While the US generally regarded the official release day as a vague guideline and has been selling print editions of Guarded for three weeks, the paperback and hardcover now went live across the globe, too. No, this is not the official release. That follows next month. Consider this a pre-publication event to ensure the print books are ready for the big day. Still, it means you should be able to buy them anywhere. Even order them from your friendly neighborhood bookstore.
Anywhere, with one exception:
Amazon.com doesn’t like my hardcovers. Oh sure, it’s “in stock but it might take 1 or 2 days to dispatch,” which is not entirely accurate. It is not in stock. If it were, a reader wouldn’t have had to cancel her order after ten days because of Amazon’s inability to give her a shipping date. Europe is following in its footsteps. Amazon.co.uk tells you right from the off it will take 4 to 6 weeks to ship. Amazon.de puts the dispatch date at roughly 9 to 12 days after the order is placed.
Note that this only relates to the hardcover, not the paperback that is sold via Amazon’s own Createspace. You can buy the paperback in all its glory, including some totally gorgeous ink drawings, right now. Even from Amazon.
Anyway, back to the hardcover. After a wait of ten days, my reader canceled her order and complained about the delay. Amazon was quickly on the ball and did indeed identify a problem with her order. It had been canceled. I’m not even kidding. Anyway, she ordered via Barnes & Noble, who shipped the hardcover a day later.
Yes, Amazon’s tactics with which they hold books published by their rivals at ransom are well known, but they are after all under no obligation to sell those copies. I accept and respect their right to get the most profitable deals for them. Amazon has done a lot for its readers and for independent authors. Perhaps this is truly meant to ensure they can offer the best prices for their customers. I’m all for that.
But my reader doesn’t care about politics. To her, Amazon has, for the first time, let her down. She cites Amazon’s failing resources for its inability to procure and ship the book she wanted. Think about it, from her point of view, Amazon was not up to a task that B&N made look simple. It’s shattered her view of what Amazon does. You can buy clothing and food and tea and coffee and watches, anything you need and lots of things you don’t, from Amazon.com, but it can’t get you the book you’ve been looking forward to for so long.
By the way, she’s an avid reader and told me that she also ordered three other books on B&N after browsing their website. Most poignant was her assessment of Amazon.com. To paraphrase, “Amazon is an amazing shopping mall, but a bookseller it ain’t.”
I like the shopping mall quality of Amazon. I funnel so much money into them when I buy tea, toys, boardgames, DVDs and yes, books.
What do you think? Was her assessment too harsh? Perhaps you no longer buy hardcovers and therefore don’t care?
