For some reason, a few days ago, I checked out the price being charged on Amazon for one of my old books, Cells. I was shocked to discover a reseller was selling it for an insane $164.13!!! That made me wonder what prices were being charged for that book elsewhere, as well as for any others of my old books. (Of course, since they’re either used or being sold through a reseller, I don’t get a penny from this — irritating — but that’s just the way it works…) I was somewhat surprised to find what some of my other books are going for right now. I took some screen shots and I’m going to post them, just for the heck of it. Cheers!
Cells — up to $164.13 through Amazon
Cells — 1871 rupees in India ($41.59 US)
Artifacts — $30 used through Amazon
Shadows Before the Maiming — up to $26.94 in Germany through Amazon
Places — up to $58.36 through Amazon
The Napalmed Soul– $40.11 new through Amazon
The Napalmed Soul– $25 used from Alibris
The Napalmed Soul– up to $62.56 to RENT from ISBNS
So, there you have it. Pure insanity, right? Who in their right mind would pay these prices for used books of mine??? Apparently, though, there must be some type of Holstad poetry market, as I’ve seen crazy prices for some of these books here online for quite awhile. I always wonder who the heck buys them, as well as how these dealers got their hands on a personally autographed or “inscribed” copy to sell (ie, which jerk I autographed it for years ago sold it for some cash???). Well, I guess that’s it for now. Cheers!
Well, it’s been a long time — 11 years — since I last posted any shots on prices being asked for various books of mine online, some seen here. A lot has happened and changed since then, but last fall I decided to finally do another search to see what might have changed. The answer was A LOT! First of all, this previous list showed roughly three, maybe four of my books being listed for sale in a few places. Now there are five minimum and at times seven or more. Don’t know why. Also, some have really dropped in value while a few have remained remarkably consistent over a decade and finally a couple of increased in value to some degree. Since I have limited time, I mostly want to post screen shots over the next week, so I’ll elaborate on what I just wrote now. I already mentioned in the first one that more of my books are obtainable online — and I see SO royalties, money, nothing. Impacting that, as well as — to my shock — a number of my published papers in peer-reviewed journals! I got paid nothing for those, I own the damn copyright and both pirates and so-called legitimate online bookstore are posting a number of my papers for “free” (but you have to join and become a member) or paid download in formats the books and papers were never release in, all of which I own the copyright while no one has ever contacted me to ask permission, to make a deal, or to even notify me of their ILLEGAL copyright infringement activities! I’m a 30-year member of the Authors Guild, created over a century ago to look out for authors’ copyright rights and violations. I intend to put some people and companies out of business.
Anyway, For point number two, in 2011, Cells was doing pretty well, Artifacts was holding strong, The Napalmed Soul was going for less than I thought it should, Shadows of the Maiming was in the same range and places was going for anywhere from $19 – $60. Now? I haven’t had a chance to look everything up, AND one has to try and keep the pirates prices separate from legit online bookstores and their prices, so many of these numbers are preliminary, but they provide an idea. Between October 2021 and February 2022, it looks like this:
- Places [1995. Original list price about $8]
- 2011 Market Average: $29
- 2021 Market Average: $69
- Cells [2004. Original list price from $20 -$25]
- 2011 Market Average: $104
- 2021 Market Average: $30
- 2022 Market Average: $35
- The Napalmed Soul [1999. Original list price under $10]
- 2011 Market Average: $36
- 2021 Market Average: $29
- Artifacts [2003. Original list price $5]
- 2011 Market Average: $35
- 2021 Market Average: $34
- 2022 Market Average: $35
- Shadows Before the Maiming [1999. Original list price $7]
- 2011 Market Average: $25
- 2021 Market Average: $73
- 2022 Market Average: Virtually impossible to find but pirated, illegal PDF versions can be downloaded from sites for $100+
I’m going to post a few screenshots now but first I wanted to share my shock at discovering last year that there are actually companies out there advertising that they’ll write a custom book review for Shadows and even crazier, they’ll write a thesis or dissertation on ME — Scott C. Holstad! WTH? If they EVER have anyone pay for those, I think I’d have an immediate heart attack upon hearing that. Especially with the insane prices they charge. Students are wicked lazy, and they and the pirates are both criminals in my eyes and the eyes of the Authors Guild legal department, as well as the Writers Guild, SAG, etc. And they can be very tricky in how the offer, describe or try to get away with claiming they’re not selling, so no profits, which the Authors Guild’s stance makes perfect sense. They are doing so ILLEGALLY, profit or not! They never contacted the author or their representative, the publisher, etc., and no one authentic who created the book is making a dime while I am certain that no matter what they say, SOMEONE (them) is making a dime or they wouldn’t freaking doing it. So some of the screenshots will be of legit, usually used copies of books, and some will be pirates. And ALL research papers are being put out there illegally…
Okay, how about a simple fraud or two? Pirates! These are about as basic as you’ll see.
hankrules2011 
Well, this is definitely very cool, except for the irritating fact that you won’t profit from them.
I think it would be interesting to find out the backstory of the autographed copy. (and a potentially interesting story to share…)
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I imagine that the person on Alibris selling said book has that in their possession. Whether they’re the person who it was autographed for or they managed to acquire it somehow. It’s crazy how much people will pay for books these days. A co-worker was telling me that hard cover first edition HP books are going for $1000 and up (each) depending on condition. Crazy eh?
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Crazy indeed! A grand, eh? If I had a grand lying around, that’s actually something I’d be tempted to snag, actually. LOL!
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Haha. I have the first 2 books in trade paperback and all of the rest were in hardcover (delivered courtesy of Amazon the same day they were released, no waiting in line for this chick). Mentioned this scenario to the same co-worker and she said that just because they are asking some fantastical amount for your book doesn’t mean they’ll get it. Supposedly there is something in place where they have to prove that the book is signed by the author and be able to prove that it is indeed the authors signature. Seems to happen with out of print books it seems. *shrugs*
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That is really wild..
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Isn’t it though? Really odd….
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