Amazon allegedly resells damaged books
Amazon’s print-on-demand program is accused of reselling misprinted or damaged returns — including royalty-free author copies — as new books, meaning no new print is triggered and the author may never be paid for that sale. Commenters weigh whether this practice is an environmentally sensible way to reduce waste or a deceptive tactic that violates truth-in-advertising norms and shortchanges creators. Many also report a broader pattern of poorly packed, damaged, or obviously used items being sent as new, suggesting a decline in Amazon’s quality control and return-handling practices.
Alleged practice and royalty impact
- Discussion centers on Amazon’s print-on-demand program reselling returned or defective copies as “new” without triggering a new print job.
- For self-publishers, royalties are paid only when a new copy is printed. Author copies are sold at (claimed) print cost with zero royalty.
- If defective author copies are returned, then later resold as “new” to regular customers without a reprint, the author gets no royalty for that sale.
- Some participants initially suspect the author wants “double royalties,” others clarify the issue is “no royalty at all” on the actual customer sale.
- Exact accounting behavior inside Amazon/KDP is described as unclear; several commenters note they’d like a concrete answer from KDP support.
Legality and ethics of reselling returns
- One side argues that selling returned or refurbished items as “new” may violate truth-in-advertising laws and cheats both customers and authors.
- Others compare it to physical bookstores re-shelving pristine returns as new and see this as normal, provided the condition is truly “like new.”
- A key distinction raised:
- If the item was damaged/misprinted or an author-copy not meant for retail sale, reselling it as new is viewed as clearly unethical.
- If it’s genuinely indistinguishable from new, some see resale as environmentally and economically sensible.
Printing quality and QC
- Multiple reports of poor-quality POD books: miscuts, trimmed text, skewed pages, printing beyond bleed, bent covers, blurry or illegible printing, and blank pages.
- Some argue Amazon “shouldn’t be in the business of printing books” due to inconsistent quality.
- Others with large-scale operations experience say a small absolute defect rate is inevitable and Amazon tends to rely on customer returns and refunds as feedback.
Packaging, damage, and return handling
- Many anecdotes of books and other items shipped in oversized boxes or thin mailers with little/no padding, often combined with heavy objects, resulting in damage.
- Several users report receiving obviously used or wrong items sold as new (scribbled-in books, wrong electronics, broken or scorched devices).
- Some note that reselling unused returns is standard retail practice; the controversy is about weak inspection standards and mislabeling condition.
User responses and alternatives
- A number of commenters now avoid buying books—or anything fragile—from Amazon, preferring other online bookstores, used-book sellers, or eBay.
- Others report years of mostly flawless Amazon book orders and are skeptical that this is widespread.