Frequently Asked Questions

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For sellers/publishers:
For buyers:
Regarding e-books:
On e-book piracy:








Q: What is Dogears Etc.?
Dogears Etc. is a platform that facilitates the sale of books, printed and electronic, new and used. It is different from other online bookstores in that it allows registered users to sell their own books through an easy-to-fill web interface.
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For sellers/publishers:

Q: If I list my book for sale here, how does the purchase occur?
Here's how:
a. You list your book for sale indicating its price and any discount you wish to offer.
b. Once the book is bought and paid for, you will be directed to dispatch the book. If you have arranged for CinnamonTeal Publishing to print the book on demand, we will work with them to ensure that the book is shipped.
c. After it can be confirmed that the buyer has received the book, your account will be credited. The amount due to you will be communicated to you by email when the sale occurs.
d. You will be reimbursed via a bank deposit to your account after the total amount due to you exceeds Rs. 1000/-.
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Q: What kind of books am I allowed to sell?
You are allowed to sell all books and audio-visuals that can be sold in the sub-continent and those that you have authored (and are allowed to sell by your publisher) or have published yourself. We strongly discourage the habit of engaging in the trade of pirated books. Similarly we do not allow sale of e-books you have not published yourself. We also request you to be sensitive to peoples' feelings and beliefs and therefore refrain from engaging in the trade of material that insults religious beliefs, pornography and other such material.

If you are still wondering about the types of items you are allowed to sell, email us at contact@ dogearsetc.com.
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Q: How am I assured of a smooth transaction?
Since the platform enables transactions among users, we have taken precautions to ensure that both the buyer and the seller honour the transaction. The seller is directed to dispatch the book only after payment is realised. Similarly, the seller is asked to dispatch the book in a way that the shipment can be tracked.
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Q: How much money do I get from each sale?
For printed books, we return 80% of the listed price for sales within India and 70% of the sale price in the case of international sales. For e-books, we return 70% of the sale price. In the case of printed books, we also reimburse the shipping charges if you have shipped the book yourself.
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For buyers:

Q: How do I purchase a book?
After registering yourself (or logging in if you have already registered), you can proceed by searching for the book you wish to have. Based on your search, you will be presented with one or more books. Clicking on the cover of the one you wish to buy will allow you to see its details. Click on the "buy now" button to add the book to your shopping cart.

After you have chosen the books you need and put them in your shopping cart, you can proceed to pay for the books by clicking on the "Checkout" button in the top right corner. You will be asked to fill in the billing and shipping details and later your payment details. Ensure that you continue the process till a message stating that your order has been processed appears on the screen.
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Q: Why do you not offer free shipping and discounts?
This platform was designed keeping booksellers in mind. It is a platform that offers people who have published their books themselves or those who had books to sell, a platform for selling. We charge them a small margin on sales. This margin does not allow us to offer free shipping or discounts on MRP. There are some authors/publishers, though, who have offered a discount while listing their book for sale. Those offers are passed on to the buyer.

Moreover, we believe that while discounts may seem appealing to customers, it ultimately either a)raises the price of the book and/or b)allows the author/publisher to benefit little from the sale. That cannot be good for the long-term sustenance of the book industry.
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Q: What are the payment options available?
Customers can pay by cheque, demand draft, direct deposit into our bank account, credit card, debit card and net banking. An option to pay in US dollars using Paypal™ is also available.
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Q: Do you ship outside India?
Yes, we ship to all countries where DHL courier or Indiapost can deliver.
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Q: Can I purchase using other currencies like US Dollars or British Pounds?
Yes, the ability of the website to accept payments in other currencies is limited only by the limitations on your credit card. i.e. if your credit card provider permits foreign transactions, the payment will be accepted. At the time of the purchase, the credit card provider, whether MasterCard or Visa or any other, will present the prevalent currency exchange rate to you. You may then decide whether or not to pursue with the purchase. The display on the website of various prices, however, will remain in Indian Rupees.

If you choose to pay using paypal, the amount charged will be the dollar equivalent of the total cost. This equivalent amount is displayed before you proceed to pay.
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Q: Is it safe to enter my payment data online?
When you purchase books using dogearsetc.com, we do not store any of your data on our servers. Instead, we pass on this data to trusted 3rd party data processors, also known as payment gateways, who employ the latest encryption technologies to ensure that your data remains safe.
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Regarding e-books:

Q: Am I allowed to sell all kinds of e-books?
You are only allowed to sell ebooks that not published by you, either as an author (i.e. self-published books) or as a publisher. That means you cannot resell an e-book you have purchased. While you can sell a printed book that you purchased and can do so legally, the law disallows the sale of previously purchased e-books.

Similarly, you are not allowed to sell books available in the public domain unless you have added some value to it or word-for-word copies of Wikipedia articles. Books with hate content or works derogatory to women or those that advocate racism cannot be listed here. We reserve the right to de-list any book or content we deem objectionable without having to provide a reason for doing so.
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Q: What are the terms of sale?
We have tried to keep the terms of sale as simple as possible. Briefly:

a. Any arrangement you have with us is non-exclusive. That means you can sell your books elsewhere and we can facilitate the sale of books other than yours on this platform.
b. The rights to the book do not get transferred to us.
c. Your books will be sold as-is. We will not check your eBooks for content or presentation. That means you will be liable for any harm or mis-information your book may cause. Similarly, we will not be responsible if it is not possible to read your book on any device. As a buyer, you indemnify dogearsetc.com from any such responsibility or liability that may occur as a result of the sale of your book.
d. Similarly, we will not be responsible for any copyright violations you may have committed during the creation of your book. It is assumed that you have the rights to sell the book on this platform.
e. You are free to sell the book at any price. However, we will charge you a 30% facilitation fee for each eBook sold. There will be no other charges.
f. Money due to you will be reimbursed at 6 month intervals or when the total amount owed equals Rs. 1000/-, whichever comes later. A report of your sales can be viewed at all times by logging into your account.
g. You may list/de-list a book at any time you choose. However, de-listed books will be retained for customers who have already purchased a copy. Such books will, however, not be available for sale.
h. There is no "hard-DRM" protection for books sold on this platform.
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Q: What kind of ebooks can be listed for sale?
Ebooks in the EPUB, MOBI and PDF formats can be listed for sale.
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Q: How can I view the ebooks I have purchased?
After you have purchased an ebook and your payment is successfully accepted, you can download your ebook from the ebook library. This ebook library can be accessed by visiting your account details, which are accessible to you after you have logged in.

Ebooks come in various formats and the reader you can use depends on the format you have purchased. The commonly used formats are EPUB, MOBI and PDF. For more details on how to read EPUB and MOBI format files, view this blog post. PDF files can be read on your PC or your smartphone after installing the appropriate software.
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Q: I don't like the book I purchased? Can I return it?
No. All sales are final and returns are not allowed.
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Q: Can I share the book I have purchased with my friends?
No. Books purchased on Dogears Etc. are licensed for personal use alone and cannot be copied or shared with others in any way. Similarly, you are not allowed to resell or distribute the book to others.
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On e-book piracy:

Q: What is your stand on piracy?
We are strongly opposed to book piracy by any means. We believe that the author, and no one else, should determine how his/her work should be distributed. However, we also believe that readers are usually a mature lot who will buy a book legally if it is easily accessible and priced reasonably. To that end, we hope that this platform will address the issue of accessibility and that those selling on it will price their books reasonably.

Like many others who believe that piracy is better countered by providing easy access to books, we believe that obscurity is a bigger threat than piracy. Many authors believe that too and view piracy as a form of "beneficial marketing". We do not encourage piracy but also believe that the fear of piracy should not keep authors and publishers from reaching their readers.
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Q: Are books on Dogears Etc. protected by DRM?
DRM, or Digital Rights Management, refers to methods use to ensure that a digital book is protected from being copied, or limited to only certain devices. Books on Dogears Etc. do not contain DRM. That is because we believe that DRM is expensive, yet futile. And that readers, for the most part are a mature lot who will use their purchases responsibly.
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