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Sunday, March 7, 2010

Books / Nerd Amazon's Big Funnybook Glitch

Posted by Paul Constant on Sun, Mar 7, 2010 at 11:08 AM

Comics gossip site Bleeding Cool reported this morning that a bunch of huge graphic novels on Amazon suddenly started selling for $14.99. Amazon's bestseller list is now loaded with 800-to-1000-page full-color comics that retail for over a hundred dollars (and because the $14.99 comics made it to the bestseller list, they are automatically discounted again, to $8.24.) If they actually follow through with these prices, Amazon will be losing a lot of money on each of these books.

Bleeding Cool had a followup report, sending people to various Omnibuses of comics that readers discovered. And they just posted that it's a glitch:

Sorry folks.

I have it on good authority from Diamond Book Distributors that the current state of Amazon.com — where most of the books in the Top 100 are now comics books, oversized graphic novels priced at $8.34 and $14.99 no matter what the original price (sometimes up to $125) — is a glitch.

And it’s being fixed.

In all likelihood if your order is being processed, then you’re getting those books at that price and someone will probably have to eat the difference. If not, expect to get a firm but polite email from Amazon explaining that you won’t be getting these books at the price you ordered them at — though you are welcome to purchase them at the usual discount rate.

At the moment of this writing, Amazon's bestseller list is still full of obscenely cheap funnybooks.

UPDATE: As of 1:34 pm, the prices are back to normal (in the sixty dollar range.) We'll see what Amazon does now.

Comments (9) RSS

Oldest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment

Wouldn't it be more accurate to describe the normal prices as obscenely overpriced and $8.99 as being, well, still kind of steep, but better than having to cough up the price of a college textbook that would carry you all the way through Calculus I, II and III.

Posted by elenchos on March 7, 2010 at 11:20 AM

@elenchos: Granted, $125 is a whole lot, but I don't think $8.99 is "still kind of steep" for an oversized 1000-page comic book. Where do you buy your books?

Posted by Paul Constant

on March 7, 2010 at 11:26 AM

@1&2, plus many of them are hardbound. I'm gonna buy the X-Men Omnibus at a 90% discount and see what happens.

Posted by Andy on March 7, 2010 at 11:44 AM

Eek! I just bought one for nine dollars new, and see the alternative "3 used from $132.68." If it flies I hope this comes out of Bezos' pocket and not some ink-stained wretch's. I feel dirty but excited, which is the best way to feel on a Sunday. Thanks, Paul!

Posted by gloomy gus on March 7, 2010 at 11:54 AM

1, a tri-level college textbook for $125!? I just got a concussion falling out of my chair laughing.

Posted by olive on March 7, 2010 at 12:07 PM

Thanks for the heads up Paul. I placed an order for two of them, now I play the waiting game to see if they actually give them to me for that price.

Posted by Jeff Kirby on March 7, 2010 at 12:19 PM

btw, AMZN's standard language:

"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."

Posted by stinkbug on March 7, 2010 at 12:41 PM

@5

I'm old, OK? Have a little respect. Or at least pity.

Posted by elenchos on March 7, 2010 at 1:15 PM

I hopped on this - thanks for the heads up, Paul. I can't really even afford the $40 I just threw down, but hot damn. If I actually get 'em at this price, I won't regret it.

Posted by murray chatauqua on March 7, 2010 at 3:16 PM