I work hard to make BooksForABuck.com as friendly to authors and customers as I can. I'm not a computer-programing genius, so I use PayPal to handle transactions--which means customers never have to worry about identity theft, etc., and I don't have to handle credit card transactions directly (PayPal does it for me).

A couple of months ago, I had what I thought was a wonderful day when I sold several dozen copies of a single book--all within a few minutes--to a large number of people. What was going on? I generally don't sell that many copies of this book in months. I figured, maybe, it was a computer proficiency or ESL class (many of the customer names were Hispanic) and was happy that one the books I publish was considered to be a good book to study English with. The book was only a buck--so nobody was getting rich, but customers were getting a good deal, I was selling books, and the author was getting a royalty.

When a customer completes their PayPal transaction, PayPal gives them a 'return to website' button which will take them directly to the download page for their purchased book. However, just to be sure, I always send a follow-up e-mail including that download URL. That way, if they have a system crash or just don't see the 'return to website' button, they get their book. Of course, if they e-mail me with problems, I try to resolve them. I've even had one case where a customer simply didn't like the book (I refunded their money but paid the author the royalty for the sale).

All of which means that when I get customer disputes, I'm concerned. And when five customers out of this group all disputed, I was really concerned. None had contacted me, none had asked for anything. I'd sent e-mails to all of them with information on their downloads. The real pisser is, their credit card companies charged PayPal $10 for the privilege of rejecting the (valid) charges. So, not only didn't I make my $1, but I lost $11. It seems like a bit much to rip me off for an eBook they didn't want to pay for.

Bottom line--if you're a customer and you don't have a pleasant experience with BooksForABuck.com, please let me know. I'll try to make you happy and if I can't do that, I'll refund your purchase. Disputing through your credit card makes you look bad, me look bad, and costs everyone time and money. If you simply don't want to pay for a book, I've got a listing of books you can get for free. Knock yourself out.

Rob Preece