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Feb-06-2014 15:01
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Amazon Reseller DailyDeal USA Overprices Consumers and Gets Away with It
Salem-News.comThousand dollar paperbacks? Amazon takes no responsibility for DailyDeal USA and DailyDeal USA doesn't answer their phone. They priced Bill O'Reilly's book at a grand too.
 DailyDeal USA is listing the book written by O'Dowd and King at $999.10, the book's actual price is $24.26. |
(SALEM) - The Amazon reseller, DailyDealUSA, has the book co-authored by Robert O'Dowd and Tim King of Salem-News.com, Betrayal: Toxic Exposure of U.S. Marines, Murder and Government Cover-up, listed for just under a thousand dollars.
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DailyDeal USA is a major reseller on Amazon. As a reseller, they set their own prices and use the Amazon website to overcharge consumers for books and other items with unbelievable mark-ups. The reseller has a land line located on Bainbridge Island, WA, (206-855-3932) with only access to a voice mail box. No customer service representatives are available.
We had sticker shock earlier this week when we checked the Amazon website for ]BETRAYAL: Toxic Exposure of U.S. Marines, Murder and Government Cover-up. Tim King and I are the co-authors of the book.
Amazon’s price for the soft cover $24.26; the eBook sells for $4.99. You can imagine our shock when the Amazon website showed that DailyDeal USA listed the sale price of a used book at $999.11.
DailyDeal USA does a lot of business with Amazon. The Amazon website showed 324,000 ratings for this reseller over the past year.
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Sounds crazy, I know and it’s not that this is an ‘autographed book’ by two internationally known best sellers. We did find that we were in rare company.
Robert Gates and Bill O’Reilly (the Fox Bill O’Reilly) have books overpriced by the DailyDeal USA. Maybe O’Reilly’s “Factor” can get the attention of the reseller and Amazon.
We first thought was “Could this be a ‘dirty trick’ by the government to dissuade readers from buying BETRAYAL?” I mean nobody would willingly buy $999 for a soft cover book. Our book is good but not that good.
That was a possibility since BETRAYAL reports the murder of Marine Colonel James E. Sabow who was killed to prevent him from blowing the whistle on gun running and cocaine trafficking in a covert operation; crime scene tampering by federal agents; a blown NCIS cold case investigation; buried 55 gallon steel drums of toxic waste on a base sold to a real estate joint venture with plan to build over 9,000 homes; a radiation contaminated hangar shuttered and sealed years after the base was close; toxic exposures and cancers of Marine veterans and their dependents at two Marine bases and government denial of any responsibility of injuries and deaths. We haven’t sold many books but we’re certain that BETRAYAL is not on the Commandant’s top ten reading list for Marines.
No, this wasn’t a government dirty trick. Just plain greed.
A quick review of DailyDeal USA’s books for resell on Amazon showed the reseller was nondiscriminatory in its overpricing practices. A sample of the hundreds of books available from the DailyDeal USA showed that none of the books were on a list to be ‘banned’ by any government:
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- Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War by Robert M Gates ($999.11)
- The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers ($999.11)
- Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence by Sarah Young ($999.11)
- Against All Grain: Delectable Paleo Recipes to Eat Well & Feel Great by Danielle Walker ($999.11)
- A Tale of Two Sisters (Disney Frozen) (Step into Reading) by Melissa Lagonegro and RH Disney ($999.11)
- David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants by Malcolm Gladwell ($999.11)
- Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 by Marcus Luttrell and Patrick Robinson ($999.11)
- A Short Guide to a Long Life by David B. Agus M.D. ($999.11)
- Killing Jesus by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard ($999.11)
This couldn’t be a clerical error. There are just too many books overpriced by the reseller.
The DailyDeal USA has over 300,000 ratings with Amazon and complaints on the internet about overpricing. Lots of bucks passing through their hands. Some of it is ill gotten gains; in simple terms, just plain stealing.
How could this happen? A consumer in a hurry to purchase a book from Amazon thinks he sees a bargain for a book from a reseller priced at $9.99. He not wearing his glasses or is distracted by the children or whatever. He pays for the book with his credit or debit card.
When the bill comes in, he’s in shell shock, “What the hell! $999.00 for the dam book. Can’t be right.” He calls the DailyDeal USA and reaches a voice mail; calls Amazon to complain and is told that resellers set their own prices; Amazon is not involved; can’t help you. He’s now humiliated and maybe even intimated to file a fraud complaint with the state Attorney General. DailyDeal USA pockets the extra money; Amazon gets a piece of the change. Everybody is happen but the poor sucker who’s out several hundred dollars for a pocket book that retails by Amazon for less than $30.
We contacted Amazon to complain about the DailyDeal USA. As suggested with followed-up with an Amazon Customer Service representative. There was nothing they could do. Here’s the email from Amazon:
Hello Robert,
Thank you for contacting CreateSpace with your support request.
I understand your concern about the overrated prices this specific reseller has on the Amazon.com website, unfortunately we have no control on their stock, pricing or promotional strategies. If you would to complain about this specific reseller; I would advise you to contact Amazon.com's Customer Service and can best assist you in regards of this topic. They are available 24-hours a day, seven days a week at 1-866-216-1072.Or, if you would prefer to connect with Amazon's Online Support, please visit the following link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/
Lesson learned: If it sounds like a bargain, double check the price. Don’t be overcharged hundreds of dollars and find yourself out in the cold.
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Bob O’Dowd is a former U.S. Marine with thirty years of experience on the east coast as an auditor, accountant, and financial manager with the Federal government. Half of that time was spent with the Defense Logistics Agency in Philadelphia. Originally from Pennsylvania, he enlisted in the Marine Corps at age 19, served in the 1st, 3rd, and 4th Marine Aircraft Wings in 52 months of active duty in the 1960s. A graduate of Temple University, Bob has been married to Grace for 31 years. He is the father of two adult children and the grandfather of two boys. Bob has a blog site on former MCAS El Toro at mwsg37.com. This subject is where Bob intersected with Salem-News.com. Bob served in the exact same Marine Aviation Squadron that Salem-News founder Tim King served in, twenty years earlier. With their combined on-site knowledge and research ability, Bob and Tim and a handful of other ex-Marines, have put the contamination of MCAS El Toro on the map. The base is highly contaminated with TCE, trichloroethelyne
You can email Bob O’Dowd, Salem-News.com Environmental and Military Reporter, at this address: consults03@comcast.net
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Anonymous June 2, 2016 9:22 pm (Pacific time)
I got you all beat. My book was offered at $2475.00. It all started when I wanted my book removed from Amazon, and they refused to do it, because they said they wanted to sell any books people would want to return. Then it went up for sale on Amazon for $136.64 with 1 customer review, which it never had. I complained more, and they then said it was up for sale by somebody else. I checked and it was put up by Internationalbooks for $2,475.00. I was tempted to change the contents of the book at the $136.64 price, and buy to prove they were offering to sell my book without my permission. Both prices were for a new book, and not a used copy of my book. At one point when it was up for sale at $136.64 they made the webpage so it could not be saved, but I have screen shots of everything I mentioned here, which date back to 2011.
David October 6, 2015 12:40 pm (Pacific time)
You're missing the real story here. "Daily Deals", like "Quality7" or "amitcj" (sellers you see on almost every Amazon book page) is a SPIDER. They don't own anything that they sell. Instead they list books generically described, at a % more than the lowest on the market. When someone falls into the web, they buy that book (often a ragged or ex-library one, honestly described and priced) and pocket the difference, doing no work other than placing the order, misleading the customer, and dealing with the complaints their nefarious practice inevitably creates. Probably these $999 prices are part of their computer program and represent cases where they can't make a profit through their "ordinary" means. Follow the ramifications of the real story though, and you see the harm these SPIDERS are causing, not only to consumers, but to the book market. For examples, with as many as 3 spiders for every listing, a single book listed at $1 (rather than the going rate of $10) because it is damaged and ex-library spawns 3 (fake) listings priced at $4-5, not describing condition, and thus making the book appear common and cheap, when it is not. Then other sellers come along and try to compete with the SPIDERS, and suddenly real copies of a $10 book are being listed at $4 and under, because that's the best the seller thinks she can get. Over time this snowballs, and the market collapses. The real story then, though not one that may necessarily outrage you as a consumer, is the number of high quality books that end up selling for less than a buck on Amazon, in a process kick-started by these spiders. Amazon has been profiting from the spiders as they can double-dip in commission on every purchase from a spider. But what they are not seeing is the big picture: spiders are driving down prices and ultimately taking money away from Amazon.
Vic C August 23, 2015 11:39 am (Pacific time)
A self published book I wrote for kids called: "Mr Doots and the Stinky Green Car" was for sale USED at $111.00! It sells new at Amazon for $10. I questioned Daily Deal and they said it was a mistake and would fix it. A few days later, the price was even HIGHER! I asked them for a "Photo" of the last page of my book. They took the entire thing off. I think this is a SCAM for selling drugs on the internet! NO ONE would pay $352 for a USED kids book from an Unknown author! There is some sneaky business. I reported this as INTERNET CRIME!!
Kevin April 14, 2015 4:36 am (Pacific time)
Here's the real deal: Daily Deals lists books that they do not have in stock, then they take your money and buy a cheaper book from another online seller and that seller ships to you. This just happened to me. I knew right away that the books I ordered were from a different seller because I passed over those books on Amazon and ordered "better condition" books for more money. Daily Deals turned around and bought the books from the sellers I passed over and had them send them to me. I posted bad feedback but obviously Amazon does not care, and it is not worth my time and energy to attempt to return the books and get a refund.
Drew March 7, 2015 6:27 pm (Pacific time)
Bro you really need to learn how the Amazon system works. I can't believe your editor would let you write such a silly article. You need to learn how the amazon seller system works. More than likely he priced things that way because he is out of stock, and it is a placeholder price. Even if his true intent ( I highly doubt it) is to price it at 999.12 then no one is going to buy the book. Your scenario about someone buying the book by mistake is extremely unlikely. High prices are listed on the last page, so the customer would have to go through pages and pages of offers. Also if the customer somehow managed to make the purchase by mistake then all he would have to do is submit a refund request. If the seller won't comply, then all the buyer has to do is file an A-Z claim. Problem solved. I don't like Dailydeals any more than you do. He is my competition, but he is doing absolutely nothing wrong. You had no right to complain on him and treaten his lively hood. This article should be retracted.
Anonymous March 7, 2015 3:48 pm (Pacific time)
If you don't want to pay $1000 for the book then don't buy it. Buy it from the seller selling it for $25. How is that a rip off? Funny thing is you have a link to Daily Deal's page. Trying to make affiliate money off your blog?
Alph March 7, 2015 2:23 pm (Pacific time)
1 - Sellers often use programs to automatically change the price oif product at $999 when they are running low on stock, to stop sales without having to delist the SKU, until more inventory is received. 2 - Any Amazon customer can always return an item, no questions asked, within 30 days. I have done so many times.
Anonymous February 5, 2015 10:43 am (Pacific time)
Last time I looked it up we are still are in a capitalist, free enterprise country. If people are too uneducated to check pricing it is not the responsibility of the vendor to do their homework. These people are the same ones who buy cola one week for 1.00 and the next week pay 1.89, yet they squawk over gas going up 10 cents.
Greg Baron September 22, 2014 9:49 am (Pacific time)
THANK YOU for reporting Daily Deals on Amazon. They are a SHAM seller ripping consumers off! They need to be put out of business!
Rice Crispy April 3, 2014 6:27 pm (Pacific time)
What you don't realise it that "Daily Deals" on Amazon has no physical inventory whatsoever, none; they are what the industry characterizes as a spider bookseller. They rely on uninformed consumers to purchase their higher priced books, which they in turn buy from another seller, pocketing the (often huge) difference. It is not very sophisticated in this sense, though the algorithms and computer programs they utilize are. Bottom line: Amazon will not do anything about it because they are making two commissions on the the sale of one book. How? Customer A buys a "new" book from Daily Deals, and Amazon charges DD a commission for this sale; Daily Deals then buys a beat up used book from an actual seller (pocketing the huge difference of course, which is the game they play and their sole business model), and Amazon of course then charges another commission for the sale of this second book sale. One book, two commissions. It is a class action lawsuit waiting to happen. Keep digging, there is a lot to this story, including the off shore Western Asians involved in this. No they aren't located in Washington, try India. Ask me how I know. :)
How do you know?
Angry Artist March 5, 2014 12:17 pm (Pacific time)
Amazon is just as guilty as Daily Deal Usa for allowing the rights of artists and buyers trust to be expoloited for financial gain. Its like saying: "God bless you for selling crack to the children who visit my house while we laugh together at the bank."
Angry Artist March 5, 2014 12:10 pm (Pacific time)
Amazon is just as guilty as Daily Deal Usa for allowing the rights of artists and buyers trust to be expoloited for financial gain. Its like saying: "God bless you for selling crack to the children who visit my house while we laugh together at the bank."
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