[SignalsFromBob]

They aren't that great for books anymore, either. They've starting shipping books in a padded envelope that don't do much to protect the book. I've ordered a number of books that have arrived all beat up. Not a big deal for a cheap novel that I'm going to read and then give away, or a school textbook that I don't care about beyond the class.

However, the last book I ordered from them was Python in a Nutshell about a year ago. It's an expensive book, so I was less willing to tolerate damage to a $50 book that I want to keep and use a lot. I had to return it twice to get one that wasn't beat all to hell. And even then I feel like I settled for something not in as good condition as I expected.

Amazon used to put books between two pieces of cardboard, shrinkwrap it, then put it in a box with padding. Books always arrived in good condition. Books in the padded envelope always arrive with crushed corners, and sometimes damage to the cover.