Thanks Tony, that's what I was trying to say. I wasn't trying to lay blame or insinuate anything about your post, Clel.

Many thanks to everyone who responded. It appears that although there are some who strongly object to anyone selling limited edition material on ebay, the general feeling is that any performer can sell any material at any price to anyone.

That will give us something to talk about at our next meet.

Unfortunately

That may be true, but I don't believe that anyone in this thread voiced that opinion.

Nope, I genuinely have no idea what you mean by that.

I never suggested there were; I'm sure we're all very aware of the opinions in this thread. I know I am. However, if you read my first post, I clearly stated that we had discussed this at the Fig n Firkin (for information, a magic meet held fortnightly). Some of those present do not like any magic/mentalism effects sold on eBay.

Once again, please don't make this into something more than it is.

I reserve the right to make anything into more or less than what it appears to be to others.

What it appears to be to me is a headache that "a well known performer, creator and author" didn't need.

He's explained to you and others that he has not taken it personally. I've stated that it was not meant personally. I know him well enough to be able to say something to his face if I had a issue with something he had done.

But yes, you and others have the right to keep trying to make it that if it suits your own ends. Meanwhile you miss the irony of how you are defending someone than not only doesn't need your help, would not be involved if you and others had not brought him into it.

The written record reflects very clearly who brought him into it, and I'll leave it at that.

Sincerely wishing you all the best!

It does indeed show who brought him into it, which is why I'm puzzled with your stance. But hey ho, each to his own.

A creator should be able to sell when he wants, where he wants, and HOW he wants. When I sold an exclusive batch of my limited edition book recently at a premium price, I was shocked by the responses of some. I just don't get it when creators are attacked...and I get why pete is taking a year off.

Regards,
Mike

I'm not sure that if you can afford to pay the piper it automatically makes you "serious about the art". Maybe you just have $ to burn. Of course anyone can put their own price to anything they sell. My sofa viewpoint.

Very few would pay five hundred bucks for something they aren't very interested in.

Right. And in the absence of some new and accessible brain scanning technology or giving DSM-5 tests to all potential buyers, setting a formidable price is a simple and elegant solution.

I respectfully disagree, Bob. I've seen it with all the highly publicised limited editions released in the past couple of years - early copies snatched up by people with no real interest beyond the resale value. I've even seen people here brazenly refer to their purchases as "investments", which they hoped to profit from down the track. And no, they weren't meaning profit from acquiring and using knowledge and wisdom...

Such people will pay anything if they think the value will rise later.

There are a few people like that for sure.

More than a few. Many are motivated by profit.

Regards,
Mike

The problem I have with this limited edition rubbish is that for the most part it is bandied around in order to give the impression to the consumer that the work includes information of a superior nature to that of works that are continuously available and to place a sense of urgency on the buyer - that they must buy now or they will miss out on it forever. This also seems to give the seller permission to put a high price tag on the work, again suggesting that it is worth more than other current works in the field.

Of course, we must also consider the other reasons a writer may offer their work as a limited print run. The performers who are selling their own books in our community are often printing the books themselves through a printer they have hired and therefore may not have the time to invest in a continuous run of books. This is understandable but does not really stand up against the way it is used as a marketing ploy in general. By not saying it is a 'limited edition' does not mean you are therefore obligated to keep selling the book indefinitely. A product can be discontinued at any time.

Another reason I have seen for why performers are selling limited edition works is because they only want to share the work with an elite group of readers so it does not fall into the hands of the amateurs or those who will not treat it with respect. Whilst this is a noble stance, I would still be inclined to ask why the author would even release the work at all. Surely if you wish to preserve the secrets of your hard work then why wouldn't you keep it to yourself and share it only with those who you trust to improve the work and collaborate with you on it? This also doesn't really justify the high price tag, which again, is usually because they want to 'keep it out of the hands of the mildly curious'. I have no hesitation in committing to the fact that anyone who isn't interested in magic or mentalism is never going to pay money to find out the secret to a trick. I am reminded of a conversation I had with a friend once who was livid they had to pay £20 for a copy of The Casual Vacancy by J.K.Rowling. She thought it was extortionate. On the other side of this though, I do understand that there are many amateur performers who will buy works and pirate it across the web but I don't think it justifies the extortionate prices I see for limited editions now a days.

But what do I think about selling works of limited editions runs after they have run out? I think it is unethical for sure but in no way is it illegal.

Whilst there are some laws knocking about protecting consumers and their limited edition property, it is unfortunately few and far between and mainly seems to apply to actual works of art (i.e paintings). I guess that promoting a product as a limited work in order to provide an incentive to buy could however be seen as a misrepresentation of sale and therefore could legally be condemned but I wouldn't know.

But we also have to define what a limited edition work is in order to enforce any rules because surely a 'limited edition' is just one edition of a work in itself. So, on that basis it would be perfectly acceptable for an author to repackage a new edition and release the works again. But this comes back to the point made above about 'limited edition' being misused to provide an incentive to buy.

So in answer to the original question – I think it is completely unethical to sell more books from a previous run that was limited. If books are being sold at a later date that are part of the same run then there are no problems, it's just called selling stock.

However, I also find it completely unethical to sell overrated works at high prices and use the term 'limited edition' as an incentive to make people impulse buy at the fear of losing the opportunity to read the works in the future. Especially when these works are usually nothing to write home about.