Why can't I find OOTS in Borders or B&N ?

[Emilinah Adams]

I find every manga bull---- book and tons of comics but not OOTS. I'm a instant gratification type of person. I hate ordering things. So far I've had to order "Origin of PCs" cause I can't find the OOTS books anywhere. I got Borders and B&N giftcards burning holes in my pockets and I'm looking to give that cash to Rich in exchange for some laughs but I hate ordering books. B&N has a AD&D section but no OOTS! "War and Xp" is new, the armchair critic said it was great but its not even listed in Borders. Whats up with that? Anyone know a good place to walk in and buy OOTS books? I hate waiting days for what I wanna read now! :smallfurious:

[xyzzy]

Try your Friendly Neighborhood Gaming Store. They're the most likely to have them, and the atmosphere is the nice sort of place that's fun to buy things from.

It's rare to find large chains with them, but if you prefer to use those gift cards (or if a FNGS doesn't have them), Borders and B&N will both probably special-order them.

[The Giant]

OOTS books are not sold through Borders or Barnes & Nobles (or any mass-market chain). You can only buy them online, or at a comic book store or gaming store.

There are about a dozen reasons for this, but it boils down to two main ones:

1.) It would screw all of the gaming and comic book stores that have supported me over the years, and
2.) It would be a greater financial risk to me than I am capable of bearing. This is because when a gaming store orders a book from me, they pay for it when it arrives; when a mass-market bookstore orders a book, they don't pay for it until it sells. If the books don't sell, they are often destroyed with no money being credited to me. Big publishing houses can absorb this level of risk; I can't.

Basically, mass-market stores have their own set of long-established rules that don't favor small publishers, and the big publishers like it that way. It's not likely to change any time soon, which is why the internet is such a boon to self-publishing. We can reach directly out to consumers without the byzantine ordering procedures.

[Rutskarn]

Well golly and rustic interjection, Nancy. Here I come in prepared to verbally blast the OP with the buckshot of knowledge, and I'm ninja'd by The Giant himself.

Thus am I saved the embarrassment of having my third-grade grasp of business principles picked apart, replaced instead with the comfort and convenience of a good ol' "What He Said."

[Jimorian]

As somebody who used to work at Borders, I can completely back up what the Giant says, the chains aren't small-press friendly, mainly because of that return-to-publisher policy that can cripple a small operation if the timing is bad. In fact, Borders recently told one of its smaller distributors: "We're going to delay paying you for 2 months just because we need the money more than you right now."

And if you do need to special order from one of the chains, I'd go with B&N for now, Borders is on the edge of bankruptcy and may not be around to fulfill the order. There's a make or break deadline on a big chunk of debt coming up on Feb 16th.

[King of Nowhere]

I understand that you don't like to order things on internet, it works for me too, but in that case it is better if you make an exception. I did, and it was totally worth it.

[Morgan Wick]

I understand that you don't like to order things on internet, it works for me too, but in that case it is better if you make an exception. I did, and it was totally worth it.

I hope the day doesn't come that good old fashioned cash becomes completely obsolete. Or that it becomes impossible to read a book one time at a bookstore or library without paying for it and committing to owning it. Or that libraries themselves become obsolete.

[King of Nowhere]

I hope the day doesn't come that good old fashioned cash becomes completely obsolete. Or that it becomes impossible to read a book one time at a bookstore or library without paying for it and committing to owning it. Or that libraries themselves become obsolete.

Agreed. I hpe it remains an exception

[B. Dandelion]

I hope the day doesn't come that good old fashioned cash becomes completely obsolete.
Wow, it's like you're my total ideological opposite. I wouldn't worry though. If we can't get them to stop manufacturing coins -- produced at a loss -- that no vending machine accepts anyway, paper currency looks pretty safe.


Or that it becomes impossible to read a book one time at a bookstore or library without paying for it and committing to owning it. Or that libraries themselves become obsolete.
Or that paperback novels are completely phased out in favor of the literacy ray that beams the knowledge straight into our brains.

No, really, that would totally suck.

[SPoD]

Or that it becomes impossible to read a book one time at a bookstore or library without paying for it and committing to owning it.

Considering you can read 90% of all the OOTS strips ever made for free on this very website, I hardly think OOTS is taking any steps toward this end.

[Optimystik]

Or that paperback novels are completely phased out in favor of the literacy ray that beams the knowledge straight into our brains.

No, really, that would totally suck.

I don't know, I wouldn't mind learning kung fu and helicopter piloting in seconds while sitting in a chair (a la The Matrix.)

[B. Dandelion]

I don't know, I wouldn't mind learning kung fu and helicopter piloting in seconds while sitting in a chair (a la The Matrix.)
Who would? It's not the existence of the technology that would suck. But I of course refer to the not-at-all ridiculous dystopian future that awaits us where pagelessness is a mandate and your Harry Potter novels must be carefully squirreled out of sight lest they be seized as contraband.

[Demus]

I was actually quite lucky a couple of days ago. I managed to find copies of Start of Darkness and War and XPs in a little bookshop while I was walking around Perth.

[Studoku]

Forbidden Planet stocks the OotS books. That's where I bought mine.

[Iruka]

Is there any store selling OOTS in Germany?

[Optimystik]

Who would? It's not the existence of the technology that would suck. But I of course refer to the not-at-all ridiculous dystopian future that awaits us where pagelessness is a mandate and your Harry Potter novels must be carefully squirreled out of sight lest they be seized as contraband.

That's a (hopefully remote) possibility; Much more likely is the future where books are seen as an eccentricity for the old-fashioned, where for instance students each get a Kindle-style reader and download all their textbooks onto it. :smallsmile:

And while I'm as fond as curling up with a book as the next guy, I can't help but wonder which future the trees would prefer.

[Zherog]

...when a gaming store orders a book from me, they pay for it when it arrives; when a mass-market bookstore orders a book, they don't pay for it until it sells. If the books don't sell, they are often destroyed with no money being credited to me.

Huh. I learned something new today. I wonder if my boss's will let me go home now. :smallwink:

[Morgan Wick]

Considering you can read 90% of all the OOTS strips ever made for free on this very website, I hardly think OOTS is taking any steps toward this end.

There are four reprint books (counting an unpublished one that's mostly over) and two prequel books. Throw in the bonus strips in the reprint books and that's hardly 90%. Closer to 60%. (Although I don't know if the prequels are the same size as the main story books.) Then throw in the commentary by Rich...

[B. Dandelion]

That's a (hopefully remote) possibility; Much more likely is the future where books are seen as an eccentricity for the old-fashioned, where for instance students each get a Kindle-style reader and download all their textbooks onto it. :smallsmile:

And while I'm as fond as curling up with a book as the next guy, I can't help but wonder which future the trees would prefer.
Yeah. True. Paperlessness might not be the issue. (Even better if they ever get around to waterproofing 'em.) But it was also the idea of always having to miss out on the actual reading experience in favor of a quick --zzzap!!-- and now you know. Back to work.

[Reed]

Is there any store selling OOTS in Germany?

I ordered my books at www.dragonworld.de
They don't always carry all the books though.

[ackmondual]

I hate waiting days for what I wanna read now! :smallfurious:

Damn! I don't know how you ever made it through this site then! As soon as I got up to date with all the strips, I was checking this site at least 5 times a day for updates :smallsigh: I've gotten better at that now and only check it at most twice a day, but that kind of wait is also very annoying to me.

[Janmorel]

And while I'm as fond as curling up with a book as the next guy, I can't help but wonder which future the trees would prefer.

:durkon: It's them or us, lads!

.

[SPoD]

There are four reprint books (counting an unpublished one that's mostly over) and two prequel books. Throw in the bonus strips in the reprint books and that's hardly 90%. Closer to 60%. (Although I don't know if the prequels are the same size as the main story books.) Then throw in the commentary by Rich...

Both of the prequels are significantly smaller than the reprint books. They are 72 pages and 112 pages, for a total of 184 pages. There are less than 15 bonus strips in each of the reprint books, for a total of no-more-than 60 pages (when we add in the yet-to-be-published one). So, we have 244 pages of non-free content vs. 627 pages of free content, rounded up to 650 for the end of the current book. That means 73% of the actual story is free.

However, I wasn't counting the prequels because they are optional--as evidenced by the fact that you have optioned not to buy them, and yet still follow the story. 60 pages of bonus strips in the reprint books vs. 650 regular comics IS 90%. More, actually.

None of which really makes a difference to my point, which is that lamenting the demise of free reading institutions on a website that is providing free story content is a little...off.

[Emilinah Adams]

Honestly, until the Giant told me I had no idea how these things work. I, like a lot of Americans am a consumer. Often(99% of the time) I have no idea how the products I want get to market nor do I care as long as I get to buy and enjoy them. I ordered my book from APE on the 23rd and it just shipped on the 26th. I understand the weekend thing but seriously this is the reason I hate ordering stuff cause I wanna read it like now and i still don't have it. Thanks to those who let me know where to find the books retail. I'm gonna head down to Forbidden Planet tomorrow and pick the rest of the books up. :smallsmile: Thanks to the Giant for being nice enough to personally comment on this issue because I don't think I was alone wondering why such a good comic wasn't being stocked at the big books stores.

[Iruka]

I ordered my books at www.dragonworld.de
They don't always carry all the books though.

thank you!