This article really resonates with me and I'm somewhat relieved to see someone else feels the same way.

I love physical books for general reading and will often buy both physical and ebook format for technical books to get the best of both worlds.

I now cannot stand print-on-demand books and, like the author, I can spot them very quickly. The quality is abysmal, and I might as well be printing them myself at that point.

I too used to default to Amazon, as the price was often about 30% cheaper. However, I've come to realise that you get what you pay for. In the UK, I just buy from Waterstones or local bookshops, as then I can trust that it has likely come from the publisher or at least can inspect in advance.

I am never buying a book from Amazon again.

I don't have any reason to believe this is not a scam. If Amazon had any good intention in doing this, why didn’t they simply note on the webpage that this book is printed on demand? Those introduction on pages look exactly the same as those for the original edition. It’s only once you’ve received the book that you realise Amazon has printed it themselves. I don’t like this game, and now I never buy books from Amazon unless I absolutely have to.

Is it really the enshittification of books, or the enshittification of printers that's responsible?

I gave up, bought a kobo libra2 that never saw an internet connection (you can find updated firmware online to download) and now just borrow epubs in the soulseek library.

The last 3 books I’ve purchased from Amazon (UK) have been of questionable quality. The most recent was Designing Data–Intensive Applications (O’Reilly) and I’m still not sure if it’s print on demand, counterfeit- or just a reject. Roller marks, damaged pages, slightly off print. The returns process is inconvenient, one-offs are okay but on multiple purchases it’s fatiguing and so the book stays.

This isn’t specific to Amazon, I had the same issue with Waterstones in the UK (online)

I now just buy second hand (Abe, WOB) and hope for the best.

It is not just the print, it is also the way pages are cut and bound. The printed area is not where it should be on the page.

Isn't paperback basically dead in the US because most sales are digital now?

Tbh i've given up on dead tree books with the lone exception of a few hard covers because ... space the final frontier.

It’s easy to tell when these books are printed by a high-volume inkjet printer. They are not as pleasurable to read. It’s a certain fuzziness, like when cinemas first went to digital, and when planetariums got rid of their optical star projectors.

I like to buy books and would never buy from Amazon. Haven't for a long time for many reasons.

I find it more enjoyable to browse a local bookshop or charity shop and, if I want to buy something specific online I'll go with bookshop.org.

I've experienced this. Actually when I received the book from Amazon I thought it wait a counterfeit copy, only to discover that on the very last page it says: "Printed by Amazon Logistica Italia S.r.l".

Amazon's business shouldn't be printing books and obviously they should state clearly that the book you are purchasing is printed by them.

The current solution? Just return the item.

The enshittification of Amazon. Full stop. When the MBA types with excel sheets took over everything started to go downhill.

I remember getting some questionable quality books from amazon which didn't match up to the usual standard of a publisher. No Starch Press called this out in the past saying amazon sell counterfieght books. https://x.com/nostarch/status/1183095004258099202

I'm not sure what actually happens, but I mostly stopped buying paperbacks on Amazon a good while ago, and if I do, and I'm unhappy with the quality I'll return it.