Bargain Alert!
Posted: May 14th, 2008 | Filed under: Baseball | 32 Comments »
We’re going to try and put a blog post tonight off the Royals-Tigers game. Lots to talk about in baseball. Chipper’s .400 run. Lance Berkman’s absurd streak. Justin Verlander’s collapse. My Tampa Bay Rays. The correct pronunciation of Luke Hochevar. Lots of stuff.
In the meantime though, I happened to go to Amazon and I noticed something.
They are selling the hardcover version of my book, The Soul of Baseball, for $5.99.
That’s $5.99.
Did I mention that it’s $5.99.
Now, I’m not really quite sure how to feel about this. On the one hand, I don’t think any author likes seeing their book in the bargain bin next to all those books like “1001 Racist Jokes” and “Cats Are People Too”* and all that. On the other hand, you know, well, no, there is no other hand. They are selling my book for $5.99 now. I mean, uh, ouch.
*I think there are three very small but brilliant lines from the amazing “Annie Hall” that you can use often in every day life. They are:
1. When she badly parallel parks: “That’s OK, we can walk to the curb from here.”
2. When she starts crying after he kills the spider: “What did you want me to do, capture him and rehabilitate him?”
3. In the bookstore: “I’m going to buy you these books, I think, because I think you should read them, you know, instead of that cat book.”
So, frankly, here’s what you have to do. You have to buy the book now. You have to buy lots and lots of copies. You are getting sleepy. Come on! This is our chance to push the book into the Top 100 on Amazon. I mean, seriously, it’s FIVE DOLLARS AND NINETY NINE CENTS. There are GREETING CARDS more expensive than that. That’s not a discount … that’s a yard sale price.*
*Have you ever seen that great Jake Johannsen bit about yard sales. He talks about how you really don’t have much negotiating room when you set a price. You price a shirt for $1, and the guy only offers you a quarter, you’re pretty much stuck. You have to say something like, “Hey, listen, you either give me a dollar for it now … or you fish it out of the trash later.” … That really hits home for me. My grandfather was the king of yard sales. He would offer a quarter for anything. I mean, ANYTHING. He’d be like, “This thing is a piece of junk. It’s not worth anything. Look at this, it’s broken. I wouldn’t take this if you gave it to me for free. But, I’m here, I’ll give you a quarter for it.” And someone would say, “Um, sir, that’s my car.”
You can buy four copies for the regular marked price of one. You can give books to your family, to neighbors, to friends, to that hot girl or hot guy you’ve been eyeing at the office, to the person who mows your lawn. You can just put it on your desk and start conversation with it:
Mr. Wilson: “Um, did you finish the McKinley Report yet?”
You: “Hey, boss, did you know that this book won the Casey Award for best baseball book of 2007.”
Mr. Wilson: “You didn’t finish the report, did you?”
You: “Well, uh, no, but hey, you know Buck O’Neil was the first African American coach in baseball history?”
Mr. Wilson: “No didn’t know that.”
You: “It’s true.”
Mr. Wilson: “Great. You’re fired.”
You: “Um … I got you a copy.”
We can do it. Top 100. We can make it happen. I probably won’t make a dime off it because, I mean, they’re selling the book for $5.99. But we can make history here, people!
And no, this will not absolve you of your duty to buy The Machine next year. But that is next year.
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I have to admit that that is probably the hardest I’ve laughed during a shameless plugging of something in my whole life.
Two of the three shipping options cost more than the price of the book.
I sold books for years and once the paperback comes out the hardcover price is always slashed 50-75%. I bought mine months ago but I just celebrated my first wedding anniversary so my wife might want one.
I bought one full priced, at a bookstore. Boy, don’t I feel like an asshole now!
Mr. Posnanski, would you please ask Pat Jordan to state his opinion of Rick Reilly?
No worries, Joe. It’s selling for $10.91 in Canada: http://www.amazon.ca/Soul-Baseball-Through-ONeils-America/dp/0060854049/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210811406&sr=8-1
And since the Cdn buck is at par with the U.S., that’s like…umm…almost $11 U.S.
Funny – I post Amazon has the book really, really cheap in Joe’s “I really didn’t need that stew” post and then Joe posts this. I want my copied autographed.
And while not an Amazon shrill – join Prime. Best $90 you’ll spend. I get almost everything with free 2 day shipping. Last year, I bought a $900 HD video camera and $500 of flatware. The sales tax alone would have been $98. And don’t get me started on DVDs, video games and christmas presents that I had shipped to me within 2 days. Freakin awesome.
The Soul of Baseball cost me $6 and will be in my bathroom by Friday – never had to leave the house.
Done
I actually have a copy of it already, but I’m willing to trade it to whomever hasn’t read it yet for 1 gallon of unleaded gas. Any takers?
Okay I’ll pay the shipping too.
JUST BOUGHT IT!
Thanks for the tip. It’s the first time I’m glad I waited to buy a book in a while. As the saying goes, “Procrastinators Unite….tomorrow”
Will, maybe I can get a copy for your car for our birthday so you can read while driving to work!
I bought the book about 6 months ago off Amazon, so that means I actually paid like 2 bucks more for it then……I never get in on the deals!!
Seriously though, it’s a terrific book, I think they should make it required reading for all High School seniors……
The good news (I think — I don’t actually know crap about publishing) is that people will buy the new copies, as opposed to the used or remainder ones.
Of course, those just jumped up to $6, too, so what the hell do I know.
OK, OK- I bought the book. Somebody posted in the ‘Stew’ comments I think, that Joe should just put a paypal button on his blog, so that we could pay for the privilege to read. That is damn right.
I have Amazon Prime, so my total cost with shipping (no tax) is $5.99, so I would be a total jerk* if I didn’t do this. Ordered!
*I might still be a total jerk, but it’s not for this reason. It’s one of those necessary vs. sufficient things, I think, though I slept through that class.
Man In Black: That was me who suggested we put up a PayPal link for Joe. I think it’s the least we can do. I mean, seriously, I come to this blog before any other site on the net. I LIVE for the JoeBlog. And now, as the amount of content he provides is reaching an all-time high, I’m feeling an overwhelming amount of guilt.
It’s about time he gets some monetary benefits from all of us. Joe, what do you think? Can we contribute if we’d like?!
I bought not one, but TWO hardcovers at full price when they first came out (pre-ordered even, I think).
But they’re definitely worth it. I’m giving one to a friend for a graduation gift. Seriously, buy the book. It’s the one book you’ll read all summer (or all year)
P.S. This is Mr. Posnanski.
It was reading the book that led to my finding this blog, rather than the other way around. It seems I’m in the minority on that.
But I’ll buy the Machine book, I promise.
I love your blog, Joe, and I will read your book on the Big Red Machine, but I can’t bring myself to buy this volume. Buck O’Neil and his stories just don’t interest me that much.
Joe is a graduate of the Bob Feller School of Incessant Marketing.
This reminds me of that bit in the Critic when Jay Sherman shows off his animatronic book-selling display that repeatedly (and annoyingly) says “Buy My Book! Buy My Book! BUY MY BOOK!” over and over.
Joe gives me good blog posts for free so I can tolerate some (very funny) self plugging.
Purchased! I’ve been meaning to get a copy anyway, so this is the perfect opportunity.
> The sales tax alone would have been $98.
“Would have been?” Although Amazon is not required to collect the tax, you’re still legally required to pay it. You could have done this when you filed your 2007 tax return.
Thanks for letting us know about the sale. Just bought one. Keep up the good work. I’m friends with the sports editor in Roanoke, VA and tried to convince him to hire you away from KC. He didn’t think he could afford you.
ChuckO,
Maybe I’m biased because I live in Kansas City and had met Buck on a couple of occasions, but if nothing else, “Soul of Baseball” is a book written by a GREAT writer and story teller about a GREAT man and story teller.
How can you say that doesn’t at least sound interesting for 6 bucks? Buck wasn’t just an old, black baseball player he was a wonderful man who grew up with hatred directed at him yet showed love and caring for all people and especially the game he loved.
The problem with the bargain books on amazon.com is that I always end up buying another $20 worth of books to get the free shipping.
On that note, the paperback version of Crazy ‘08 is available for about $10.
I stupidly bought the book months ago for like 16 bucks. Dang.
I was at a library book sale and overhead a woman haggling with the staff, “I’d buy this book for a quarter, but it’s not worth 50 cents.” They just stared at her.
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I said I bought the book but it bounced back as not available from the seller. Not sure what happened. Is anyone able to get this price from Amazon now?
The funniest line in the movie is Woody Allen complimenting Granny Hall’s ham.
“It’s a dynamite ham.”
It’s not exactly a line but the funniest part of the movie is where they are standing in line and get Marshall McLuhin (sp?) to tell someone else in line that he has no idea what he is talking about.
EXCERPT FROM FILM ANNIE HALL PLAYS]
MAN: It’s the influence of television. Now, now Marshall McLuhan deals with it in terms of it being a, a high– high intensity, you understand? A hot medium–
WOODY ALLEN: What I wouldn’t give for a large sock with horse manure in it.
MAN: — as opposed to the truth which he [sees as the] media or–
WOODY ALLEN: What can you do when you get stuck on a movie line with a guy like this behind you?
MAN: Now, Marshall McLuhan–
WOODY ALLEN: You don’t know anything about Marshall McLuhan’s work–
MAN: Really? Really? I happen to teach a class at Columbia called TV, Media and Culture, so I think that my insights into Mr. McLuhan, well, have a great deal of validity.
WOODY ALLEN: Oh, do you?
MAN: Yeah.
WOODY ALLEN: Oh, that’s funny, because I happen to have Mr. McLuhan right here. Come over here for a second?
MAN: Oh–
WOODY ALLEN: Tell him.
MARSHALL McLUHAN: — I heard, I heard what you were saying. You, you know nothing of my work. How you ever got to teach a course in anything is totally amazing.
WOODY ALLEN: Boy, if life were only like this.
You can still buy the book from amazon.co.uk, and it’ll only cost you 11 UK pounds (or about $22). What a gyp… ;(
Why do books even get sold as hardcover? I’ve read thousands of books in my life, and only TWO hardcovers. They’re not great for transporting, and they’re usually way bigger than the paperback.
I bought your book, everybody should, but the paperback is the way to go!
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