All Hail Matilda

I have to say there is a big difference between Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk when it comes to dealing with piracy. Amazon.com was very helpful in a previous case of piracy; in comparison Amazon.co.uk took the view of not wanting to get involved – and I quote “it would not be appropriate for Amazon to assist.”  I submitted the details to them more than once and each time I received the same automated reply. I suspect that it is a rare event for a human being at Amazon.co.uk to actually read any complaints on such matters. The day was saved however by my friend Matilda Lore. She lives in the next State to where Paragon OS is based and she contacted them directly on the matter and they removed their listing from all Amazon sites. Matilda is my hero. All hail Matilda.

PIRATED AGAIN?

Well, it seems my Thomas Hill book may have been subjected to product piracy again. A seller on Amazon.co.uk called Paragon OS is selling supposedly ‘new’ copies for over £60 each – even though the retail price of genuine copies is only £10.

There are two possibilities.

One is that Paragon OS is simply being dishonest in its description and they have second hand copies, not new ones - which makes the price region of £60 extremely unfair. My book is still in print, still available, and second hand copies sell for less than £10. Whoever pays more than that is being right royally screwed by the seller.

The other possibility, if the books are in 'new' condition, considering that Paragon OS have never been supplied by me or mine with any ‘new’ copies of the book, is that they have a pirate edition.

I have reported the matter to Amazon and wait to see what will happen to the listing. They have been very helpful in the past when this has happened before. I hope they are again.

New Publication Dates

These are the new publication dates for these books:

The Art of Iugling by S.R. - 31st May 2011

Hocus Pocus Junior - 1st of July 2011

The Persians by Aeschylus - 1st of August 2011

Pre-orders will be fulfilled first on all titles.

An update on the previous blog entry:
Well, looking into one situation led to discovering other problems elsewhere that have to be dealt with that made the first one look insignificant. But solutions have been provided and it's all being dealt with bit by bit. Phew! A big thank you to Amazon and others for their help. That's all that can be said for now. 

Beware A Book Scam

It was brought to my attention that there is a bookseller selling copies of my Thomas Hill book on Amazon.com and other Amazon sites. The seller claims that they are new copies. I would just like to make it clear that I have never heard of this bookseller before and I have no record of supplying them with any copies of the book. This has been explained to Amazon who is now investigating if the seller is falsely describing second hand copies as new or is selling a pirate edition of the book.
 

Part of the scam is the greatly inflated price of the book. The seller is charging $51.97 when the retail price is actually $16.50.
 

The seller has a website where it is claimed that they sell unusual titles on behalf of publishers; so I’ll just repeat, as a publisher, I’ve never heard of this bookseller before.
 

Until it is discovered who is behind the anonymous website, the books that were to be published this month and in March will now be delayed. It’s along shot that the book is being pirated but until it is confirmed it is not I don’t want to risk two more potentially being treated the same.