Scattered she/her Posted January 12, 2013 Report Share Posted January 12, 2013 My dad recently decided he wanted to start reading the Alcatraz books, but when trying to purchase them, he says he can't find Alcatraz book 3 for less than $150. Even on Amazon it's going for $155, used. Does anyone know why this is? I'm assuming it has to do with the scurfuffle with Scholastic, but figured you guys would be the ones to know. Thanks! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NutiketAiel he/him Posted January 12, 2013 Report Share Posted January 12, 2013 Wow... I just did some searching, too, and I can't find a decent price, either. Cheapest I can find is $99.95 on Alibris: Maybe it has something to do with Brandon buying the rights back, as you suggest, but I'm not sure why that would affect just one book, though... Of course, I'm not really an expert in the field. Maybe they didn't print enough of book 3, and with the rights changing hands the booksellers are thinking there won't be any more printed editions for a while? Of course, it is worth the price. I mean, I already have a copy, but if I didn't I would totally pay that price to own such an awesome book. Hmmmmm... it looks like Evil Librarians and Scrivener's Bones are both available as reprint editions, but Knights of Crystallia and Shattered Lens are only available as first editions, if I'm reading these right... OK, theory. Knights of Crystallia came out just after Brandon started getting more widely known. Perhaps they didn't print enough of that book because some pessimist at Scholastic didn't think it would sell well. They corrected the problem by printing plenty of the Shattered Lens, and with reprints of the first two books, but they didn't do a reprint of Knights of Crystallia because of the "scurfuffle," as you put it. So, the book is artificially scarce. That's my theory, anyway. Hm. Does this count as my first Seventeenth Shard theory? I'm not sure how I feel about that... maybe I can tie this theory in with Realmatic Theory somehow... Anyway, this is the "Accidental Scarcity of Knights of Crystallia Theory." -Jim 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterAhlstrom he/him Posted January 12, 2013 Report Share Posted January 12, 2013 Call the Orem Barnes & Noble and see if they have any copies left. They did last month. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Monstrosity Posted January 12, 2013 Report Share Posted January 12, 2013 (edited) Bookfinder.com is your best bet. It's what I use for textbooks - it searches *everywhere*, and includes shipping in the price comparisons. Looks like you can get it from the UK new, hardcover, for the equivalent of $20.48 USD Or new from Canada for 24 USD Edited January 12, 2013 by Phantom Monstrosity 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted January 12, 2013 Report Share Posted January 12, 2013 The Librarians have cottoned on and are making the books harder to get. :c 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe ST he/him Posted January 12, 2013 Report Share Posted January 12, 2013 Yeah, you should be able to get the collection from the UK for cheaper than that XD 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scattered she/her Posted January 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 Thanks everyone!!!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyman he/him Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 I once ran into a similar problem with another book. The claim I heard was that, because they are often not active sales, there is some quirk in the complex price-setting system which irrationally "bids up" the price if no people intervene. Certainly prices like that sound like a bug to me, so take it for what it is worth. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlairJ he/him Posted February 23, 2013 Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 I know I am a little bit late to this, but you can also listen to the Alcatraz books on Audible. It is a monthly fee but cheaper than the book prices that I am finding. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yados Posted February 24, 2013 Report Share Posted February 24, 2013 you can also buy the uk omnibus for about $20 on amazon if you find a good seller. that's what I did and it came this evening. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windrunner he/him Posted February 24, 2013 Report Share Posted February 24, 2013 Honestly, I'm surprised that didn't turn up in your magic bookshop like a year ago. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlairJ he/him Posted March 4, 2013 Report Share Posted March 4, 2013 Actually found the whole series at the library this week so my wife and I are going through them now. We will buy them when we can find them at a decent price. The first book is quite enjoyable so far. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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