Date: Fri, 07 Dec 2001 07:45:27 -0600
From: Ronald Hardy (Central College) <HardyR_at_central.edu>
Subject: RE: ACQNET: Setting up an Amazon Corporate Account
Greetings!
I set up an Amazon.com account for our library, primarily as a second choice
for rush orders and to pick up certain CDs DVDs and Videos that they seemed
to offer that others didn't. Personally, I don't think it is worth it. We
try not to process items until we have invoices in hand, and with Amazon
that can be months at first (thus defeating the concept of 'rush'). Then
the statements do not always make it clear what you are paying for, so
packing slips MUST be retained to link statements to purchases. You can
only purchase Amazon.com direct items, not "Order Used" and other items
listed (like out of print items) from their 'partners'. Finally, I think
our business office hates it, they don't like processing the invoice/packing
slip/statements from Amazon.com, and if I used it regularly I think they
would make me stop. I order from Amazon.com VERY RARELY, only when I need
to, and I always use a unique purchase order and track the purchase
carefully for financial purposes. No one else is authorized to order using
our account.
I hope that this answers some of your questions about Amazon.com. As for
the disclosure agreement, I did feel uncomfortable with it, another reason
that I use the service so sparingly. To be honest I would rather not use it
at all. If more of the faculty learned I was using it I would be inundated
with supposedly discounted requests for out of print and rare items that
they "saw on Amazon, so it must be available..."
Good luck!
Ronald Kane Hardy
Collection Development Librarian
Assistant Professor of Library Science
Central College - Geisler Library
812 University - Pella, IA 50219
641.628.5221 - hardyr_at_central.edu
Received on Sat Dec 08 2001 - 15:01:09 EST