ARE BOOKSELLERS SUPPRESSING 'UNFIT FOR COMMAND' IN YOUR AREA?

Bookstore Employees LIE About UNFIT FOR COMMAND in Nashville; various FR posts ^ | August 19, 2004 | GretchenM

[GretchenM]

Are you having difficulty finding Unfit for Command locally, for reasons other than the publisher didn't print enough copies?

The thread linked above has numerous examples of book store employees standing in the consumer's way when they try to find this book.

Perhaps if FReepers list their experiences in one place we can see where the bottlenecks are (they seem to be scattered) and take action as appropriate to help the liberals now suppressing sales to see the error of their ways.

mystery1 wrote on the above-linked thread:

I live in San Diego and just called 2 Borders stores. I was told they don't have it in stock. When I asked why they wouldn't have a book in stock that was Number 1 on Amazon... I was told by one, that the book had errors in it and had to be sent back for corrections, and the second store told me that the book was pulled due to slander and they would get a revised book in soon.

I asked to speak to the manager in both cases and were told in both cases that they had just reprimanded the employee who told me that story.

After further conversation I was told by one of the managers that they had been getting repeat calls from someone who was saying the book was slanderous and not to sell it.

I have contacted their corporate offices and relayed my experience with their outlets, in a voice mail and asked for a return call.

I also contacted a Barnes and Noble store and was told they didn't have any and they blamed the publisher. I also spoke to the manager of that store and was told they only ordered 5 copies because they didn't expect that there would be that big demand for it.

Once I informed him that it was number on Amazon 2 weeks ago, and surely all stores would have known it was popular way in advance... he had no reply, except to refer me to the website for B&N where I could find contact info for their corporate offices.

137 posted on 08/19/2004 6:52:36 PM PDT by mystery1

[proudmilitarymrs]

I'll definitely take one! I went to 2 malls today. 5 bookstores total, not one copy! Border's little brown shirts lied like rugs about this book.

Freepmail me where to send my check.

Thanks again!

[toomanygrasshoppers]

I just checked on Ebay and there is one "Unfit For Command" books selling at $34.00 with 8 hours to go for this auction. There are about 20 listed. Some are going for $20.00+. It looks like everyone thinks this will be in short demand or a collectors item. If you have any left over you may want to try to sell them on Ebay. Just a thought. Good Luck, Gramma.

[T. Jefferson]

Dallas Borders: no copies available, one hiding behind the counter. Endless copies of Bill's book, a whole display still set up with dozens of Hill's book, pro Kerry bio books, and about a dozen diff. conspiracy theory books slamming Bush..even some obnoxious cartoon ones. Of course, no Coulter books anywhere.

"We may get some next week." They would sell 100 the first day if they stocked it here.

[Republic Rocker]

SO KALI.....BORDERS in WESTWOOD HAS IT NOW! 8/20/04

[Dog Gone]

No copies at the west Houston Barnes & Noble. Even though it's a very conservative part of town, they only display Bushbashing books, so I wasn't surprised. I just wanted to check.

[Brad’s Gramma]

Uhhhhhh.......I think I've now got, with your two orders, 20 left. And for a whole lot less than Ebay!!!

Sheesh, talk about scalping!

OK, the deal is this...I ordered THIS MORNING on the phone. He said they'd be shipped out Tuesday from the east coast. I'm in CA. He did NOT know the cost of shipping, but it's UPS, nothin' special along the lines of shipping...so I'm thinking a week?

All I want is the $$ for the book, and the shipping both ways. That's it. I think the book is $16.99 due to the bulk rate. Had I had a CC with a whole lotta $$ left, and had I known this would've taken off like it did...I would've ordered 100.

There's always next week. :-)

Hang on, all of you....I've got your name on The List.

And THANKS MUCH!!!

[Brad’s Gramma]

Whoops.

You didn't order one. You told me about Ebay.

Your name is OFF the list! :-)
Sorry 'bout that.

[Annelise]

Trust me, every bookstore in America (except for the few really out-there left-wing ones) is DYING to get their hands on stacks of this book! It's killing them to turn away all these lost sales - especially when Clinton's book didn't turn out to be the huge summer bestseller that they had been counting on. They know they will sell tons of copies as soon as it comes back in stock, just like they've done with all of Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter's books. So if you really want to help get the book out on the shelves, email the publisher, Regnery, and ask them why it's taking so long to get their reprints done! If we don't see this book back in stores before the election, it will be their fault, not the bookstores. Click here to contact them:

http://www.regnery.com/contact/contact.html

[Brad’s Gramma]

First off, welcome to FR. I'm honored that you'd choose me to write to first!

I must, though, disagree with you. If I, a grandmother, could call the publisher directly this morning and be promised the books to be shipped by Tuesday, I seriously doubt that it's a matter of the publisher not having enough to get out to the bookstores.

I HAVE gone to B&N for other books, and while they're nice to me...they are NOT fair and balanced. This isn't a slam per se on B&N, just on the whole censorship thing!

[BykrBayb]

I cannot believe you did that. What were you thinking? Please put my name on one of them. Let me know how much I owe you, and how to pay.

[Brad’s Gramma]

I cannot believe you did that. What were you thinking?

Evil me. LOL! FRmail comin'.

[Annelise]

Well thank you! I am glad to see the posting from Drudge that it looks as though Regnery has plenty more either here or on the way. The only thing to remember though is that MOST bookstores rarely order anything direct from a publisher, they usually use distributors instead - so it will take a while for the books to get out to distributors, then out to the bookstores. B&N & Borders have their own warehouses that they order from, most others use companies like Ingram, who as of today was still completely out of stock. Regnery is a relatively small publisher, so they just don't have the huge distribution capacity that say, Random House does. Regardless, let's just hope they're filling those orders as fast as they can.

[BykrBayb]

Evil? No. But what a hassle for you. Consider that your charity work for the week.

[Brad’s Gramma]

I think they'll do just fine. :-)

Do you have experience in the industry? You know a LOT of good stuff.

[The Iceman Cometh]

Idaho Report

After the news of threats about pulling the book, I decided to head to the local Barnes and Noble and try to find a copy. It's been a while since I have been to that store but was very suprised with the number of Bush bashing books available. I can find out about Bush's lies, about entering Bush Country, some fat guy wanting his country back, something about Haliburton, a bogus Iraqi war, and even some anti-Bush bumper stickers.

Of course, the store did not have the book. I walked over to the customer service counter which was staffed by 4 employees. A man was at the counter for a while and I found out he was back-ordering 4 of the books.

One of the ladies commented that she needed to carry a sign and walk down the main street saying that the store doesn't have the book (oh, and she added that it wasn't because of a liberal bias). Another worker was on the phone with someone wanting the book as well. I also added my name to the list for the back-ordered book.

It was obvious that the book is causing a firestorm. I checked Wal-Mart also and no sign of the book.

[Brad’s Gramma]

Well yes. Hassle it will be. BUT BUT BUUUUUUUUUUTTT!!!!!

OUR VIET NAM VETS DESERVE it! Heck, they deserve FAR MORE than this!!!

[Annelise]

I used to work for a book store, and I have some friends who do now. There are probably 3 anti-Bush books being published for every one pro-Bush book, but the few pro are really good books, whereas there are so many anti ones in the market now that things are just flooded, I don't think customers are really even paying attention to them. The best way to make sure your local bookseller keeps the good ones out in front is to keep buying them there! They can't ignore sales. AND please don't forget - most of your local booksellers take the time to report their sales every week to the NYT, USA Today, Business Week, etc. bestseller lists. A lot of the online booksellers DON'T report their sales. So your "votes" aren't being counted when you order online...

[BykrBayb]

Somebody should bake them some killer chocolate chip cookies.

[leftee]

Purchased book at Hastings in Sierra Vista AZ Monday. Book was right up front.

[Brad’s Gramma]

Hmmmmmm..........wonder who THAT would be?