Books Titles Changing on Amazon

[Richwood]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

You cannot buy the same book twice from amazon. When you try to buy a book you've already bought, you are unable to buy it again. Covers get changed all the time. That's nothing new.

Not totally true. Some books in my Kindle library, bought from Amazon, no longer shown as bought. This can be due to the author changing publishers or revising the book to a new or expanded edition. I have two editions of a book by Megan Derr, the second much expanded.

[DuskyRose]

Originally Posted by Richwood

Not totally true. Some books in my Kindle library, bought from Amazon, no longer shown as bought. This can be due to the author changing publishers or revising the book to a new or expanded edition. I have two editions of a book by Megan Derr, the second much expanded.

I almost bought another book because it's an author I always pick up, but last minute decided to check my list anyway. In case I picked it up somewhere else.

Yup. I already had it, bought at Amazon. Still in my Amazon library. Same title, different cover and Amazon code. Not even listed as re-edited or anything. It was still listed under the old Amazon code, with the label of it already being in my library showing up on the Amazon page.

But the 'new' book was listed under "Recommended for You" even though I'd already purchased the old copy.

I'm glad I checked. I'm going to check them all now.

[Richwood]

In my experience the "Recommended for You" listings are based on subject matter of prior purchases and are not cross checked against all ready done prior purchases. Buy a history book and a good chance it will be recommended for purchase later, along with other history books.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by Richwood

In my experience the "Recommended for You" listings are based on subject matter of prior purchases and are not cross checked against all ready done prior purchases. Buy a history book and a good chance it will be recommended for purchase later, along with other history books.

'Recommended for you' is HORRIBLE. It will recommend the Hardback of the book you have bought the Paperback of.
I get the same terrible results with Video Media suggestions (and I am not griping about Extended Cut offers for a standard release owned. that gripe belong with the studio greed and delay).

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by crich70

Traditional publishing has had this happen in the past. An example is the works of Agatha Christie. In England her publisher's had one title for a given book and the U.S. publisher would have a different one (along with a different cover). "Murder in the Calais coach"(U.S) and "Murder on the Orient Express" (U.K.) is an example. It's the same book but with two different titles and covers due to there being two different publishers.

I cannot find any eBook titled Murder in the Calais Coach. I can find in both the US and the UK Murder on the Orient Express.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Richwood

Not totally true. Some books in my Kindle library, bought from Amazon, no longer shown as bought. This can be due to the author changing publishers or revising the book to a new or expanded edition. I have two editions of a book by Megan Derr, the second much expanded.

And expanded ook is not the same as the book you previously bought. A couple of examples are The Stand by Stephen King and American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Both have expanded versions which I would expect to have a different ISBN and ASIN because they are different. And if the original versons are still for sale, you cannot have two books with the same ISBN or ASIN.

[Jo69]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

Does it happen to specific authors you like, or genres? Can you give some examples of specific books you purchased multiple times, please.

Yes no problem.

[Jo69]

Originally Posted by DuskyRose

I almost bought another book because it's an author I always pick up, but last minute decided to check my list anyway. In case I picked it up somewhere else.

Yup. I already had it, bought at Amazon. Still in my Amazon library. Same title, different cover and Amazon code. Not even listed as re-edited or anything. It was still listed under the old Amazon code, with the label of it already being in my library showing up on the Amazon page.

But the 'new' book was listed under "Recommended for You" even though I'd already purchased the old copy.

I'm glad I checked. I'm going to check them all now.

Its very frustrating isn't it Happened to me a lot.
Once it was just a week after I had bought the original!

[maddz]

It’s happened to me a few times but it’s usually for a valid reason:

1 One version of the book was an Amazon deal and the other version was part of a bundle (StoryBundle, HumbleBundle etc)
2 One version was part of an omnibus or box set, the other was standalone. (Usually book 1 in a series)
3 Both my partner and I got it in the days before family sharing was available.

Usually, I check Calibre before purchase (or see what’s been loaded on the Kobo if I’m away).

[tch65721]

I've warned about this a few times on the bargains forum. It happens to me fairly often.
I once trusted Amazon to flag duplicates. Now I never buy without checking "your content and devices" first.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

You cannot buy the same book twice from amazon. When you try to buy a book you've already bought, you are unable to buy it again.

Originally Posted by sufue

Open Road Media is notorious for this...re-publishing (for lack of a better word) their books with new ASIN so you don't know that you've bought them before. Jury is out on whether they do it deliberately or not, although it's hard for me to understand why else they would do it.

Yep. Arthur C. Clarke's books are a perfect example of this. I have two copies of Prelude to Space, Rendezvous With Rama, 2061 and 3001. Same cover, same publisher, same everything.

There are several more of his books that a quick glance at Amazon says I don't own, yet the Kindle app says I do.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I would expect the ASIN to change when the publisher changes. But if there is a new cover and/or fixes, I would not expect it to be a different ASIN.

Yet it happens.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Yep. Arthur C. Clarke's books are a perfect example of this. I have two copies of Prelude to Space, Rendezvous With Rama, 2061 and 3001. Same cover, same publisher, same everything.

There are several more of his books that a quick glance at Amazon says I don't own, yet the Kindle app says I do.



Yet it happens.

I've had a few of these as well, but mostly I notice that I already have it. I do have some duplicates, but it's mostly omnibus books where I make the decision to have multiple copies for convenience sake. I buy from enough different sources (Amazon, Baen, Sony) that I normally will look in my Calbre library first.

[Sirtel]

For people not in the US it's even worse. Often both the US and UK edition of a book are available in my country. In the case of new releases, sometimes the different editions have different release times. And I might already have bought one of them.

And then there's buying elsewhere than Amazon (which I do a lot, because Amazon prices are often the highest for me). Without Calibre I would probably have purchased dozens of books twice or thrice.

[barryem]

Originally Posted by Barbara1955

James Patterson Does that! Pi$$es me off! I keep thinking new book when its old book I already have You think as Rich as he is he would not stoop to trickery with his fans
Sample: Private Down Under aka Oz ....Private Oz aka Down Under [6th book of Private series]

I don't usually let my purchasing be too heavily influenced by moral issues but I make an exception for James Patterson. I have enjoyed a number of his books in the past but when I found out he hires large numbers of writers to write his books and calls the co-authors I quit buying his books. I make many of my purchasing decisions based on the author and when an author isn't the author I thought I was paying for I've been cheated.

Personally I think the biggest crook in James Patterson's novels is James Patterson.

Of course he's not the only one. I first became aware of this issue when I read that V. C. Andrews had written more novels since her death than she wrote during her lifetime. Now I see new Robert Parker novels written by other authors. If they wanted to do that honestly they'd say Spenser novels or novels from other series and give the author's name.

Maybe we should use the same moral sense that prohibits the advocating piracy to prohibit advocating publishing. Publishers sure do a lot of cheating.

Barry

[barryem]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I cannot find any eBook titled Murder in the Calais Coach. I can find in both the US and the UK Murder on the Orient Express.

If you google Murder in the Calais Coach it'll take you to Murder in the Orient Express. I'm just guessing but the first name might have been Muder in the Calais Coach and now the book is so well known under Murder on the Orient Express that now it's publshed that way on both sides of the Atlantic. As I said, I'm just guessing.

Barry