The Listener by Robert McCammon

[Dave1442397]

Would love to hear from others who received both editions, and am really curious to see if I am the only one being disappointed.

sk

I didn't get my S/L yet, but I was surprised to see a collector put the Lettered edition up on FB for $400 OBO recently.

[frik51]

I guess if the lettered was purchased with the gift-certificates, the $250 seller broke even and the $400 still had a nice profit.
I can't see either buyer being willing to take a considerable loss, certainly not when the book has barely been released.

sk

[jeffingoff]

I guess if the lettered was purchased with the gift-certificates, the $250 seller broke even and the $400 still had a nice profit.
I can't see either buyer being willing to take a considerable loss, certainly not when the book has barely been released.

sk

Right. Those are "dump the book" prices. They're not even trying.

[Brian James Freeman]

Hey Frik51!

Sorry to hear you're disappointed! A few thoughts below:

*the books: Except for the binding, cloth for the numbered and leather for the lettered, the different endpapers plus a different frontispiece for the lettered, the books are identical.

We do appreciate any and all feedback, although this part of kind of made me laugh! Except for the binding material, the endpapers, the frontispiece, the ribbon page marker, and the dust jacket, they're identical. That's a lot of differences for being identical.

For the Lettered Edition traycase, you're comparing an edition that retailed for $1250 to a less expensive edition, but expecting them to be the same quality, which isn't possible. The SK editions are always going to be in a different league because the budget is there to do bigger and more exciting things.

Thanks again for the feedback! It is appreciated and I've passed it along to everyone else!

Brian

[Sock Monkey]

I'm currently in Colorado (visited the Stanley) but when I return home, I'll have the lettered Listener waiting for me. It's my first CD lettered (well, apart from Pork Pie Hat and Dinner with the Cannibal Sisters which were both PC copies) so I have no other real lettered to compare it to. I also won't have the slipcased edition to compare it to. But I will say, I was shocked to see the lettered Listener on eBay with a BIN price of $250.

I have no inside information, but the eBay listing was from a seller that I've dealt with many times and I believe that they might a lifetime subscriber of some sort. All their lettered editions are the letter V and they ALWAYS list them for incredibly low prices. They listed the latest batch of Novella series lettered editions for around $75 a piece.

[Brian James Freeman]

I have no inside information, but the eBay listing was from a seller that I've dealt with many times and I believe that they might a lifetime subscriber of some sort. All their lettered editions are the letter V and they ALWAYS list them for incredibly low prices. They listed the latest batch of Novella series lettered editions for around $75 a piece.

V would be a lifer. They paid a one-time price many many moons ago, so whatever they sell their lettered editions for now is easy profit and they probably price them accordingly to sell fast and get them back out the door. (Not the only lifer who operates that way!)

Brian

[Sock Monkey]

V would be a lifer. They paid a one-time price many many moons ago, so whatever they sell their lettered editions for now is easy profit and they probably price them accordingly to sell fast and get them back out the door. (Not the only lifer who operates that way!)

Brian

Thanks for the confirmation, Brian. I figured that had to be it or they would be constantly taking a loss.

[WebInterceptor]

Right. Those are "dump the book" prices. They're not even trying.

Other than the few Stephen king books and a handful of other books, unfortunately most of the books sell far below the listed price on ebay for CD editions. Still, For the ones which I like to have the books in assured mint condition I would purchase them from CD, but on avg so far I've seen most of the books sell for way lower prices. The ones which do really well are the Centipede press books (just my observation), really great productions with the artwork and everything but they also have higher sticker price. I personally like custom artwork etc. Just a signature and letter or number on a book printed on better quality pages or just a better binded book isn't sufficient motivation for me to shell out big bucks. I most certainly visit the ebay for such books lol.

[Sock Monkey]

The good news: today both the numbered and lettered editions arrived.
The not-so-good news: For the first time in my years of being a satisfied Cemetery Dance customer, I am very disappointed with what I received.
Let me be more specific:

*the books: Except for the binding, cloth for the numbered and leather for the lettered, the different endpapers plus a different frontispiece for the lettered, the books are identical. Now the leather is nice - love the feel and especially the smell. But I have to say it's the most underwhelming CemeteryDance lettered edition I own. Especially because the difference with the S/L is minimal.

*the S/L slipcase: "housed in a custom-made slipcase......" I read on the CD website. Custom-made....really???? They are the most generic cases I've ever seen for a S/L edition - no lettering, just a plain dull black case. This seriously is the most disappointing CD case I've ever seen. (Oops, think I'm beginning to repeat myself...)

*the lettered traycase: I adore the traycases I have lately seen, especially the cases for the lettered King Doubleday editions, but also those for the numbered Artist Editions. Those cases are truly wonderful and a clear demonstration of what CD can do. But this case?? Almost as disappointing as the slipcase for the numbered. Again, the most plain and dull traycase I've ever seen for a CD lettered edition. And yes, I do know about the problems CD has recently had with their binder, but the lettered especially looks cheap compared to the usual top-notch editions I've gotten used to. I really don't think the price ($500) justifies the end-result.

Of course I'm still a CD fan. Of course I'm looking forwards very much to whatever will be coming next, from the Sleeping Beauties limiteds to the Doubleday King editions to Joe Hill's Strange weather to the next McCammon editions.

Would love to hear from others who received both editions, and am really curious to see if I am the only one being disappointed.

sk

I don't have either edition in hand so I can't speak from personal experience. From the pictures I've seen of the lettered edition and your description, it looks like a "standard" CD lettered edition. The price point was quite a bit higher than most traycased lettereds (excluding King, of course) and more than the Usher's Passing, which might be causing some of the disappointment? I was surprised to see the high price point for this edition and then pleasantly surprised to see that Usher's Passing was half the cost. $500 is pretty darn steep, which caused me to pass on this edition (I'd already sprung for too many high dollar books this year: Southern Reach Trilogy lettered, Robert Aickman MotWT and Centipede's Kiernan collection).

Just comparing lettered editions at price points, it seems that with the traycased lettered editions, the buyer is really paying for the binding and the traycase itself. With the Deluxe Lettered editions (non-traycased) the buyer gets all the other goodies (raised hubs, gilded pages, etc). While I love traycases, I kinda prefer the Deluxe Lettered editions because they look so much more impressive.

Comparing the lettered edition of The Listener to the King Doubleday Artist Editions might not be an equal comparison. Yes, The Listener was close to double the price of the AE editions, but the limitation is so much smaller (52 versus 750), which has to impact price points and costs for materials, etc. I agree that the Doubleday AEs are fantastic, though.

Sorry to hear you were disappointed. That's never a fun time and ultimately that's what book collecting should be: fun.

[Sock Monkey]

Other than the few Stephen king books and a handful of other books, unfortunately most of the books sell far below the listed price on ebay for CD editions. Still, For the ones which I like to have the books in assured mint condition I would purchase them from CD, but on avg so far I've seen most of the books sell for way lower prices. The ones which do really well are the Centipede press books (just my observation), really great productions with the artwork and everything but they also have higher sticker price. I personally like custom artwork etc. Just a signature and letter or number on a printed on better quality pages or better binded book isn't sufficient motivation for me to shell out big bucks. I most certainly visit the ebay for such books lol.

Unfortunately, that is an observation I've seen as well. The aftermarket is pretty darn soft right now and unless it is a book in high demand, people are looking for steals. And you can't blame them. I've found numerous deals on eBay that I was lucky to stumble across. I agree the Centipede has retained their aftermarket value more than other publishers, though I have seen some lower price points on their books as well.

I do like the upgraded paper and better binding so that does go into my decision-making some. I also like to support the publishers directly when I can, so paying more directly instead of waiting for the aftermarket doesn't bother me.

[RonClinton]

I don't have either edition in hand so I can't speak from personal experience. From the pictures I've seen of the lettered edition and your description, it looks like a "standard" CD lettered edition. The price point was quite a bit higher than most traycased lettereds (excluding King, of course) and more than the Usher's Passing, which might be causing some of the disappointment? I was surprised to see the high price point for this edition and then pleasantly surprised to see that Usher's Passing was half the cost. $500 is pretty darn steep, which caused me to pass on this edition (I'd already sprung for too many high dollar books this year: Southern Reach Trilogy lettered, Robert Aickman MotWT and Centipede's Kiernan collection).

Just comparing lettered editions at price points, it seems that with the traycased lettered editions, the buyer is really paying for the binding and the traycase itself. With the Deluxe Lettered editions (non-traycased) the buyer gets all the other goodies (raised hubs, gilded pages, etc). While I love traycases, I kinda prefer the Deluxe Lettered editions because they look so much more impressive.

Comparing the lettered edition of The Listener to the King Doubleday Artist Editions might not be an equal comparison. Yes, The Listener was close to double the price of the AE editions, but the limitation is so much smaller (52 versus 750), which has to impact price points and costs for materials, etc.

Do I recall correctly that it was announced (here?...I think...by Dan or Brian...?) that CD was going to stop producing lettered editions as soon as they worked through the backlog of those titles that were already pre-sold as including lettered editions? Or am I wildly misremembering?

[Sock Monkey]

Do I recall correctly that it was announced (here?...I think...by Dan or Brian...?) that CD was going to stop producing lettered editions as soon as they worked through the backlog of those titles that were already pre-sold as including lettered editions? Or am I wildly misremembering?

I think there was a caveat to “big name” authors. I can’t speak for CD, but the intent seems to be to steer away from every title having a lettered edition to only titles that they know there will be significant demand for.

[Brian James Freeman]

I think there was a caveat to “big name” authors. I can’t speak for CD, but the intent seems to be to steer away from every title having a lettered edition to only titles that they know there will be significant demand for.

Yep, you nailed it.

Brian

[RonClinton]

Ah, okay -- that makes more sense.

[Dan Hocker]

We're not stopping completely. We had been doing them for pretty much every title. Now we're being more selective. We are getting closer and closer to being through the backlog though. I've got another 3 more cases for lettereds for once I've got an opening in the shipping schedule again.