Amazon pricing
 

I thought I might alert you to the fact tha you can buy a copy of my poetry book 'Tennis and Sex and Death' for £189. I wonder if any of you have an inkling how Amazon arrive at a price like that.

It's like what Lucy Van Pelt said about the $5 dollar sign on her lemonade stand: you only need to sell one. If I understand the business model correctly, they're figuring there's a Whitworth fanatic out there -- or a soulless collector -- who doesn't have it yet. By the way, I'd be willing to part with my not-so-gently used copy for £172 plus shipping, if you give me a couple of days to photocopy some of the poems.

Ed

Amazon sells on behalf of many independent sellers who can set their own prices, and often do so with crude computer formulas based on how long the book has been out of print, etc. It's quite silly, of course, and I imagine if you contacted the vendor you could negotiate something less reflective of the book's infinite appeal.

John--

The title of course! It must have set into motion some complicated algorithm that recognized its brilliance!

I just received my copy of Girlie Gangs from them, at a much lower price, and I dove right in--well rewarded with salty refreshment. Had to stop temporarily at "Faith Zone" to savor its wisdom and craft . . .

Best,
Jean

Shhh! Jean don't you tell 'em. If it wasn't for the shipping I'd buy my copies at Amazon and not from my publisher.

I have a copy of Tennis and Sex and Death and I expect my daughter has one somewhere too. It's interesting to think why THAT book is in much shorter supply (like there's 1) than any other one. It was my first from Peterloo. Perhaps the sainted Harry Chambers did a very short print run until he found out what an excellent chap I was. Yes, that must be it.

It might be an autographed copy, or Amazon might be a bunch of heartless pirates. There's a copy in Ireland, listed at being a 1st edition in 'very good' condition, which is going for a mere $25, plus shipping ($11 or so to the States) at ABE Books, here. It's well worth the price.

Ed

First Edition? They are all first editions. And I rather think the autographed copies outnumber the virgin ones. What the hell is it doing in Ireland? Must be the one I gave to Seamus Heaney. Or the other one I gave to the Taoiseach (Teasock), whoever he was

Jeff Bezos' Amazon engages in a pricing strategy intended to eliminate every publisher and competing bookstore in the world. I've served as a financial consultant to several publishers, and I've seen how that bastard uses his muscle to crush competition. Order your Thanksgiving turkey from him with guaranteed next day delivery, and buy his common stock, not his stock of books.

What! and put all the independent turkey sellers out of business!!!

(Yust a yoke, Tim.)

I am disappointed by all the "independent" booksellers on eBay whose items are then mysteriously delivered direct from Amazon. Sheesh - who can you trust nowadays?

Although my subsequent publishers hold copies, I am the sole stockholder for all my Peterloo volumes and if anyone orders one in a bookshop, the shop goes to Nielsen Bookdata, who send the order through to me. I am required to give a discount that is greater than the author discount when I purchased them and I have to pay the shipping to the shop. It therefore costs me money. No yoke.

So the thing to do is to buy direct from you, Ann, which I would do if I didn't have all your books already. But everyone else take note.

Can we still order John Whitworth's latest from the author and get an earlier volume thrown in?

Interesting discussion.
Some time ago I was searching for a copy of my first book, 'Words to Say' and found a reseller who had an ex-library copy at a reasonable price; so I bought it.
The reseller noticed my name and was delighted when I confirmed it was a J R Hartley moment (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._Hartley)

I was less fortunate, David, when I found a pristine copy of my book in a charity shop (:eek:), costing less than I can buy it from lulu. I purchased it and scurried from the shop.

Wounded pride, and no J R Hartley moment for me, alas!

Jayne

Amazon be damned -- I buy most of my books second-hand from alibris.com. And whenever I can get a copy of "The Muse Strikes Back" for 99 cents (usually from Better World Books), I buy it and give it away.

More on Amazon's libido dominandi.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/05/te..._r=1&ref=books

You can order my book directly from me, Bill, and get and earlier volume (Lovely Day for a Wedding) thrown in gratis. What is more I will sign them both. Can't say better than that, squire.

The feds made the movie studios sell off their theaters back in the 50s. To let Amazon control much of the market and also publish books to sell in that market is the kiss of death for trade publishing. Instead of breaking up Amazon the feds side with them against Apple and the big six--now the not-so-big five--for trying to break Amazon's strangle-hold on eBooks. Go figure.

Great, John. Thanks for your reply. A square deal indeed. Worth their weight in gold, no doubt, but will you take a personal check in dollars? Do you prefer a U.S. Postal Service Money order? What amount and sent to what address? Best, Bill

Not sure what you're talking about, Bill, but by all means send money. Send me a pm and I'll tell you where to mail it.