My existential head scratcher

khalleron · 12-13-2011, 07:41 PM

Someone is offering a used copy of my novel for over $300.00.

OK, there were only 10 copies printed, so it's extremely rare, but that's because no one wanted one to start with.

Well, that was my belly laugh for today.

pholy · 12-14-2011, 08:45 AM

Will you still be laughing if someone buys it at that price? Or will you join that group of late-discovered artists who want a cut of the sales of their early works at current prices.

That's a serious question for Inuit artists who see their works sold for hundreds of times their original price... and maybe for blues artists who sold now famous songs for $25 to buy food. It certainly opens a can of worms.

mr ploppy · 12-14-2011, 09:08 AM

Some people put stuff up on Amazon at inflated prices just to drive up bids for the same item on Ebay. But if there was only 10 copies printed that sounds like a reasonable price to me.

khalleron · 12-14-2011, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pholy

Will you still be laughing if someone buys it at that price? Or will you join that group of late-discovered artists who want a cut of the sales of their early works at current prices.

That's a serious question for Inuit artists who see their works sold for hundreds of times their original price... and maybe for blues artists who sold now famous songs for $25 to buy food. It certainly opens a can of worms.

Since it was a POD book, my solution was to make it available again at a reasonable price.

But even if I couldn't do that, I think I'd rather laugh about it than cry about it. If someone actually were willing to buy a paper copy of a book for $300 that they could get in e-form for $2.99, I'd really have to wonder how crazy that is.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

Some people put stuff up on Amazon at inflated prices just to drive up bids for the same item on Ebay. But if there was only 10 copies printed that sounds like a reasonable price to me.

Except that the reason there were only 10 copies printed was that I had trouble even giving them away. I'd certainly have printed more if people had wanted them.

Which is why I'm scratching my head over this one.

VydorScope · 12-14-2011, 04:38 PM

Same thing happened to me, they wanted like $500 for it. I complained to Amazon about it since my book (as a POD) is still available via Amazon for like $15 and they looked into it and eventually took it down. Since POD means there is unlimited copies available, its not exactly rare.. heh

Also its free as an ebook.....

JeremyR · 12-15-2011, 03:10 AM

You have to realize though, a lot of people are resellers - they buy stuff, just to put 'em up on ebay or Amazon for ridiculously high prices. Even if it's not actually rare.

Small press stuff, especially.

mr ploppy · 12-15-2011, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeremyR

You have to realize though, a lot of people are resellers - they buy stuff, just to put 'em up on ebay or Amazon for ridiculously high prices. Even if it's not actually rare.

Small press stuff, especially.

That sort of stuff does my head in, I'm always complaining to the people who write for that market and then refuse to put out a digital copy for the people who just want to read the thing. They say it devalues the hardback on the secondary market, as if that really matters. Maybe it's an ego thing?

12-13-2011, 07:41 PM	#1
khalleron Kate Posts: 1,700 Karma: 3605799 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Oregon, United States Device: MeeBook, Kobo Libra Colour	My existential head scratcher Someone is offering a used copy of my novel for over $300.00. OK, there were only 10 copies printed, so it's extremely rare, but that's because no one wanted one to start with. Well, that was my belly laugh for today.

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12-14-2011, 08:45 AM	#2
pholy Booklegger Posts: 1,801 Karma: 7999816 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Device: BeBook(1 & 2010), PEZ, PRS-505, Kobo BT, PRS-T1, Playbook, Kobo Touch	Will you still be laughing if someone buys it at that price? Or will you join that group of late-discovered artists who want a cut of the sales of their early works at current prices. That's a serious question for Inuit artists who see their works sold for hundreds of times their original price... and maybe for blues artists who sold now famous songs for $25 to buy food. It certainly opens a can of worms.

12-14-2011, 09:08 AM	#3
mr ploppy Feral Underclass Posts: 3,622 Karma: 26821535 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Yorkshire, tha noz Device: 2nd hand paperback	Some people put stuff up on Amazon at inflated prices just to drive up bids for the same item on Ebay. But if there was only 10 copies printed that sounds like a reasonable price to me.

12-14-2011, 04:38 PM	#5
VydorScope Wizard Posts: 3,418 Karma: 35207650 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: iPad	Same thing happened to me, they wanted like $500 for it. I complained to Amazon about it since my book (as a POD) is still available via Amazon for like $15 and they looked into it and eventually took it down. Since POD means there is unlimited copies available, its not exactly rare.. heh Also its free as an ebook.....

12-15-2011, 03:10 AM	#6
JeremyR Guru Posts: 973 Karma: 2458402 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: St. Louis Device: Kindle Keyboard, Nook HD+	You have to realize though, a lot of people are resellers - they buy stuff, just to put 'em up on ebay or Amazon for ridiculously high prices. Even if it's not actually rare. Small press stuff, especially.

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