A book searching site - what do you think?

[Kookamoor]

I found this site, 'Stump the Bookseller' while Googling for Sarge's book. It is basically a book searching site which might amuse bibliophiles to assist in finding books for people. I'm not sure I like the fact that people are charged for the service, though... Why not just put some advertising on the site in order to pay for its upkeep?

http://www.logan.com/loganberry/stump.html

 

[Miss Shelf]

I just came across that too while looking for sarge's books! I didn't really read it, but I'm surprised they charge for searches. However, I used to be in the used book business, and people would pay a small fee to me for looking for books they wanted. It does take time, and I don't mind doing it here-when I have the time-because it's fun, I like helping people find long-forgotten books, and sometimes I come across sites I didn't know existed.

 

[Wabbit]

I think that a lot of sites try to charge you on the internet for things that you can find for free ( ecards, wave files, screensavers, clipart, images ) and pepole that don't know any better pay.

I think I'll just use Google for free

 

[Miss Shelf]

Yeah, Wabbit, but some people either don't have the time or don't put the right keywords in and it would take forever to look for something. If I was looking for something and I got frustrated, I'd happily pay a reasonable fee for someone else to find it for me!

 

[mehastings]

I suppose this is OK if you are desperate for one specific book and can't get the info anywhere else. The thing that bugs me is that you pay $2 whether your "Stumper" is solved or not. To me, that is crap. I can, however, understand a system where you receive notification that the site thinks it has solved your "Stumper" and that you must pay to get the info.

 

[Kookamoor]

Yeah, Wabbit, but some people either don't have the time or don't put the right keywords in and it would take forever to look for something. If I was looking for something and I got frustrated, I'd happily pay a reasonable fee for someone else to find it for me!

I guess that's a good point... I guess if something was really bugging me I wouldn't have an issue with paying it (up until a few months ago I was bugged for about 15 years by a book my Dad told me about!) But paying $2 over the web?? Why bother?

It never ceases to amaze me how many people can't use a search engine effectively. I do enjoy searching for some people's books at times, but some of them are pretty obvious, IMHO.

The thing that bugs me is that you pay $2 whether your "Stumper" is solved or not. To me, that is crap. I can, however, understand a system where you receive notification that the site thinks it has solved your "Stumper" and that you must pay to get the info.

But what if it wasn't the right book? Or if the person requesting the book lied and said it wasn't? It wouldn't be too hard for the former case to occur if the person was really vague about the book - "There was this man... and he had a wife... and they went on this trip to somewhere in a desert where they were lost and she ended up dying."

I still think $2 is a pittance. If they fixed up that website, made it look more professional, put some advertising on it to bring in some more revenue.... then they could charge $10 a book or more!

 

[mehastings]

But what if it wasn't the right book? Or if the person requesting the book lied and said it wasn't? It wouldn't be too hard for the former case to occur if the person was really vague about the book - "There was this man... and he had a wife... and they went on this trip to somewhere in a desert where they were lost and she ended up dying." Good luck with that one!

That's very true. I suppose it is the risk you take when paying $2 to a cheesy looking book search website.

 

[Kookamoor]

That's very true. I suppose it is the risk you take when paying $2 to a cheesy looking book search website.

Heh, I'd be more concerned about them stealing my identity or something than the $2... Doesn't even buy 2L of milk these days.

 

[geist]

Dang, you guys are being tough on this site. Actually, I think it's a nice idea and they are just asking for a nominal fee to cover their time. They list what their success rate is, and don't guarantee a successful search. I thought it was very interesting reading. I enjoying reading the searches and their results, and I really liked the Nostalgia section. Sometimes you can Google all you want and can't get results. On another book site I go onto, people on that board answer book queries a lot more obscure than some on this site, and even they still get stumped. Obviously there is a market of people willing to pay for a hard-to-find book, and more power to 'em for tapping into that.

 

[G4G]

I just looked at this site. No way would I part with any amount of money to use a site that looks like it was knocked up in about 2 minutes by a 4 year old child.