Alcatraz 3 - why so expensive?

[Scattered she/her]

My dad recently decided he wanted to start reading the Alcatraz books, but when trying to purchase them, he says he can't find Alcatraz book 3 for less than $150. Even on Amazon it's going for $155, used. Does anyone know why this is? I'm assuming it has to do with the scurfuffle with Scholastic, but figured you guys would be the ones to know.

Thanks!

[NutiketAiel he/him]

Wow... I just did some searching, too, and I can't find a decent price, either. Cheapest I can find is $99.95 on Alibris:

Maybe it has something to do with Brandon buying the rights back, as you suggest, but I'm not sure why that would affect just one book, though... Of course, I'm not really an expert in the field. Maybe they didn't print enough of book 3, and with the rights changing hands the booksellers are thinking there won't be any more printed editions for a while?

Of course, it is worth the price. I mean, I already have a copy, but if I didn't I would totally pay that price to own such an awesome book.

Hmmmmm... it looks like Evil Librarians and Scrivener's Bones are both available as reprint editions, but Knights of Crystallia and Shattered Lens are only available as first editions, if I'm reading these right... OK, theory. Knights of Crystallia came out just after Brandon started getting more widely known. Perhaps they didn't print enough of that book because some pessimist at Scholastic didn't think it would sell well. They corrected the problem by printing plenty of the Shattered Lens, and with reprints of the first two books, but they didn't do a reprint of Knights of Crystallia because of the "scurfuffle," as you put it. So, the book is artificially scarce.

That's my theory, anyway. Hm. Does this count as my first Seventeenth Shard theory? I'm not sure how I feel about that... maybe I can tie this theory in with Realmatic Theory somehow...

Anyway, this is the "Accidental Scarcity of Knights of Crystallia Theory."

-Jim

[PeterAhlstrom he/him]

Call the Orem Barnes & Noble and see if they have any copies left. They did last month.

[Phantom Monstrosity]

Bookfinder.com is your best bet. It's what I use for textbooks - it searches *everywhere*, and includes shipping in the price comparisons.

Looks like you can get it from the UK new, hardcover, for the equivalent of

$20.48 USD

Or new from Canada for 24 USD

Edited January 12, 2013 by Phantom Monstrosity

[Penguin]

The Librarians have cottoned on and are making the books harder to get.

:c

[Joe ST he/him]

Yeah, you should be able to get the collection from the UK for cheaper than that XD

[Scattered she/her]

Thanks everyone!!!!

[happyman he/him]

I once ran into a similar problem with another book. The claim I heard was that, because they are often not active sales, there is some quirk in the complex price-setting system which irrationally "bids up" the price if no people intervene. Certainly prices like that sound like a bug to me, so take it for what it is worth.

[BlairJ he/him]

I know I am a little bit late to this, but you can also listen to the Alcatraz books on Audible. It is a monthly fee but cheaper than the book prices that I am finding.

[Yados]

you can also buy the uk omnibus for about $20 on amazon if you find a good seller. that's what I did and it came this evening.

[Windrunner he/him]

Honestly, I'm surprised that didn't turn up in your magic bookshop like a year ago.

[BlairJ he/him]

Actually found the whole series at the library this week so my wife and I are going through them now. We will buy them when we can find them at a decent price.

The first book is quite enjoyable so far.