Eddings on/ off / on again

crossi · 06-16-2015, 12:34 PM

The 1st Belgariad ominbus (the first 3 books) was briefly available and I bought it. The 2nd volume was never listed. Then the 1st disappeared also. Then the Belagariad and Mallorean series began appearing about 1 every couple months. No sooner they were all listed than they all disappeared. Again. Now the 1st of the Belgariad is back. Temporarily? For good? What is going on with this publisher?

pwalker8 · 06-17-2015, 05:17 AM

Odd. The publisher is currently listed as Harper Collins (June 13, 2015).

It's a pretty odd situation. I seem to recall that since David Eddings and his wife had no heirs, Eddings assigned the copyrights of his work to some institute (don't remember all the details). It could simply be that there is confusion over which publishing company actually controls those rights.

MickiTee · 06-18-2015, 04:24 PM

Simple solution - move to, or shop in, the UK. The Belgariad and Mallorean series have been available as ebooks, continuously, since Feb 2010. The Elenium & Tamuli trilogies were published in 2011.

crossi · 06-20-2015, 12:13 PM

I've googled a little about vpns to be able to buy from the UK but just haven't got around to actually figuring out how to do it. I keep thinking they CAN'T delay much longer. Especially once they began appearing. The second Belgarion book is back now also. If they keep up at this speed I might be able to buy the Elenium sometime in 2017.

crossi · 06-23-2015, 01:09 PM

Now the first two Belgarion books are gone again! This is getting downright wierd. Is there some one posting unauthorized books (the first time they were appearing over the course of two years so you think someone would have noticed) and then once noticed sending a takedown notice to Amazon, the the unknown poster resending them and having them taken down again in a back and forth fight?

GeoffR · 07-30-2018, 10:23 PM

(I know this is an old thread, but I think the subject is still relevant.)

From what I can see now, neither the Belgariad nor the Malloreon series are available for sale as ebooks anywhere.

But my local public library still has all the ebooks from both series available for loan in its OverDrive collection, published by Transworld (Penguin Random House UK).

It seems like a strange situation, but I guess the library purchased the ebooks back before they were withdrawn from sale and have not yet used up their time or loan quota?

pwalker8 · 07-31-2018, 06:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeoffR

(I know this is an old thread, but I think the subject is still relevant.)

From what I can see now, neither the Belgariad nor the Malloreon series are available for sale as ebooks anywhere.

But my local public library still has all the ebooks from both series available for loan in its OverDrive collection, published by Transworld (Penguin Random House UK).

It seems like a strange situation, but I guess the library purchased the ebooks back before they were withdrawn from sale and have not yet used up their time or loan quota?

Weird. A good thing that I bought them while they were available. I seem to recall reading that libraries buy a license to loan the book x number of times (50 was the number used in the article).

Way back when ebooks were first coming out, I thought for sure that once someone made an ebook available, that it would just stay available. I mean, that's really the point of ebooks from a publisher point of view. Since there is minimal storage cost (as opposed to paper books), you just get a steady stream of purchases.

It does seem though that this happens more often when the author is dead. I guess typically the heir is less interested in having the book out there.

gmw · 07-31-2018, 06:59 AM

Definitely something odd going on with the publisher. In Kobo Australia both The Belgariad and The Mallorean were available, but the prices varied a lot over time. Since I already have these in paperback, I hung around waiting for specials. I got five of them (four of the first series, one of the second) at good prices before the ebook editions disappeared completely off Kobo, now all you can get is the audiobook.

DrNefario · 07-31-2018, 08:21 AM

I thought I'd check my local library system (UK) - I know they used to have several of his/their series omnibuses - and now they seem to have just The Rivan Codex.

haertig · 08-02-2018, 03:21 PM

You can find the complete Belgariad series (5 books) and Mallorean series (5 more books) available as audiobooks from my local libraries via Overdrive. But not a single one of them is available as an eBook from those same libraries.

It looks like you can buy them (I didn't check every one of them) on Amazon, but only as paper books, not eBooks.

I can see why a library might stop handling a particular eBook (licensing issues), but I don't understand why a retailer would stop selling an eBook after having previously sold it, unless there are additional licensing terms I am not aware of. But why would the copyright holder want to pull an eBook from sale? Isn't that like shooting yourself in the foot?

06-16-2015, 12:34 PM	#1
crossi Guru Posts: 992 Karma: 12000001 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Seattle Wahington U.S. Device: kindle	Eddings on/ off / on again The 1st Belgariad ominbus (the first 3 books) was briefly available and I bought it. The 2nd volume was never listed. Then the 1st disappeared also. Then the Belagariad and Mallorean series began appearing about 1 every couple months. No sooner they were all listed than they all disappeared. Again. Now the 1st of the Belgariad is back. Temporarily? For good? What is going on with this publisher?

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06-17-2015, 05:17 AM	#2
pwalker8 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,195 Karma: 70314280 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA Device: iPad Pro, iPad mini, Kobo Aura, Amazon paperwhite, Sony PRS-T2	Odd. The publisher is currently listed as Harper Collins (June 13, 2015). It's a pretty odd situation. I seem to recall that since David Eddings and his wife had no heirs, Eddings assigned the copyrights of his work to some institute (don't remember all the details). It could simply be that there is confusion over which publishing company actually controls those rights.

06-18-2015, 04:24 PM	#3
MickiTee Guru Posts: 838 Karma: 3976266 Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: London, UK Device: Sony PRS-505, Pocketbook TL3, TL4, TL5	Simple solution - move to, or shop in, the UK. The Belgariad and Mallorean series have been available as ebooks, continuously, since Feb 2010. The Elenium & Tamuli trilogies were published in 2011.

06-20-2015, 12:13 PM	#4
crossi Guru Posts: 992 Karma: 12000001 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Seattle Wahington U.S. Device: kindle	I've googled a little about vpns to be able to buy from the UK but just haven't got around to actually figuring out how to do it. I keep thinking they CAN'T delay much longer. Especially once they began appearing. The second Belgarion book is back now also. If they keep up at this speed I might be able to buy the Elenium sometime in 2017.

06-23-2015, 01:09 PM	#5
crossi Guru Posts: 992 Karma: 12000001 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Seattle Wahington U.S. Device: kindle	Now the first two Belgarion books are gone again! This is getting downright wierd. Is there some one posting unauthorized books (the first time they were appearing over the course of two years so you think someone would have noticed) and then once noticed sending a takedown notice to Amazon, the the unknown poster resending them and having them taken down again in a back and forth fight?

07-30-2018, 10:23 PM	#6
GeoffR Wizard Posts: 3,821 Karma: 19162882 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Te Riu-a-Māui Device: Kobo Glo	(I know this is an old thread, but I think the subject is still relevant.) From what I can see now, neither the Belgariad nor the Malloreon series are available for sale as ebooks anywhere. But my local public library still has all the ebooks from both series available for loan in its OverDrive collection, published by Transworld (Penguin Random House UK). It seems like a strange situation, but I guess the library purchased the ebooks back before they were withdrawn from sale and have not yet used up their time or loan quota?

07-31-2018, 06:59 AM	#8
gmw cacoethes scribendi Posts: 5,809 Karma: 137770742 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Aura One & H2Ov2, Sony PRS-650	Definitely something odd going on with the publisher. In Kobo Australia both The Belgariad and The Mallorean were available, but the prices varied a lot over time. Since I already have these in paperback, I hung around waiting for specials. I got five of them (four of the first series, one of the second) at good prices before the ebook editions disappeared completely off Kobo, now all you can get is the audiobook.

07-31-2018, 08:21 AM	#9
DrNefario Wizard Posts: 2,098 Karma: 11315768 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: UK Device: Kindle, Kobo Touch, Nook SimpleTouch	I thought I'd check my local library system (UK) - I know they used to have several of his/their series omnibuses - and now they seem to have just The Rivan Codex.

08-02-2018, 03:21 PM	#10
haertig Wizard Posts: 1,738 Karma: 25906336 Join Date: Sep 2017 Device: PW3, Fire HD8 Gen7, Moto G7, Sansa Clip v2, Ruizu X26	You can find the complete Belgariad series (5 books) and Mallorean series (5 more books) available as audiobooks from my local libraries via Overdrive. But not a single one of them is available as an eBook from those same libraries. It looks like you can buy them (I didn't check every one of them) on Amazon, but only as paper books, not eBooks. I can see why a library might stop handling a particular eBook (licensing issues), but I don't understand why a retailer would stop selling an eBook after having previously sold it, unless there are additional licensing terms I am not aware of. But why would the copyright holder want to pull an eBook from sale? Isn't that like shooting yourself in the foot?