Crown Offers Refund to Disappointed Decision Points "Limited" Edition Buyers

by Stephen J. Gertz

We received this note from one of our readers:

I had spoken with David Drake earlier today after seeing the number 2,374 in my copy of the Bush book.  I followed up with an email asking Drake how he planned to make things right for customers who were deceived by the outsize print run of the signed, limited edition.  His response – pasted below – is that anyone who desires can have a complete refund (including shipping costs).

Tim

Dear Tim,

We understand and respect your disappointment. As I mentioned when we spoke earlier today, while we originally planned on a print run of 1,000 copies, in response to enormous demand from consumers the one printing of the limited edition was subsequently increased to 4,500 copies.

We regret that we did not announce this decision at the time it was made. It was a mistake on our part, and one for which we sincerely apologize. If you believe that the book you purchased no longer has value for you, we will refund your purchase amount in full and cover your shipping costs for returning the book.

We will communicate this policy to other customers who have purchased the limited edition and also notify our retail partners that carry the limited edition.

Sincerely,
David Drake
Sr. VP, Exec. Director of Publicity
The Crown Publishing Group

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A refreshingly forthright and responsible response. Yet limited in the truest sense: keep the book and swallow the price or return it, take it or leave it. The limited edition does have genuine value to those  who bought it for patriotic, political, and sentimental reasons, out of respect, or even as a valued souvenir, something special - at 4,500 copies that  is what this edition should have been marketed as, a Souvenir Edition - and they don't want to return it for a refund, even though at 4,500 copies the limited edition is not quite as materially precious as originally advertised. 

Some consideration should be given to folks who bought it for all those reasons but also believed that $350 was not an unreasonable price to pay for one of only a thousand copies. A rebate  might be another, more equitable option to make things right for those who feel that $350 was a lot to pay for one of 4,500 copies and wish they'd known sooner about the 450% increase over the originally announced print run.

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Our coverage of this issue began with

Decision Points Limited Editiion is a Bogus Collectible,

followed by

It's Official: Decision Points "Limited" Edition is a Bad Joke.

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12/04/2010 IMPORTANT UPDATE: We have received a note from David Drake of Crown Publishing with new information.

"We received updated information very late on Friday that the print run size for the limited edition of Decision Points was 4,700 copies, rather than 4,500 copies.

"Regrettably, this information came after we had already sent a communication to customers in which we notified them of our error in not having communicated a larger print run and in which we offered a full refund for purchase price, plus shipping costs.

"I can confirm that 4,700 copies is the full extent of the limited edition print run as well as that there will be no additional printings. I can also confirm that each and every copy of the limited edition run was personally signed by President Bush and that no autopen or surrogates were used. 

"President Bush was not informed that the print run size had been increased without notification to customers, and Crown Publishers takes full responsibility.


Sincerely,


David Drake"

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12/16/2010 UPDATE: Legal Action Begins Against Crown/Decision Points Limited Edition.

It's Official: Decision Points "Limited" Edition a Bad Joke

by Stephen J. Gertz

Booktryst's controversial report about the limited edition of former President George W. Bush's new book, Decision Points, has been vindicated by new facts that have emerged since its original publication.

The "limitation" is to a staggering 4,500 copies, a number so large that the edition has lost all credibility as a collectible and claim to being special.

In a note to Ryan, one of our readers, David Drake, Sr. VP, Exec. Director of Publicity, The Crown Publishing Group, wrote:

"Crown initially planned a print run of 1,000 copies of the limited edition, but subsequently raised the print run to a total of 4,500 copies in order not to disappoint consumers. There will be no additional printings of the limited edition. I can assure you that it is was never our intention to mislead consumers or collectors. In April of this year, we announced that a print run of 1,000 copies was planned, but there were a great number of consumers who expressed disappointment at not being able to purchase a copy and we sought to accommodate them." 

Let me assure everyone that a print run of 4,500 is not a "limited edition." It is, in reality,  close to the average print run for any new, trade (standard) edition book by a non-celebrity. If there was no intention to mislead consumers or collectors why didn't the publisher state the reality on its website? 

And the lack of a  limitation statement in the book declaring the number of copies in the edition is  a huge caveat emptor/collector. A truly collectible limited edition book  always states the number of copies printed.

Once again, this is not a viable book from a collecting point of view. It will never become rare. And it is unlikely to ever appreciate in value; indeed, with 4,500 copies in circulation the aftermarket for the book will likely declne. $350 for the limited edition? Buyers are being stiffed. It harkens back to the days when a limited edition of a clandestinely published book was limited only by the number of copies the publisher could sell. It was a racket.

By not wanting to "disappoint consumers" Crown has betrayed them. They've sullied the rare book collectibles market with this nonsense, attracting naive or budding collectors who are now, once burned, likely  wary of book collecting as a hobby. By marketing it as a "collectible," over-selling it without any update to their original announcement, and omitting any mention of the limitation number  on the limitation page (because the limitation leaves were pre-printed, signed by President Bush, and then inserted into the already-bound book), the publisher has doomed it as a collectible; it will never have any appreciable market value.  

Nice work, Crown. You've won Booktryst's 1st Annual Travesty Collectible Book Award.
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N.B.: Once again, I remind readers that we have confined our commentary strictly to the book as a collectible and not to politics in any way. If you've bought the limited edition because it has meaning to you, you've not done wrong; it is why people collect books and we encourage that. But in the future, sooner or later, copies in very fine (mint) condition of the limited edition of Decision Points will be selling for $75, tops. There are just too many of them.

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12/03/2010 UPDATE: Crown Offers Refund to Disappointed Decision Points "Limited" Edition Buyers. 

12/16/2010 UPDATE: Legal Action Begins Against Crown/Decision Points Limited Edition.

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"Decision Points" Limited Edition is a Bogus Collectible

by Stephen J. Gertz

 

A  deluxe, signed limited edition of former President George W. Bush's new book, Decision Points, will be released on November 30, 2010. The retail price is $350.

From Random House, its publisher:

"The limited, deluxe edition of Decision Points is certain to be a collector’s item and a highly sought after piece of Presidential history.
 


"Each copy will be hand signed by President Bush. The book itself will be printed on high-quality, acid-free paper and bound in a full cloth case with foil stamping. In addition, the book will have a ribbon marker and a special color photo frontispiece not found in the regular hardcover edition of Decision Points. Each book is individually hand numbered, packed into slipcases, and shrink-wrapped."

Book collectors may be asking themselves, How many copies is the limited edition limited to? 250? 500? 750? 1000? 2000? What? A search of the Random House website, Amazon, etc. came up empty. Inquiries to Random House have not been answered. But a notice on Random House's website today says that "Due to overwhelming demand, this  [limited edition] is no longer available for pre-order on Random House.com. Please contact a local retailer."

I smell a large limited edition. It's probably not the case here but back in the day of clandestine literature in the U.S. it was not unusual for a limited edition to be limited only by the number of copies the publisher could print.

Should you not be able to snag a copy of the limited edition, you can request an Autographed Bookplate that  you can slip into your copy of the standard, trade edition.

"We regret that books mailed to President George W. Bush cannot be returned to you. Due to shipping costs and logistical concerns, it is not possible for President Bush to autograph copies of Decision Points sent through the mail. Please understand that we cannot accept responsibility for any books delivered to him.

"President Bush will sign a limited number of Decision Points bookplates. To request an autographed insert for your copy of the book, please write:

Decision Points

Office of George W. Bush

Post Office Box 259000


Dallas, Texas 75225-9000

"Be sure to include a self-addressed, stamped envelope; your full name; and the name of the bookplate recipient (if different)."

Caveat emptor. This is an empty collectible:

Those interested in acquiring either the limited edition of Decision Points or a signed bookplate to insert within the standard edition  should be aware that this is a top-down, manufactured collectible; true collectibles rise from the bottom-up, determined by the marketplace. The number of limited edition copies of Decision Points could be five hundred, it could be two thousand. We don't know because the publisher is not telling us; a big red flag for the serious collector. A copy from an edition of 500 will be more valuable than a copy from an edition of 1,000. It would be nice to know ahead of time, crucial if you are a hard-core collector.

And  signed bookplates inserted into a book add little value to a collectible volume; collectors want the signature to be in the book itself to demonstrate that the author actually had the volume in their hands. Who knows, maybe the book plates were signed with an auto-pen, the signature thus near worthless. As Random House notes, the deluxe edition is hand-signed. The absence of the word "hand" along side  its desired mate "signed" in their description of the bookplate is conspicuous.

The not too far from reality is that, with the former President signing so many copies of the trade edition at book store appearances, the rarest, most desirable first edition copies of Decision Points in the future may turn out to be the unsigned copies. Collectors will decide, not Random House.

Buy the limited edition of Decision Points if you prefer the nicer binding, paper, bookmark ribbon, and slipcase. But don't buy it with the expectation that you've made a wise book collecting choice and will reap a  future financial benefit ala Antiques Roadshow. Or that it will appreciate in value at all. $350 is a lot to pay for a faux collectible.

We await a Decision Points Commemorative Plate from The Franklin Mint, the experts at creating artificial collectibles.

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12/02/2010 UPDATE: It's Official: Decision Points "Limited" Edition is a Bad Joke.

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12/16/2010 UPDATE: Legal Action Begins Against Crown/Decision Points Limited Edition.