[Publib] Possible scam

[Kathi Kemp-Tejeda]

Speaking of scams, you are not legally required to put up those Personnel Concepts wage information posters.  They act like it's obligatory, charge around $90 annually, and I'd been putting them up because my predecessor had done so.  It started to smell funny, so I called the US Dept. of Labor, and was told, no, you do not have to put them up and yes, it's a scam.

Kathi Kemp


--- On Wed, 10/1/08, Lynne Ingersoll <lingersoll at blueislandlibrary.org> wrote:

> From: Lynne Ingersoll <lingersoll at blueislandlibrary.org>
> Subject: RE: [Publib] Possible scam
> To: "'Tom Cooper'" <tcooper at wgpl.org>, "'Julie Rinaldi'" <jrinaldi at folsom.ca.us>, publib at webjunction.org
> Date: Wednesday, October 1, 2008, 4:12 PM
> Along the same lines, though not a scam per se, I have had
> it with ABD.
> They call frequently with package deals that sometimes
> sound ok.  This time
> it was the ARCO civil service, postal, firefighter and
> police exam books.
> When I opened the box three of the titles were 2005
> editions (with the 2008
> due for publication soon) which I already had.  The third
> was a 2008.  On
> top of that, the great price per book was $29.99!!!  Retail
> is $14.99 -
> $16.99 and B&T has them for $10.77.   I called them
> yesterday to tell them I
> was sending them back; they graciously said they
> wouldn't bill me for a
> "restocking fee"; we have to pay the postage to
> return them.  This happened
> once before but I thought they'd cleaned up their act. 
> Then, another person
> called me today with a different pitch (for Petersen's
> titles).  I just said
> I wasn't interested and hung up.  The nerve!
> 
> Lynne S. Ingersoll
> Reference Services Manager
> Technical Services Manager
> Blue Island Public Library
> 2433 York Street
> Blue Island, IL 60406
> (708) 388-1078 x21
> (708) 388-9301 Fax
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org
> [mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org]
> On Behalf Of Tom Cooper
> Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2008 2:30 PM
> To: Julie Rinaldi; publib at webjunction.org
> Subject: RE: [Publib] Possible scam
> 
> It's not so much a scam as a high pressure sales tactic
> that skirts the
> boundaries of ethical behavior. Their 'plan B,'
> once you say no, is to
> call again and try to get someone else on the phone who
> will fall for
> it. They'll say something like, 'You always get our
> publications, we
> just need to confirm the shipping address.' Sometimes
> it works, because
> the person they get doesn't know that by offering the
> address, they have
> just placed an order. That's why it's important to
> talk to everyone who
> answers phones and make sure they understand that
> absolutely anything
> dealing with ordering must be referred to whoever is
> responsible for
> acquisitions or collection development. 
> 
> Tom Cooper, Director
> Webster Groves Public Library
> 301 E. Lockwood
> Webster Groves, MO 63119
> 
> (314) 961-3784
> tcooper at wgpl.org
> 
> Do not judge beliefs by their plausibility, but by the harm
> they may do.
>                                              Nassim
> Nicholas Taleb
> -----Original Message-----
> From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org
> [mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Julie
> Rinaldi
> Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:16 PM
> To: publib at webjunction.org
> Subject: [Publib] Possible scam
> 
> Has anyone else received a call from a publisher (Oxford
> something, I
> think), insisting your library has bought "all"
> of its publications in
> the past and wanting to send a new reference set for
> review?  The woman
> told me we had purchased "Reference Library of Black
> American Men" and
> "Reference Library of Black American Women" from
> this publisher, neither
> of which is in our collection.  She insisted we had taken
> books from the
> publisher on review before, which is a practice we
> don't follow, having
> been burned once before.  I had to tell her no several
> times, after she
> questioned our policy.  Just a heads up on a possible scam.
> 
> 
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