Little Book Series 3

[Brian861]

Anyone know why Borderlands is going from a limitation of 500 to 350? Series I and II were both 500, right?

They were. My suspicion is that it's due to poorer than expected sales. A number of the Series II books are still available from their store.

That sucks for the folks who currently hold complete sets 351-500.

I could probably stomach $35 IF they came through on all the authors they claim they're in negotiations with for this series, but they're hitting a regular who's who of my list of favorite authors. In general I agree that $30 is probably the sweet spot for these books.

And like Brian, I'm interested to see how they handle King if they can get him. Inexpensive signed books aren't totally unheard of, and Tom Monteleone has been around long enough that I suspect he could call in a favor or two to make it happen. Perhaps more likely, now that I've had some time to think about it, is that a King Little Book just wouldn't be signed at all (despite the claim that all books will be signed by the author), or perhaps signed by the editor of such a volume.

If they do a King Little Book, I could see them going with a facsimile sig.

[Sock Monkey]

I like these books quite a bit, but agree that the $30 range is about where I would top out. I might be willing to go higher for original material, but this almost all reprints. My favorites from Series II that I’ve read so far are the ones by David Schow, Ed Gorman and Jack Ketchum.

I’d be rather frustrated if I had a complete set of Series I and II with a number over 350. Though it isn’t the press’s fault that the print run might have to be reduced for financial reasons, the loss of maintaining that matching numbered set would sting quite a bit.

As far as King goes, I guess we’ll have to wait and see. I can see both the editor’s signature or facsimile signature as an option, but I’d think it would be cool of King to do one at a reduced price point. Both Hill and Gaiman did volumes so it might not be a huge stretch. To be honest even without King, the lineup for Series III looks phenomenal.

[jeffingoff]

I can see a few other ways to handle King.

1. A subscriber's only price with an expanded print run. Let's say the King book gets a print run of 500. For those who "own" a number (1-350) to all books in series 3, you will be eligible to buy a King Little Book at $30. Numbers 351-500 can be sold to the cherry picking public at a much higher cost.

2. A subscriber's only exclusive. King's book is NOT one of the 15 in series 3. It is a bonus book that will be available to subscriber's first (those who "own" a number) and once that preorder window is closed then it will be offered to the cherry pickers. They can set whatever price they want. And they can also offer a discount to "subscribers."

3. Just another book in Series 3. No catches. No special deals. Just another book in the series that will go to people who own a number first and then everyone else first come-first served.

[RonClinton]

I can see a few other ways to handle King.

1. A subscriber's only price with an expanded print run. Let's say the King book gets a print run of 500. For those who "own" a number (1-350) to all books in series 3, you will be eligible to buy a King Little Book at $30. Numbers 351-500 can be sold to the cherry picking public at a much higher cost.

2. A subscriber's only exclusive. King's book is NOT one of the 15 in series 3. It is a bonus book that will be available to subscriber's first (those who "own" a number) and once that preorder window is closed then it will be offered to the cherry pickers. They can set whatever price they want. And they can also offer a discount to "subscribers."

3. Just another book in Series 3. No catches. No special deals. Just another book in the series that will go to people who own a number first and then everyone else first come-first served.

The problem is that there are "subscribers" who do not subscribe through Borderlands direct. I've been getting mine through Camelot since the first volume. So Borderlands has no idea which dealers they send books to have customers w/ set numbers, nor how many of these dealers' customers reserve numbers, nor which numbers, etc. Plus even though Borderlands direct, not all numbers 1 through 300 are reserved, so the logistics of managing reserved vs. unreserved would be a nightmare. Same w/ #2...there don't know how many subscribers there are to determine the print run for reserved numbers (again, since the dealers, ala Camelot, don't indicate to them which of the numbers they receive are reserved numbers, etc.). Same with #3: How does Borderlands know who (or how many) owns a number, given that once the books are out the door to the dealers they lose logistical control? They don't/can't.

I like the fairness doctrine you're trying to create, the from-the-top filter that protects reserved-number owners, but I don't see how that's at all possible, given the issues I outline above, i.e. Borderlands' inability to know and determine who many of these owners are.

[slayn666]

It seems Borderlands could avoid that issue by just treating other retailers (CD, Camelot, etc.) as subscribers in their own right, so they'll get as many copies of a potential King Little Book as they would any other, offering to match numbers per usual.

Really the main thing to avoid is a repeat of the clusterfuck that surrounded the Joe Hill Little Book last year, and having an exclusive preorder period for customers (including other retailers!) that have bought all the other books in the series up to that point. That satisfies all of their direct long-time customers, and shifts the onus of non-direct customers onto the other retailers (most of which can handle these things just fine). Once subscribers are taken care of, you open up preorders to the general public on a first-come, first-served basis.

It's not an especially difficult thing to do, Borderlands just need to be willing to cancel the orders of people that don't qualify but get the order link anyhow.

[Dan Hocker]

For what it's worth we confirmed with Borderlands that we'd be able to get the same number of books for every book in the series, including a King one if there is a King book.

[Martin]

I have opted to stay quiet on this as I will not order directly from Borderlands Press.

Side Note: I have been unwilling to order from Borderlands long before the Joe Hill Little Book issues. I had issues with them back around 2006 and they are simply a company I will not deal directly with. As they have produced books I want I have picked them up from other retailers, and that has worked for me. The first snag in that was last year with the Joe Hill book. With my prior issues with Borderlands that was a last straw for me and I decided it would be very hard for me to buy a Borderlands book again.

Well then this series comes along with many confirmed authors I want including Owen King and Richard Chizmar, including a possibility of a Stephen King book. I initially disregarded them as not for me as I expected with the reduced quantity and the issues from last year that you could only buy it from Borderlands and I will not do that. Trust me on this, I will never buy directly from Borderlands without regard of what they offer. Then today I got the offer to begin the series III little books with rights to each subsequent book. I truly believe that Borderlands as a company does not care about its customers but I do like some of the books they produce. I am trying once again to buy their books through another retailer. Hopefully it will go well, I will not be surprised if it does not.

Regarding a King signed book for $30.00, I do believe they would have no problem doing that. One of my prized books is actually a Borderlands book bought directly from Borderlands. Quietly Now is signed by Stephan King and many others and retailed for $40.00.

[Brian861]

This will be my first experience going directly through Borderlands. May of the Hill books were damaged I believed and I'd heard that their packaging isn't that great. I guess I'll find out first hand soon enough.

I don't recall the fiasco that surrounded the Hill book. Did they oversell it? I had to get a copy on the secondary market.

[RonClinton]

One of my prized books is actually a Borderlands book bought directly from Borderlands. Quietly Now is signed by Stephan King and many others and retailed for $40.00.

Yeah, I was fortunate enough to get in on that as well.

[slayn666]

Borderlands oversold, and someone posted the secret CD link over at TDT prior to open orders here, so they (CD) sold out before at least some folks that had been getting the whole series had a chance to buy their copy.

Here's Brian F.'s post on the topic.

[Martin]

For what it's worth we confirmed with Borderlands that we'd be able to get the same number of books for every book in the series, including a King one if there is a King book.

Let's hope Borderlands sticks to that agreement, I assume you had that deal last series and Borderlands chose not to honor it.

[Martin]

This will be my first experience going directly through Borderlands. May of the Hill books were damaged I believed and I'd heard that their packaging isn't that great. I guess I'll find out first hand soon enough.

I don't recall the fiasco that surrounded the Hill book. Did they oversell it? I had to get a copy on the secondary market.

It has been over 10 years that I ordered directly from them but I do not recall ever having issues with receiving damaged books. I will admit they were not packed to CD's standards but they were bubble wrapped and a box and arrived undamaged.

[Brian861]

Borderlands oversold, and someone posted the secret CD link over at TDT prior to open orders here, so they (CD) sold out before at least some folks that had been getting the whole series had a chance to buy their copy.

Here's Brian F.'s post on the topic.

Ah! Now I remember. Thanks.

[Martin]

Borderlands oversold, and someone posted the secret CD link over at TDT prior to open orders here, so they (CD) sold out before at least some folks that had been getting the whole series had a chance to buy their copy.

Here's Brian F.'s post on the topic.

You are missing the part where Borderlands chose to reduce retailers orders rather than cancel the orders they oversold. So retailers like CD who have helped Borderlands sell their product were then required to cancel customers orders through no fault of their own. I believe CD did have an issue with someone posting a link prior to general announcement but they also sold to people like me who they had notified and had to cancel those orders because Borderlands screwed up and punished them and their customers. I state this was not my issue with Borderlands, just another brick in the wall.

[slayn666]

You are missing the part where Borderlands chose to reduce retailers orders rather than cancel the orders they oversold. So retailers like CD who have helped Borderlands sell their product were then required to cancel customers orders through no fault of their own. I believe CD did have an issue with someone posting a link prior to general announcement but they also sold to people like me who they had notified and had to cancel those orders because Borderlands screwed up and punished them and their customers. I state this was not my issue with Borderlands, just another brick in the wall.

I didn't know about that part, or just don't remember it. That's pretty terrible; I hope they've learned their lesson, especially if they plan to offer something signed by King.