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New book: Birding hotspots in Portugal - Serra da Estrela (1 Viewer)

Gonçalo Elias

avesdeportugal.info
Portugal
My latest book "Birding hotspots in Portugal – Serra da Estrela" has just been released.

Serra da Estrela is the highest mountain in mainland Portugal and is an excellent birdwatching destination. The list of specialities includes Montagu's Harrier, Pallid Swift, Woodlark, Tawny Pipit, Dipper, Alpine Accentor, Rock Thrush, Ring Ouzel, Bonelli's Warbler, Rock Sparrow and Ortolan Bunting.

This guide contains a description of the best birding hotspots in the Serra da Estrela Natural Park. It suggests the best itineraries and strategies to find the birds of this wonderful area.
 

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Hi Goncalo,
I have all your 'booklets' but why don't you wait until they are complete and do an actual book? Apart from anything else, as a consumer, the way you do it now makes it more expensive than it could be.

The postage adds greatly to the cost of each booklet, the previous seven I have bought through Amazon at a cost of let's say £4 average so £28 for all, there is then an accumulated £20 postage which amounts to about 70% of the cost of the actual booklets.

I suppose that as a consumer, you could wait for the set to be complete then buy them all together thus paying only one lot of postage, assuming you can get them all from one supplier that is.

Regards, Andy
 
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Andy, from one perspective, you make a valid point. From another, for a visitor to one area or another its nice to have a handy size. Gonçalo has really made a nice set indeed.
 
Andy, from one perspective, you make a valid point. From another, for a visitor to one area or another its nice to have a handy size. Gonçalo has really made a nice set indeed.

Not in question Simon though my OCD is triggered by them all being different heights.....;)
 
Not in question Simon though my OCD is triggered by them all being different heights.....;)

Of course, you would not have purchase them all after the first one if they were not to your liking!

I think many birders have some OCD at least and go beyond simply organising things. Anyway, the pics of your bookshelves you once posted look fabulous!
 
Of course, you would not have purchase them all after the first one if they were not to your liking!

I think many birders have some OCD at least and go beyond simply organising things. Anyway, the pics of your bookshelves you once posted look fabulous!

Thank you,
currently holding well over 900 titles without counting periodicals, here's what they look like now. This is without about 100 New Naturalist titles that I keep in a dark place, they're light sensitive and the spines fade which affects value.

Since I became a Dad again, I'm also aquiring a nice set of Peppa Pig books :-O

Oh, and I wasn't joking about Goncalo's books being uneven!
 

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Hi Goncalo,
I have all your 'booklets' but why don't you wait until they are complete and do an actual book? Apart from anything else, as a consumer, the way you do it now makes it more expensive than it could be.

The postage adds greatly to the cost of each booklet, the previous seven I have bought through Amazon at a cost of let's say £4 average so £28 for all, there is then an accumulated £20 postage which amounts to about 70% of the cost of the actual booklets.

I suppose that as a consumer, you could wait for the set to be complete then buy them all together thus paying only one lot of postage, assuming you can get them all from one supplier that is.

Regards, Andy

Hi Andy,

Thank you for your message and for your interest in my books.

I have plans to produce a 'global volume' of the Algarve, covering the nearly 100 hotspots described in the set of 8 booklets. It will of course be a larger and heavier book, probably around 250 pages or more. I am not sure yet when it will be ready (maybe late 2020?).

There are two reasons why I decided to publish separate volumes:
- information is made available earlier to users, I mean, as soon as one volume is finished, I make it available (the first volumes were published in 2016 and 2017), and so people who want to explore those areas can start using them at once;
- not everyone is interested in the entire region; if someone is going to spend a holiday in Lagos, he is probably going to visit that area only, not the eastern Algarve, so he does not need to purchase all guides.

Concerning postage: I am aware that postage costs are an important, however as far as I know Amazon usually has a free delivery option for orders above a certain amount (£10 in the case of UK, I think), have you tried it?

Best regards,
Gonçalo
 
Hi Andy,

Thank you for your message and for your interest in my books.

I have plans to produce a 'global volume' of the Algarve, covering the nearly 100 hotspots described in the set of 8 booklets. It will of course be a larger and heavier book, probably around 250 pages or more. I am not sure yet when it will be ready (maybe late 2020?).

There are two reasons why I decided to publish separate volumes:
- information is made available earlier to users, I mean, as soon as one volume is finished, I make it available (the first volumes were published in 2016 and 2017), and so people who want to explore those areas can start using them at once;
- not everyone is interested in the entire region; if someone is going to spend a holiday in Lagos, he is probably going to visit that area only, not the eastern Algarve, so he does not need to purchase all guides.

Concerning postage: I am aware that postage costs are an important, however as far as I know Amazon usually has a free delivery option for orders above a certain amount (£10 in the case of UK, I think), have you tried it?

Best regards,
Gonçalo

There is no such policy that I'm aware of Goncalo, the only free postage on Amazon is if you're a 'Prime' member which costs £8 per month and this is only available on selected items.

Often, if you're looking for a book, the search list on Amazon will include one with free 'Prime' postage but it will always be the most expennsive option.
 
Hi Andy,

I know that delivery conditions and rates can change over time, but I just looked at Amazon UK site and found this:

FREE Delivery
Note: Please be aware that the delivery costs detailed below are for orders fulfilled by Amazon. Delivery costs charged by third party sellers on Amazon.co.uk may vary. Delivery costs will be shown when you place your order.

Cost
FREE (Minimum spends apply, see details below).

Delivery Time
3 to 5 business days after dispatch.
Parcels going to residential addresses may be delivered on a Sunday.

Details
Orders including at least £10 or more of eligible books qualify for FREE Delivery. All orders of £20 or more of eligible items across any product category also qualify for FREE Delivery.
Orders including £10 or more of eligible books, dispatched by Amazon, qualify for FREE Delivery to Ireland (Including local VAT). All orders of £20 or more of eligible items, dispatched by Amazon, across any product category also qualify for FREE Delivery to Ireland (Including local VAT).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=202016280
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=202009530

Am I missing something here?
 
Hi Andy,

Am I missing something here?

Yes, the word 'eligible'.

I buy a lot of books and most are over £10 but unless the seller is offering free postage or it's an item being sold by 'Prime', postage is never free.

A couple of your titles are being offered for free postage as they're being sold by 'Prime' but this is only to Prime members who pay £7.99 per month, in fact, I'll order your book now whilst it's under the offer!
 
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A couple of your titles are being offered for free postage as they're being sold by 'Prime' but this is only to Prime members who pay £7.99 per month, in fact, I'll order your book now whilst it's under the offer!

Thanks Andy. It seems that rules change over time, a few years ago I think any book order delivered to the uk was postage free.

Here in Portugal we order from Amazon Spain, because they have very attractive postage tariffs concerning shipments to Portugal:
- an order of books (any) - postage is 0,99 euros
- an order of books of at least 20 euro - postage is free

This is very convenient, of course, but in the past it was not like that. Actually a few years ago postage would be free for us if we ordered from Amazon UK (above 25 pounds, I think), but this is no longer the case.
 
Thanks Andy. It seems that rules change over time, a few years ago I think any book order delivered to the uk was postage free.

Here in Portugal we order from Amazon Spain, because they have very attractive postage tariffs concerning shipments to Portugal:
- an order of books (any) - postage is 0,99 euros
- an order of books of at least 20 euro - postage is free

This is very convenient, of course, but in the past it was not like that. Actually a few years ago postage would be free for us if we ordered from Amazon UK (above 25 pounds, I think), but this is no longer the case.

I buy lots of books and for a long time now, there has been a standard £2.80 postage charge for all UK deliveries regardless of order value.

As I said previously, if you're ordering a small value item, it can literally double the cost so I'd advise anyone buying your set, to wait until it's complete and buy them as one purchase to avoid multiple postage charges but of course, you'd have to make sure they were all from the same seller.
 
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