OpenTrolley, an Amazon alternative. Anyone tried before?

[aidisim]

I read from someone's post in this forum a few days ago about a local discount bookstore called OpenTrolley (www.opentrolley.com.sg). Seems the prices are very competitive and there are many books.

Anyone tried before? The website seems a little empty though, like no bestsellers list or write-ups by the editors.

[bennjy]

hmm.. was thinking of trying this option too since well it's at cheaper than kino and stuff..

[tactical.genius]

I read from someone's post in this forum a few days ago about a local discount bookstore called OpenTrolley (www.opentrolley.com.sg). Seems the prices are very competitive and there are many books.

Anyone tried before? The website seems a little empty though, like no bestsellers list or write-ups by the editors.

I tried purchasing some time before. Took one week to arrive but my friend wasn't so lucky. His order took more than that (almost 2 weeks). If you're not so eager to get your books, I guess this is a good place to start.

[yes1705]

Thanks for sharing the link, aidisim. The prices there are pretty mixed. Some titles are definitely much cheaper thru OpenTrolley, but not for some others.

I frequent another online local bookstore. www.Berkshire.sg. I don't know if Berkshire came before OpenTrolley or otherwise.

From what I see, some books are cheaper at Berkshire while some are cheaper at OpenTrolley. I suppose the onus is on readers like ourselves to source and get the best bang for our bucks.

[yes1705]

I tried purchasing some time before. Took one week to arrive but my friend wasn't so lucky. His order took more than that (almost 2 weeks). If you're not so eager to get your books, I guess this is a good place to start.

That's the whole idea, tactical.genius. Online bookstores are best for very busy people who have time to wait but cannot afford the time to go and buy the book from bookstores.

If we want to get the book instantly, we are better off visiting the Kino, Borders, Times or Popular bookstores.

[tactical.genius]

It would be good if delivery is within a week. Gives a sense of security :)

[yes1705]

I was wishing for 5 days. However, my experience with online bookstores tells me that this is unrealistic. The only place which delivered my books within 5 working days must be Marketasia Distributors. They have a website selling the books they carry. But this list is rather limited.

[Parka]

Amazon delivers their books in1-2 weeks.

Pretty much the standard is the books are shipped from overseas.

[vicara]

but i think open trolley is a local bookstore right? so should take a shorter time..

[thisisanfield]

Even if it's a local online store, some of their books may have to be imported from their suppliers, which may be from overseas. So it's still the same, still have to be shipped over. I think 1-2 weeks is reasonable, plus the books from online store are usually in mint condition, as they are not exposed to browsing like in retail stores.

I haven't bought from this store yet. I think they were previously yasubooks.com.sg. I was intending to purchase something from there, but there was a 'revamp' and then it became a site that purchase on your behalf from Amazon. Very soon after, apparently they were bought over or merge with some other company and became this OpenTrolley site.

[tactical.genius]

probably we can get more discounts if we do a spree.

[vicara]

i tried buying from this site but failed.. After accepting my payment they say suppliers not selling outside USA so my order is cancelled..

[TheoDR]

probably we can get more discounts if we do a spree.

Just a preemptive reminder, but unauthorized sprees/MO conducted in HWZ forums aren't allowed. :)

[tactical.genius]

i tried buying from this site but failed.. After accepting my payment they say suppliers not selling outside USA so my order is cancelled..

What book did you purchase?

[vicara]

i order books on tarots.. think one of the item cannot go through but they cancelled my whole order... wasted my time.. anyway the books not all are cheap.. some are in fact more ex... so u must check out the price before u buy..

[tactical.genius]

oh, back then I got 1 of my books cancelled. They say it is because of flawed stock update or something. They called me and then I told them to ignore the 1 book. I hope they've rectified this problem coz if you choose courier, you will want to buy more books to reduce shipping fee per book. If they cancel some books, I might not choose courier option, which is more ex.

[vicara]

true.. esp u plan nice nice le.. when u buy from there once check out everyone will assume they will get their books and not send an email by the admin and say unable to deliver the book or wat crap..

[tactical.genius]

From their newsletter: OpenTrolley just reduced book prices by 4%.

They also mentioned that they already increased stock frequency. Apparently some books have liminted quantity and labelled as LOW STOCK (5 copies or less). They update stock every night and if you happen to buy LOW STOCK books, there might be chances that they get sold out by the time you purchase it. They said last time they update once a week. Now once a day to make sure Low Stock items is more or less available.

[mangomilkshake]

This post comes in timely. Initially I wanted to buy some books from amazon but the shipping cost sets me back. Then I search online to find opentrolley. prices were good! Then was happy to have come to know of another bizbook site berskire....
Thanks!
I'm wondering is there any way to reduce shipping cost from amazon? via vpost?

[tactical.genius]

VPOST is a good option. But take note that USD is not trading at 1.42. Add 2% credit card fee and that means the actual exchange rate is 1.44.

You might want to wait till USD depreciates.

[keltong]

This post comes in timely. Initially I wanted to buy some books from amazon but the shipping cost sets me back. Then I search online to find opentrolley. prices were good! Then was happy to have come to know of another bizbook site berskire....
Thanks!
I'm wondering is there any way to reduce shipping cost from amazon? via vpost?

Depending on the things you buy. VPOST may not necessary be cheap. Coz their base is much higher than Amazon's base for books only which I think is 4.99USD. Even if you use 1.5 it's still only 7.50SGD. VPOST base is 13.24SGD. Than VPOST charge by volumetric or actual weight, whichever is HIGHER. And Amazon ALWAYS ship in BIG boxes, even if it is 1 or 2 books, which may make the volumetric weight higher (thus higher shipping). So it's a risk.

If you are getting only 1 or 2 books, an alternative site is Betterworld. They charge a standard of 3.97USD (use to be 2.97USD) per book (no base charge) but their books prices are higher than Amazon. Shipping time is quite long, sometimes as long as 3-4weeks.

[sorryguy]

try borderlinx ... seems better than vpost. also you might consider buying from ebay from some sellers i think you can actually tell your seller to pack in a smaller package.

[Adventia]

Hmm ...the variety of books covered don't seem to be as wide as amazon.

[tactical.genius]

Hmm ...the variety of books covered don't seem to be as wide as amazon.

no one beats amazon thats for sure :s13:

[flowerclaire]

kino online better leh, if you are a member can still use the 10% discount, even from home. well at least thats for me hehe

[sherlockian21]

but you must pay $20 per year. I think Popular only like $10/year and for students, it's only $5. Think about the stationeries! I think I can recoup the membership fee at Popular, a bit hard for Kino tho.

[suntag881]

but you must pay $20 per year. I think Popular only like $10/year and for students, it's only $5. Think about the stationeries! I think I can recoup the membership fee at Popular, a bit hard for Kino tho.

Yeah, popular membership is good for stationeries, and stationeries only.
The books Popular sell are.. ahem.. limited, to put it mildly.

Remember, with Kino membership, you get discounts for magazines, chuangyi comics and so on, which are all NETT items at Popular.

But strange thing is, Kino doesn't offer discounts for stationeries. Maybe they pride themselves as a *book*seller.

[Rushifaa]

Usually it's cheaper than Kino.
Some sell around the same price as Kino.

I find Border most expensive.

I usually compare the prices from
1)Amazon+shippings
2)Kino Online
3)Open Trolley

And buy from where it's cheapest.

[EmPtYsOuLz]

camp for border's 30% off!

[mikeeeey]

ordered 1 book from Opentrolley on Tuesday.

should arrive this coming week according to their delivery chart.

[tactical.genius]

Bought and got my books from OpenTrolley again. Second purchase and service is definitely improving. Now with better boxes and plastic wrap. Delivery is also according to the timeline.

[MESSY7]

is it cheaper than kino? I compared it with a new book i bought today and its way more expensive than kino even b4 the 10% discount. :(

[tactical.genius]

is it cheaper than kino? I compared it with a new book i bought today and its way more expensive than kino even b4 the 10% discount. :(

only a small no of books are more ex at opentrolley. normally bestsellers.

[Parka]

The books are pricey but the shipping is cheap. Great if buying a few books.

[Pastamancer]

mm.. 9780321356680 selling for SGD70.62 at kino but SGD88.52 at opentrolley..

[bigass]

yah quite ex. compared to c/c at kino and other outlets.

[tactical.genius]

I find paperbacks at OpenTrolley cost around $13 compared to $17 in Kino. You can self-collect books at Plaza Singapura nowadays to save delivery cost. http://opentrolley.com.sg/shipping.aspx.

Bargains would be for computer books, business and non-fic.

[SunTzuStrategist]

Hmmmm.... personally for me, Amazon is a great place to find books that are seldom on the shelves in local bookstores. And it is cheaper to order in bulk. But I notice for amazon, the price are cheaper than local if the forex is ard 1.40.

For me, Kino is the best. Their 20% discount for members is quite often and their variety is the best. For borders, if you are aiming for the 30+% discount it is usually at the end of the year, and mind you the books available are not that great in my opinion so offering me that much discount also of no use if I do not have any books to buy.

I hv ordered from Berkshire.sg before. The service is good but it seems to take a longer time to answer queries nowadays, and usually a book cannot be found online, you have to drop a line or email to ask for it which can be a bit tedious. I also notice their price without the 22% discount is usually higher than Kino and thus their 22% is almost the same as 20% in Kino.

[NY_Ang]

anybody uses the $4.99 shipping fee category for amazon? was it fast, or as wat it stated in the site, 17 - 30 days?

[sherlockian21]

yes. working days. it's like 1 month plus and no tracking number. if you looking for books urgently, buy from physical shops

[nightstalker2]

my preferred method is to order from amazon, use free shipping to Borderlinx in Ohio, and then use Borderlinx to ship over (they are actually DHL)

Amazon to Borderlinx using free super saver 2 day shipping - Usually 5-7 days end to end
Borderlinx to Singapore using the cheapest shipping option - Always within 3 days so far

I have to do this because I buy a lot of baby products (bottles, etc) and other stuff that Amazon does not deliver here directly.

So far, this option is cheaper than shipping from Amazon direct because
i) I order MANY + SMALL items

As someone said, Amazon always use BIG boxes, so don't do this unless you are ordering an reasonable amount.

[kukujun]

I bought a total of 8 books from Opentrolley - over $120 worth. Overall a good experience.

Five books were available in a few days which I picked up from Plaza Singapura. No damage. All brand new stuff. Quite happy.

The other three books were supposed to come within the next two weeks, then somehow they didnt arrive. They said they order from elsewhere oredi but just hasn't arrived.

The third week came and I emailed them about the remaining three books, and they promised that they'll deliver them to my place (I guess for the long wait). As promised, I got home and saw the parcel. They hand-delivered it to my home themselves. Books came in a box, with balled-up newspaper for cushioning and the books themselves were wrapped in cling wrap.

Other than the long wait for the remaining three books that were already "restocking" when I ordered them, there's nothing to complain about.

Cheaper than Kino and Borders. Selection for the stuff I'm looking for is actually wider than both big name stores. Email communication is quick. All in all pretty good.

[Pastamancer]

just found a book cheaper at kino (75) than opentrolley (110.95) or amazon (sg80 inc. delivery)

i'm so gonna hoot hoot hoot!! :D

[Pastamancer]

just found a book cheaper at kino (75) than opentrolley (110.95) or amazon (sg80 inc. delivery)

i'm so gonna hoot hoot hoot!! :Dheng i found the book was selling at clementi bookshop for 6X only.. :D

[daniel1703]

AFAIK, opentrolley's books are US, Canada versions, that's why they'll be more expensive than the international versions.

[Pastamancer]

mm.. i thought international versions are mostly for textbooks?

[speedboat]

not bad promo on now :o

7% off all books (minimum 2 books) from now until 31 October 2009. Use code OCTO09 when checking out.

[Jamesgoh82]

i brought 4 books from opentrolley. service is quite food, no damage. takes 11 days to collect.