Bad experience at Chapters Bookshop Parnell Street, Dublin 1.

Okocim

I am all for seeing as many good second hand bookstores and 2nd hand music shops as possible but based on personal experience I would advise avoidng Chapters on Parnell Street like the plague. Real rip off merchants if you ever go in to trade in DVD's, CD's or books. The staff are very condescending and have a ''superior'' attitude problem. Very poor cash exchange rates for books and CD's and misleading and inaccurate and contradictory quotes given. Was quoted a cash exchange figure which was less for combined CD and books then if the two were brought in seperately!! ie the total cash exchange amount i would have received would have been more if I had brought the books in on one day seperately and the CD'S in the next day...the excuse was ''we can only use one receipt docket'' shady practices at work. I'd rather give them away for free to a charity shop then be treated with contempt like that. Will never go into Chapters again. At least Dick Turpin wore a mask!!!

judgefudge

Really?? I only went into Chapters for my first time a month or two ago and have been a couple times since. Its got a pretty impressive collection of secondhand books!! I did notice they were expensive enough though... but kinda assumed that was just the going rate?

I planned on trading in a few old books on friday for credit. Should I go someplace else?

I have the twilight series (my friend insisted I buy but I couldn't even finish them) which I assumed would get a reasonable price. Most books seem to sell for about 4.99 in there as far as I can see.

Okocim

If you're planning on trading in books definitely go somewhere else apart from Chapters. All businesses need to make a profit but in Chapters in my experience of recently trading in books and CD's the staff were obnoxious and tried to rip me off with the derisory cash offer given for the exchange. I was disappointed as I thought Chapters would be a reputable company but it was a very seedy experience, as bad as a backstreet pawnbroker to be honest. Avoid Chapters on Parnell Street and go else where would be my advice judgefudge.

mcgovern

I never traded anything in there, but I used to spend a lot of time in there shop on Abbey St (before they moved) when I was in college, and loved it. Staff were probably not the friendliest in the world, but they always seemed very busy.

Okocim

They're busy all right mcgovern, busy ripping people off!! :mad:

Fuinseog

Okocim wrote: »

I am all for seeing as many good second hand bookstores and 2nd hand music shops as possible but based on personal experience I would advise avoidng Chapters on Parnell Street like the plague. Real rip off merchants if you ever go in to trade in DVD's, CD's or books. The staff are very condescending and have a ''superior'' attitude problem. Very poor cash exchange rates for books and CD's and misleading and inaccurate and contradictory quotes given. Was quoted a cash exchange figure which was less for combined CD and books then if the two were brought in seperately!! ie the total cash exchange amount i would have received would have been more if I had brought the books in on one day seperately and the CD'S in the next day...the excuse was ''we can only use one receipt docket'' shady practices at work. I'd rather give them away for free to a charity shop then be treated with contempt like that. Will never go into Chapters again. At least Dick Turpin wore a mask!!!

have heard bad things about the place upstairs. a lot of dvds are 5 euro or more and you can them new for that. how much are they willing to give you per dvd? some places i know sell a dvd for three euro and give you a euro for it

Fuinseog

Okocim wrote: »

They're busy all right mcgovern, busy ripping people off!! :mad:

a customer loyalty card or some kind of discount you spent over 70 euro would be nice. its more business than book lover.

jam_mac_jam

Fuinseog wrote: »

Okocim wrote: »

They're busy all right mcgovern, busy ripping people off!! :mad:

a customer loyalty card or some kind of discount you spent over 70 euro would be nice. its more business than book lover.

They giveaway a voucher of a fiver if you spend more than fifty.
I find them very good value got four books for less than twenty there at the weekend.

parmaviolet

All in all, I like chapters, but it is true that if you bring in a pile of books they will give you less than they would than if you had brought them in dribs and drabs.

judgefudge wrote: »

I have the twilight series (my friend insisted I buy but I couldn't even finish them) which I assumed would get a reasonable price. Most books seem to sell for about 4.99 in there as far as I can see.

Just a warning here, they often find themselves flooded with popular books (like twilight, cecilia ahern etc.) which they can't shift, so they either give you peanuts for them or even refuse to take them off you, meaning a wasted journey! Maybe ring ahead?

hooplah

I quite like browsing in Chapters and seeing as how I work nearby I'm in there quite a bit. If I'm looking for something and not willing to wait for delivery its always my first port of call. I'd often pick something up after taking a look at it too, where as online I tend to just buy what I went looking for.

Price wise I've often picked up hardback books for a couple of quid and I think that their second hand prices are about the cheapest in the city - charity shops like Oxfam might well charge more for some of the books.

All that said after trading in books there previously I wouldn't advise anyone to do it if you have any sort of attachment to what you're trying to sell them. When they sell as cheaply as they do I guess it makes sense that they pay the prices they do. You'll get a pittance for what you give them and if you might find that insulting I would go and donate your books to a charity shop or some worthy cause*. I wouldn't imagine you'll get better money for them elsewhere though - possibly if you sell them to workmates or friends but not to another shop.

(*I know the Central Library in the ILAC Centre will take donations and either pass them on to charities, nursing homes, or back out to members of the public).

Staff wise any time I have asked for assistance I have found them to be helpful and polite.

Paddy Samurai

Okocim wrote: »

I am all for seeing as many good second hand bookstores and 2nd hand music shops as possible but based on personal experience I would advise avoidng Chapters on Parnell Street like the plague. Real rip off merchants..........

Yeah I agree,sold them some books once........never again.I would rather give them to charity.I do still buy bargain books,or second hand books off them depending on price.Great shop for browsing.

judgefudge

What was so bad about trading in old books? The price they give you, or the actual experience? Or both?

I'm not too bothered bout getting much money for these books, I just want to get them out of my site. Maybe I'll just be nice and give them to my local library

Okocim

judgefudge wrote: »

What was so bad about trading in old books? The price they give you, or the actual experience? Or both?

I'm not too bothered bout getting much money for these books, I just want to get them out of my site. Maybe I'll just be nice and give them to my local library

It was both. Attitude of the staff who dealt with it was very poor. Gave me a seperate quote for the books and a sererate quote for the CD's. When filling in the docket however the total combined for the books and CD's was 10 euros less!!! :mad::mad:

I of course pointed this out and was eventually given a quote for a combined total off two euros less than the total of the two combined. Sharp pratcise would be the polite way of putting it. No respect for customers just contempt. To quote Yeats ''fingers fumbling in a greasy till'' would be an apt way to describe it.

Avoid Chapters, give them to anyone else but Chapters would be my advice, be that charity or otherwise.

Morlar

I have found some incredible bargains in there. One of the best bookshops in Dublin imo.

Toby Take a Bow

I'd love to know any bookshop that is giving a good return on books you're looking to sell to them. Say they're paperbacks, the most they could expect to sell them for would be 5 euro, so you're looking at getting 50c/1 euro for the books. That's been my experience, anyway. I'll always give to a charity shop, but the ILAC thing I didn't know: I'll be doing that in future.

As for never shopping in Chapters? No chance. Their range, in both new and second hand books is great. Add to this lots of genuine bargains downstairs, and rare and out-of-print books upstairs. Because of this I take the (numerous) bad experiences I've had in there on the chin. The staff - that is the general booksellers - all seem nice and friendly (if a little overworked) but there's one guy who is often ironically on the 'customer service' desk who is perhaps the most obnoxious person I've seen in bookselling. Nearly gives Bernard Black a run for his money.

Blave

I know someone who worked there this christmas -<SNIP>

Fuinseog

Blave wrote: »

I know someone who worked there this christmas - <SNIP>>

I know him to see. I was waiting to pay and he was and he was being abusive towards a member of his staff, which in front of customers is simply not professional. I remember thinking, 'dude if you take your mood out on me I am walking out of here and not coming back.'

Okocim

Fuinseog wrote: »

I know him to see. I was waiting to pay and he was and he was being abusive towards a member of his staff, which in front of customers is simply not professional. I remember thinking, 'dude if you take your mood out on me I am walking out of here and not coming back.'

This in interesting to say the least and actually explains a lot. The staff obviously take out their frustrations on customers by mimicing the abusive and obnoxious and controlling behaviour when dealing with customers as they can't do it to the abuser in chief. That would explain the emotionally abusive and incestuous atmosphere and poor behaviour of the staff. The staff obviously see it as a bit of a personal victory when they can treat the customers badly, as it is this type of culture that obviously gets rewarded.

What a vile place Chapters actually is. Knew it was bad but this puts the tin hat on it entirely.

judgefudge

I went in today anyways and saw a big mound of secondhand twilight books in the discounted section upstairs, ha. I won't be bringing them in there so!

The bookshop itself is really well stocked, and the second hand section is just incredible. I've never had any problems with the staff, but maybe if you have its worth saying it to the owner? The shop is still bound to get enough custom to stay going, so that manager guy probably won't lose his job and will continue to treat customers poorly. Someone needs to call him out on it!

Toby Take a Bow

Okocim wrote: »

This in interesting to say the least and actually explains a lot. The staff obviously take out their frustrations on customers by mimicing the abusive and obnoxious and controlling behaviour when dealing with customers as they can't do it to the abuser in chief. That would explain the emotionally abusive and incestuous atmosphere and poor behaviour of the staff. The staff obviously see it as a bit of a personal victory when they can treat the customers badly, as it is this type of culture that obviously gets rewarded.

What a vile place Chapters actually is. Knew it was bad but this puts the tin hat on it entirely.

Well, that's the guy I was talking about. I never had a bad experience with any of the other workers though, they have always been nice and polite and helpful to me.

mikemac1

Ah I recognize that guy, I always assumed he was the owner but the post above states he's the manager. He seems to be in charge and was there back in the old days of their Abbey St shop
Realy condescending, superior and sneering attitude

Ask him a question and you'll get made feel like a fool.
He has no business being behind a customer service desk, zero people skills

However the rest of the staff are lovely, no complaints

Fuinseog

mikemac1 wrote: »

Ah I recognize that guy, I always assumed he was the owner but the post above states he's the manager. He seems to be in charge and was there back in the old days of their Abbey St shop
Realy condescending, superior and sneering attitude

Ask him a question and you'll get made feel like a fool.
He has no business being behind a customer service desk, zero people skills

However the rest of the staff are lovely, no complaints

why do peopel take it? as I said earler I have seen him being nasty towards his own staff, but while he was not terribly helpful he was not nasty towards me. i have no problem takng them up on it there and then.

chapters is well stocked and his odd behaviour does not prevent me from going back, but I travel around the country and there are good second hand bookstores elsewhere. Charlie Byrnes in Galway for example.

Denerick

I spend a lot of time in Chapters and am too aware of this fellow. He's actually become a bit of an inside joke among our friends (Reminds me of that Mitchell and Webb sketch - the angry vicar) Bit of a joke that he's still there if he is only the manager and not the owner - he's almost infamous at this stage amongst Dublin bibliohiles...

Toby Take a Bow

I wonder if anyone's brought this thread to his attention? Or to the actual owner's attention.

Fuinseog

Toby Take a Bow wrote: »

I wonder if anyone's brought this thread to his attention? Or to the actual owner's attention.

I would be surprised if Chapters staff or anyone affiliated with the store are not on boards.

maybe print it out and put it under the door?

ElleEm

Can't believe others are familiar with the manager and his rudeness.
I used to go on there a lot when it was on Abbey Street- i miss the rummaging!!
Was in there during the week and the three staff members I encountered were efficient but less than friendly. Too busy chatting amongst themselves to be bothered with niceties.

ElleEm

Can't believe others are familiar with the manager and his rudeness.
I used to go on there a lot when it was on Abbey Street- i miss the rummaging!!
Was in there during the week and the three staff members I encountered were efficient but less than friendly. Too busy chatting amongst themselves to be bothered with niceties.

Fuinseog

ElleEm wrote: »

Can't believe others are familiar with the manager and his rudeness.
I used to go on there a lot when it was on Abbey Street- i miss the rummaging!!
Was in there during the week and the three staff members I encountered were efficient but less than friendly. Too busy chatting amongst themselves to be bothered with niceties.

chapters is a big shop with plenty of customers so they do not need your custom. It is well stocked but they are not book lovers, no more so than Easons. I was walking by the other day and an elderly gentleman wanted in to get a book. Another smaller book shop would have acquiesced but it was exactly closing time and the staff were not interested and told him in no uncertain terms to go away.

Toby Take a Bow

Fuinseog wrote: »

chapters is a big shop with plenty of customers so they do not need your custom. It is well stocked but they are not book lovers, no more so than Easons. I was walking by the other day and an elderly gentleman wanted in to get a book. Another smaller book shop would have acquiesced but it was exactly closing time and the staff were not interested and told him in no uncertain terms to go away.

Ah, you don't know whether they're book lovers or not. I'd say a fair percentage of the booksellers would be, and probably the owner too. Rudeness doesn't mean you can't like books.

As for closing the shop when it's closing time, I'm with the workers here. Most of the time the person will be in-and-out but working in a big retail experience, you have to take into consideration all your co-workers (who want to get out of there on time) and also the possibility that the person doesn't really know exactly where the book is, and the whole thing could go ten/twenty minutes overtime. Not worth it if you're working in-and-around the minimum wage. In the bookshop I used to work in, often the security guard left on the dot of closing, so letting in people after that was a security issue.

later12

That's funny I've always found this man particularly rude, but then I'd disagree with the suggestion that he is quite an exception. In my experience (with the exception of one or two female staff), the workers in Chapters can be exasperatingly rude. I don't know how a shop can (or rather can afford to) develop such a culture, but that's why I don't go there anymore.

I do remember talking to the aforementioned manager one day and I asked him about how footfall had been during the recession, and he said they were busier than they ever were during the Celtic Tiger. So perhaps increased custom has something to do with their poor/ rude customer service.

Although personally when I'm in Dublin I avoid Chapters now; staff in Hodges & Figgis are far more amicable and helpful in my experience.

Grievous

Haha, I know the guy you are all on about. I don't know him personally but I am going in to Chapters years.

It's wierd, because Chapters is one of my favourite bookstores ever (C'mon, no amount of ****ty staff could ruin how awesome their second hand section is).

I think I remember another member of the staff there saying to Mr Obnoxious about some guy leaving his CV in and he responded by saying "I asked him out on a date, and he said no, he clearly didn't want the job!).

Yes, rude and imposing and intimidating, but that moment made me laugh in a horrible bosses sort of way.

Toby Take a Bow

later10 wrote: »

I do remember talking to the aforementioned manager one day and I asked him about how footfall had been during the recession, and he said they were busier than they ever were during the Celtic Tiger. So perhaps increased custom has something to do with their poor/ rude customer service.

Although personally when I'm in Dublin I avoid Chapters now; staff in Hodges & Figgis are far more amicable and helpful in my experience.

I'd be really worried if footfall isn't up for Chapters. With Waterstone's gone in the Jervis, they have absolutely zero competition from non-second hand bookshops on the northside (I'm not including Eason here, but maybe that's just me being snobby). Then you've got to convert that footfall into custom. I think everybody commenting here knows exactly who the rude person is, and there are I'd say half of us who have had problems with the other staff. They're not making it easy to convert into sales, but their selection makes up for it.

I'd agree with you on Hodges for the most part, although I've had a couple of interesting experiences with some of the booksellers there. One or two were up there with the guy from Chapters in just being bafflingly rude. I think that culture can be cultivated by bad management, low pay and zero career prospects.

Grievous

Chapters' impressive (I'd venture to use the word imperious) second hand section is a huge trump-card for them.

Stores like Easons (Who only buy books they think will sell) and Hodges And Fidges ( A huge improvement over chain bookstores like Easons and Hughes And Hughes, with a more than decent amount of Booker, Pulitzer and Nobel winning books in stock as well of popular fiction).

Still, I find most of the staff in Chapters pretty nice. I can't say helpful because I am the type of reader who usually knows what he is looking for.

later12

There are a number of smaller independent book sellers around the city as well that we probably shouldn't overlook. Books Upstairs is tiny but I have often lost track of time leafing through their history and politics sections, some really obscure (sometimes outdated) books that are always fascinating.

Great poetry collection as well, not very much of your Sylvia Plath and your Shakespeare but lots of new, or left of field material which can be really illuminating. I picked up a great anthology of Scottish verse in there about 5 years ago which is one of my dearest possessions.

And of course there is also Mr Stokes in Georges' Arcade. He was a wonderful collection of unusual folio books and other second hand material for very reasonable prices.

So Chapters is by no means unavoidable, and it's nice to support some of the smaller retailers.

By the way, has Books Upstairs recovered from its financial embarrassment by now? I seem to remember they had been expected to shut their doors about two years ago.

Toby Take a Bow

Oh, I didn't know that about Books Upstairs in difficulty. You're right, though: a great bookshop. Fiction has some bargains and an interesting enough selection for a small bookshop, but the non-fiction is really where it holds its own. Really eclectic selection.

I had a theory (not sure if it's true) and one mentioned on Boards before, that the guy from Books Upstairs is also in charge of a large number of those horrible second hand book shops that appear and disappear over Dublin. This was mainly due to the handwriting seeming similar (to me) on the signs in those shops and Books Upstairs. I'm probably very wrong too.

Secret Book and Record Shop can throw up some interesting finds on occasion too.

Agent J

I've been shopping/browsing at chapters for years. I have never had anything but the utpmost respect for the place. Never had a problem with the staff either.

Would highly recommend it.

In fact i felt guilty when i got a kindle.. felt like i was cheating on bookshops.

BostonB

Has anyone tried selling books back to Amazon?

davearthurs

You could try selling on adverts.ie

I'd agree about Chapters being crap for trading in books. Used to be not too bad. I carted a big bunch of what I considered worthwhile books in there a while back only to be offered only a few quid for them. Never again. I kept them.
Their prices are a bit steep on many 2nd hand books as well so it doesn't balance out. Downstairs actually have better value on the new books.
They should offer more for trade for credit notes as that is all I'd be doing anyway. Maybe they've had it so good with people getting rid of books for a bit of cash these days that they are happy to ignore the actual book lovers who want to buy more books. The odd Saturday I've been in there it's pretty quiet upstairs most of the time.

I usually love 2nd hand bookshops but I have to say I've never liked the Chapters experience either. Feels a bit more like a warehouse where the owners don't actually like what they are selling. Dublin charity book shops have a better vibe than they do. Better books in many cases too.

If I owned the place I'd have a mini coffee shop up there and a ton of seats and tables (I actually heard a woman complain a while ago in there that there was nowhere to sit down) . I'd also sell magazines-new yorker, harpers stuff like that, and clear out a lot of the trash - just dump it. There is a lot of trash they should just clear out.
Not my favorite part of the city anyway - I hate the Ilac library, which I invariably pop into as well.

Secret Book and Record Shop has gone downhill as well IMO. Always seems to be the same books in there.

I'm no huge fan of the charity book shop system either by the way, but 2nd hand book shops really need to up their game to survive I think. I saw a load of big bags of books being dumped outside an Oxfam and complained about it. I get the impression they tend to just sell books that look 'as new' and dump the old stuff. God knows what great stuff is being thrown away. IMO they should really share their books with other charity books shops that aren't so picky or even offer them to the real 2nd hand book shops.

hooplah

davearthurs wrote: »

Not my favorite part of the city anyway - I hate the Ilac library, which I invariably pop into as well.

Totally off topic but just wondering why you hate that particular library (and why you go in there if you do)? I'm genuinely interested.

iguana

davearthurs wrote: »

I'm no huge fan of the charity book shop system either by the way, but 2nd hand book shops really need to up their game to survive I think. I saw a load of big bags of books being dumped outside an Oxfam and complained about it. I get the impression they tend to just sell books that look 'as new' and dump the old stuff. God knows what great stuff is being thrown away. IMO they should really share their books with other charity books shops that aren't so picky or even offer them to the real 2nd hand book shops.

Do you want to think about that for 30 seconds before getting up on your high horse. First off you think the shops need to up their games to survive, then you complain about how those who are "surviving" magnificently have upped their game. And by surviving magnificently, I do in fact mean largest secondhand book retailer in Europe, by a very, very large margin.

I can guarantee you that the people running that shop know more about selling secondhand books than you do, seeing as how it's their livelihood and there is extremely, extremely stiff competition to manage an Oxfam bookstore. Only people who know their stuff inside out run those stores. And they are constantly training and retraining in order to get the most out of their shops and donations.

There is absolutely no "great stuff" being thrown away. Only what will sell is put on the shelves and it's only left on the shelves for a short time. If it hasn't sold in a specific timeframe it is shifted on to another Oxfam shop in a part of the country that does not get a lot of book donations. That way both shops benefit as there is always fresh turnover to keep customers from getting bored. Valuable books that don't sell in the store are sold online.

What you saw on the pavement being sent for recycling is absolute thrash. Just completely unsaleable rubbish that people unthinkingly give to charity shops forgetting that the second word in charity shop is shop, ie it has to be saleable. Charity shops get literally tonnes of of unsaleable books either through their doors or in the deposit bins in recycling centres every year. And they have to spend literally thousands, sometimes tens of thousands, annually to dispose of them as they are classified as a commercial enterprise so have to pay heavily for waste management and recycling services. Each of those bags you saw outside the shop costs several euro to take a way. If there was a way to make money on those books it would be made.

It's utterly soul destroying for people in those shops to see such a massive loss of revenue that they are helpless to avoid. To know that each bag you put out equates to a child in Tanzania who won't be getting an education this year. And then you have people coming in to make their arrogant, ill-thought out, complaints to some poor volunteer sitting behind the counter who is suddenly less happy to be giving up their time to do some good because some know-it-all has made the experience unpleasant.

davearthurs

And then you have people coming in to make their arrogant, ill-thought out, complaints to some poor volunteer sitting behind the counter who is suddenly less happy to be giving up their time to do some good because some know-it-all has made the experience unpleasant.

Hmm personal attacks from Oxfam now? That's a tad nasty.

I actually didn't raise any issue with the workers in the shop but contacted Oxfam directly in the UK about the issue and they are investigating their process.

Also the fact is I saw books that looked fine that were being thrown out. The plastic bags were transparent so it was easy to see them.

If Oxfam only want to sell 'as new' books to look like a proper bookshop - fine, but they could easily hand over many other books to Barnardos, Age Action etc., And I'm sure they would be able to sell them and benefit. Or have a bargain sale or whatever.

The fact speaks for itself that you do not see worn paperbacks from the 70's, 80's etc., in Oxfam but you do in other charity and 2nd hand books shops. So they are clearly going somewhere i.e. to the recycling center. This means many worthwhile books that were perhaps never reprinted in glossy new editions are going out of circulation as filtered through Oxfam.
I'm sure Patricia Cornwell and Michael Connelly readers are happy but there are other writers out there

Totally off topic but just wondering why you hate that particular library (and why you go in there if you do)? I'm genuinely interested.

I nip in there the odd time to get a book if it pops up in the computer database as being there rather than reserving it. Although half the time the books listed in the library database are actually missing. Their search database is a mess.
I think as the 'main public library' it is a pretty horrible library. Its totally in the wrong location, airless, grotty, full of computer users mainly, drunks and wackos a lot of the time. I don't envy the staff working there. But hopefully they will get to move to a new location eventually. Hopefully as with all the recent refits in other libraries it won't actually strip out all the books though

iguana

davearthurs wrote: »

I actually didn't raise any issue with the workers in the shop but contacted Oxfam directly in the UK about the issue and they are investigating their process.

Where was this store that you raised the issue with Oxfam GB? They have nothing whatsoever to do with issues in any Oxfam shop in Ireland who are under the control of Oxfam Ireland, a separate organisation.

This means many worthwhile books that were perhaps never reprinted in glossy new editions are going out of circulation as filtered through Oxfam.

No they aren't. Books like this are sold as antiquities, usually online. As I said, Oxfam managers are highly skilled and highly trained. You really haven't the slightest clue what you are on about.

Toby Take a Bow

iguana wrote: »

No they aren't. Books like this are sold as antiquities, usually online. As I said, Oxfam managers are highly skilled and highly trained. You really haven't the slightest clue what you are on about.

Agree. The Oxfam shop on Parliament Street is a particular gem (for books, that is: the one on Francis Street is great for furniture). You occasionally get a book there that they shouldn't be selling so cheaply, but often they're right on the button with the price compared to its online equivalent.

I'm sure Oxfam have thought of many ways of disposing the books which makes as little a dent in their margin as possible, but the poster probably has a point in that Oxfam could try to offload their 'unsaleable' books to other bookshops around the areas they operate. I presume the stuff they're dumping is collected as part of a free scheme, otherwise they should look at some of the free bring centres that, as far as I know, take paper things for no charge.

iguana

Toby Take a Bow wrote: »

but the poster probably has a point in that Oxfam could try to offload their 'unsaleable' books to other bookshops around the areas they operate. I presume the stuff they're dumping is collected as part of a free scheme, otherwise they should look at some of the free bring centres that, as far as I know, take paper things for no charge.

Charity shops aren't allowed to bring anything to the bring centres as they are only for household waste, not commercial enterprises which charity shops are classified as. It was a decision made about 8 years ago and they can be fined fairly severely if they are found using them. They have to pay full commercial prices for waste disposal, which are hefty. As I said any books that are in anyway saleable are passed onto rural Oxfam shops that have trouble getting book donations.

jd

Toby Take a Bow wrote: »

but there's one guy who is often ironically on the 'customer service' desk who is perhaps the most obnoxious person I've seen in bookselling. Nearly gives Bernard Black a run for his money.

Ah, I was wondering was it just me. I asked him about a book and after his snotty attitude I just ordered the book from amazon.

Finneen

Okocim wrote: »

Will never go into Chapters again.

Example one:
Was in there going through their crap selection of DVDs. Instead of flicking through the cases and hurting my back decided to take about five at a time out and read the spines of the cases. Some staff member gave out to me for mixing up the DVD cases! So Chapters if you're reading this: Put up a notice on the wall saying 'Please do not remove the DVD cases from the shelves'. Do not have some fool thinking he's important giving out to the customers.

Example two:
Brought in about 20 CDs to sell. They were all in the rap genre. After spending about 10 minutes checking every disc for scratches the girl behind the counter said something like 'We're not into selling this kind of music'. Why didn't the stupid bit*h look at the CD covers and say this straight away instead of wasting my time?

Fuinseog

I was upstairs in the second hand section today. True, they have a large and interesting selection, but they know how to charge. In some cases the second hand book is the same price as buying it new.

there are better priced second hand bookshops.

cloud493

I do like chapters. But there's that fella on the customer service desk, I ordered 3 books from there, on a delicate topic, so to speak, and he said 'oh normal people don't want books like that, so we dont keep them in stock'

ElleEm

cloud493 wrote: »

I do like chapters. But there's that fella on the customer service desk, I ordered 3 books from there, on a delicate topic, so to speak, and he said 'oh normal people don't want books like that, so we dont keep them in stock'

:eek:

BookBunny

I must say I am a University English student, and I find their second hand books books to be at least 40-50% cheaper than if I buy them new. If it wasn't for their books I would never be able to afford my college course books. For example I got Ulysses in there for €2.50 when it was €8.50 in my college shop. I always find their staff to be friendly, to the point that I went in looking for a list of college books in September and the man upstairs told me to come back in 10 minutes and he found them all for me and had them waiting. I got them all for €45 when Amazon quoted me €125. I dont know anything about selling them books, but buying them I always go there and until another bookstore appears with that size of a collection I will continue going to them.

Finneen

You must be posh and their staff like you? For the rest of us they're all condescending fools working in Chapters.