# Poll: Amazon or Chapters.Indigo? Your Preference?



## IronMac (Sep 22, 2003)

I'm in the novel position of actually having to buy a couple of books for myself and it was suggested that I do a poll of ehMacers to see which of these two booksellers people prefer.

I will add in an "Independents" column to avoid flak.


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## MissGulch (Jul 20, 2005)

I had never heard of Chapters, so I took a look and it's a nice site. They look like they're trying to become like Amazon because they're diversifying. I like Amazon because I get site bucks back for using their credit card. This deal is at the US site; don't know the Canuck terms. 

The biggest indie book seller I know of is this one:
http://www.strandbooks.com/home/

They have a NY store. DrG may know about them. I personally buy an occasional book from Half.com.


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## Lawrence (Mar 11, 2003)

Just bought a set of Harry Potter DVD's from Chapters with a gift card that I got for Christmas,
I usually shop at Amazon.ca and found Chapters very easy to buy from.


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## RevMatt (Sep 10, 2005)

Chapters/Indigo. I was an Indigo customer, and stuck with them when they managed their david and goliath act and bought out the much bigger Chapters. Their service is excellent, I like the site lay out way better than Amazon, and they don't send me spam. And they're Canadian.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

I voted Chapters... most local book stores are usually 2nd-hand, or just really bad in having something of interest outside the usual fare. Having said that, whenever I'm on Toronto, I like to frequent "Another Man's Poison" for everything design related.


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

IronMac said:


> I will add in an "Independents" column to avoid flak.


I could not vote in this poll.

Perhaps you should have considered not making the poll "online" as it leaves no alternative for people like me who purchase their books from a local independent store that has no online service available.

Come to think of it, why would anyone order something online and wait for it, when they could stop and pick it up at their local bookstore for the same price the day they want it?


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## MBD (Sep 1, 2003)

I purchased from Chapters since they first opened online. But, for a while their service was atrocious - lost orders, shipping not completed, etc. I've had no problem with Amazon but I use both now. I like Chapter's ability to send an electronic gift card at a future date - you just set it up that way. So, you can send something for someone's birthday & not have it emailed until that day, etc.


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## Pelao (Oct 2, 2003)

Amazon
I found the Indigo site a mess - poor design, sad navigation, really bad search and weak search result display. When I wanted to order the whole account setup process was long, tedious, slow etc. Also, their choice was much more limited.

So, crazy me, for about 2 years (and dozens of books) I never checked back, thus missing the great advantage of the online world - the competitor is only a few clicks away. The posts here made me look again. The site is now modern and slick. Providing the total price (incl shipping) is competitive I would rather shop Canadian.


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Miss G., yes, I am quite familiar with Strand Books. Barnes and Nobel might be the biggest in NYC, I think.


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## planders (Jun 24, 2005)

In the early days, I'd do my browsing on Amazon.com and then order via Chapters, as the latter site wasn't as good for finding stuff and there were never any reviews for anything. But these days I usually order from Amazon.ca, as their stock is usually better and they're much more reliable when it comes to shipping. It just started happening too frequently that Chapters/Indigo promises shipping within 24 hours but it doesn't actually go out for over a week.

Still, I will gladly order from whatever source has what I'm looking for in stock. Living in a small town, I'm thrilled to be able to shop online from around the world for stuff that doesn't stand a chance of showing up in a local store.

That said, I definitely prefer hands-on shopping and am always willing to pay a premium if I can find what I'm looking for locally.


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## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

I used to drive out to Chapters and allow myself the admitted pleasure of shopping in their pleasant, coffee-shop-included, surroundings. But there was always a creepy corporate-chain feeling to the space, as if I was in a dressed-up Wal-Mart.
And then a friend who worked in book publishing in Canada told me about what the mega-stores do to Canadian book publishing, so now I first try my local independent shop before resorting to Chapters.

Added bonuses - I _walk_ to the local book shop, _and_ I can bring dog inside! *woof!*


...Which reminds me - ehMac.ca needs more dog-oriented icons.


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

SoyMac, I can't easily walk to our local Chapters, and have not tried to bring in my dog, since there is a Starbucks inside our Chapters here in St.John's. Still, I agree about the dog icons. I would make a personalized one if I knew how of one of our doxies.


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## Lawrence (Mar 11, 2003)

SINC said:


> Come to think of it, why would anyone order something online and
> wait for it, when they could stop and pick it up at their local bookstore for the same price the day they want it?


Too many guns going off in Toronto lately,
Online shopping and free shipping are my biggest reason for shopping online.
(That and no guns going off on the Internet)


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## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

Dr.G. said:


> SoyMac, I can't easily walk to our local Chapters, and have not tried to bring in my dog, since there is a Starbucks inside our Chapters here in St.John's. ....


Same situation here. The Chapters _does_ have a hook for tying dogs _outside_, and a sign in the door saying "No dogs in the store" (except seeing-eye dogs).

My local book shop (Collected Works), allows dogs inside. 

On a related note;
RONA Ottawa - "Please bring your dog into the store! We love dogs!"
RONA Hull - No Dogs.
Home Despot - No Dogs.

There's a new cafe in town called "Wags", which is for dogs _and_ their people.

Opps - Is this what a thread-hijack looks like? 
"Dog thread", anyone?


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## Sonal (Oct 2, 2003)

SINC said:


> Come to think of it, why would anyone order something online and wait for it, when they could stop and pick it up at their local bookstore for the same price the day they want it?


When you can't find it in your local bookstore. If you're looking for something a little older, or something specialized, it can be hit and miss to find. I could ask my local store to order it in, but then, I could order it myself.

Also, in my life, I often find that when I have time to go bookshopping, it's the middle of the night and bookstores are closed. I can o it immediately and know it will show up in a couple of days, or I can wait for a few days to have time during daylight hours. 

Mind you, I like browsing in bookstores--much harder browse online.


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## MACSPECTRUM (Oct 31, 2002)

SINC said:


> I could not vote in this poll.
> 
> Perhaps you should have considered not making the poll "online" as it leaves no alternative for people like me who purchase their books from a local independent store that has no online service available.
> 
> Come to think of it, why would anyone order something online and wait for it, when they could stop and pick it up at their local bookstore for the same price the day they want it?



Oh no. SINC and I agree once again.


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## antirealist (Apr 30, 2005)

planders said:


> But these days I usually order from Amazon.ca, as their stock is usually better and they're much more reliable when it comes to shipping. It just started happening too frequently that Chapters/Indigo promises shipping within 24 hours but it doesn't actually go out for over a week.


Absolutely. When you receive an emailed shipping notification from Amazon.ca, they've shipped the book, and Canada Post have possession of it. Chapters seem to send out these notifications a couple of days before the book(s) even leave the warehouse. I've also noticed that that a "24 hour" order seems to get marked as "Shipped" on the Order History at the time of initial processing, even though Canada Post don't get hold of it for a couple of days. The whole Chapters system seems designed to give the impression that your order is being processed and shipped much faster than it actually is.

So if I need a book quickly, I order it from Amazon.ca. That said, I use both sites extensively - I've made 38 orders (each with multiple books) from Chapters in 2005 so far. I also live in a small town, and online book purchasing has considerably improved my quality of life.


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## antirealist (Apr 30, 2005)

SINC said:


> Come to think of it, why would anyone order something online and wait for it, when they could stop and pick it up at their local bookstore for the same price the day they want it?


Chapters' online pricing can be much cheaper than in-store pricing, even taking discounts and shipping into account. If you don't need the book that day, you may save money by ordering online.


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## kps (May 4, 2003)

For...pay attention now...*hard to find stuff*...you can't beat Amazon and their affiliates. Out of print books or hard to impossible to find DVD's it's the best. I had very good luck finding used books which ship from second hand bookstores affiliated with Amazon.


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## Strimkind (Mar 31, 2005)

I chose independents but I don't buy online. Instead there are much better local bookstores that I prefer over chapters (and i don't have a CC for online) like Munro's and Bolen's Books.


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## RevMatt (Sep 10, 2005)

There is only one local book store, and it is horribly over-priced. It is also tiny, and with poor selection, so I tend to shop there only when I am looking for a used book. On the other hand, I agree that browsing in person is better than online. It's just that I don't really have somewhere to go in person. I agree that Amazon is better for hard to find things, especially as they have used books on their online store.


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## IronMac (Sep 22, 2003)

antirealist said:


> Absolutely. When you receive an emailed shipping notification from Amazon.ca, they've shipped the book, and Canada Post have possession of it. Chapters seem to send out these notifications a couple of days before the book(s) even leave the warehouse. I've also noticed that that a "24 hour" order seems to get marked as "Shipped" on the Order History at the time of initial processing, even though Canada Post don't get hold of it for a couple of days. The whole Chapters system seems designed to give the impression that your order is being processed and shipped much faster than it actually is.
> 
> So if I need a book quickly, I order it from Amazon.ca.


Gee...wish I had read this *BEFORE* I placed my order with Chapters. I specifically placed my order with them because their system promised shipping within 24 hours while Amazon was saying up to two weeks.


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## Squeak (Dec 9, 2005)

Over 30 orders, so far happy with Amazon.ca. Once I had a damaged DVD during shipping, went through the online return process. Replacement was processed and shipped quickly. I just posted the damaged DVD in the mail when they sent the replacement.


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## jasonwood (Oct 19, 2003)

I find Amazon provides a lot more useful information. Reviews, related books, look inside, etc.


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## daBoss (Jun 20, 2003)

SINC said:


> I could not vote in this poll.
> 
> Perhaps you should have considered not making the poll "online" as it leaves no alternative for people like me who purchase their books from a local independent store that has no online service available.
> 
> Come to think of it, why would anyone order something online and wait for it, when they could stop and pick it up at their local bookstore for the same price the day they want it?


I agree. Support local bookstores/businesses IN PERSON.


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## Lawrence (Mar 11, 2003)

Chapters/Indigo certainly has great service,
The set of Harry Potter DVD disks that I ordered just a few days ago arrived today.
I opted for the free delivery that was supposed to take from 3-9 days.

I paid for the set online with a gift card that I got for Xmas.


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

There is a book store in our small city called SHAVA, an acronym for Sturgeon Hospital Auxiliary Volunteers Association.

They accept donated books of all kinds and I donate all that I buy during the year.

They sell paperbacks for $1.00 and hardcovers for $2.00. I now buy almost all my books there, save for when I am on the road and pick up a new one here or there.

When I've read them, I donate them back to the store and buy another half dozen or so each time I visit.

Surprisingly, most books sold are in very good condition and I get to support a local auxiliary that donates all profits for upgrades for equipment to labs, ORs and patient care rooms in the local hospital.


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## Mac Cat (May 18, 2005)

I have ordered from both Chapters and Amazon. It depends on availability on why I order from one versus the other. I will have to say that I was very impressed with Amazon today. I recently placed an order from both of them, received the emails saying that my order was shipped. I figured I would get them on Tuesday (since Monday is a holiday), but my Amazon order came today (Saturday)!


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