Purchasing Books

Shopping has become a hunt for the cheapest price. Stop the insanity!
Read this book and "re"discover how to enjoy shopping and buying, and stop focusing on just the price you paid.

Being the Book a holic that I am, the title of this book intrigued me.

Hey, I'm always looking for a better way to shop.

This book delivered above and beyond my expectations and knocked me off my feet.

Here's why:

I expected to read about how I can get better deals when shopping. What I found was so much more: How to Value myself more as a person!

Kate Newlin the Author boldly and precisely explains both by example and her own professional experience how our culture has devalued ourselves by buying cheap for sake of soley price instead of buying quality that which our souls may cry for.

There are certain stores that she mentions that when we buy from them it keeps a child in a sweatshop in another country in business. All because of our culture's thrill of the deal.

I give this book five stars because I am all about truth. And this book delivers.

We live in denial as a society on a daily basis. In shattering my own denial in buying cheap instead of buying the quality that my heart really wants, I learned something about myself in deserving quality that my heart and soul longs for.

It hit me between the eyes of why I passed on what felt good to my soul. It has now helped me regain the true thrill of hunt in shopping.

But this time is different.

You are in for a real treat if you are someone who loves to learn how to be a better you in this world. By reading this book, you will discover your world unfolding in a magnificient way.

If on the other hand you are someone who's looking for books on how to get a better price on the deals in the world of shopping you probably will not like this book.

You may even hate it.

As Paco Underhill says on her front cover ( He is the author of the best seller book, Why We Buy)

It's a dazzling dose of tough love for America's addiction to the cheap.

Buy it and see for yourself.

This book is a good addition to any retail strategists library. The author goes into great detail explaining that its gotta to stop being about the lowest price for those retailers trying to survive in a Wal*Mart world. Having been in retail for 17 years; 10 as a pricing professional, this book explains that its not always about the price when a customer is shopping.

Customers are looking for a solution to a problem when they go shopping whether its food, clothing, transportation or other needs. This book explains that its not always price that can win the battle; granted this is not always the issue when it comes to a consumer's level of income. The point is, by showing the consumer that there is more to the deal than just the price, a retailer can earn the trust and loyalty of the shopper's future needs. The trick though is A, to show the consumer a benefit of shopping with you that goes beyond the price point; customer service, knowledgeable staff, comfortable shopping environment, and then B finding a way to incorporate that into the price where the customer can quantify it and still think they are getting a really good deal.

Its not always about price, but rather what else you can offer the consumer they value and still think they got a good deal for that price.

SHOPPORTUNITY: HOW TO BE A RETAIL REVOLUTIONARY comes from a consumer advocate who confronts the idea of 'available and cheap' with a vengeance, advocating a return to service and selection as a substitute for the modern 'quick and dirty' approach to meeting consumer needs. The consumer, too, has given tacit approval to these new retail marketing techniques: SHOPPORTUNITY! Tells how to take back the power, using case studies, personal anecdotes, and reporting to go behind the scenes in the retail selection and pricing process.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

As a commercial actress who makes her living selling everything from paper towels, body lotions and automobiles, I was mesmerized by this book and had to take a figurative "look in the mirror" regarding my own consumer habits and responsibilities as a "peddler" of these products. Kate Newlin's literary prowess and indomitable wit make these "hard facts" regarding the downward spiral of our consumerism; the ever-growing (and ever related) obesity epidemic; and the complete disregard for the "hourly" workers in this country almost palatable. Her true love for the ideal "Shopportunity" is infectious and makes us want to be more conscience, responsible, and truly fulfilled members of the human race. I highly recommend this book.

This book was a fun, easy read. The author gives you a basic history about gold, the changing political and monetary climate concerning it, how gold was viewed before by people and governments around the world as compared to now, why you should view gold not just as an investment but, more importantly, as a kind of insurance policy. I've read it twice now, and more of it sank in the second time around so that it makes more sense to me now.

"Regardless of the dollar price involved, one ounce of gold would purchase a quality man's suit at the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt, and today."
Peter A. Bushre

This book is for the novice and the newcomer to the world of gold investing. Gives definitions on most common gold terms.

I expected much more information and details about gold investment. The basic idea that author annoyingly repeats throughout whole book is the gold is good for investing and all other kind of investment are bad

Michael has written an excellent book for people who want to understand gold, its importance as an investment vehicle and how to invest. The book does a good job at convincing you so dont get carried away and start buying gold. Like any other investment gold has its pros and cons. Do more research and reading before you spend your hard earned money. Look at some websites like kitco and gold-eagle.

This book was a fun, easy read. The author gives you a basic history about gold, the changing political and monetary climate concerning it, how gold was viewed before by people and governments around the world as compared to now, why you should view gold not just as an investment but, more importantly, as a kind of insurance policy. I've read it twice now, and more of it sank in the second time around so that it makes more sense to me now.

"Regardless of the dollar price involved, one ounce of gold would purchase a quality man's suit at the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt, and today."
Peter A. Bushre

This book by Martin Christopher, is one of the better if not among the best books on supply chain management. Written by Professor Martin Christopher of the Cranfield School of Management, the book deals particularly with best practices in supply chain management in the current era of globalization. Responsiveness, reliability and relationships are the basis for successful logistics and supply chain management. Strategies like Just-In-Time (JIT), Lean and Agile thinking are reviewed, and last not least, there is a very solid chapter on supply chain risk, which is what interested me in particular. That chapter alone is worth buying the book.

Keeps repeating the same things over and over using different words. Very boring and nothing new to learn.

This is a wonderful book and introduces the practioner to some of the frontiers of strategically driven service response logistics. In other words how to design, deploy and organize integrated SCM for corporate strategic reasons, not just for functional cost control. Probably one of three key books for understanding the frontiers and highly recommended.

Key is the process, customer value and system integration perspectives threaded throughout but particularly in the last several chapters. The chaper on service response logistics is worth the price of the book.

As a practioner dealing with advanced SCM I found this very worthwhile and found myself wishing I'd written it. If you are relatively new to the field you need a decent baseline grounding and Stock & Lambert's book on 'Strateigc Logistics' is a perfect complement. To move slightly higher up the food chain get the recent compilation of HBR articles called 'Managing the Value Chain'. Together the three make a perfect bookshelf set for any practioner, student or corporate executive who needs to understand what integrated logistics, SCM or the future of e-business might be doing to your career or your firm's competitive prospects !

After reading many books about logistics and supply chain issues, this third edition adds value to the field.

The author confirms his visionary approach and provides new thinking on supply chain risk and resilience. Not only agility is now more elaborated and explained as an important logistics strategy together with leaness, but also, hybrid strategies are proposed and practical cases are developed.

As always, the author ends with a view to the future and introduce the readers in the ever challenging thoughs of business transformations.

After reading various textbooks on logistics, quantitative analysis and strategy, this book was very refreshing, in large part from the fact that it is a short and non-technical book. The title of my review says it all, this book is summary for busy people wanting to get som insights into what is going on in logistics and organizational theory . I got through the book in two readings, which is a very valuable aspect for busy people.
Still, despite being brief, it touches on most important aspects, and points you to further areas of importance if what you read here makes you want to change things in your organization.
So: Not technical, easy read, 4 stars instead of 5 because it is too brief to be truly useful for those that actually want to learn the subject-matter.

PS: The printing I recieved was a defect, pages 247 to 278 missing (Replaced by duplicate pages 215-246), ust watch out for that.

I have read many real estate books similar to this one and each book has one or two areas where the author really hits a home run, this book is no different. For me, the most powerful and helpful section was about identifying and working a market niche.

There are a thousand ways to make money investing in real estate but the most efficient way is to work a market niche. The authors suggest first really understanding your own role in the community and using your knowledge of the local people and culture to find one small segment you will be able to service exceptionally. Once you work your niche and find success then it becomes more safe to venture into all different avenues of real estate.

Lastly, his chapter on commitment will really help you reevaluate your action plan and help you decide if your actions are in line with your goals. The authors give good advice on the importance of commitment and sacrifice.

Overall this book was easy to read and had several highlights. It focuses less on the numbers side of the business and more on the conceptual side. It is a great addition to anyone's real estate education program.

Any real estate author that endorses/references the likes of Robert Allen, Robert Kiyosaki, Mark V. Hansen, and other "get rich easy" infomercial guru is suspect of his/her own real estate achievement and perspective. The above mentioned names has yet to show their net worth (primarily in real estate, if any). Infomercial gurus are mostly out to sell books and seminars, instead of enhancing financial worth and improving lives of people they affect. This book presents common get rich quick concepts and not worth the money I paid.

Go to John T. Reed.com for a more serious real estate resource and advice. Do not spend your hard earned dollar on this book; much more, follow your real estate pursuits based from these authors' advice.

Also, the title for this 2006 publication is misleading as a million $ in now a days real estate is easily achievable in any multi unit property, even duplex, in a well suited market driven location. Do not be fooled nor fool yourselves, real estate is not about motivation of any party but a complex numbers and economic game. Its a multi factor driven commodity, not covered here by both authors.

Again, do not waste your penny, make the same mistake I made in buying this title, and consider my recommendation above.

It makes sense to use your personal knowledge, skills, hobbies and profession and apply it to real estate buying. Most people try to tell you how to find these homes when you have a personal niche already built into you and your experiences.

Great book! Easy read, simplified methods, packed full of GREAT information. Highly recommended.

Boaz and Suzanne Gilad have complied one of the most concise, well written, thoroughly informed books on the subject of real estate. It is written in a manner that allows the reader to feel completely comfortable. Never once did I feel like I was in over my head - which has been the case with some other real estate books. Every thing is explained to the utmost detail. The Gilad's teach you how to work the market with out ever giving up what it means to be human and compassionate in today's society. I really have enjoyed this book and will continue to reccommend it to others.

Evidently my first try at a review was too negative for Amazon. I'll try to be nicer this time.

Gilad has no clue what he is talking about throughout much of the book. When he does say useful things he is vague and the advice is fairly obvious. It is not rocket science to try to find neighborhoods on the up and up. Investigating neighborhoods is not hard--it just takes a lot of effort.

In many areas, Gilad is just plain wrong. He claims that depreciation is something invented by the government to make owning property more attractive. Any competent accountant or financial analyst can tell you that is a lie. While the time period of depreciation (27.5 years) for residential property is rather arbitrary, depreciation is the real (albeit non-cash) cost of wear-and-tear on the property.

Also, Gilad's whole track record occured in a rising property market. If he had done what he did to make his first million starting today or in a previous down market he likely would have ended up bankrupt due to the risky nature of his financing.

I thought the book was good regarding the descriptions of how good furniture is made. So, I would recommend it for a person who would like to learn the basics of how furiture is constructed, and what to look for from a quality standpoint and what the difference in upholstry is. Ironically, the author then goes on to recommend buying from many low-end retailers who rip off the public with huge margins, which has been typical of the furniture for decades, I guess, maybe longer. He does make a very good explanation about what 'furniture sales' really are, and why they aren't usually a bargain. Given what he claimed was his favorite store in Chicago, I guess he hasn't shopped here in 15 years.

Maybe this is a little harsh, but I don't think a retailer deserves a 150% profit or more on goods that are never on a showroom floor or held in inventory. Furniture retailers do not add 150% to the value of the product. I think by accident, the author just pointed out, by protecting the retailer part of this supply chain, why so many good American furniture manufacturers have gone out of business; most furniture is overpriced due to the retailers.

Great resource if you are planning on purchasing furniture. Len catagorizes the major furniture manufactures by quality, what kind of quality cues to look for and what some of the best furniture stores are. He'll also answer your questions by email!

I knew nothing about the details of furniture construction before I read this book. I now feel confident in shopping for all types of furniture. I can now look for signs of quality construction and ask the right questions to let the salepeople know I'm not willing to buy just on looks. The details of how certain pieces are made is important for longevity. Highly recommended read!

Locate furniture which fits into budget and home and understand the basics of its construction and marketing using the second updated edition of Shopping For Furniture: A Consumer's Guide as your personal advisory. Leonard Bruce Lewin has sold furniture to stores and consumers for over 35 years: his background provides insider's advice on everything from distinguishing sales prices from daily prices to understanding newspaper ads and big-store sales approaches. Now in a fully updated second addition, Shopping For Furniture promises lasting library reference value, with its clear tips on judging value and prices.

I wish I could give this book more than five stars. I have made lots of furniture mistakes over the years, and now I can begin to see why. The next best thing to this book would be having Leonard Lewin by your side when you shop for furniture! He takes you through the basics (wood, wood veneer, wood finishing, shopping for wood, basic furniture construction and pieces, upholstery, leather, personal style, going to stores, dealing with sales personnel and designers, interpreting advertising). What's more, he lists brands and stores to think about and visit, by area, name and volume). This book will be extremely useful to me, and I plan to reread several of the chapters before buying any furniture. The tone of the book is easygoing and informative, never dull. Most of all, his philosophy that while being an expert helps, all of us can do enough homework to understand what we need to bring to the furniture buying experience. I highly recommend this book, and plan to go back to it in the future (maybe even keep it in the car, since I wouldn't be able to hide it in the store).

I perform the purchasing function for a small business. I thought this book would be helpful as an instruction manual for improving how our company makes purchases. It was not. The book was geared toward large companies with large purchasing departments. There was little to no instruction on how to actually improve how you make purchases, mostly how to tell staff how to follow company wide purchasing guidelines. I would not recommend this book for small business owners or those without large purchasing departments.

Dr. Tom has written a classic for anyone who wants to establish relationships along the entire supply chain. His straight-forward manner and stories are outstanding! I particularly enjoyed all the parts about building supplier relationships and tales of purchasing department bureaucratic culture. An excellent reference book for all levels of professionals. If I could give it six stars, I would!

Dr. Tom has written a brilliant supply chain book on relationship building. His writing style makes the concepts clear to novices and experts alike. His practical advice is both enjoyable and pertinent. It is a very easy read and I could not put the book down until I was finished. This is a must read for any supply chain, purchasing or contracting professional. I rate it 5 stars. Dr. Tom's background is as equally impressive as his scholarship.

Just an outstanding purchasing field manual! Most consultants and academic folks will hate this book! They can't stand low cost common sense techniques. The book has many simple common sense approaches to purchasing. Unfortunately common sense is all too rare in purchasing. At our company we don't even want to hire purchasing folks who are certified. We have to spend too much time deprogramming them! The style is eclectic because the author wanted to emulate the chaos of a typical purchasing day. Many bureaucrats can't get this book and just mindlessly pan it. The key point is that relationship building with suppliers is essential. There is no roadmap for this effort other than hard work and getting folks to trust each other.
I personally experienced Dr. Tom's one day workshop on Reengineering Purchasing which was the best experience of my purchasing career bar none. Most of the high priced junk that consultants sell today is smoke and mirrors like spend analysis, reverse on line auctions, portals etc. Bottom line Dr. Tom hits it on the head, "It's about getting world class suppliers and building strong relationships." This is where the quantum leaps are. Many companies are enamored with technology and lose sight of the strategy. Any purchasing dummy can learn tactics and be a fire fighter. The strategists are rare but their gains can be enormous. Dr. Tom is a true and dynamic strategic thinker whose ideas are timeless and right on. Buy this book and use it. Make everyone in your department read it and discuss it.

I bought this book, in no small part, because of the rave reviews that it's gotten on this site. Now that I've spent half of my day thoroughly reading this 76 page gem, I'm kind of astounded by what's been written about it. In spite of my rating, I don't consider it to be a bad book. If you're the manager of a purchasing department within a large manufacturing firm looking to reengineer your operations, I recommend that you read it. However, if you're looking for sound advice on general purchasing practices, look elsewhere.

This book seems to have been thrown together fairly quickly. It contains numerous typos, and poorly drawn cartoons that add little to it. Nonetheless, the author does dispense some practical advice on modernizing a purchasing organization, and how to sell the plan to affected individuals. He principally focuses on computer automation, developing procurement card programs, and developing "strategic relationships" with suppliers. This last notion refers to his belief that strong business relationships should be forged with important suppliers to get them more fully involved in meeting the company's needs (automatic inventory replenishment and the like). On the whole, the book seems to be more about modern (late 90's theory) operations management than about purchasing, but at least the points that the author does make seem sound. Unfortunately, the book is too short to be of much use as anything but a checklist for people trying to reengineer organizations. At least it's good for that.

As far as the personal stories gleaned from years of purchasing experience are concerned, I could only find two, which collectively took up a whopping half a page. I'm not suggesting that the author didn't rely on his extensive experience to write the book, but he principally just states the "facts" as he sees them, and provides precious few examples to illustrate his points. More vexing still, is that the man probably could have taught his readers a great deal about purchasing, but chose to write about other things instead. I've little doubt that there are people out there who can greatly benefit from this book, but they probably number in the thousands, which is probably why it's called "Common Sense Purchasing" and not "Common Sense Modernization of a Purchasing Organization".

I think the best review I can give this is the blurbage from the Chicago Tribune on the cover: "Monumental. Well researched....The most complete and up-to-date book available for prospective buyers of rural homes." And, sure, this book wasn't written yesterday, but it remains pithy and pertinent and a great read.

Very thorough, easy to read, all the questions you want/need to know about relocating but don't think of to ask without prompting. I *highly* recommend this book as you may find you don't want a farm but a small town or vice versa. Excellent resource...highly recommended.

I am having a hard time understanding why so many people rave about this book. From the moment I started reading it I found it one of the most annoying "how-to" books I have read. Here is why:

1) There are way to many quotes in this book. The flow of Mr. GeRue's argument is constantly interrupted by quotes of varying quality and relevance. One begins to wish Mr. GeRue had more original thoughts to share himself.

2) The information provided is often shallow and obvious. The argument gets made over and over that rural areas are more quiet, more peaceful, more healthy, less violent, etc. etc. All of this we already know; that's why we bought this book to find out how to get some rural life ourselves. Mr. GeRue relies excessively on trends, mostly as anticipated by others. Even in the most recent incarnation of this book, many of these trends are already outdated and have been proven incorrect.

3) Mr. GeRue has a problem with California. He used to live in Concord, which is not the most scenic place in California, and he probably has some leftover trauma from that experience. He constantly makes negative remarks about California and Californians, which is very annoying for someone trying to use his book to find rural land in California. This bias shows up throughout the book. For example, in his discussion of bio-regions, GeRue simply lumps the entire state of California together with Nevada and Arizona, as if the climate and land in Sonoma County is at all comparable to the desert outside Phoenix.

So maybe Mr. GeRue's book is helpful if you are looking for a place in the social paradise that is Southern Appalachia (just ignore the casinos), but don't buy this book if you are interested in land in the West.

This is a great how-to book for the person who has no experience with living in the country and hopes to go there soon. It covers a broad group of concerns for the would-be rural land owner, bringing to consciousness numerous important differences between living in densely-populated areas and living far from town. It cautions against living near health hazards (which crop up all too often in unpopulated regions!) or too far from employment, and strongly recommends water and soil tests before buying. These are all good ideas, and the author has many more ideas of equal merit to share.

Unfortunately, the book did not meet my needs since I have already done a fair amount of research on country living, and have some real-life experience in that area. It was too broad and general to be of much help to me. Therefore I caution the informed would-be rural landowner - seek out another source for specifics about buying and settling in your area of choice. If you have reached the level of self-education where you already know to ask about deeded easements and percolation tests, this book is not for you. Also, if you already know which region of the US you want to live in, this book will probably disappoint you. It is aimed at helping people with preliminary decisions such as, "Do you want to live somewhere hot, cold or temperate?"

If you are currently an urban/suburban dweller and you have begun to toy with the idea of getting back to nature, this book will be of immense help to you. After reading it, you will be more realistic and generally informed about country living. If you still have the itch to "get out of Dodge" at that point, you'll be needing another book - one with more specifics.

I think I own and have read just about every book on moving to the country and this book is tops. As the founder of the CountryBound Web site, this topic is a passion of mine and several people recommended this book to me. I really appreciated Gene's insights and logical approach to realizing one's country dreams. His style of writing is reassuring but direct. He does not candy coat the trials and tribulations of country life. When you finish this book, you will know if country life is right for you.

The other part of this book that I found extremely useful was the maps and detailed illustrations. I have found no other books that have the detailed info that this book has. And if its any further indication on just how much I liked this book, I bought several copies and gave them to friends and family.

You will not be disappointed with this book.