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Entry tags:
publisher antics
Actually, I don't know if it's publisher antics or bookstore antice; I just know which way I'd bet.
So, 6 weeks ago I stopped by the local Judaica shop to pick up the volume of talmud that Rabbi Gibson and I will be studying. They were out, and I placed an order. They said orders usually come in in about a week, though December could be slower. After two weeks the store said the publisher had been delayed and it would be another week. The week after *that* they said it was back-ordered. I got the impression that it would be another few weeks, maybe a month. Last week I asked Rabbi Gibson to photocopy the first few pages of what we'll be looking at, so we can get started. (With luck, he remembered and I'll get that tonight.)
This brings us to today. I called the store and they said that the publisher had *now* told them that it was out of print. The store clerk (who has been very friendly and helpful through all of this) told me that in their experience, this could take 6 months or so. They last successfully ordered in June, and we don't know when between then and December they ran out.
So I went to the publisher's web site to see if I could find out more. The summary page for all of their talmud volumes said "to be reprinted May 2005". (No, I did not just make a typo.) But there was a link, so I clicked it. I got to a sales page that said "quantities low". So I ordered one, and the web site let me complete the order. I considered adding on second-day air rather than UPS ground, but decided that their default behavior was more likely to go smoothly. (They will, in theory, ship it tomorrow morning.)
If this actually works, then when I cancel the order with the bookstore I will tell them what happened, just in case the publisher is jerking them around or something. I would have preferred to give the order to the local store, but I also want the book... Maybe it's normal for publishers to give priority to direct sales over bookstore orders, but I would have thought that an order that had been pending for 6 weeks would trump a fresh direct sale.
So, 6 weeks ago I stopped by the local Judaica shop to pick up the volume of talmud that Rabbi Gibson and I will be studying. They were out, and I placed an order. They said orders usually come in in about a week, though December could be slower. After two weeks the store said the publisher had been delayed and it would be another week. The week after *that* they said it was back-ordered. I got the impression that it would be another few weeks, maybe a month. Last week I asked Rabbi Gibson to photocopy the first few pages of what we'll be looking at, so we can get started. (With luck, he remembered and I'll get that tonight.)
This brings us to today. I called the store and they said that the publisher had *now* told them that it was out of print. The store clerk (who has been very friendly and helpful through all of this) told me that in their experience, this could take 6 months or so. They last successfully ordered in June, and we don't know when between then and December they ran out.
So I went to the publisher's web site to see if I could find out more. The summary page for all of their talmud volumes said "to be reprinted May 2005". (No, I did not just make a typo.) But there was a link, so I clicked it. I got to a sales page that said "quantities low". So I ordered one, and the web site let me complete the order. I considered adding on second-day air rather than UPS ground, but decided that their default behavior was more likely to go smoothly. (They will, in theory, ship it tomorrow morning.)
If this actually works, then when I cancel the order with the bookstore I will tell them what happened, just in case the publisher is jerking them around or something. I would have preferred to give the order to the local store, but I also want the book... Maybe it's normal for publishers to give priority to direct sales over bookstore orders, but I would have thought that an order that had been pending for 6 weeks would trump a fresh direct sale.