413 Karma: 13369310 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Launceston, Tasmania Device: Sony PRS T3, Kobo Glo, Kindle Touch, iPad, Samsung SB 2 tablet	Yes, there have been several threads - I started one called 'Hall of Shame' If I've got it right the link is https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ght=Hall+Shame Regards, Alex

09-24-2010, 04:02 AM	#5
mjhudston All round good egg Posts: 229 Karma: 1005039 Join Date: Oct 2008 Device: Apple Ipad 3rd Generation	I recently purchased a copy of raise the titanic from the apple iBook store. The grammar and spelling were so bad that it spoiled the reading of what is a great book. I contacted them, and was refunded within 2 days.

09-24-2010, 07:22 AM	#6
ficbot Wizard Posts: 2,409 Karma: 4132096 Join Date: Sep 2008 Device: Kindle Paperwhite/iOS Kindle App	I would worry that if you ask for a refund too often, they would blacklist you or something...

09-24-2010, 08:03 AM	#9
MrPLD Author's pet-geek Posts: 933 Karma: 1040670 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: North Queensland, Australia Device: Kindle 3 Wifi, Onyx Boox M96	It depends. If they start getting a lot more complaints/refund-demands then yes, they may actually get to the point where it'll be cheaper to get someone to do QC. That said, it could also be that they don't give a damn because technically it costs them almost nothing to refund and they'll still gain profits through people who 'cannot be bothered' to request the refund. ( a bit like those mail-in rebate scams ). Paul

09-24-2010, 09:27 AM	#10
JoeKeppler New Author Posts: 16 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Spotsylvania, VA Device: Kindle	I tend to think a lot of the horrific typos and weird formatting comes from the relative newness of the medium. Just as an example: Was talking with a couple folks from a big home building book distributer about e-books. Basically what they told me was that they were in the very early stages of going through and re-formatting their entire catalog for e-reading. This was back in May, I believe. Their goal was to have a very large chunk of their stuff ready to go before the end of this year, and then most of, if not all of the rest, by next year. Seemed pretty quick to me, especially considering that their distribution wing is just a very, very small part of the larger company, which is simply a home building association. My thought is that a lot of the "big dog" books from authors with advertised names and expensive promotion campaigns are being re-formatted as fast as possible to meet the sharply rising demands of this "new" market. And I think that in that rush, a lot of quality control is being sacrificed. (Probably not a ground breaking revelation, I know!) Didn't mean to completely go off tangent from the OP's question, though I think I did! My apologies. But it's good to know from the comments that e-books can be returned to most places like a regular print book!

09-24-2010, 09:36 AM	#11
MrPLD Author's pet-geek Posts: 933 Karma: 1040670 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: North Queensland, Australia Device: Kindle 3 Wifi, Onyx Boox M96	What I've found already in converting various books here is that a lot of the finer details that make the text 'beautiful' are mangled to death, so you end up almost having to go through and typeset your book again. Fortunately a set of decent grep/sed/Calibre scripts can bring sanity back into your day. Paul.

09-24-2010, 10:26 AM	#12
poohbear_nc Now what? Posts: 58,870 Karma: 135181808 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Durham, NC Device: Every Kindle Ever Made & To Be Made!	AFAIK Amazon is leading the way in replacing defective ebooks at no charge. I just received a corrected edition of Cloud Atlas today. I don't know if they are responding to customer complaints or if they do this if/when publishers release corrected files.

09-24-2010, 10:45 AM	#13
ProfCrash Tea Enthusiast Posts: 8,554 Karma: 75384937 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Somewhere in the USA Device: Kindle1, Kindle DX Graphite, K3 3G, IPad 3, PW2	I have received several emails from Amazon asking me if I would like to swap out versions of a book due to formatting changes. They let me know that I will lose notes and book marks associated with that bookif I complete the swap. Also, I have returned books to Amazon with no problems. I think that they are fine with it as long as you have not finished the book and/or they know that there are formatting issues due to other folks compaining.

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