Stay Strong,
Fuzzy122
Posted on 09/01/2004 8:30:18 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
It's a conspiracy!
Barnes & Noble and Borders are intentionally keeping a book critical of John Kerry off the shelves - so say conspiracy theorists who fly with the right wing.
The nation's No. 1 and 2 booksellers have been barraged with complaints about the unavailablity of "Unfit for Command," by John E. O'Neill and Jerome R. Corsi.
The book, released Aug. 15 and authored by former Vietnam War swift boat veterans, flew off shelves during its first week on the market. The publisher, Regnery Publishing, said they didn't anticipate it being so popular and didn't print enough copies.
Its unavailability has been viewed by some as an intentional act to prevent the anti-Kerry book from being distributed during the run-up to the presidential election. The backlash against Barnes & Noble was so strong that the company issued a statement to defend itself.
"The fact is Regnery has not been able to keep up with customer demand for this title," said Steve Riggio, chief executive officer of Barnes & Noble Inc. in the statement. "We've been put in the difficult position of having to defend ourselves over a title we can't seem to get enough copies of from the publisher."
Emily Swan, spokeswoman for Borders Group Inc., the Ann Arbor-based bookseller, said the company has similarly had problems stocking the book and has been flooded with complaints.
"Everybody was having trouble getting stocked," she said. "As soon as it was on the shelves, it was flying right off. We did have customers upset, and there were rumors flying around that we refused to stock it - which is absolutely false."
She said before the stores ran out of stock, it was the week's bestseller.
But the explanation has failed to convince some. Posters on conservative Internet newsgroups like www.freerepublic.com have urged boycotts against Barnes & Noble, claiming anti-Bush bias.
"I have a Barnes & Noble around the corner from me, and I can guarantee you that all of the Bush-bashing books lining the shelves got put on the shelves most-ricky-tick," someone known as "Doc" H wrote in a post titled "Boycott Barnes & Noble."
Jeff Carneal, CEO of the conservative book publisher Regnery, said the book is in its 10th printing with more than 650,000 copies in print or on order.
"Despite what some customers may believe, it isn't the stores' fault that supplies are scarce. I wish I could blame it on a vast left-wing conspiracy," said Carneal in a statement, "but I just can't. The book's record-setting demand just couldn't have been anticipated by the stores or by us."
Swan said the complaints come from both ends of the political spectrum when it comes to political titles. And they are especially intense during the presidential election season.
"We are just trying to put out what's hot," she said, explaining the company's philosophy on carrying titles. "We have very conservative books as well as very liberal books."
In fact, "My Life," former President Bill Clinton's presidential memoir, has been one of this year's biggest sellers for both Borders and Barnes & Noble. Both companies attributed better-than-expected second-quarter sales to the book's popularity.
Swan said the company brings in both conservative and liberal authors to do book signings at its stores and puts out titles and lets the readers decide what's worth reading.
"Our basic statement is that all of our customers have the right to read, listen and watch what they want," she said.
For both Borders and Barnes & Noble, the top five selling book titles in 2004 alternate between conservative-leaning and liberal-leaning authors.
Swan said the best-sellers tend to follow the political mood of the nation. In 2004, there are more left-leaning titles, led by former White House terrorism adviser Richard Clarke's book "Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror."
But 2003 had more titles supporting conservative philosophies, such as Bill O'Reilly's "Who's Looking Out For You?"
Heh. Good story. :) I mean, maybe I'm just not seeing it. My local B.Daltons even had a copy of MICHAEL MOORE IS A STUPID WHITE MAN out on its front table.
But I do find it disheartening. I looked for this book yesterday at 3 stores (B&N, Borders, and a small local store). None had it in stock. All three had enormous displays of books making fun of Bush. I had no idea there was such a mini-industry of Bush bashing books.
My conclusion: Those books are in the store because they are not being read. 'Unfit for Command'is not in the stores because everyone wants it.
As Yogi berra said: "No one goes to that restaurant anymore -- its too crowded."
Some liberal clerks either were unaware or deliberately deceitful when they told customers that it was not available because of "all the lies" in the book, necessitating a reprint.
The home office may not know what is going on at the brick and mortars but it did happen (and I doubt many if any of the clerks were fired over it). Also Amazon and Barnes & Noble's websites were hacked but the insulting pages remained online for many hours.
The bookstores could have shown better judgment with this book.
Additionally libraries (such as the Houston Public Library) still are not stocking this book despite its topping the New York Times' bestsellers list. There are 8 copies among the separate Harris County library system all either out, in transit, or on hold.
Stay Strong,
Fuzzy122
I think that's true. Mine is finally in the mail. At first, I couldn't find it at Costco but yesterday I saw that they had copies. I looked through it and noticed that two colors of papers were used in printing. Probably most people wouldn't have noticed it but I used to buy printing and it jumped out at me. I'd never noticed a book like that. I think that in order to meet demand, they must have cobbled together paper as best as they could and had to go with slightly different shades. Good sign.
I found it in the magazine/gift shop at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport (Terminal 4 concourse c) They had about 20 copies! imagine my surprise.
3 or 4 people on the plane asked me where I got it,it is certainly causing a stir.
Excellent point. While I believe there is no real conspiracy by bookstores to hide the book from buyers, stores can't hardly complain - people are justifiably skeptical considering stores have been hiding conservative books within their own selling space for YEARS. B&N et al would do well to think about that for half a minute, and again in the future when new conservative books come out.
My local B&N says they got a shipment of maybe 45 books, total. I can't call them on it without facts stating otherwise! So which is it? Only Regnery can explain.
If the bookstores could get their hands on the book they'd be selling it.
The individual store managers might be pissy in how they display a conservative book (not at all) versus a liberal book (in the front window), but if you go in and ask for a book, they will sell you anything they have in stock.
It's a profit game, people. They like to make money more than push their agenda.
When was the last #1 best seller that those two bookstores couldn't find enough to put in stock?
Try buying Unfit for command at an airport bookstore.
My lie(s)f, is so overstocked as to be ridiculous. Who wants to bet some accounting trick has been used to presell the book via an expesive donor and then repay the donor with actual sales of the book.
A book that languishes on the shelves is not popular.
From Drudge; Maureen Dowd probably not happy about this!
UNFIT FOR COMMAND' STAYS #1 BOOK IN NATION WITH 70,011 SCANNED FOR WEEK [133,221 SINCE RELEASE]... OVER FRANKS 'AMERICAN SOLDIER' 27,125 SOLD [166,333 TOTAL] ... OVER CLINTON 'MY LIFE' 15,583 [1,058,232]... OVER NYT MAUREEN DOWN 15,380 SOLD FOR WEEK [64,688 TOTAL]... OVER JAMESON 'MAKE LOVE LIKE PORN STAR' 7,088 FOR WEEK... DEVELOPING...
I bought a 7th edition since that one has "New York Times Bestseller" printed on the jacket.
The book is 30% off since it is a bestseller.
They had one copy at the B&N in Layton, Utah last weekend. It was displayed along with a pretty evenly divided mixed bag of political books on a table near the front. I of course did my FReeperly duty and did some selective stacking and arranging :-)
My copy is on back-order from Amazon. I got an email the other day offering to allow me to cancel my order, but I let it stand. I can wait another week I guess!
Here's a thought:
Video and document one of us going into a store, looking for a book, and finding it in the, "Cookbook" section turned backwards in the shelf. Then, send the video(s) to this reporter with a note reading, "These are facts, not claims."
Intersting fact..
this book has 1606 customer reviews on Amazon.com. More than both the clinton's books combined!
Is this the most reviewed book of all time?
There are a handful of copies available at Borders Books on L Street, between 18th and 19th in DC. While you're down there, go get a Guinness at Mackey's Pub across the street.
When was the last #1 best seller that those two bookstores couldn't find enough to put in stock?
Howard Stern’s first book sold out its initial printing and was very difficult to find for a few weeks while they printed more. It doesn’t happen often, but publishers are sometimes caught in a big miscalculation on a book’s initial demand.
Although inconvenient and irritating, the publishers have no choice but to be happy about it.
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