Amazon Deal of the Day
- Posted by Johanna on May 18, 2006 at 9:14 pm
- Category: Graphic Novel News
Pre-order the Absolute New Frontier hardcover by Darwyn Cooke, list-priced at $75, for $13 at Amazon.com.
It’s probably a mistake, since that’s more than an 80% discount, but what’s the risk? Since the book isn’t due until October, there’s plenty of time to cancel if they raise the price.
In case they catch this before you read this post, here’s visual proof:
Update: As of 7 AM ET Friday, this book is ranked #3 in sales, behind The Da Vinci Code (duh) and Lies at the Altar: The Truth About Great Marriages (wha?). There are going to be a lot of disappointed people if Amazon cancels the orders.
And if they don’t, there are going to be a lot of disappointed comic book retailers whose customers have all pre-ordered. I believe the top discount through Diamond is 55% off, so their wholesale price is at max $33.75, or 2 1/2 times this price.
Update 2: Amazon caught on. The page now reads
THIS TITLE IS CURRENTLY NOT AVAILABLE. If you would like to purchase this title, we recommend that you occasionally check this page to see if it has become available.
with no pre-order button. It turns out that $12.99 is Amazon’s current price on the individual New Frontier collections, so it seems likely that someone confused the different editions.
Update 3: Amazon has cancelled the orders without explanation.
May 18, 2006 at 9:36 pm
Wow. I had no desire to own this for $75, but for $13? Done.
May 18, 2006 at 9:51 pm
Heh, thanks for sharing this, Johanna. I had no desire to get this either, but I’ll certainly check it out for $13.
May 18, 2006 at 9:56 pm
Order placed … I know it’s won’t stick, but what the heck.
May 18, 2006 at 10:33 pm
Not worth bothering to order- once Amazon figures out the mistake, they’ll cancel the order. They’ve done that before. There’s 0% chance they’ll honor this price.
May 18, 2006 at 10:42 pm
Changed my mind- might not get the book, but maybe I’ll get a gift certificate out of it if I complain when they cancel the order. Why yes, I’m evil, why do you ask? :)
May 18, 2006 at 11:38 pm
I ordered it too, since it does seem to be a no lose situtation. I’m betting they just screwed this up with the tpbs.
I’m actually sort of curious about the Absolute format, and have been wanting to see one to see what they are like.
May 19, 2006 at 12:35 am
I’m actually sort of curious about the Absolute format, and have been wanting to see one to see what they are like.
I’m such a fan of the format that I’m even considering books I might not consider in a standard trade/hardcover like Absolute Kingdom Come.
May 19, 2006 at 7:11 am
Mark, do you mind elaborating about what you like about the format?
Ray, I know it’s a pipe dream, but it may give an interesting example of sales velocity for discount pricing. I wish I knew more about how to see Amazon sales figures, because I’d like to see rankings and orders both now and after they fix the mistake.
May 19, 2006 at 10:43 am
Mark, do you mind elaborating about what you like about the format?
I’m a bit of a whore for beautiful publishing … I’ll actually appreciate, and gush to others about endpapers. So take what I say with a grain of salt. :)
First is the size - these are practically coffetable books or art books. They can become impractical - if you’re the kind of person like my wife who dozes off while reading in bed and occasionally drops the book on her nose, Absolute Watchmen could send you to the hospital. But it achieves the same effect as a beautiful art book - it lets the art breathe and be examined. Obviously, the Perez volumes (JLA/Avengers and Crisis) really allow the detail to shine, but even other artists’ work shines as it increases in size.
Then there’s the production values - rich paper, often bound-in bookmarks, beautiful coverstock, etc. The bonus materials vary - Planetary doesn’t have much, but Watchmen and Crisis are packed with stuff.
There’s no doubt about it - these are collector’s pieces, books that you’ll have for a long time. If you just want to read the books, I suppose it’s overkill. Then again, a digest sized book of Rembrandt would give you a reference for what the pictures looked like, wouldn’t it? They are utterly gratuitious, like the back-of-Previews statues, but you can also open them up and read them. :)
It’s Marvel’s oversized hardcovers that got me back into comics, but once I discovered the Absolutes, I fell in love.
May 19, 2006 at 11:08 am
I’m sure they’ll cancel though as here is their “Conditions of Use”:
With respect to items sold by Amazon.com, we cannot confirm the price of an item until you order; however, we do NOT charge your credit card until after your order has entered the shipping process. Despite our best efforts, a small number of the items in our catalog may be mispriced. If an item’s correct price is higher than our stated price, we will, at our discretion, either contact you for instructions before shipping or cancel your order and notify you of such cancellation.
May 19, 2006 at 1:13 pm
Mark, thanks. I just wish that I was more interested in the material between the covers… :)
May 19, 2006 at 2:53 pm
With as many people that pre-ordered it, enough to make it the third selling book. I wonder if they might at least offer a promotional code for an extra 5 or 10 % off or a gift certifticate?
The going price for the other Absolute titles of the same base price is $45 and change. So an extra few bucks would be nice. (not as nice as $13 for the book though:) )
May 19, 2006 at 4:33 pm
Actually, the Absolute editions top out at 45%discount through Diamond, making the wholesale price $41.25, just over 3 times Amazon’s limited time price. I will be shocked if these aren’t cancelled since I know of store owners who ordered 20+ copies — Amazon would lose quite a bit on this book at that point (and the market would likely be flooded).
May 19, 2006 at 4:40 pm
I actually got the Marvel hardcover of Welcoem Back, Frank for the price of the softcover becuase of a simialr type of screw-up. I actually comapred the ISBN numbers to make sure I could belive what I was seeing. I kind of hope Amazon might make a mistake like that again and doesn’t catch it but I doubt that will happen again.
May 20, 2006 at 8:21 pm
I got this explanation:
“In accordance with our posted policies on pricing, we’re unable to
offer items that have an incorrectly posted price. Therefore, we have
cancelled the item(s) from your order(s). You may view the current status
of your order by clicking the “Your Account” link at the top of our web
site and then clicking “Go” next to “open and recently shipped orders.”
At any given time, despite our best efforts, a small number of the
millions of items on our site may be misspriced. We do, however,
verify prices as part of our shipping procedures. If we discover that
an item’s correct price is higher than our stated price, we will, at
our discretion, either contact you for instructions before shipping or
cancel your order and notify you of such cancellation. This policy is
posted in the Help section and is accessible through numerous other
areas of our web site.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
We value your business and hope that you will give us a chance to
serve you again in the future.
Sincerely,
Customer Service Department
Amazon.com”
Very reasonable. At least I know I have to order the book from my mailorder dealer. Can’t complain too much.
May 20, 2006 at 8:36 pm
That’s all well and good, but they didn’t do either. They didn’t contact or notify me regarding my order — it just disappeared, as though it had never existed.