BIRD BOX

[jeffingoff]

Well, I stand corrected. The sluggish sales seem to back up the idea that DRP is flying too close to the sun. DRP can't get 500 people to agree that $75 is a good price in the first three days when I thought it wouldn't last the first 12 hours.

I bow to the wisdom in this group!

[Theli]

Sales are pretty slow, but it's not surprising for this book not to sell for a month or more. And I think that would still be a success. Very few S/Ls sell out within a week, even from well regarded and famous authors, much less a day or two.

[Dan Hocker]

Well, I stand corrected. The sluggish sales seem to back up the idea that DRP is flying too close to the sun. DRP can't get 500 people to agree that $75 is a good price in the first three days when I thought it wouldn't last the first 12 hours.

I bow to the wisdom in this group!

DRP is a pretty small, small press (relatively speaking). It can take awhile to sell 500 copies of any book (at $75) that isn't by someone as famous / popular as Stephen King. Especially if you have a small customer base. They put out some good looking books though, I hope it sells well for them.

[slayn666]

Yeah, DRP did change their policy in regards to advance payment for other publishers' books.

This must be a recent thing because they sure as hell took my money for two copies of The Shining last year .

[jeffingoff]

This must be a recent thing because they sure as hell took my money for two copies of The Shining last year .

I actually think it was in response to the wait for the Shining.

And in other news: I SHOULD HAVE WAITED TO BUY BIRD BOX. I am a fool. A damn fool.

[slayn666]

I actually think it was in response to the wait for the Shining.

I really have to wonder if their announcement today that you can only get one copy of other publisher's book with discount codes is because of my order of The Shining - I have a permanent discount code and used it when I ordered.

[jeffingoff]

I really have to wonder if their announcement today that you can only get one copy of other publisher's book with discount codes is because of my order of The Shining - I have a permanent discount code and used it when I ordered.

You have a PERMANENT discount code?! What did you do, save someone's life over there? Hahahahaha. I'd say, knowing that, you are the likely suspect.

I have no kind of discount at DRP so nothing has changed for me!

[slayn666]

They sent one to their newsletter subscribers some years ago - I think it was before Chris took over the press. It keeps getting reactivated through all the website changes, so I assume they intend for people to be able to use it.

[saginawhorror]

I have a permanent 20% off code from joining their book club a few years back. Club ended long along but code never stopped working.

[slayn666]

I have a permanent 20% off code from joining their book club a few years back. Club ended long along but code never stopped working.

Looking back at the email with my code, it's for the book club as well.

[RonClinton]

I think the price point is too high; this should have been a $50 project. With still 385 copies left -- so five copies sold in one day, a day after launch -- it appears I'm not alone in that opinion. I was going to spring for a copy, but at $75 (and Chadbourne interior art, which seems really miscast for this project...*love* the cover art, though) I'll pass...at $75, I suspect it has nowhere to go but down on the secondary market, so I'll pick up a copy then, perhaps, once the market adjusts the price tag to where it should have been from the beginning.

I hate to be the one that said I-Told-You-So, but jeez louise, I just checked DR's site and a week after my above post there are still 375 copies left, so only ten sold in the last five days or so, or two copies per day. Kind of a shame, given the acclaim for this title. I wonder if that will give DR (and other publishers) pause to reconsider their pricing structure. For me, unless it's Centipede, where I feel the production values and the potential resale value exists (though who am I kidding, I'd never sell any of my Centipedes) to account for the higher price, or perhaps the King Gift Editions from CD, $50 is a pretty hard stop for me when it comes to new genre limited editions...anything beyond that needs to justify itself pretty profoundly or the cost-benefit ratio just doesn't quite work for me. There are always exceptions, of course, but everyone has to have some basic/default barometer, some red line, and $50 is mine.

[jeffingoff]

I hate to be the one that said I-Told-You-So, but jeez louise . . .

You earned the right to this "I-Told-You-So." I guess I can chalk up the extra $25 I paid to the purchase of a Valuable Buying Lesson.

I was sure this Bird was going to fly.

[slayn666]

The majority of the time, the only reason I buy a special edition book direct from a publisher is to keep a numbered/lettered set together. A lot of books just never sell out (or don't until deep discounts are offered), and even for the ones that do, the vast majority of those simply do not hold their value on the secondary market.

I want to be able to support publishers, but between rapid-fire releases from individual publishers, the number of publishers producing books I want, and the slow but steady rise in cost, something has to give, and it's usually my ability to buy a whole bunch of new books direct from their publishers.

[Sock Monkey]

I really have to wonder if their announcement today that you can only get one copy of other publisher's book with discount codes is because of my order of The Shining - I have a permanent discount code and used it when I ordered.

I doubt the policy change and the subsequent email was due to one order. I'm sure that they are numerous orders come through where this is occurring and since their profit margin on other publishers' books is probably quite a bit smaller than their own books, they needed to make a change to stay profitable in this area.

I remember the permanent code as well and I had received one myself. I probably have it filed away somewhere in my email, but I don't believe I ever used it once. I'm surprised they haven't deactivated the codes since the advent of their collector's club through Patreon.

[Sock Monkey]

The majority of the time, the only reason I buy a special edition book direct from a publisher is to keep a numbered/lettered set together. A lot of books just never sell out (or don't until deep discounts are offered), and even for the ones that do, the vast majority of those simply do not hold their value on the secondary market.

I want to be able to support publishers, but between rapid-fire releases from individual publishers, the number of publishers producing books I want, and the slow but steady rise in cost, something has to give, and it's usually my ability to buy a whole bunch of new books direct from their publishers.

I've contemplated going the secondary market for certain publishers on a few occasions. CD is pretty fairly priced and with the CDCC coupons, I find most of their books to be reasonably priced. Thunderstorm is one I've contemplated going to the aftermarket, especially for the Black Voltage titles since they don't seem to hold their value. Other editions you have to order through them as they rarely--if ever--show up on the aftermarket like their lettered editions or the Diablos. I've scaled back on my Black Voltage buying and recently liquidated some of that collection, but the thought has crossed my mind that if I ever go back to that collection, that might be the route to go.

Ultimately, I like supporting the publishers directly. It's a small marketplace and these companies aren't making a fortune from the books. If I pay a little more occasionally, I'm okay with that. Especially considering the customer service from CD or Thunderstorm is so far beyond what you get from Ebay and the like.