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Is it legal and safe to download ebooks from booksrating?

rossg

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Is it legal and safe to download ebooks from booksrating? I'd like to get an ebook about interior design which is available at booksrating.com. It requires paid membership to download the book and $3.9 for one day trial...still much cheaper than to buy a physical book around $10. Thanks.
 

Richard Brown

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Is it legal and safe to download ebooks from booksrating? I'd like to get an ebook about interior design which is available at booksrating.com. It requires paid membership to download the book and $3.9 for one day trial...still much cheaper than to buy a physical book around $10. Thanks.

Hi Rossg,

I have just checked booksrating to see whether the site is genuine. I haven't heard of them before now. There aren't any adverse comments or reviews. According to one review site, books rating is too new for a reputation to have been built up. Check the review here. http://www.scamadviser.com/check-website/booksrating.com

OK, have you searched for the book you are after with established retailers such as Amazon and Abebooks? You may be able to get a bargain this way.

I cannot tell you whether books rating is a genuine retailer selling downloads legitimately. However, it is imperative to check and satisfy your self that you are using a safe secure system on which to make any payments. Can you make a payment through PayPal or similar certified safe system.

It is certainly worthwhile searching for books rating online to see what is being said about the site.

Please keep us informed of you experiences. I'm sorry I cannot be any more helpful here.

Cheers

Richard

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Mickey330

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I would not say that this site is legitimate. If you go to their DMCA/Copyright page (link at bottom left), you will see this statement:

Our site is "search engine" - automated information location tool.

We do not host any book files on our servers. Site is search index archive with a convenient browsing capabilities. Site offers "Books Manager". Books Manager is a software for searching files anywhere on the web.

So we:
• do not host any book files
• do not sell any books
• do not provide any book downloads

So, there's two things wrong, here. (1) They are selling you a subscription so that they may provide you links. They do not have the books - all they are doing is directing you to other sites that have the book(s). Kind of like a person on the street charging you for directness to the library.

(2) This statement (above) is usually a ploy around any copyright infringement claims. They can look all innocent and say they are not the ones providing the books, they are merely providing links to where the books are (which are usually unauthorized uploaded copies that are in violation of copyright). It's the servers that actually HAVE the books that are doing wrong, you see - not them. This way, they can skirt the letter of the law and appear legitimate.

Honestly? I believe your instincts are telling you true. This is not a legitimate site. They are in a gray hazy area and I'd be surprised if it was not copyright infringement.

We can't tell you what to do, but I know what I'd do. Run! :) I certainly would not give this site any personal information (esPECially a credit card!). The deal may sound good - but I believe that's because it's a little too close to the line of legalities (and a tad over it, IMHO).

Sorry - but my recommendation is to pay the extra and get the book from a legitimate source.

Marilyn
 
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rossg

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Hi Richard, Mickey,

Thank you for both your reply. I tried to access the one day membership but it turned out the system could not process transaction lower than $15 which was weird....

Just bought the Kindle version from Amazon. Thanks again.
 

Richard Brown

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Hi Richard, Mickey,

Thank you for both your reply. I tried to access the one day membership but it turned out the system could not process transaction lower than $15 which was weird....

Just bought the Kindle version from Amazon. Thanks again.

Mickey's advice was sound. The fact they needed more money than advertised to activate an account etc also rings alarm bells.
I'm glad it worked out right for you.

Cheers

Richard

Sent from my iPad using iPF
 

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