THE BOOKSTORE CHART
| COMPANY | | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Search Page | | | | | | |
| Telephone | | | | | | |
| Location | | | | | | |
| Virtual | | | | | | |
| New/Used | | | | | | |
| # of Titles | | | | | | |
| Discount | | | | | | |
| Members | | | | | | |
| Shipping | | | | | | |
| Credit | | | | | | |
| Returnable | | | | | | |
| Subjects | | | | | | |
| Search | | | | | | |
| Detail | | | | | | |
| Annotations | | | | | | |
| Evaluations | | | | | | |
| Features | | | | | | |
| Response | | | | | | |
| Server | | | | | | |
| Cookies | | | | | | |
| Privacy | | | | | | |
| COMPANY | |
Company: The main home page of U.S. online bookstores thatsell New or New/Used books.
Search: The advanced book search page of eachbookstore.
Telephone: Except for Bookserve, a virtual only bookstoreexpects you to order online. A walk-in bookstore allows phoneorders.
Virtual: Virtual only implies that the bookstore is a bookbroker with limited physical inventory, no actual walk-inlocation.
New / Used: If a bookstore does not discount, the usedbooks in stock are normally discounted. Out of Print (O.P.) books maybe available for an additional fee.
Number of Titles: The number of book titles in thebookstore's database, not necessarily on hand.
Discount: Inventory wide bookstore discounts for Hardbacks/ Softbacks, may be up to 40% for best seller titles. Special orderbooks and out of print books are not normally discounted. A sales taxmay apply those who live in the home state of the bookstore.
Members: Special member discounts and benefits mayapply
Shipping: The minimum charge for a bookstore to ship onebook the slowest way within the U.S.
Credit Cards: Which credit cards are acceptable to thebookstore.
Returnable: The bookstore returns policy for unwantedbooks. Certain kinds of books like textbooks may not bereturnable.
Subjects: The most comprehesive subject category scheme fora bookstore is the full Books in Print implementation
Search: Each bookstore allows a basic search by title andauthor. True search by BIP subjects for BIP bookstores only.
Detail Screen: Each title has a basic detail screen withtitle, author, price, publisher, publication date, ISBN, and binding.Other items like page count, physical size, user evaluations, andwhether subject categories are included or not are optional.
Annotations: Valuable descriptive comments found forpopular book titles on the bookstore's detail screen.
Evaluations: A bookstore may allow users to comment andrate the books they have read for the benefit of potentialbuyers.
Features: If your book search fails for a title, abookstore may be able to send you e-mail later when the searchcriteria is met.
Response Time: Done with a 33.6K modem at lull and peaktimes. They should be considered as relative values.
Server: With Netscape Navigator you can tell if you have asecure link by examining the key in the lower left corner of yourbrowser window. If the bar disappears, the link is secure. If youdon't see the key, the browser may not support the Secure SocketsLayer (SSL).
Cookie Demerits: Privacy sdvocates have pointed out thepotential for abuse present in the use of the MagicCookie file usedby many sites. Many large bookstores use these cookies.
Privacy Protection: Because of the strong potential formisuse of private information, we believe it is important for anonline bookstore to post a strong policy in writing for a guaranteeof privacy. To qualify for a "Yes" the merchant must state in someway on the site that customer information will never be used outsidetheir company. In is common in the mail order and telemarketingbusiness for companies to sell, rent and trade lists. Ånotherpractice that we do not rate at this point is one called profiling inwhich a composite is created based on a buyers interests deduced byspecial software that follows your actions as you navigate thewebsite.
Caveat: The CDs and databases used by bookstores that contain bookdata vary widely in what information is included for any given title.At a minimum the best CD may have no author, binding or subject andonly an abbreviated version of the title. So if you know the exacttitle, use the basic form of that title in your first attempt to findthe book at an online bookstore. A book that has gone through severaleditions may have several different ISBN numbers, one for eachpublisher, edition, and binding.
Disclaimer: Caveat Lector. These ideas are for informational purposes only and constitute neither an endorsement nor a recommendation. We assume no responsibility with regard to the selection, performance, or use of any products or vendors. All understandings, agreements, or warranties, if any, take place directly between the vendors and the prospective buyers. We make no warranties as to the completeness or accuracy of this information.In fact, we guarantee that there will be errors on this page and other connected with it.Copyright 2002, shoppingagents.net. All rights reserved.