paulgranger Posted 6 February , 2014 Share Posted 6 February , 2014 I saw an interesting Twitter exchange last night. Someone I follow was very pleased to have found John Lewis-Stempel's 'The War Behind The Wire' , only just published, on sale at The Works for £4.99. There was some back and forth between other Tweeters, including the author, who was surprised at the news. He came back into the conversation having spoken to the publisher to advise that the book shouldn't have been supplied to The Works, and all copies they had were being withdrawn toot sweet, and thanks for bringing this to his attention. So, if you find a desirable newly published book in your local discount book emporium, at an unbelievably low price, grab it quick, as it probably shouldn't be there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest exuser1 Posted 6 February , 2014 Share Posted 6 February , 2014 What a rotter! 2 weeks ago The Great War Peter Hart £6.99 ! bargin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffsyeoman Posted 7 February , 2014 Share Posted 7 February , 2014 The lesson? Don't Tweet bargains!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard_Lewis Posted 7 February , 2014 Share Posted 7 February , 2014 Too late...its on the shelf here at £4.99! Bernard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmckay395 Posted 8 February , 2014 Share Posted 8 February , 2014 I picked up a copy of this too. I couldn't believe it when I saw it, I thought it was too good to be true so I snapped it up quick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QSAMIKE Posted 8 February , 2014 Share Posted 8 February , 2014 (edited) Was in a 2nd hand store and was able to pick up a collection of Pre-WW1 and WW1 Official Regimental histories for less than 5 Pounds each...... M. Edited 8 February , 2014 by QSAMIKE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug504 Posted 8 February , 2014 Share Posted 8 February , 2014 John Lewis-Stempel's 'The War Behind The Wire', still for sale in "The Works", Metro centre Gateshead, got a copy today for £4.99, they had approx a dozen copies on the shelves if you're in the area. Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granton Chaz Posted 8 February , 2014 Share Posted 8 February , 2014 Got a copy today from the works myself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard_Lewis Posted 8 February , 2014 Share Posted 8 February , 2014 The paperback of 'Swansea Pals' was remaindered after being in print for about 7 years. The publisher told me it was happening and I was OK with it. In fact I'm not sure if I had any contractual power to stop it...but as I saw it as a natural progression I didn't bother checking. Bernard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulgranger Posted 8 February , 2014 Author Share Posted 8 February , 2014 Remaindering I understand, but it's got to be pretty galling if your newly published book ends up in the bargain bin just after it gets to the shops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ridgus Posted 9 February , 2014 Share Posted 9 February , 2014 I saw an interesting Twitter exchange last night. Someone I follow was very pleased to have found John Lewis-Stempel's 'The War Behind The Wire' , only just published, on sale at The Works for £4.99. There was some back and forth between other Tweeters, including the author, who was surprised at the news. He came back into the conversation having spoken to the publisher to advise that the book shouldn't have been supplied to The Works, and all copies they had were being withdrawn toot sweet, and thanks for bringing this to his attention. So, if you find a desirable newly published book in your local discount book emporium, at an unbelievably low price, grab it quick, as it probably shouldn't be there. Well I'm glad to say the message from Works HQ had not reached the Reading branch so £4.99 it was. At this rate the book might make the best seller lists! David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Phillips Posted 9 February , 2014 Share Posted 9 February , 2014 Checked out my local Works - no luck! Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest exuser1 Posted 9 February , 2014 Share Posted 9 February , 2014 And as would expect not on Works web site ,over uk on Wenesday so will try Chatham, Saul Davids bookmstill there though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fellop Posted 9 February , 2014 Share Posted 9 February , 2014 I picked up a copy of this book plus a signed copy of Paxman’s Great Britain’s Great War from Waterstones in Kendal last week. Total price for the two was £45. However having a Waterstones loyalty card that racks up points with each purchase plus two full stamped cards from various purchases over the last year that equate to a £10 book or gift voucher each the total price I actually paid was £4.50. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandy hall Posted 9 February , 2014 Share Posted 9 February , 2014 Couldn't find it, in the Bognor Regis branch this morning. Mandy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 9 February , 2014 Share Posted 9 February , 2014 My nearest Works is in Worcester and surrounded by flood waters at the moment if the BBC local news channel reporters are to be believed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 10 February , 2014 Share Posted 10 February , 2014 It wasn't in the one in Hereford this morning but Saul David's 100 days to Victory was (which despite the title is not specifically about the 100 Days) was and down from £20 to under £5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffsyeoman Posted 11 February , 2014 Share Posted 11 February , 2014 Not present in The Works, Lewisham London SE13 this afternoon - but Saul David's 100 Days has reappeared at £6.99 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaner13 Posted 12 February , 2014 Share Posted 12 February , 2014 Withdrawn from sale at meadowhall,sheffield.Found this out yesterday after I took a copy from the shelf and it came up on the till. The staff then removed all copies from the front display shelf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aengland Posted 12 February , 2014 Share Posted 12 February , 2014 Got my reduced price copy in Cambridge on Sunday...... plenty of other copies there when I left the shop! Now I just have to get it in the house without it being noticed..... not an easy task! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 12 February , 2014 Share Posted 12 February , 2014 All of this points to a form of retail price maintenance which I thought was illegal under competition laws these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Broomfield Posted 12 February , 2014 Share Posted 12 February , 2014 My nearest Works is in Worcester and surrounded by flood waters at the moment if the BBC local news channel reporters are to be believed Well, Mr Hart's chapter on Jutland should be quite realistic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Phillips Posted 12 February , 2014 Share Posted 12 February , 2014 Now I just have to get it in the house without it being noticed..... not an easy task! I gave up being sneaky when my first shelf of books collapsed - my wife noticed just a little! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seaJane Posted 12 February , 2014 Share Posted 12 February , 2014 Please bear in mind that when copies are supplied to places like The Works and sold cheap the author gets no royalties. It's all well and good when the books have been out for a while and would not otherwise sell, but what has happened - as far as I can understand, and given the possibility that I may be wrong - is that the author has effectively been defrauded. It's a hard life, writing, and one of the reasons that I never gave up the day job is that people often don't seem to understand that writers have to earn money somehow: we certainly don't get paid for the hours we put in: if we are lucky we get 10% of a book's retail price. Nobody in any other job would tolerate these appallingly low returns for hours and hours of work. And Samuel Johnson said, "Nobody but a blockhead ever wrote except for money": so I can only suppose ... [QED] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 12 February , 2014 Share Posted 12 February , 2014 Please bear in mind that when copies are supplied to places like The Works and sold cheap the author gets no royalties. It's all well and good when the books have been out for a while and would not otherwise sell, but what has happened - as far as I can understand, and given the possibility that I may be wrong - is that the author has effectively been defrauded. It's a hard life, writing, and one of the reasons that I never gave up the day job is that people often don't seem to understand that writers have to earn money somehow: we certainly don't get paid for the hours we put in: if we are lucky we get 10% of a book's retail price. Nobody in any other job would tolerate these appallingly low returns for hours and hours of work. And Samuel Johnson said, "Nobody but a blockhead ever wrote except for money": so I can only suppose ... [QED] Presumably the publisher supplied them to The Works on agreed terms. Under competition rules a wholesaler, like a publisher, has no legal right to dictate the price that the retailer sells the product on at he makes his money out of the difference between his costs and the price paid to him by the retailer (simple Adam Smith economics) and part of his cost is the commission that he has agreed to pay the author Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now