A VERY GOOD BOOK @ A GREAT PRICE

[Lou_Duran]

Paul Daley's volume 1 for $23.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/158980080X/ref%3Dpe%5Farr%5Fd%5F158980080X%5F6%5Fbot/102-4321481-9939331

[Dan Kelly]

Thanks for the heads-up, and the recommendation.

(I'm sure you didn't mean to suggest that the price [great] is better than the book [very good], but I can't turn off the editor in my head! [Reminds me of the time a friend whose novel I had edited thanked me in the Acknowledgments for being "a great friend and a good editor." My immediate reaction was that he had it backward!])  

[Lou_Duran]

Dan,

Sorry, but I don't have that built-in capability.

A better use of words might have been great book at a very good price.  I paid quite a bit more for the book and still consider it to have been an excellent value.  Of course, I do have a signed copy.

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

Thank you Lou. I am now a proud owner.

[Paul_Daley]

Dear Lou and Dan,

What good sport, from afar, to see you having fun with this jousting.

Good 'ol Amazon have ripped the guts out of the price, but that is fine: one person's loss is another entity's gain. GAV-1 is cowering out of the AM warehouse just above cost price.

Tiger B: Trust that the book exceeds your expectations.
By the way, have you thought about enacting trademark/patent protection around your name? A young,
hot-shot US professional golfer has been ripping you off for some time!  

[Mike Nuzzo]

Tiger & Lou,
I hope that means you already own ver. III!!!
Next time I see y'all I autograph your copies...  

[Paul_Daley]

GO NUZ!

[Lou_Duran]

Nuzzo,

I do have all three, and I would be honored if you'd sign it.

The series is just what it says it is, a nice collection of perspectives on gca and related topics from all over the world.  The essays are typically brief, on-topic, and written in a manner that most of us can understand in a single reading (no Yogisms or Behrian puzzlers).

The books are great for those of us who can't sit for a couple hours at a time trying to follow a story line.  Though there does not appear to be much thematic organization or intent, one can read the book from cover to cover as I did in Vol. I, or pick through the index to choose what you are currently in the mood for (my approach on the last two).

I do hear that Paul Daley is a crack golfer, though I've never had the opportunity to meet the man himself.  

[Michael J. Moss]

I also own volume 1, purchased at the Bandon Dunes pro shop this past July and I agree, it's terrific. Where can I find volumes 2 and 3?

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

Yes Please explain the volumes 1,2 and 3 to me.

[Lou_Duran]

Paul Daley should/would do a much better job of doing this, but 2 and 3 are more essays by numerous contributors (some known to members of this site) about things we all find interesting in gca.  These are well illustrated with excellent pics, diagrams, etc.

I am not Paul's marketing arm, but when I got the email from Amazon about Vol. I (as a frequent buyer, I am on their mailing list) I just thought it was a great value and that it may be of interest to some here.

Vol. 2 has been around long enough that Amazon or B&N probably has it.  My Vol. 3 was ordered directly from Paul.  His email address and website can be accessed by clicking on his name in this thread, though I am not sure that this is the preferred or necessarily best way to obtain any of the three volumes.  

[PThomas]

they are all beautiful, well-done, interesting books!

[Brian Phillips]

If you really want to support Paul then don't buy a damn thing from Amazon.  Always, always buy direct from Paul...

Support the small guy in a tough business...I am sure it breaks Paul's heart when he hears people buying Vol.1 from Amazon.

Support Paul!!

Brian

[Lou_Duran]

Brian,

That's an interesting take and rather counterintuitive.  Hopefully you are mistaken regarding Paul's broken heart.

It would seem to me that any incremental sale would benefit Paul, regardless of the channel of distribution.  Couldn't you have taken the perspective that by bringing this offer to gca enthusiasts, Paul's work may gain greater exposure and perhaps generate more sales?  Are you suggesting that my post cannabilizes Paul's direct sales?  Could it be that a couple of people will like Vol. 1 so much that they may order the subsequent volumes directly from Paul?  

However, this wasn't my motivation for the post.  I just thought that some folks who may not otherwise know about the book would appreciate the opportunity.  

BTW, in your consumer habits, do you have a tendency to pay a higher price for the same or comparable product so as to support a certain manufacturer or retailer?  Why not just send them a check from time to time in appreciation of their efforts?

I'll have to think about this next time when I visit one of several outstanding courses in Texas which because of location and competition are having a hard time making it.  Instead of forking over $25 - $50, maybe I'll slip them a C note.  

BTW2, I've purchased a few books directly from Paul, not because I felt an obligation to support him, but because I like his work.  I don't know Paul personally, but I doubt he feels that any one of us owes him a living.

Geez!  Let no good deed go unpunished!

   

[Marty Bonnar]

Geez!  Let no good deed go unpunished!

   

Lou,
cast ye not ye aspersions on the Great Phillipian fellow of Norway!
For lo it were he and he alone what allow-ed me to feverishly fondle his FIRST EDITION of 'The Links' (cue sfx: 1000 massed angels sing: 'Aleluyah!')

To this day, I remember the event fondly.

It has even sprung forth a favourite fantasy of mine (one at least which does not involve Dottie Pepper) that, one day, I shall wander into a small Antique Shop in one of our provincial towns and come across a cardboard box containing several 'Biggles' books, a dog-eared copy of Catch-22 and a PRISTINE copy of 'The Links' (cue sfx; ...well, you know the rest). I approach the Owner of the emporium and enquire as to the price of the said volume, to which he replies: "Oh that old thing, it's been in that box for years. Give me a pound and it's yours"

cue massed angels...

Given that I saw - and touched - the very book at this years Open for (around) AHEM! £450, I realise I live in hope!!

FBD.

[Brian Phillips]

Lou,

Most if not all know of Paul's books on this site...it is a pretty insular site.

Paul does not benefit at all on any sales through Amazon on Vol.1.  I will let Paul explain if he wants to.

You asked:

'BTW, in your consumer habits, do you have a tendency to pay a higher price for the same or comparable product so as to support a certain manufacturer or retailer?  Why not just send them a check from time to time in appreciation of their efforts?'

Yes, nearly always.  I nearly always pay more to the local flower man for flowers to my wife than buying from the big cheap chain, I always hire from the local DVD hire guy rather than hiring from 'Blockbuster'.  I am very loyal to Norwegian products and European products in general. Shit, I even buy Norwegian beer instead of Carlsberg from Denmark!

I fly with a company called Norwegian instead of SAS because they are a small 'Norwegian' company that managed to stop the monopoly in the air in Scandinavia. I have flown 44 times with them this year and less than 10 with SAS.

We don't owe Paul anything but I do know that he not a millonaire and when I can afford it I prefer to buy direct from him. Hell, I have discussions with Paul about his prices all the time, I try to get bonuses out of him on bulk buying, I have even dropped out of purchases because I cannot afford it but at least I buy from him direct on ALL of his books. I wait until we can afford to meet his prices and then order.

Why?

Because he is like me, a smallfry in the a big business doing damn good work....working his butt off to follow a dream and struggling with the finances, health etc just like all of us.

If you wanted to help Paul, plug the book not the price at Amazon.

Cheers,

Brian.

[ForkaB]

Baldy

You take the Hunter I'll take the Heller.

One can never have too many Catch-22's..........

[PThomas]

Brian -your efforts re Blockbuster might be having an effect..I read they are close to filing for bankruptcy (although I wonder if that might have anything to do with their ill-fated"No Late fee" promotion?)

and flowers from a florist seem to be of much better quality than those from my local grocery chain!

[Dan Kelly]

Shit, I even buy Norwegian beer instead of Carlsberg from Denmark!

Isn't Ringnes a Norwegian beer?

I liked it a lot, as a young man -- when I drank beer more regularly.

I'm sure it's the Bud Light of Europe, but I still liked it.

[Lou_Duran]

Brian,

Here I thought that you were a citizen of the world.  How about that poor American teenager making minimum wage at Blockbuster who will no longer have a job because the Brian Phillips of the world are a bunch of nationalist, ethnocentric consumers?  Does she deserve less than your local Norwegian "DVD hire" because you are willing to support an artificial price structure?

Or how about the local merchant who can't sell you his product because you paid more than you had to for DVDs, books, and flowers and have no money left over?  He is Norwegian too, and maybe a little guy like the other merchants.  Why shouldn't he enjoy your support?

Of course, all of this is academic, and I have no problem with your choices.  I understand that some folks don't like markets and competition.

Me, I happen to believe that the Walmarts of the world for the most part do vastly more good for the many than the few local merchants who can't or won't compete.

I do hope that Paul chimes in on this.  I am not familiar with the publishing business, but it just seems that an incremental sale would be beneficial for the author.

I also think you are mistaken that this site is so insular that everyone knows Paul Daley, his books, and how to order them.  If it is me that is mistaken and as a result have caused Paul any harm, my apologies to him.      

[Dan Kelly]

If Paul Daley gets nothing from book sales at Amazon, I can only think he signed a very bad contract, indeed.

Of course, almost all of my experience in book-publishing was getting nothing past my advances.

I certainly got no marketing help from the publisher!

[Sean Walsh]

Lou,

I'm sure if Paul was selling "The Da Vinci Code" through Amazon he wouldn't mind one bit.

However due to the inverse economies of scale Paul is subject to in this niche market (i.e small print run = larger cost per unit), if all Paul's books were to be sold on Amazon I think his gross profit would amount to around $5,000 per release.  Obviously an unsustainable business model.

So Lou I hope you can accept that in some circumstances getting something at a cheaper price does not serve the greater good.

I for one am thankful that Paul set out on this particular adventure.  As a direct result I saw many more of the better courses in Scotland and Ireland than I otherwise would have.  And am now planning to live over there for a year to taste the lifestyle (and guiness) in more depth.

I title this one "Ode to Paul".  
 

[Lou_Duran]

Martin,

How poetic and arcane.  Behr didn't have anything on you.  Have you thought about becoming an author of golf books?  I understand that there is a lot of money to be made in that business if you don't also mind getting into retail.

BTW, a few years back I did buy a lot of some 20 golf books for something around $25 - $30.  Among them was one by a then brash young writer who seemed to take great delight from calling a spade by its proper name.  It was somewhat of a guide to golf courses with the word confidential in the title (an obvious tongue-in-cheek misnomer).



Sean,

Please explain to me how a wider distribution and incremental sales work to Paul's disadvantage?  Is Paul not paid royalties?  Do you think that those who buy Vol. I and like it may not look to buy Vols. II and III?

If Paul's book does not have sufficient appeal to sell out its first printing at a higher price point, is he better served by having the books set in a shelf?  What is the likelihood that his publisher will be there to buy his subsequent work?  Or is he going to make a significant financial commitment because Paul is just a good bloke?

Guys, I've learned my lesson.  Now I just need some self-discipline.
 

[Dan Kelly]

Now I just need some self-discipline.

No, you don't.

You need some answers to your excellent questions.

[Tyler Kearns]

If you really want to support Paul then don't buy a damn thing from Amazon.  Always, always buy direct from Paul...

Brian,

Good advice, I plan to buy Paul's books (minus Vol. 1 & 2) which I bought from the enemy, when I am in Melbourne this upcoming February . Otherwise, the shipping is a real deal breaker.

TK