4 More Reasons Why ATT Sucks
. . . More on how AT&T slammed my DSL and made my email cease to function.
My DSL (high-speed internet connection) was slammed by AT&T (taken over without my permission) on or about November 23, 2009. The minute it was slammed I had no internet connection. Two days later ATT's robot said my "new service" was "up" and it wasn't. That day I spent two hours on the phone with ATT pinheads getting my connection back up, but my email still did not work.
(See my post on November 28, 2009 for more on this 2-hour phone call.)
Well, time passed, the holidays came and went, and I tackled the problem again on January 7, 2010.
This time I was on the phone with them for over four hours (well, in a chat room for half an hour, then on the phone for three and a half hours).
And guess what? It still does not work. Not only that, but the workaround that the Level 3 tech set up for me does not work, either.
Date: January 7, 2010
Start Time: 6:54 pm
I went to the online tech support chatroom that was emailed to me by AT&T to talk to an AT&T tech person to try to solve my email problem again.
Talked to Ryan. I said: "Hello, Ryan. I am a DSL customer and I was told I would be able to use the email address I have had for seven years, but can't get it to send."
He said, "Ms. Foss, I am sorry you are experiencing this issue and will be happy to assist you. Do not worry, I will provide you all the information. Do you have AT&T provided e-mail address?"
I said, "yes, I do, and I have already tried to set it up, but missing something in the settings."
He said, "Ms. Foss, what is your e-mail address?" I gave him the ATT email address I had just set up, that I never had any intention of using, which I shall refer to as "P~".
He said, "I will provide you all the information" and asked me for the answer to my security questions. I answered.
He sent me to a website and told me to log in. I said, "Okay, but it wants my yahoo ID. Am I giving it my yahoo name or my ATT name?"
He said, "No, please use your AT&T provided e-mail address." I did so.
"Are you able to login there?" Yes.
"Now try to send a test e-mail to your own e-mail address and let me know the result."
I said, "okay, where is the email feature on this page?"
He said "click on the mail tab."
I said, "sorry, i don't see a mail tab. which corner is it in?"
He said, "What options do you see there?" I listed a bunch of them.
He told me to sign out, then sent me to a new website
I asked, "Do i log in as P~ again?" Yes.
I got an "Invalid password" message.
He said, "Please use P~ there and password of this account."
This time I got "Invalid email" message. Tried again and it worked, must have typed it wrong.
He said, "check your email folders."
I said, "it says i have no emails in my inbox" and added: "well this is a new email address i have not ever used. it was kind of forced upon me. what i want to use is the email i have had for the past 7 years, which is gwenfoss@netrek.net. currently it will receive but can't send. this need to be configured to send."
He said, what email client am I using? (Boy, if I were a computer newbie that would be too much freakin' jargon.)
I said Eudora. (Part of me knew that at this point I knew he would say that he can't help me with Eudora).
He said, "I need to inform you that we do not have any tools to configure your e-mail client in Eudora, However I will provide you all the settings to configure the e-mail account."
He then said, "You need to use the SMTP server of AT&T and POP server of your "gwenfoss@netrek.net""
I said, "not good enough. i was promised that my old email would still work after you took over my DSL account. I did not sign up for ATT. this has to be fixed."
He came back with, "Please note down the SMTP server address: smtp.att.yahoo.com"
I said, "yes, that is the setting i have."
He said, "And for further information we have a dedicated department for this Support+. Please call us at: 877-831-2880. They will provide you all the information and help you out."
I said, "no, i was already on the phone for 2 hours with them." (After this conversation I realized this is the heavenly "fee-based" Level 3 support that I had not yet tried.)
He said, "I apologize for the inconvenience caused to you. I am sorry, we do not have any tools to provide you all the information on this. Please contact them, they will help you out."
I said, "okay, i guess i'll try them again. Expletive deleted. bye for now."
Talked to this guy over half an hour. No effin' help.
7:30pm
ATT's customer service survey popped up on my screen, which I filled out. It was only two questions and a comment. I gave both questions a NO, then put in comments: "Ongoing problem. Changing settings in email software so it can send and receive. I did not sign up for DSL from ATT. You took over my DSL without my consent. Now email will receive but not send."
I tried to type more into the comments field but it would only erase my text after that, so I assume the box had a character limit in force.
7:35 pm
I called the tech support number that Ryan had given me, 877-831-2880, got the same stinking a phone maze, and it said, for DSL support, hang up and dial 1-800-288-2020, but I just ignored that and pressed 1 for "advanced technical support." Got put on hold.
7:45 pm
I heard sound of a phone ringing and got a live human after about 10 rings. I could not understand her name, India accent. I gave her my name, phone, zip code, and so forth, and we discussed the problem, and she said it would be a $99 fee. (I'll admit, I was expecting $30 or $40, not $100!) but get this: she promised their techs could fix it. She actually used the word "promise."
I argued about the fee and lost. She took my cc info. Back on hold.
7:53 pm
She said we had to wait for a ticket number. While waiting for a ticket number, she read me the list of rules that she said she was required to read to me. I did not jot them all down, but these two stood out:
1) I am liable for any lost data, etc, if I proceed to this service.
2) Even if they can't fix it they will still bill me $99 for this service.
(First she promised they could fix it, then said it would be $99, then said if they can't fix it, it's still $99?? If this is not illegal it should be.)
Well, this is when I hit the roof and started yelling. Problem ongoing for weeks, I did not sign up for this, I was promised my email would work, ATT slammed my DSL, been on the phone already for hours trying to get it fixed, and so on. I also said that I know it's not her fault, she's not a supervisor, and so on. She said she is required to say all the rules. I pointed out again that she just promised me they could fix it, then said, maybe we can't, but it's $99 either way (!).
Well, since I can't fix this mess myself, I said let's go ahead, and she gave me a ticket number and said to give that to the technician when they come on the line. She added that if I need to call her back, the number is 888-930-3330. She then said, please stay on the line and put me on hold.
7:58 pm
On hold. Wow, but they have some really crappy primitive on-hold music!
8:42 pm
After being on hold for 44 minutes (!) I finally got to the $99-tech, whom I shall call A~. She asked for my ticket number, asked me the problem, and by now I had it down to three words: "Eudora won't send."
Tech A~ had me launch Internet Explorer, go to a specific website, put in a code number, and download a utility called "Premium Support" that allowed her to see my desktop on her desktop and take control of my mouse, etc.
I watched as she looked at Eudora, tried to send email, no go, looked at the browser, checked some settings under Windows Device Manager and Intel Network Connector, which were all normal, I assume, since she changed nothing.
8:48 pm
Tech A~ again looked at Eudora, spent a few minutes looking at all the settings, said she was not familiar with Eudora but would try to figure the problem out, put me on hold, said she was going to find a tech who understands Eudora, came back and said she thinks it's a port problem, and I watched as she checked the port settings in Eudora, making all the changes I had already tried, then trying new settings.
9:02 pm
Tech still "looking around" my computer, made changes to the SSL settings (Secure Socket Layer, a security wall), still no go, changed it back, still no go. She then said she has just learned that a lot of other people have had the same problem.
9:06pm
A~ said another customer who also uses Eudora tried all sorts of instructions but never found a solution, said Eudora "does not like" the SSL that ATT uses. She continued to try possible solutions, kept trying to send an email with Eudora but just got error messages. She then said she was going to write down and investigate the error message more closely. She checked the SSL Certificate Information Manager, clicked on a certificate, tried several times to solve the problem that the certificate was not being authenticated, and so on.
9:16 pm
Tech A~ imported a certificate, tried many other settings, tried changes to certificates and SSL and a slew of other settings. Still no go.
9:23 pm
More attempts to fix, then she tried logging in to yahoo mail using my Netrek name and password, no go, she changed the port settings again, no go.
9:32 pm
Tech A~ started explaining to me why the incoming mail still worked but the outgoing mail did not work, but stopped herself in the middle as if she had a new idea, and made more changes to the settings. Next she theorized that the problem was with the web-based part (Yahoo), in that she did not know how to "connect" Yahoo to 2020comm (my old internet service provider) or Netrek (my old email domain name). I said I also have an ATT email handle and why don't we try that. She entered that into the Eudora settings, and also the password for that, then put me back on hold.
9:40 pm
I saw my mouse moving around by itself again, and watched as she checked all the settings, tried to send an email, no go, she pinged the ATT server, looks like that worked, continued to try different settings.
9:46 pm
As I watched her move my mouse around I asked about the old router / new router, and she said the router is not the issue; the problem she's currently trying to solve is getting the SSL settings in Eudora to update or recognize or something like that. Eudora doesn't seem to have standard SSL but something called TSL, perhaps it's an old version of SSL that is too old to function, or something like that.
9:52 pm
I watched as tech A~ followed links from Eudora to OpenSSL online, I assume in an attempt to find upgrade info or a fix, no go, she then said that I have a 10 year old version of Eudora and she could set up Outlook for me. (Oh, yes, I knew she was going to tell me to use Outlook!!) I explained that I have used Outlook in the past and really hated it, it was very hard to use, but told her to go ahead and set it up for me, let's see if it works.
9:58 pm
I watched as she set up my ATT email with my "real name" and it worked fine, then she set up the Netrek email to see if it would work, put in my old ISP server name, no go, I looked through my old notes from when I set up Eudora, found a different email server, she put that in and by golly it worked! She then set up Outlook to handle my ATT email and my Netrek email and put them all into the same inbox, or at least that's what I expected would happen.
10:16 pm
I told tech A~ that I had been promised a solution, not only prior to today, but earlier today, by ATT personnel, and that after I was told of the $99 fee, I was then told, by the same ATT person, that even if they can't fix it, it's still $99. A~ said she would be happy to transfer me to sales so I could let them know that their own personnel are making impossible promises because Eudora is simply incompatible with ATT email, and they can't support Eudora or fix the problem, the problem (apparently) lies with the SSL in Eudora.
10:36 pm
Tech A~ said, "Sorry it took so long, nothing else I can do for you." I thanked her for trying her best. She transferred me to sales. I went on hold at 10:37 pm.
10:44 pm
I got to a live human (India accent) who asked for my ticket number, which I gave, he said he was a sales rep for "Connect-Tech," then I explained the problem, in that ATT continued to promise me they would fix my email and they simply are unable to, and that they should not be making this promise, especially to Eudora users.
He said he can't give me a refund of my $99 but he would ask the supervisor for permission to give me a refund. I also asked what to do with the duplicate modem, he said he can't help me with that, put me on hold, 10:51 pm.
10:53 pm
When he came back to the phone I told him that, legally speaking, if a company is liable, the fact that they say they're not liable doesn't make them not liable, they're still liable. He said the best he can do is give me full credit for the $99 fee, then charge me a $29 fee instead, thus giving me a $70 reduction on the fee, which he termed a "partial refund." That still stinks, but I agreed to take the partial refund.
He then gave me a transaction number (order reference number) for the current charge, and also gave me the transaction number (order reference number) for the original $99 charge.
10:59 pm
Call ended. Counting from my first contact today with ATT via the chat line, that makes four hours and five minutes total time spent on this today.
---0---
Date: January 8, 2010
The next morning, after the day I spent four hours on the phone with ATT, during which they supposedly set up Outlook for me, guess what? Outlook is not sending or receiving my Netrek mail.
Expletives!
---0---
Date: January 9, 2010
A moment of silence for my dead email, thank you.
It is no wonder that consumers like myself who are treated like dirt by these giant, faceless, multi-national, evil corporations (with the exception of Tech A~ who was super) are taking their business elsewhere.
---0---
Please help a starving bookdealer.
Sincerely yours,
Gwen Foss
---0---
Showing posts with label corporatism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label corporatism. Show all posts
09 January 2010
28 November 2009
10 Reasons Why AT&T Sucks
. . . I am posting a slimmed-down version of my notes from my runaround with the evil corporation known as AT&T. I have numbered the AT&T reps I have spoken with since this fiasco started and there are 10.
Earlier this week, AT&T slammed my internet connection. That's right, they slammed it. They took it over by force and without permission. If this is not illegal it should be.
(Background: AT&T bought out Ameritech same years ago. Actually they bought out SCB which bought out Ameritech. Ameritech and SBC were both Baby Bells: companies created by the gubmint-mandated breakup of the Bell Telephone monopoly. Ameritech supplied my phone service, then SCB, then AT&T.)
(Further: The minute AT&T got hold of my phone line, my phone bill nearly doubled. Also, calls to AT&T for any purpose: service, billing, adding features, etc, no matter what number or department you call, all go to the same phone maze. There is no chance of getting help on anything without being at least 20 minutes on the phone and going through multiple departments. But this is probably true for most giant corporations.)
The Saga Begins
November 23, 2009
10:50am, I called my internet service provider to find out why my connection was down. The tech support guy explained that a lot of their DSL (high-speed internet) customers lost their connection. What happened was that ATT simply took over all the DSL connections without warning. He also mentioned that ATT had recently tripled the price they were charging to companies who used ATT hardware to supply customers with DSL connections to the internet. He was certain that I would no longer be able to get DSL from their company in the near future.
11:03am, I called ATT's standard customer service number 800-244-4444 to ask what kind of DSL they offer -- I was not planning on using them but just interested to know what kind of pricing they offered -- got to a live person at 11:06am, Becky (#1), who asked what my "business" phone number was, said she's in the business office, tried to sell me a business DSL line. I asked whether residential or business was cheaper, had to ask twice, she was not able to answer, finally she said I currently pay $46/mo for residential phone, business would be $35/mo.
Becky then quoted DSL at $30/mo with a guaranteed speed of 3meg and said it's a "forever" rate, and that I would also get a free business listing in their phone book and other free services.
She further explained that ATT will charge me $62 for a new modem (router), but then fully rebate the cost by sending me a check, and charge me $12 for shipping, said there's no rebate on that, and that it will take 2 business days to set everything up. I promised to make sure Becky got the commission if I decided to take their DSL. Call ended 11:17am.
November 25, 2009
1:19pm, I received a robot call from ATT announcing that my new DSL is now in place, it is up and running, and I should call 877-722-3755 if I need tech support.
1:20pm, I still have no internet connection. I waited to see if it would come up but it did not.
1:32pm, I phoned the number the robot gave me, 877-722-3755, and ended up in the same phone maze as always. My requests for "internet tech support" were ignored and the maze dumped me into the billing dept.
1:34pm, phone maze put me on hold.
1:39pm, Valerie (#2) from customer accounts looked me up, said my number was residential, I told her I had a DSL problem, she transferred me.
1:43pm, Jessica (#3) answered, India accent, she kept saying "sorry for the inconvenience," asked for my name, phone, billing address, told me that her records show that an order for my phone number for DSL was placed for me on November 18, with an activation date of November 23, and that for future reference I should call the orders dept 877-722-3755 extension 288. She then transferred me to the orders dept to find out who placed the order.
1:48pm, got to Dana (#4) in the orders dept, she confirmed my name and said that one P****** is the name on the order. She also was able to find that K**** was the name of the ATT agent that P****** spoke to. I have never heard of either of these people.
I said that I had promised the commission to Becky. She said there is no way Becky could get this commission since K****'s name was already on the order. Not only is ATT screwing their customers, they're screwing their own employees.
Dana could not find a November 18 date on my order but said that her info shows that my connection should be up and running. It is not.
Looking further, Dana found a note on my order sating that "the DS3" went down. She admitted she did not know what that was but kept insisting ATT does not hijack people.
Dana then said she had to have a service leader (floor manager) look over my order because she doesn't understand the note. She said it could even be a typo. My DSL got hijacked due to a typo? That's a good one.
1:57pm, Dana came back, said floor support doesn't know what's going on, she is going to ask the provisioning dept. Says it could be an order that got attached to my account incorrectly.
2:00pm, Dana says she can't undo it, all she can do is to disconnect my DSL. I asked if she could determine where this order came from. She said she had to ask her supervisor for help, back on hold.
2:04pm, Dana said they have no way of knowing if the order came from my current ISP or not, but insisted it would be illegal for ATT to just switch me over without my knowledge. Back on hold.
2:07pm, Dana says two companies in Michigan are going out of business, and maybe my current ISP is one of them? She wouldn't give me their names, of course, so how would I be expected to know? She then decided to send me over to tech support anyway since ATT is now my carrier. For future reference she gave me the number for tech support 800-650-2865. She was quite pleasant and apologized many times.
2:16pm, Dana transferred me to tech support.
2:18pm, Peter (#5) came to phone, asked what kind of modem and operating system I have, asked me how many lights on my modem were lit, then he told me to load a webpage. I explained to him that my connection was down and I can't load any webpages. He asked me to load it anyway. Nothing happened of course. He asked about modem lights again, asked about the DSL light, I told him my modem has no such light. He asked if my modem has 4 or 5 lights. It has 6 lights. I told him the WAN light was not lit, back on hold.
2:24pm, Peter said I have a modem-router, not a modem. He has to send me to "Support Plus" to assist me with my "registration." He still doesn't grasp that my connection is down.
2:27, Brian (#6) answered the phone. He asked me if a line test has been done. For future reference he gave me 800-288-2020 for DSL tech support. Said he would transfer me to someone who can do a line test.
2:29pm, I got dumped into the middle of a phone maze in which the voice read back a phone number to me which was not my number and then asked if it were my number. I said "No." Then I said "DSL tech support" into the phone but that did not work. The voice said, "We're sorry, your call was unable to be completed, please hang up and dial the toll free number again" and hung up on me.
2:32pm, I called back, using the new number I had just been given, 800-288-2020, but got the same phone maze as before. Again the maze refused to send me to tech support and dumped me into the billing dept. Brandy (#7), answered. I told her I had been cut off from tech support, she transferred me to 877-722-3755.
2:35pm, Nick (#8), India accent, came to the phone, he "apologized for the inconvenience," confirmed my modem model number, asked where I got the modem, I told him got it from Ameritech as a matter of fact, and that Ameritech was bought out by ATT. He said the model number is no longer supported. I explained the entire mess and asked if we could attack the problem of my DSL connection being down, then asked for a line test, he said he can't do it, not trained on it, has to transfer me to "Support Plus."
2:42pm, back on hold, same phone maze again. Phone maze tells me the dept I'm going to is a fee-based service, then gave me only two options: use the fee-based phone support or have a tech come to my house.
2:44pm, Prince (#9, not sure that is the right name) answered, asked for my modem model number, which I gave her. She then said she is the 3rd level of support, separate from ATT, and fee based. I tell her the whole story and ask for a line test. She would not run a line test unless I paid a fee. I explained that it's not funny they hijack my line then try to get a fee out of me to fix it, and asked her to transfer me back. Back on hold.
2:50pm, Michelle (#10) answered, I did not tell her the whole story, just asked for a line test. This is now the 10th person I have talked to and the 4th person I've talked to since I was told I needed a line test. She said she could to a line test, asked my phone, name, router model number, how many lights are lit, etc. She explained that some older models don't have a component that allows ATT to reprogram them remotely. She did a line test, no problem found, then ran a sync test, nothing wrong. She then had me access my modem and change the registration info using a temporary name.
3:07pm, by golly, the connection is up and running again.
3:19pm, Michelle had me download and install some new software, set me up with a new email address, call ended 3:26pm. On the phone over two hours.
4:00pm, my email doesn't work.
At this point I was too angry and disgusted to make any fresh attempt to get it fixed.
I will post more on this BS as it happens.
---0---
Help a starving bookdealer
Visit my online used bookstore
---0---
. . . I am posting a slimmed-down version of my notes from my runaround with the evil corporation known as AT&T. I have numbered the AT&T reps I have spoken with since this fiasco started and there are 10.
Earlier this week, AT&T slammed my internet connection. That's right, they slammed it. They took it over by force and without permission. If this is not illegal it should be.
(Background: AT&T bought out Ameritech same years ago. Actually they bought out SCB which bought out Ameritech. Ameritech and SBC were both Baby Bells: companies created by the gubmint-mandated breakup of the Bell Telephone monopoly. Ameritech supplied my phone service, then SCB, then AT&T.)
(Further: The minute AT&T got hold of my phone line, my phone bill nearly doubled. Also, calls to AT&T for any purpose: service, billing, adding features, etc, no matter what number or department you call, all go to the same phone maze. There is no chance of getting help on anything without being at least 20 minutes on the phone and going through multiple departments. But this is probably true for most giant corporations.)
The Saga Begins
November 23, 2009
10:50am, I called my internet service provider to find out why my connection was down. The tech support guy explained that a lot of their DSL (high-speed internet) customers lost their connection. What happened was that ATT simply took over all the DSL connections without warning. He also mentioned that ATT had recently tripled the price they were charging to companies who used ATT hardware to supply customers with DSL connections to the internet. He was certain that I would no longer be able to get DSL from their company in the near future.
11:03am, I called ATT's standard customer service number 800-244-4444 to ask what kind of DSL they offer -- I was not planning on using them but just interested to know what kind of pricing they offered -- got to a live person at 11:06am, Becky (#1), who asked what my "business" phone number was, said she's in the business office, tried to sell me a business DSL line. I asked whether residential or business was cheaper, had to ask twice, she was not able to answer, finally she said I currently pay $46/mo for residential phone, business would be $35/mo.
Becky then quoted DSL at $30/mo with a guaranteed speed of 3meg and said it's a "forever" rate, and that I would also get a free business listing in their phone book and other free services.
She further explained that ATT will charge me $62 for a new modem (router), but then fully rebate the cost by sending me a check, and charge me $12 for shipping, said there's no rebate on that, and that it will take 2 business days to set everything up. I promised to make sure Becky got the commission if I decided to take their DSL. Call ended 11:17am.
November 25, 2009
1:19pm, I received a robot call from ATT announcing that my new DSL is now in place, it is up and running, and I should call 877-722-3755 if I need tech support.
1:20pm, I still have no internet connection. I waited to see if it would come up but it did not.
1:32pm, I phoned the number the robot gave me, 877-722-3755, and ended up in the same phone maze as always. My requests for "internet tech support" were ignored and the maze dumped me into the billing dept.
1:34pm, phone maze put me on hold.
1:39pm, Valerie (#2) from customer accounts looked me up, said my number was residential, I told her I had a DSL problem, she transferred me.
1:43pm, Jessica (#3) answered, India accent, she kept saying "sorry for the inconvenience," asked for my name, phone, billing address, told me that her records show that an order for my phone number for DSL was placed for me on November 18, with an activation date of November 23, and that for future reference I should call the orders dept 877-722-3755 extension 288. She then transferred me to the orders dept to find out who placed the order.
1:48pm, got to Dana (#4) in the orders dept, she confirmed my name and said that one P****** is the name on the order. She also was able to find that K**** was the name of the ATT agent that P****** spoke to. I have never heard of either of these people.
I said that I had promised the commission to Becky. She said there is no way Becky could get this commission since K****'s name was already on the order. Not only is ATT screwing their customers, they're screwing their own employees.
Dana could not find a November 18 date on my order but said that her info shows that my connection should be up and running. It is not.
Looking further, Dana found a note on my order sating that "the DS3" went down. She admitted she did not know what that was but kept insisting ATT does not hijack people.
Dana then said she had to have a service leader (floor manager) look over my order because she doesn't understand the note. She said it could even be a typo. My DSL got hijacked due to a typo? That's a good one.
1:57pm, Dana came back, said floor support doesn't know what's going on, she is going to ask the provisioning dept. Says it could be an order that got attached to my account incorrectly.
2:00pm, Dana says she can't undo it, all she can do is to disconnect my DSL. I asked if she could determine where this order came from. She said she had to ask her supervisor for help, back on hold.
2:04pm, Dana said they have no way of knowing if the order came from my current ISP or not, but insisted it would be illegal for ATT to just switch me over without my knowledge. Back on hold.
2:07pm, Dana says two companies in Michigan are going out of business, and maybe my current ISP is one of them? She wouldn't give me their names, of course, so how would I be expected to know? She then decided to send me over to tech support anyway since ATT is now my carrier. For future reference she gave me the number for tech support 800-650-2865. She was quite pleasant and apologized many times.
2:16pm, Dana transferred me to tech support.
2:18pm, Peter (#5) came to phone, asked what kind of modem and operating system I have, asked me how many lights on my modem were lit, then he told me to load a webpage. I explained to him that my connection was down and I can't load any webpages. He asked me to load it anyway. Nothing happened of course. He asked about modem lights again, asked about the DSL light, I told him my modem has no such light. He asked if my modem has 4 or 5 lights. It has 6 lights. I told him the WAN light was not lit, back on hold.
2:24pm, Peter said I have a modem-router, not a modem. He has to send me to "Support Plus" to assist me with my "registration." He still doesn't grasp that my connection is down.
2:27, Brian (#6) answered the phone. He asked me if a line test has been done. For future reference he gave me 800-288-2020 for DSL tech support. Said he would transfer me to someone who can do a line test.
2:29pm, I got dumped into the middle of a phone maze in which the voice read back a phone number to me which was not my number and then asked if it were my number. I said "No." Then I said "DSL tech support" into the phone but that did not work. The voice said, "We're sorry, your call was unable to be completed, please hang up and dial the toll free number again" and hung up on me.
2:32pm, I called back, using the new number I had just been given, 800-288-2020, but got the same phone maze as before. Again the maze refused to send me to tech support and dumped me into the billing dept. Brandy (#7), answered. I told her I had been cut off from tech support, she transferred me to 877-722-3755.
2:35pm, Nick (#8), India accent, came to the phone, he "apologized for the inconvenience," confirmed my modem model number, asked where I got the modem, I told him got it from Ameritech as a matter of fact, and that Ameritech was bought out by ATT. He said the model number is no longer supported. I explained the entire mess and asked if we could attack the problem of my DSL connection being down, then asked for a line test, he said he can't do it, not trained on it, has to transfer me to "Support Plus."
2:42pm, back on hold, same phone maze again. Phone maze tells me the dept I'm going to is a fee-based service, then gave me only two options: use the fee-based phone support or have a tech come to my house.
2:44pm, Prince (#9, not sure that is the right name) answered, asked for my modem model number, which I gave her. She then said she is the 3rd level of support, separate from ATT, and fee based. I tell her the whole story and ask for a line test. She would not run a line test unless I paid a fee. I explained that it's not funny they hijack my line then try to get a fee out of me to fix it, and asked her to transfer me back. Back on hold.
2:50pm, Michelle (#10) answered, I did not tell her the whole story, just asked for a line test. This is now the 10th person I have talked to and the 4th person I've talked to since I was told I needed a line test. She said she could to a line test, asked my phone, name, router model number, how many lights are lit, etc. She explained that some older models don't have a component that allows ATT to reprogram them remotely. She did a line test, no problem found, then ran a sync test, nothing wrong. She then had me access my modem and change the registration info using a temporary name.
3:07pm, by golly, the connection is up and running again.
3:19pm, Michelle had me download and install some new software, set me up with a new email address, call ended 3:26pm. On the phone over two hours.
4:00pm, my email doesn't work.
At this point I was too angry and disgusted to make any fresh attempt to get it fixed.
I will post more on this BS as it happens.
---0---
Help a starving bookdealer
Visit my online used bookstore
---0---
28 October 2009
71 Ways to Be "Fired"
. . . A list I started on 17 May 1984, the first time I got fired from a job. I also list below five euphemisms for "unemployed," and 35 truly horrid euphemisms invented by large corporations when they decide to fire lots of people and want to make it sound like a great idea. (A nod to Annabelle Gurwitch, whose documentary Fired! inspired me to post these old lists.)
71 Euphemisms for "Fired"
1. ankled
2. arseholed (Australia)
3. asked not to come back
4. axed
5. benched
6. best-shored (your job was given to someone overseas)
7. blown off
8. booted
9. bounced
10. burned
11. canned
12. cashiered (military term: demoted or discharged and publicly humiliated)
13. code fived (Domino's Pizza: fired without possibility of rehire)
14. contracted out
15. curtailed
16. degraded (same as cashiered)
17. discharged
18. discontinued
19. dismissed
20. downsized
21. drummed out
22. dumped
23. fired
24. flexibility (the right of a company to fire anyone for any reason)
25. forcibly retired
26. forty-eight-and-a-halved (short-order restaurant slang)
27. f*cked over
28. furloughed
29. given leave to go
30. given the sack
31. given walking papers
32. given your cards
33. gone
34. got the arse (Australia)
35. got the axe
36. got the bullet (19th century term)
37. got the gate
38. history
39. kicked
40. kicked to the curb
41. let go
42. lost your job
43. made redundant (UK)
44. offboarded (laid off)
45. organized out
46. ousted
47. out on your ear
48. outsourced (your job was given to someone overseas)
49. outta here
50. permanently laid off
51. pink slipped
52. pipped (from PIP = profit improvement plan)
53. purged
54. redundant (UK)
55. released
56. reorganized
57. restructured (UK)
58. retired
59. riffed (from RIF = reduction in force)
60. rightsized
61. ripped (from RIPP = reduction in personnel plan)
62. ritually dismissed (same as cashiered)
63. rotated out
64. sacked (UK)
65. selected out
66. sidelined (laid off)
67. suspended (laid off)
68. terminated
69. told to clean out your desk
70. toast
71. unloaded
Five Euphemisms for "Unemployed"
1. at large
2. at liberty
3. between jobs
4. (person) of leisure
5. on furlough
35 Euphemisms for "Downsizing"
Downsizing itself is a euphemism for a mass firing, also called layoffs (another euphemism). When the term comes from a specific corporation, I have listed that as well.
1. aligning operations
2. brightsizing (firing the brightest employees)
3. business process re-engineering
4. buying out (employee) contracts
5. career alternative enhancement program (Chrysler)
6. career-change opportunity (Clifford of Vermont)
7. career-transition program (General Motors)
8. cleaning the staff
9. downsizing
10. drawdown (US military term for withdrawal of part of a force from an area)
11. elimination of employment security policy (Pacific Bell)
12. focused reduction (Tandem Computers)
13. force management program (AT&T)
14. global workforce alignment
15. head-count reduction
16. involuntary separation from payroll (Bell Labs)
17. involuntary severance (Digital Equipment Corp)
18. normal payroll adjustment (Wal*Mart)
19. offboarding
20. outsourcing (firing US workers and hiring cheap labor overseas)
21. profit improvement plan (PIP)
22. rebalancing the level of human capital
23. redeployment (US military term for troop movement)
24. reducing duplication (Tandem Computers)
25. reduction in force, or RIF (Newsweek)
26. reduction in personnel plan, or RIPP
27. reduction in staff
28. release of resources (Bank of America)
29. repositioning (Stanford University)
30. reorganizing
31. reshaping (National Semiconductor)
32. rightsizing
33. schedule adjustments (Stouffer Foods Corp)
34. smartsizing
35. strengthening global effectiveness (Proctor & Gamble)
---0---
Visit my used bookstore here
Click here to see (and order) my book of UU jokes, The Church Where People Laugh
Find more fun lists by Book Doctor Gwen here
---0---
. . . A list I started on 17 May 1984, the first time I got fired from a job. I also list below five euphemisms for "unemployed," and 35 truly horrid euphemisms invented by large corporations when they decide to fire lots of people and want to make it sound like a great idea. (A nod to Annabelle Gurwitch, whose documentary Fired! inspired me to post these old lists.)
71 Euphemisms for "Fired"
1. ankled
2. arseholed (Australia)
3. asked not to come back
4. axed
5. benched
6. best-shored (your job was given to someone overseas)
7. blown off
8. booted
9. bounced
10. burned
11. canned
12. cashiered (military term: demoted or discharged and publicly humiliated)
13. code fived (Domino's Pizza: fired without possibility of rehire)
14. contracted out
15. curtailed
16. degraded (same as cashiered)
17. discharged
18. discontinued
19. dismissed
20. downsized
21. drummed out
22. dumped
23. fired
24. flexibility (the right of a company to fire anyone for any reason)
25. forcibly retired
26. forty-eight-and-a-halved (short-order restaurant slang)
27. f*cked over
28. furloughed
29. given leave to go
30. given the sack
31. given walking papers
32. given your cards
33. gone
34. got the arse (Australia)
35. got the axe
36. got the bullet (19th century term)
37. got the gate
38. history
39. kicked
40. kicked to the curb
41. let go
42. lost your job
43. made redundant (UK)
44. offboarded (laid off)
45. organized out
46. ousted
47. out on your ear
48. outsourced (your job was given to someone overseas)
49. outta here
50. permanently laid off
51. pink slipped
52. pipped (from PIP = profit improvement plan)
53. purged
54. redundant (UK)
55. released
56. reorganized
57. restructured (UK)
58. retired
59. riffed (from RIF = reduction in force)
60. rightsized
61. ripped (from RIPP = reduction in personnel plan)
62. ritually dismissed (same as cashiered)
63. rotated out
64. sacked (UK)
65. selected out
66. sidelined (laid off)
67. suspended (laid off)
68. terminated
69. told to clean out your desk
70. toast
71. unloaded
Five Euphemisms for "Unemployed"
1. at large
2. at liberty
3. between jobs
4. (person) of leisure
5. on furlough
35 Euphemisms for "Downsizing"
Downsizing itself is a euphemism for a mass firing, also called layoffs (another euphemism). When the term comes from a specific corporation, I have listed that as well.
1. aligning operations
2. brightsizing (firing the brightest employees)
3. business process re-engineering
4. buying out (employee) contracts
5. career alternative enhancement program (Chrysler)
6. career-change opportunity (Clifford of Vermont)
7. career-transition program (General Motors)
8. cleaning the staff
9. downsizing
10. drawdown (US military term for withdrawal of part of a force from an area)
11. elimination of employment security policy (Pacific Bell)
12. focused reduction (Tandem Computers)
13. force management program (AT&T)
14. global workforce alignment
15. head-count reduction
16. involuntary separation from payroll (Bell Labs)
17. involuntary severance (Digital Equipment Corp)
18. normal payroll adjustment (Wal*Mart)
19. offboarding
20. outsourcing (firing US workers and hiring cheap labor overseas)
21. profit improvement plan (PIP)
22. rebalancing the level of human capital
23. redeployment (US military term for troop movement)
24. reducing duplication (Tandem Computers)
25. reduction in force, or RIF (Newsweek)
26. reduction in personnel plan, or RIPP
27. reduction in staff
28. release of resources (Bank of America)
29. repositioning (Stanford University)
30. reorganizing
31. reshaping (National Semiconductor)
32. rightsizing
33. schedule adjustments (Stouffer Foods Corp)
34. smartsizing
35. strengthening global effectiveness (Proctor & Gamble)
---0---
Visit my used bookstore here
Click here to see (and order) my book of UU jokes, The Church Where People Laugh
Find more fun lists by Book Doctor Gwen here
---0---
12 October 2009
Chronology of Used Book Portals on the Internet
I present below a comprehensive list of the many used-book websites that have come and gone since the early days of the internet. That's right, some of these are gone. In other words, there are some dead websites on this list.
Anyway, this list focuses on portals: websites where many used-book dealers list their books in one big database, and where members of the general public can search for and purchase them.
As one who has been selling books on the internet since 1997, I find myself continuously marvelling at how fast these websites spring up, change, grow or die, and all too often get taken over by major corporations that shut them down or transform them from friendly places into venues that I would not even recommend to someone I don't like.
Each portal is listed in chronological order under the year they were launched, revamped, or closed. Under each year the sites are listed alphabetically.
Please note: The earliest multi-dealer used-book portals listed below were not websites as such, since the used-book business on the world wide web (the commercial part of the internet) did not really take off until about 1994.
Also please note: This is an ongoing collection. A few portals are missing from this list. If I do not have the year in which a portal was launched, revamped, or folded, it is not listed here. Further information will be gratefully accepted and added to this page, so please email me if you have it.
See the bottom for definitions.
---0---
1988
ADI (Antiquarian Databases International, bulletin-board-based service, launched, folded soon after)
---0---
1989
booknet (fax-based service, launched and folded)
bookquest (launched)
---0---
1991
muze (launched, description-generating software)
---0---
1992
bookbytes (bulletin-board-based service, based in US, launched, folded soon after)
---0---
1993
bookquest (bought out and shut down by interloc)
interloc (launched, pre-web dealer-to-dealer service only, based in US) Interloc, from interlocutor (middleman) was the first major successful portal. It is now called Alibris.
---0---
1994
gemm.com (Global E-commerce Mega Marketplace, launched) Gemm began as a charming portal for sellers of used and collectible LPs, CDs, 45s; now it has no charm and sells everything.
---0---
1995
amazon.com (launched)
ebay.com (launched)
virtualbookshop.com (launched, folded by 2002)
---0---
1996
abebooks (Advanced Book Exchange, based in Canada, launched)
antiqbook.com (based in Netherlands, launched)
bibliocity.com (based in Australia, launched)
bibliofind.com (based in US, launched) Bibliofind was the best engineered site. Its all-word search was an invaluable tool for research and selling.
biblioworld.com (launched)
bookmatch.com (launched and folded)
collectorz.com (description-generating software, launched)
interloc.com (launched their first truly web-based service)
maremagnum.com (based in Italy, launched)
virtualbooks.com (launched, folded by 2002)
zvab.com (Zentrales Verzeichnis Antiquarischer Buecher, Central Catalog of Antiquarian Books, based in Germany, launched)
---0---
1997
In 1997, Abebooks and Bibliofind vied for supremacy as the top two used-book portals on the internet; Interloc was a close third.
booklovers.co.uk (based in UK, launched)
buy.com (launched, selling everything including books)
half.com (launched, selling everything including books)
mxbf.com (based in US, first meta-search of used bookstore portals, launched, name soon changed to bookfinder)
---0---
1998
addall.com (launched, meta-search of used bookstore portals)
antikvariat.net (launched, based in Scandinavia)
bookfinder.com (formerly mxbf, revamped with new name)
bn.com (Barnes and Noble website launched, new books only, with a used-book search engine that searched only abe)
exchange.com (launched)
half.com (bought out by ebay, but continued to operate separately)
popula.com (auction portal, similar to ebay but independent and fairly run)
rarebooknet.com (launched, folded by 2002)
usedbooks.com (launched)
x.com (payment transfer service, soon to be revamped as paypal)
---0---
1999
abaa.org (Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America, website launched)
backissuefinder.com (used periodicals only, launched)
bibliocity.com (bought out and shut down by alibris)
bibliofind.com (bought out by exchange)
bibliophile.net (based in Switzerland, launched)
biblioworld.com (revamped as 21northmain)
bookavenue.com (based in US, launched)
bookgraveyard.com (based in US, launched)
bookopoly.com (launched)
bookradar.com (meta-search of used bookstore portals, launched)
digibib (Digital Bibliophile Community, based in US, launched, folded soon after)
exchange.com (bought out and shut down by amazon)
gbmbooks.com (Global Book Mart, based in US, launched)
iberlibro.com (based in Spain, launched)
justbooks.de (based in Germany, launched)
paypal.com (formerly x, revamped with new name)
21northmain.com (revamped, formerly biblioworld)
---0---
2000
Amazon Marketplace (seller platform for isbn books, launched)
Amazon zShops (seller platform for pre-isbn and antiquarian books, launched)
biblio.com (launched)
bibliofind.com (bought out and shut down by amazon)
biblion.com (launched)
bibliopoly.com (based in UK, launched)
biblioz.com (based in Australia, launched)
ephemeranet.com (based in US, launched)
eurobuch.com (meta-search of used bookstore portals, based in Austria, launched)
half.com (merged into ebay)
ibooknet.co.uk (based in UK, cooperatively owned, launched)
muze.com (now being used by half and ebay to generate product descriptions)
tomfolio.com (based in US, cooperatively owned, launched)
wantedbooks.com (revamped, formerly bookquarters)
---0---
2001
abebooks.com (bought out by justbooks, but kept the name)
bibliology.com (based in UK, launched)
bookradar.com (folded)
booksandcollectibles.com.au (based in Australia, launched)
borders.com (revamped, made into a redirect to amazon)
classicforum.com (formerly clik-books.com, bought out and shut down by alibris)
gbmbooks.com (folded but was revived in 2002)
ioba.org (Independent Online Booksellers Association, booksearch launched, linked to abe)
searchbiblio.com (launched, meta-search of used bookstore portals, now a redirect to biblio)
titlesdirect.com (launched, soon revamped as myownbookshop)
21northmain (folded)
usedbookcentral.com (launched)
---0---
2002
Amazon Seller Central (selling platform launched for large retailers, launched)
bibliodirect.com (announced, possibly never launched)
bookgraveyard.com (revamped as bookquarters)
bookopoly.com (bought out by biblio)
bookquarters.com (formerly bookgraveyard, revamped as wantedbooks)
choosebooks.com (launched)
fetchbook.info (meta-search of used bookstore portals, launched)
gbmbooks.com (revived but folded in 2006)
giaq.de (Genossenschaft der Internet-Antiquariate, Cooperative of Internet Antiquarian Booksellers, based in Germany, launched)
half.com (feedback system merged into ebay feedback system)
interloc.com (bought out and revamped as alibris)
goindaba.com (description-generating software, launched)
librarybooksales.org (portal for nonprofit friends-of-the-library sellers only, launched)
liquidatedirect.com (description-generating software, launched)
monsoonworks.com (description-generating software, launched)
myownbookshop.com (formerly titlesdirect) MyOwnBookshop was launched by an independent bookdealer and had the best search engine hands down. For example, a search for first editions returned only true firsts, and a search excluding book clubs actually excluded book clubs.
paypal.com (bought out by ebay)
Pondview Books (cover name used by alibris to sell on bn) This is only one example of a corporate-owned portal selling through another corporate-owned portal, thus setting up multiple layers between bookseller and bookbuyer. They apparently dropped this name when it became public knowledge.
usedbooks.com (folded)
wantedbooks.com (launched, formerly bookquarters)
Yahoo Warehouse (selling platform, folded)
---0---
2003
abebooks.com (bought out by Hubert Burda Media, based in Germany)
backissuefinder.com (folded)
bookopoly.com (bought out by biblio)
FillZ.com (launched, description-generating software)
iobabooks.com (formerly ioba.org, formerly hosted by abe, now hosted by choosebooks)
previouslypublished.com (meta-search, launched)
worldbookdealers.com (folded)
---0---
2004
bookpursuit.com (based in Netherlands, launched)
booksatpbfa.com (based in UK, launched)
booksku.com (description-generating software, launched)
choosebooks.com (bought out by zvab)
findbookprices.com (meta-search, launched)
half.com (nearly shut down by ebay, then they decided to keep it)
iberlibro.com (bought out by abe)
myownbookshop.com (folded)
myremainders.com (meta-search for remainder sellers only, launched)
worldbookmarket.com (based in Australia, launched)
---0---
2005
abbookmart.com (launched and folded)
bibliology.com (folded)
bookfinder.com (bought out by abe, but kept in operation)
ilab-lila.com (International League of Antiquarian Booksellers / Ligue Internationale de la Librarie Ancienne, portal launched)
iobabooks.com (formerly hosted by choosebooks, now hosted by biblio)
theartofbooks.com (description-generating and order management software, launched)
---0---
2006
FillZ.com (bought out by abe)
Amazon zShops (folded)
bn.com (portal for used-book dealers, launched)
biblion.com (bought out by biblio)
bookavenue.com (folded)
gbmbooks.com (folded)
myremainders.com (folded)
vialibri.net (meta-search of used bookstore portals, launched)
wantedbooks.com (folded)
yahoo.com (selling platform, partnered with ebay)
---0---
2007
booklovers.co.uk (bought out by worldbookmarket)
marelibri.com (meta-search / meta-portal formed by five European portals -- antiqbook, livre-rare-book, maremagnum, prolibri, and uniliber -- each portal is owned by professional, independent, new and antiquarian bookdealers)
Yahoo Auctions (selling platform, folded)
---0---
2008
abebooks.com (bought out by amazon, but kept in operation)
gojaba.com (aimed at buyers in Sweden, Russia, Brazil, Poland, owned by abe, launched)
---0---
2009
marelibri.com (new members joined: antikvariat, booksatpbfa, biblio)
usedbookcentral.com (folded)
---0---
Definitions
portal. A website where many bookdealers list and sell their books. Every entity listed above is a portal unless otherwise stated.
antiquarian. General term for old, rare, high-end used books.
description-generating software. A software product that supplies ready-made data, and sometimes also stock photos, for sellers of books, CDs, DVDs, video games, etc, based on International Standard Book Numbers.
launched. The year in which the entity began operation online.
meta-search. A website that searches several portals at once; the meta-search website itself sells no books.
redirect. A website that does nothing but take you to another website. (Example: searchbiblio.com is just a redirect to biblio.com) Redirects result when a website buys out another website but wants to keep the name to gather in customers.
remainders. General term for new books that have not sold fast enough and have been drastically reduced in price by the publisher or distributor. Some bookstores sell only remainders.
selling platform. A term used by website owners to refer to a system whereby independent dealers can join the website and sell through it. Some websites have more than one selling platform; for example, ebay has auctions and stores.
---0---
Visit my bookstore www.gwenfoss.com
Check out the cooperatively-owned bookdealers' portal www.tomfolio.com
Marvel at the largest glossary of used-book terminology on the web http://tomfolio.pbworks.com/glossary
---0---
I present below a comprehensive list of the many used-book websites that have come and gone since the early days of the internet. That's right, some of these are gone. In other words, there are some dead websites on this list.
Anyway, this list focuses on portals: websites where many used-book dealers list their books in one big database, and where members of the general public can search for and purchase them.
As one who has been selling books on the internet since 1997, I find myself continuously marvelling at how fast these websites spring up, change, grow or die, and all too often get taken over by major corporations that shut them down or transform them from friendly places into venues that I would not even recommend to someone I don't like.
Each portal is listed in chronological order under the year they were launched, revamped, or closed. Under each year the sites are listed alphabetically.
Please note: The earliest multi-dealer used-book portals listed below were not websites as such, since the used-book business on the world wide web (the commercial part of the internet) did not really take off until about 1994.
Also please note: This is an ongoing collection. A few portals are missing from this list. If I do not have the year in which a portal was launched, revamped, or folded, it is not listed here. Further information will be gratefully accepted and added to this page, so please email me if you have it.
See the bottom for definitions.
---0---
1988
ADI (Antiquarian Databases International, bulletin-board-based service, launched, folded soon after)
---0---
1989
booknet (fax-based service, launched and folded)
bookquest (launched)
---0---
1991
muze (launched, description-generating software)
---0---
1992
bookbytes (bulletin-board-based service, based in US, launched, folded soon after)
---0---
1993
bookquest (bought out and shut down by interloc)
interloc (launched, pre-web dealer-to-dealer service only, based in US) Interloc, from interlocutor (middleman) was the first major successful portal. It is now called Alibris.
---0---
1994
gemm.com (Global E-commerce Mega Marketplace, launched) Gemm began as a charming portal for sellers of used and collectible LPs, CDs, 45s; now it has no charm and sells everything.
---0---
1995
amazon.com (launched)
ebay.com (launched)
virtualbookshop.com (launched, folded by 2002)
---0---
1996
abebooks (Advanced Book Exchange, based in Canada, launched)
antiqbook.com (based in Netherlands, launched)
bibliocity.com (based in Australia, launched)
bibliofind.com (based in US, launched) Bibliofind was the best engineered site. Its all-word search was an invaluable tool for research and selling.
biblioworld.com (launched)
bookmatch.com (launched and folded)
collectorz.com (description-generating software, launched)
interloc.com (launched their first truly web-based service)
maremagnum.com (based in Italy, launched)
virtualbooks.com (launched, folded by 2002)
zvab.com (Zentrales Verzeichnis Antiquarischer Buecher, Central Catalog of Antiquarian Books, based in Germany, launched)
---0---
1997
In 1997, Abebooks and Bibliofind vied for supremacy as the top two used-book portals on the internet; Interloc was a close third.
booklovers.co.uk (based in UK, launched)
buy.com (launched, selling everything including books)
half.com (launched, selling everything including books)
mxbf.com (based in US, first meta-search of used bookstore portals, launched, name soon changed to bookfinder)
---0---
1998
addall.com (launched, meta-search of used bookstore portals)
antikvariat.net (launched, based in Scandinavia)
bookfinder.com (formerly mxbf, revamped with new name)
bn.com (Barnes and Noble website launched, new books only, with a used-book search engine that searched only abe)
exchange.com (launched)
half.com (bought out by ebay, but continued to operate separately)
popula.com (auction portal, similar to ebay but independent and fairly run)
rarebooknet.com (launched, folded by 2002)
usedbooks.com (launched)
x.com (payment transfer service, soon to be revamped as paypal)
---0---
1999
abaa.org (Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America, website launched)
backissuefinder.com (used periodicals only, launched)
bibliocity.com (bought out and shut down by alibris)
bibliofind.com (bought out by exchange)
bibliophile.net (based in Switzerland, launched)
biblioworld.com (revamped as 21northmain)
bookavenue.com (based in US, launched)
bookgraveyard.com (based in US, launched)
bookopoly.com (launched)
bookradar.com (meta-search of used bookstore portals, launched)
digibib (Digital Bibliophile Community, based in US, launched, folded soon after)
exchange.com (bought out and shut down by amazon)
gbmbooks.com (Global Book Mart, based in US, launched)
iberlibro.com (based in Spain, launched)
justbooks.de (based in Germany, launched)
paypal.com (formerly x, revamped with new name)
21northmain.com (revamped, formerly biblioworld)
---0---
2000
Amazon Marketplace (seller platform for isbn books, launched)
Amazon zShops (seller platform for pre-isbn and antiquarian books, launched)
biblio.com (launched)
bibliofind.com (bought out and shut down by amazon)
biblion.com (launched)
bibliopoly.com (based in UK, launched)
biblioz.com (based in Australia, launched)
ephemeranet.com (based in US, launched)
eurobuch.com (meta-search of used bookstore portals, based in Austria, launched)
half.com (merged into ebay)
ibooknet.co.uk (based in UK, cooperatively owned, launched)
muze.com (now being used by half and ebay to generate product descriptions)
tomfolio.com (based in US, cooperatively owned, launched)
wantedbooks.com (revamped, formerly bookquarters)
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2001
abebooks.com (bought out by justbooks, but kept the name)
bibliology.com (based in UK, launched)
bookradar.com (folded)
booksandcollectibles.com.au (based in Australia, launched)
borders.com (revamped, made into a redirect to amazon)
classicforum.com (formerly clik-books.com, bought out and shut down by alibris)
gbmbooks.com (folded but was revived in 2002)
ioba.org (Independent Online Booksellers Association, booksearch launched, linked to abe)
searchbiblio.com (launched, meta-search of used bookstore portals, now a redirect to biblio)
titlesdirect.com (launched, soon revamped as myownbookshop)
21northmain (folded)
usedbookcentral.com (launched)
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2002
Amazon Seller Central (selling platform launched for large retailers, launched)
bibliodirect.com (announced, possibly never launched)
bookgraveyard.com (revamped as bookquarters)
bookopoly.com (bought out by biblio)
bookquarters.com (formerly bookgraveyard, revamped as wantedbooks)
choosebooks.com (launched)
fetchbook.info (meta-search of used bookstore portals, launched)
gbmbooks.com (revived but folded in 2006)
giaq.de (Genossenschaft der Internet-Antiquariate, Cooperative of Internet Antiquarian Booksellers, based in Germany, launched)
half.com (feedback system merged into ebay feedback system)
interloc.com (bought out and revamped as alibris)
goindaba.com (description-generating software, launched)
librarybooksales.org (portal for nonprofit friends-of-the-library sellers only, launched)
liquidatedirect.com (description-generating software, launched)
monsoonworks.com (description-generating software, launched)
myownbookshop.com (formerly titlesdirect) MyOwnBookshop was launched by an independent bookdealer and had the best search engine hands down. For example, a search for first editions returned only true firsts, and a search excluding book clubs actually excluded book clubs.
paypal.com (bought out by ebay)
Pondview Books (cover name used by alibris to sell on bn) This is only one example of a corporate-owned portal selling through another corporate-owned portal, thus setting up multiple layers between bookseller and bookbuyer. They apparently dropped this name when it became public knowledge.
usedbooks.com (folded)
wantedbooks.com (launched, formerly bookquarters)
Yahoo Warehouse (selling platform, folded)
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2003
abebooks.com (bought out by Hubert Burda Media, based in Germany)
backissuefinder.com (folded)
bookopoly.com (bought out by biblio)
FillZ.com (launched, description-generating software)
iobabooks.com (formerly ioba.org, formerly hosted by abe, now hosted by choosebooks)
previouslypublished.com (meta-search, launched)
worldbookdealers.com (folded)
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2004
bookpursuit.com (based in Netherlands, launched)
booksatpbfa.com (based in UK, launched)
booksku.com (description-generating software, launched)
choosebooks.com (bought out by zvab)
findbookprices.com (meta-search, launched)
half.com (nearly shut down by ebay, then they decided to keep it)
iberlibro.com (bought out by abe)
myownbookshop.com (folded)
myremainders.com (meta-search for remainder sellers only, launched)
worldbookmarket.com (based in Australia, launched)
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2005
abbookmart.com (launched and folded)
bibliology.com (folded)
bookfinder.com (bought out by abe, but kept in operation)
ilab-lila.com (International League of Antiquarian Booksellers / Ligue Internationale de la Librarie Ancienne, portal launched)
iobabooks.com (formerly hosted by choosebooks, now hosted by biblio)
theartofbooks.com (description-generating and order management software, launched)
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2006
FillZ.com (bought out by abe)
Amazon zShops (folded)
bn.com (portal for used-book dealers, launched)
biblion.com (bought out by biblio)
bookavenue.com (folded)
gbmbooks.com (folded)
myremainders.com (folded)
vialibri.net (meta-search of used bookstore portals, launched)
wantedbooks.com (folded)
yahoo.com (selling platform, partnered with ebay)
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2007
booklovers.co.uk (bought out by worldbookmarket)
marelibri.com (meta-search / meta-portal formed by five European portals -- antiqbook, livre-rare-book, maremagnum, prolibri, and uniliber -- each portal is owned by professional, independent, new and antiquarian bookdealers)
Yahoo Auctions (selling platform, folded)
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2008
abebooks.com (bought out by amazon, but kept in operation)
gojaba.com (aimed at buyers in Sweden, Russia, Brazil, Poland, owned by abe, launched)
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2009
marelibri.com (new members joined: antikvariat, booksatpbfa, biblio)
usedbookcentral.com (folded)
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Definitions
portal. A website where many bookdealers list and sell their books. Every entity listed above is a portal unless otherwise stated.
antiquarian. General term for old, rare, high-end used books.
description-generating software. A software product that supplies ready-made data, and sometimes also stock photos, for sellers of books, CDs, DVDs, video games, etc, based on International Standard Book Numbers.
launched. The year in which the entity began operation online.
meta-search. A website that searches several portals at once; the meta-search website itself sells no books.
redirect. A website that does nothing but take you to another website. (Example: searchbiblio.com is just a redirect to biblio.com) Redirects result when a website buys out another website but wants to keep the name to gather in customers.
remainders. General term for new books that have not sold fast enough and have been drastically reduced in price by the publisher or distributor. Some bookstores sell only remainders.
selling platform. A term used by website owners to refer to a system whereby independent dealers can join the website and sell through it. Some websites have more than one selling platform; for example, ebay has auctions and stores.
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Visit my bookstore www.gwenfoss.com
Check out the cooperatively-owned bookdealers' portal www.tomfolio.com
Marvel at the largest glossary of used-book terminology on the web http://tomfolio.pbworks.com/glossary
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