If you can’t tell anyone’s read it, return it. Many bookstores allow their employees to take the books home, read them, then bring them back to be sold. As long as the book still looks new, they can still sell it.
Having been guilty of returning loads of books, none I’ve ever bought ( all were gifts that - and its the same person - just has zero clue of what I like) I’ve never returned a book I’ve bought and not liked. I always use the in store credit to go nuts on the things off my ever growing wish list.
It takes me forever to make a commitment to a book with prices that range from $7.99 in a pool side cheezy romance (and those ain’t the little Harlequins either, folks.) to a $25-30 tag on hardcover ( which I never buy. I will hate the story just that much more because of the price.) And children’s hard cover picture books are $12-17. Which is rape, IMHO.
So, before I do make a commitment, I usually take it out of the library. If I really like it, then I buy used.
I have picked out cars to buy with less involved than a book purchase. (and either way, I haven’t screwed myself yet.)
But, is it unethical? As long as the book is not damaged and the returnee buys another book from that store, I don’t think so.
I’ve never returned a book, but I recently exchanged one for store credit. The book I bought was the new Tom Clancy book and it was just a piece of crap. I ended up buying a more expensive book so I don’t feel too bad.
I’d take the book back to the store and ask, being honest about your reasons. “I bought this book. There isn’t anything wrong with it, it just wasn’t quite what I hoped it would be. Does store policy allow me to return it?”
I’ve done it, once, and it was taken back with no problem.
The books I buy end up donated to the local library.
I rarely buy books, but I’m a big fan of the public library. I have gone and bought books that I’ve first borrowed fom the library, simply because I wanted to have them in my collection. Of course, there are certain authors (Stephen King, Diana Gabaldon) that I would head straight to the bookstore if I’d heard they’ve published a book on pi to the 12,000th place.
Try checking out books first at the library. If they don’t have it, they can get it from another branch. Then, if you don’t like it, no harm done, just return it. If you fall in love with the book and must own a copy, then go to the book store.
But I wouldn’t treat the bookstore as a lending libary. You bought the book, you don’t like it, too bad. As I found out to my regret when I plunked down $29.95 for Jean Auel’s Shelters of Stone in hardback. Well, she’s off my mandatory list.
If it was so bad that I walked out 10 minutes into the movie, I might think about it! I have a high tolerance for bad films, so that’d be saying something.
That being said, I doubt I’d return a book I bought myself unless I truly made a mistake in some fashion. I might consider returning gift books that I hated, though it’d be less of a hassle to give it away or sell it somewhere.
It’s not unethical, but it is a bit wierd. If I were a clerk, I’d probably be kind of pissed off about it, and make a couple jokes to my co-workers, but I wouldn’t think you were a bad person or anything.
I’m not sure how I feel about prolonged reading in bookshops, but I’ve finished off more than a couple books in a bookstore myself.
Personally, I’ve only read one or two books that I’ve not liked to the point that I didn’t want to finish them or ever go near them again. I buy lots of books (I’m a big re-reader who likes having plenty of books to choose from on any given day- so the library isn’t my best bet) and unless it’s a $1.00 used book I usually read a few pages of it to make sure it’s what I really want to be reading.
I did this. It was “Joshua”, that allegorical book about a Jesus-person. It was just plain bad. I returned it the next day or so, in good condition. I couldn’t see continuing to read a book that had all the subtlety of a bulldozer, as I told the clerk.
They had no problem with it.
I’ve also used bookstores as reading rooms many, many times, now that they actually put chairs in there for you to camp on.
Oh, but as a former video store clerk, I gotta add this…
It’s not okay to try to get a refund on a video you’ve rented but didn’t like (unless the store is running a "satisfaction guarenteed special). Video rental stores make money off of renting the video, so once you’ve rented it, you’ve already taken advantage of their service and rightfuly should pay for it. Likewise, video rental stores are responsible for providing videos for you to choose to rent, not providing you with videos that you like. It’s not the store’s fault if you are didn’t bother to read the box to find out it is subtitled (rated R, a remake, a sequel, in widescreen, starring John Travolta, whatever).
I honestly can’t figure out why people will blithly plunk down four fifty to rent a movie without having the slightest clue about what they are renting, and then expect the store to take the hit when it doesn’t meet their every specification. When “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” came out, we had people demanding refunds once an hour because it had subtitles. :rolleyes:
Ironic - the book I’m talking about is Clan of the Cave Bear… (and I will NEVER read another of those ridiculously wrong “Most Important Work of Fiction You Ever Laid Eyes On” lists)
{hijack}
I liked Clan of the Cave Bear but the rest were softcore porn in the Paleolithic. And not that great of porn either.
I shoulda done that… talk about a movie that sucked ditch water.
{hijack off}
Years ago when I worked at a B & N, there was one particular customer who would 1) only read a book if it was on the New York Times Bestseller list, and 2) buy one of these books and then return it a week later to exchange it, where he would then pick up another new book, and repeat this process. The monstrous manager herself would always okay the exchanges. And this guy wasn’t returning the books because he didn’t like them – he was reading them all, and on top of that, offering up his personal reviews to the clerks. I guess this man had never heard of a library.
Returning a book because you’re not liking it, seems to me to be a matter of shifting responsibilites back onto the people who sold you the book. It’s as if you’re saying to the store, it’s your fault I made this decision, and I refuse to own up to it.
I worked at a B. Dalton for 2 years. It is perfectly acceptable to return a book you don’t like as long as it isn’t damaged. If you had the receipt, we would issue a refund (within a specified time). If you didn’t have a receipt but the book was listed as in print, we would exchange it.
Bookstores have kind of an interesting way of doing business. Any books that don’t sell are actually returned to the publisher (paperbooks have the covers stripped off and only the covers are sent back due to shipping costs).
If you don’t like a book and you bring it back and if the bookstore can’t sell it again, they won’t take a loss on it. It never occured to me to view the practice as dishonest, the bookstore would either resell the book or return it to the pubilsher.
You don’t need any sort of fancy story “my uncle’s cousin’s brother’s wife gave me this and I already had it” just say, “I would like to return/exchange this” and it should be absolutely no problem.
Now that I’m out of the retail biz, I return any book I don’t like. The cost of books has skyrocketed. I rarely buy books anymore, preferring the library, but if I do buy a book (8$ paperback/15$ trade/ 30$ hardcover) I’m not going to keep it if I don’t like it, damn things are way too expensive.
Sorry you didn’t like Clan of the Cave Bear nisosbar. I love that series. BUt I will admit the first in it, Clan of the Cave Bear, was my least favorite of them. What turned you off on her last book Ivylass?
Well I look at it this way…
Why did you buy it then? If you plan on buying something you should research it. From reading the cover or a few pages in it at the store you should know if you want it.
It’s a book. Just put it in your bookshelf and move on. Thats what I would do.
If I dont care for a book I keep reading. Most of the time I realize I didnt give it a shot at the beginning.
What about a pair of pants you get home and decide they don’t match the sweater you bought them to wear with? Would you just hang the pants in the closet?
Hard cover books are nearly THIRTY dollars, that’s way too much money (for me) to keep something I don’t want. Especially when it’s no big deal to the bookstore to exchange it!
Where do you return your books Shirley? I have a similar problem. Since everybody knows “carlotta loves books” I get tons of books as gifts, many of which I am never going to read, but lacking gift receipts I don’t know where to return them or if they’d be taken back.
And now I will address the OP, having used his thread for my own purposes. As long as you are honest and the store is willing to take it back, I don’t think it’s unethical.
Unless things have changed dramatically in 5 years, any of the bookstores owned by the big Barnes & Noble chain (including B. Dalton) should give you absolutely no hassle (providing the book is undamaged and in print).
Walk up to counter, hand book to cashier. Say, “I’d like to return this book.” The cashier will probably have to get a supervisor to do the transaction, you’ll fill out a piece of paper with your name/address and get a store credit.
Back when I worked behind the counter at B. Dalton, we honestly didn’t care about returns, it was a no fuss-no muss deal.
I run an independent bookshop in the UK.
A proportion of what people buy is on my recommendation - not just for presents, but if someone wants to try a new author, or something, I reckon that, if I’ve recommended it, and it’s not suitable, then I should take it back - and I tell people this.
My recommendations very rarely come back to me… 
People chosing something themselves and disliking it - I’ll take it back, but it’s very uncommon to be asked to.
As for returns, I’m only allowed to return (at my expense) up to 5% of the invoice value, they must be whole (no stripped covers) and they must be in sellable condition - or they send them back to me at my expense and deny me the credit for them. So, if a book has a cracked spine, or a creased cover, or if I’ve left it in the window too long, I’m stuck with it and will probably have to sell it off cheap.
And a 5% return rate means that, in order to return as many unsold hardbacks and large format paperbacks as I can, the regular paperbacks are effectively firm sale anyway.