New Stephen King It LE

An email I've had trails a new LE with a bobbing red balloon and the tag ...You'll Float Too ...

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory?

>2 HonorWulf: LOL! Although bit odd releasing an LE when they're three books into a collection. I imagine everyone who has those will wait for the SE. Unless the prospect of Mr King's signature proves too much...

I really like the doorstops, which you can lose yourself in for a few days and all the microscopic detail and scene setting which King excels at is allowed space, e.g. The Stand, Salem's Lot, and of course It, which is probably my favourite.

>3 red_guy: If King signs it, it'll sell. I also suspect there's some consumers who just want "It" and aren't necessary in for the entire collection. But I'll wait for the eventual standard edition myself and will continue to hold out for 'Salem's Lot.

If any author-signed LE would be flippable, this would be it.

Given FS' track record, what is the likelihood that they'll follow up with a standard edition, and if they do, how far behind (time wise) is that likely to be?

It is probably my favorite stand-alone novel and (unless Kinsella ruins it) I'm likely to be very interested in a standard edition (FS' limiteds being a bit out of my budget).

>6 St._Troy: For a book like this, probably 6 to 12 months after the limited edition release.

>7 HonorWulf: Thanks!

Stephen King's fans are pretty rabid when it comes to signed books. The FS could truly milk that for big big bucks. That said, King also doesn't like to do signed editions all that much. He does now and then, but I've always read for the most part his MO is that he will do one signed edition per book and that is about it - can't verify that personally, but he definitely does not sign often. Cemetery Dance released an anniversary edition back in 2011 with 802 copies signed by King. Retail was $475 (Limited) and $2000 (Lettered), and they sold out immediately.
https://www.cemeterydance.com/it-25th-anniversary-special-edition.html

One copy (standard) recently sold for over $3000 -- crazy stuff!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/335971608427

If the FS somehow does get King to sign some copies, there should be some lottery for those otherwise it will be insane, with lots of people using bots and whatnot to try and get copies to sell.

It is indeed a door stopper, so I guess the LE will not come cheap. Indeed I hope they will also have a SE in line with the other ones.

I don't care for the work, but if I were to buy, a multi-volume treatment would keep the thing readable.

July 15th, x500, each one signed by Jim Burns, David Curtis and an introducer yet to be revealed.

"Approved by King himself, this Folio is summoned with haunting illustrations by Jim Burns and the eerie touch of David Curtis who brings it to life through tattered typography, bloody endpapers and a slipcase with a single crimson balloon."

https://www.foliosociety.com/uk/it-limited-edition

Brings me straight back to my twenties when I was in the army and I devoured this book and others in the evenings. Pure nostalgia for me. I'll be waiting July 15th! I'm surprised is just one volume.

This looks great! Curious about the illustrations, I don't think they shared that yet. Anybody an idea as to what it would cost (ROW)? Bit in doubt whether I should be saving and skip the LE sale tomorrow, or whether it'll be out of reach anyway...

>13 penitent: me too, given the sheer size would've expected a two volume set

Any speculation on how quick this thing will sell out? 500 copies and I'd imagine there's a pretty strong appetite for this. Feels like this will go in minutes.

1000+ page book in one volume? Two certainly seems more appropriate.

>14 PiotrSlettitsj: Have a look at their Tiktok, can't share the link for some reason, but the page edges and endpapers can be seen in their teaser.

‘It’ in July, the Homer pair in August and the Austen set in September! Are they going the Suntup route? :)

I love the aesthetics, but such a big volume will probably be quite unwieldy to read…. (Same thought about Perdido Street Station).

Jim Burns seems to be really well-regarded, I haven’t heard of him before:

https://www.alisoneldred.com/jim-burns/illustration-2/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Burns

(curses - I see what you mean about the TikTok link)

I was a bit put of by the 'scary' writing which is rather corny, but the designs for paper boats on the inside of the box is clever!

>19 red_guy: I think it's the 'at' that malforms the link.

Great book but not signed by the author is a surprise especially at the price which will be pretty high.

Hopefully, the inevitable SE will be two volumes and be in series with the other books.

>16 rubix_cubin: 500 copies is a very small limitation for Folio. I expect this will compete with the fastest sellers despite the lack of a King signature. Secondary market prices is sure to be double of whatever they price this at, it's a flipper's dream.
>22 HonorWulf: Presumably they'll reuse the art in which case it breaks up the uniformity of the Kinsella art. May be good or bad depending on how Jim Burns does and what you feel about the current art.

>23 A.Godhelm: We don’t think the mystery introducer is King himself?

>24 Nightcrawl: I can't imagine they'd be that coy about getting him to sign this. But I suppose it's possible.

Broadly appealing but I’m frustrated by the single volume - I had visions of two black leather spines each with red leather onlay balloons - single for vol 1 and two for vol two. Not a particularly original concept I grant you but, aesthetics aside, I had sooo hoped for a two book set! Glad they’re publishing IT though (sorry)

>25 A.Godhelm: I’m of kind of the opposite opinion. Why would they be so coy and tease-y if the introducer was anyone else but King? I’ve been wrong about these things many times before though.

Yes rereading the Folio site it does look like it will be signed by Stephen King as the introducer they are just being secretive about it. I could be wrong but if it is I will nab the one.

>26 cottonoverwood: You're not alone having hoped for two volumes, I remember this unwieldy back when and the limited editions are often bigger than a regular hardcover. I like the two balloon idea too, it can't be cheesier than the spine they chose here.
>27 Nightcrawl: My thinking is if they got King, they'd advertise the hell out of it from the start. It's what people line up the block for. Playing coy is when you want some hype from the speculation, and it ends up being Joe Hill or something.
Edit: I'm happy to be proven wrong though. I guess we'll know soon enough.

>29 A.Godhelm: I see your point, but signature or not I assume it will be near instant sell out…pretty sure the line is already wrapped around the block.

I might even be tempted to join the flippers on this one, if it is signed. Might as well go mercenary at this point, rather than complain!

IT.

Scary, thrilling, highly enjoyable, but forever marred by that ridiculous sex scene involving the group of 11 year old kids.

>32 betaraybill: Agreed. King always said it's a metaphor for them becoming "adults" but I completely agree that at the end of the day, that scene just comes out of nowhere and is unnecessary and really adds nothing to the novel. I would even argue that the book would be better if that whole episode were removed.

>33 astropi: Without a doubt! Metaphor or not, it is such a bizarre, twisted scene, that adds nothing whatsoever to the book. It kinda ruined the book for me. :(

>34 betaraybill: I refer to that particular scene as “The moment Derry becomes derrière”. Pardon my puns.

>14 PiotrSlettitsj: I assume I'm not the only one who kind of discerns a clown face on the front cover?

>36 billburden: I see one on the end papers.

>38 LT79: lol I know exactly what you mean - beards suit some

Does anyone here have a rough estimate of how much this LE will cost?

>40 cazaniq: An arm and two legs.

>40 cazaniq: Mythago Wood was quarter bound leather with 320 pages and $600 (US site). This is quarter bound leather, 1000+ pages and very high interest. I wish $750 was a reasonable guesstimate, but I fear $1,000 is more likely. And it's going to absolutely fly off the shelf regardless of the price point.

So, we're looking at 1,000 USD? So much higher than the Edgar Allan Poe LE?

And how long you think it would be until it sells out?

>43 cazaniq: I don't know anything about anything, except that it will definitely cost $1,100 and sell out in 9 minutes, 44 seconds.

>40 cazaniq: Your mortal soul ;-)

Bad checks also float, coincidentally.

The first details tease is out with respect to It:

This Folio Society edition elevates the classic with 11 double-page black-and-white illustrations and 6 double page in full colour. This edition is bound in quarter leather with printed cloth sides and presented in a deluxe cloth-covered clamshell box designed by David Curtis. The edition even includes Curtis’s custom instructions for crafting Georgie’s infamous paper boat—an eerie nod to the story’s unforgettable opening.

... £590 (UK)

With excerpted sections from the link appended below:

https://entertainment-focus.com/2025/06/22/the-folio-society-unveils-limited-edi...

>47 FitzJames: 590GBP is surprising given that they've set low effort LEs like Casino Royale at 500.

>48 A.Godhelm: I thought so too!

>48 A.Godhelm: maybe this is their acknowledging that the low-effort LEs have been seriously overpriced? (Casino Royale hasn’t sold out even at half price in the recent sale.) And that generally the market is slowing down.

>51 BorisG: I think Casino Royale is priced about right at the 50% off sale price. There’s not many places you’d get a full leather bound, richly illustrated and boxed edition for £250. The main competition at that price point would be standard states from the fine presses, where you’d gaining letterpress printing at the cost of cloth binding.

Several of the recent presses offer full-leather hand-bound, letterpress printed books at the £500-600 price point (Lyra’s Press, Conversation Tree Press, Curious King press, Areté Press).

>55 NovelNexus: Why would a clamshell box raise costs significantly?

>55 NovelNexus: ah, I missed the clamshell box part. Fair point, though I’d rather have letterpress printing and nicer paper than a clamshell box myself!

>53 NovelNexus: Is the leather goatskin of the highest quality?

Cowhide according to an old post on Folio’s FB page.

>55 NovelNexus: A recent example is Areté's BNW, which is printed letterpress, generously illustrated, bound in full goatskin leather, housed in a clamshell box and cost £530.

>57 NovelNexus: Sorry, I suppose I was a bit vague. I was just curious when you said that a clamshell box "raise costs significantly". I would have thought mass producing clamshell boxes in general (750 in this case) shouldn't add a major difference to the end cost of each book. But I would agree it would be more expensive the more elaborate the design. If it is the case that it does add considerable cost then it comes down to personal preference. Is having an elaborately decorated clamshell case worth the extra cost to an LE? Personally I would prefer any major additional cost like that to go into the book itself.

>61 assemblyman: getting OT for the thread but I do wonder if the Bond rights/IP is also quite expensive compared to some others. Then again the SEs are relatively modestly priced.

>62 cyber_naut: Maybe. FS could have just had an initial contract for the SE run. The LE may have been something separate.

Still, nearly all of the recent FS LEs (this one is no exception) leave me thinking "meh, I will just wait for the next release from CTP/Lyra/Areté" They rarely excite me anymore. Overpriced, plus often plagued by QA issues.

I will welcome some SEs, though, for example: A Canticle for Leibowitz (provided it’s bound in cloth), Perdido Street Station, and Mythago Wood (liked the artwork in both).

>56 assemblyman:

A quality slipcase costs as much to produce as the book, generally (for trade-type books anyhow). Machine-made books are surprisingly cheap to make, and slipcases and clamshells (especially good ones) are surprisingly expensive.

If Casino Royale was priced correctly and was a product that the market wanted, it would have sold. It didn’t, so either the product, price, limitation or some combination were wrong. Even at half price it has been a struggle, therefore half price is not a bargain for that edition according to the market. I think FS overestimated the market for the title.

>66 stubedoo: Agreed. I'm going to assume most people were happy with the SE, especially with it being the first volume of a matching, multi-part series. I also think the book itself has limited appeal to Folio's typical limited edition collectors, basically depending on a market of James Bond uber-enthusiasts that didn't materialize.

>65 stubedoo: What? We’re talking about fancy books here, so the box isn’t going to drastically increase the price. From a $400 book in a slipcase to an $700 book in a box.

>68 What_What:

It is going to increase the price significantly. The book will typically be almost entirely automated production (there might be a bit of human intervention here and there, but not that much). Folio books are (mostly) machine-made. The clamshell will typically be parts cut by machine but then assembled by a person. A high quality custom clamshell just as a one-off will run to $300 or more (to the end consumer). Obviously serial production will have significant economies of scale and production.

I make and sell clamshells (mostly as a hobby). Slipcases are much, much quicker to make. There is a reason why clamshells and other more complex enclosures are reserved for more expensive editions, and it isn't just marketing.

>67 HonorWulf:

With regard to Casino Royale, I suspect younger readers would have a problem with the (occasionally) racist and rapey nature of Fleming. His books are very much of their time, I guess. I'm sure there is a big segment of the market that isn't comfortable with some of these dated-writing aspects of the book (and perhaps especially a £500 variant of it).

>69 NovelNexus: Apart from whether £50 is significant or not, the amount itself sounds much more realistic than $300.

Suntup now often puts his numbered books in boxes and sells the package for $600.

>73 NovelNexus: That’s a good data point, and sounds more realistic. When someone’s making a one-off box, you’re paying for a lot of time and trouble for them to do work that never gets reused. When they’re making 250, they reuse the same patterns, and have economies of scale for all the materials. It doesn’t make it cheap, but certainly some fraction of a one-off commission.

>71 stubedoo: I dunno, I feel like Pussy Galore had a certain timelessness to it.

Am I the only one?
Stephen King novels only feel right in the hand as a paperback.
I'm not sure why exactly, but I'd rather spend that kind of money on a first edition and/or signed copy of his work.
Any of the paperback artwork fits better than the Folio editions so far.

I wish Folio would go back to their old modus operandi. :(

>71 stubedoo: Maybe, but the Bond Standard Editions have sold incredibly well, with almost all of them on multiple printings. I believe Casino Royale is on its fifth printing, which is quite impressive by Folio standards. In terms of the Limited Editions, the sweet spot appears to be classic fiction and speculative fiction -- not sure there's a huge market for pulpy, beach reads at that price point.

>76 TonjaE: I enjoy the old 'sleazy' covers as well. Frankly I think what they did here with a clown in blood is very much in line with that over the top aesthetic. The Kinsella artwork is much more muted and restrained, a different vibe. I think it suits what they published so far; The Shining is more creepy than gory, Misery is very grounded for King and Pet Sematary goes for spooky.
I'm not sure how they will treat an eventual SE version of It. The beauty of it is you get to buy whatever your heart desires, if this isn't your cup o tea there's a plethora of choices, even in the 'fine' book category (Suntup, Cemetary Dance and a bunch of others).
I don't think Folio's old MO would have published this at all.
>77 HonorWulf: Yes, you can't really call this a bad business move.

Has anyone seen the exact US or Canadian pricing for this?

>79 cazaniq: Only the UK pricing has been released so far.

>74 What_What: " When they’re making 250, they reuse the same patterns, and have economies of scale for all the materials"

The cost is not the raw materials for a custom clamshelll. Book cloth and acid-free board are both inexpensive.

>81 stubedoo: Right. They become cheaper the more they’re commissioned to do by magic. Either way I’m done. There’s no way a box costs $300. It’s an attack against common sense.

>82 What_What:

Sigh. I know how much the materials cost. It isn't very much. You could find out how much it costs with a simple Google. You could look at someone like Sherpherd's London. Their standard range is the same Rayon cloth that HarperCollins use on their clothbound deluxe editions.

One off costs that have to be amortised across multiple copies are things like Foil stamping plates and artwork design, setting up machines for cutting the parts. But you aren't getting complex foil stamping on a $200 - $300 clamshell as a one-off. Ain't happening. The brass stamping plates cost that much for the sizes we are talking about.

It is OK to have no experience or clue about what you are talking about. And I didn't say that $300 is what the cost would be for mass production. What I said was that the clamshell will have a production cost similar to that of the book itself and that your claim of the cost "not being significant" is total hogwash (almost like it is an attack on common sense).

>83 stubedoo: as one data point, I've had a one-off handmade solander done at the cost of exactly $75 USD, before shipping, in 2021 (by Taller Martin Pescador, for their edition of The Green Knight, which is a large quarto in size). They are in Mexico, so labor might be cheaper, and there has been some inflation since then, but I've also been quoted around that figure by local specialist craftsmen in Canada within the last year, though I haven't actually commissioned one.

>84 abysswalker:

I'd imagine labour in Mexico is *much* cheaper ($7-$8 per hour for skilled workers according to Google), as also would be India (where there a lot of binders). The last one I had quoted for was a couple of years ago for a plain blue alcantara-lined, cloth-covered Solander with ribbon (size for a standard Octavo edition) with a single line of foiled text (i.e. no custom stamps required). Made in the UK - that was about £150 (200 USD) back then. Custom foiling added about £75 per foil, IIRC (though that is a one-off cost if you were doing a bunch of them for a not especially huge design). Obviously for multi-coloured foiling you need multiple dies. That was the reason I started making them myself. I can do them with better design and detailing and only materials cost and I have had dies CNCd for some of the more common things I need, such as the Tolkien sigil, etc. They are fairly time-consuming to make, mind. I've probably made about 50 at this point (primarily for my own collection).

Going on Folio's own accounts, we know their cost of good is about 1/3rd the retail price of the product, so the *cost* to them of something like Beowulf with a large Solander would have been around £200 for the book and solander combined (give or take). If a third of that cost was the solander (which it probably was), then the solander cost would likely have been £65 -- which ties into my retail cost suggestion of around £200 if you wanted to go out and buy something similar (on account of 1/3rd being a pretty normal CoGS). The weird take in this thread is people (not you) thinking Folio should only be charging their "insignificant" cost for a solander, yet having no similar expectation regarding the book itself.

I think people want to have a perception in their mind that their books are more special (and valuable) than they really are. The inclusion of the real solander cost in that equation breaks the illusion of what resources go into the book itself (the main event), because it demonstrates that the book cost less to make than perhaps they expected.

Guillermo del Toro announced as the Introducer for the LE of It.

The introducer of our Limited Edition is none other than Guillermo del Toro, the visionary behind Pan’s Labyrinth, Pacific Rim and Netflix's upcoming Frankenstein.

Known for crafting worlds where beauty walks hand in hand with terror, Guillermo brings a deeply personal perspective to It. His introduction reflects on a lifetime spent in the company of King’s stories that stirred his fears and left a lasting imprint on the landscape of horror.

'It speaks of the struggle that never ends, the eternal vigil against evil that is, by necessity, cyclical. The many shapes the cosmic dread takes keep changing: sometimes smiling, sometimes frowning at us'
Guillermo del Toro, from his introduction

Never heard of him and not signed by King not sure about paying that price.

Wow, what a great alternative! For anyone who might not know him, del Toro is the world's leading gothic horror director having won three Academy Awards, three BAFTA's and countless more for his films Pan's Labyrinth, The Shape of Water, Crimson Peak and many others. He's basically the Stephen King of film.

Del Toro! That's a great alternative

>89 DramPan: A £590 alternative, though? :)

>88 HonorWulf: "He's basically the Stephen King of film."

How dare you! Del Toro actually has talent.

>91 PartTimeBookAddict: Touché!

>93 LT79: Heh. The only movie I ever walked out on was "xXx" with Vin Diesel in 2002. I felt like I was watching the death of cinema with each frame...

>93 LT79: That's too bad. You cheated yourself out of the best half.

How many times have you seen Maximum Overdrive?

>96 PartTimeBookAddict: Stephen King film adaptations are an absolute trainwreck. There's been over 50 of them (!) and I think only two will stand the test of time -- Stanley Kubrick's The Shining and Frank Darabont's The Shawshank Redemption. Beyond that, there's maybe a handful of watchable ones (i.e. Misery, Carrie, The Green Mile, Stand By Me, The Dead Zone), but the vast majority of them are dreadful. Not even sure Maximum Overdrive is the worst one, but it's certainly a viable contender...

The Storm of the Century miniseries was great. The Mist deserves a mention too.

>98 evilsooty999: Ironically (or not), The Mist is also by Frank Darabont, who also did The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. It's OK, but it's my least favorite of the three and I hated the "new" ending, which was the exact opposite of the book, but mileage will differ.

Del Toro is a huge fan of Lovecraft and similar Weird Tales as well as more traditional "horror". Apparently here is his book recommendations
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/119313.Guillermo_del_Toros_Book_Recommendati...
where you'll find Hawthorne, Oscar Wilde, Arthur Machen, Stephen King, and much more. He's very well read honestly.

And he's definitely talented, Pan's Labyrinth is a masterpiece. That said, I also found "The Shape of Water" to be boring and uninspired. I have not seen his subsequent films, although I'm certainly willing to give them all a chance - I heard Pinocchio is excellent, although I plan to read the book first (it's on my list :)

I did watch his Cabinet of Curiosities anthology which is on Netflix. Some of the episodes were very well done, and others in my opinion are quite badly done. All that said, I do wish there was more than just one season, it had potential.

Random famous director.

>100 HonorWulf:

Most Stephen King adaptations are crap, But Shawshank is arguably the best film ever made, so it kind of makes up for the rest! I’ll forever be thankful to King for the novella it was based on, even though most of his books don’t really appeal.

I remember reading a story somewhere that looked at the quality of films based on his books, and how much involvement he had in the script and making of the films. The conclusion was that the more involved he was, the worse the adaptation was. I haven't tested this theory myself, but yes - The Shawshank Redemption is an absolutely superb film.

Read some info on Del Toro and do know who he is now might be pretty good signature to have on the book so that might make me more inclined to buy the book.

>106 LT79: For sure. King notoriously hated Kubrick's work on The Shining, which reveals a lot about his movie instincts (or lack thereof).

>97 HonorWulf: All of the movies you define as watchable are pretty great IMO, especially Carrie and The Dead Zone. I’d also argue that Carrie will continue to stand the test of time, as it contains one of the most iconic moments in horror movie history.

And I know this is an unpopular opinion but I actually prefer The Green Mile to The Shawshank Redemption.

tbf I never liked the film Shining, Jack Nicholson was already 95% towards outright lunacy at the start of the film, so there was nowhere for him to go...

>110 LT79: Could you be thinking of "Hotel Jugoslavija"?
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7099756/

>106 LT79: have you read Pet Semetary? Saying his characters lack depth is a oretty broad brush stroke. What are the comparison characters that don't lack depth?

I think many film adaptations of Kings work fail because they focus on the fantastical elements where the characters are the strength of the books.

The Shining is an example where the characters shine (wink wink) in both the film and the book, but are different.

>109 InVitrio: Yep; as fine a film as The Shining is, Kubrick sucked the depth right out of that character.

>112 SDB2012: >113 St._Troy: Just my opinion of course, although let me say I have seen the movie a number of times, and I've also read the novel. In general, Stephen King does not know how to write fleshed out characters. For the most part, King's characters tend to be 1-D with little-to-no depth in them, and quite often experience little development from the start to end of the novel. I thought Kubrick did a superb job adapting The Shining, and Jack Nicholson truly brought the character to life.

I prefer the book to the movie, but have grown to like the movie for it's own story telling. I think that people often assume more depth to Kubrick films than actually exists. In any case, BdT is a very good director and storyteller, so while I do not plan on buying IT, I would be happy with his name associated with the introduction if I were. I am amazed that it would affect anyone's decision to buy the book.

>115 Cardboard_killer:

People are buying books signed by random academics and are paying £100 premiums to do so. I ceased to be amazed by the current crop of Folio buyers a while back.

>116 stubedoo: I’m guessing that specific crop to be around 100 people or so. I wonder how much profit these editions actually generate for FS.

Personally, it irritates me that I receive emails from FS almost every day now; whether it’s to announce a signed edition that’s “bound to vanish”, to start LE “countdown”, or to highlight some other trivial event dressed up in cheesy lines and empty words.

I still have a rather long wishlist I’d like to follow up with from FS, and I do like their books, but the aggressive marketing just turns me off - I’m roughly 2 years in with no direct purchase from store.

I wonder what figure King quoted Folio to sign this book. It must have been too high to make it commercially viable.

>119 BriainC:

I think he just isn't signing for publishers these days. Not like there would be any amount of money that would be meaningful to him.

>118 LT79: The Institute is very good indeed. The setup is almost on the edge of possibility, and because most of the main characters are children, I found it quite troubling. Fairy Tale, on the other hand I thought was drivel and I haven't read any of the very new ones. I'm quite tempted by Holly, though.

Another thing that surprises me is the amount of time people that do not like King's writing spend expressing that opinion anytime his name is mentioned. I've noticed elsewhere the same phenomenon with the movie The Shape of Water, which I have not seen. I have chalked that up to politics, and as there is overlap between the two populations, I suspect that the same reason is true for my first observation.

>124 NovelNexus: Oh dear.

I liked the idea of a continuing character, but maybe not. Is it too gruesome in a sadistic nasty things in the basement kind of way? That was my one worry.

Given the general outline of the plot I thought at least he can't squeeze any Lovecraft in....

>123 LT79: I was not opinionating on the quality of King's writing (and I've only read a few of his books) or the movie The Shape of Water (which I have not seen at all). I was observing that both pieces of art get undue attention from their detractors. I then gave my opinion that this was due to politics.

Perhaps you can provide evidence that the observation is wrong. Or, perhaps you can give another explanation of why the volume of detraction exists. I'm willing to listen to either.

>122 Cardboard_killer: "I have chalked that up to politics"

I've only read a handful of King's books (and entirely older ones) -- I didn't notice anything political about them, particularly - though it was admittedly a long time ago. My recollection is that I enjoyed them well enough, but they probably needed a quite a bit of trimming down. I enjoyed reading "On Writing".

>128 stubedoo: I love a lot of King's stuff but he has definitely inserted politics into his work including his hate for the current US president. It's annoying at best. He's entitled to his opinions as we all are but I don't want it to intrude on my escapist fiction.

>118 LT79: I love the film. The book is good too. Just different. I would say Pet Semetary and Wizard and Glass are tow of the best Kimg books Ive read but for the latter you need the context of the first few books in the series.

He's a commercial writer which means formula, convention, and genre expectations. A lot of his books are bloated in my opinion. He excels in short story writing.

>129 SDB2012:

Fair enough. Like I say, have only read a smattering of his older stuff and none of the new. That said, I'm kind of glad to hear he hates the current US president. Honestly, from my perspective, that's actually a pretty healthy position for an educated person (I genuinely don't know how anyone could listen to Trump waffling incoherently - which the press tends to elide when reporting - and not have a healthy disrespect for the man. Everyone's mileage varies on such things, of course).

A gentle reminder that posts on politics, race, sex and religion are not permitted on FSD.

>133 folio_books: "A gentle reminder that posts on politics, race, sex and religion are not permitted on FSD."

Yep, fair.

>121 red_guy: yep The Institute was fun. I called it: “King paying homage to those who paid homage to King”. Given the book was inspired by Stranger Things and Stranger Things inspired by King’s early work

>135 dyhtstriyk: I thought it was inspired by the X-men and whatever their academy was called.

Interior artwork via FS' Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DLmzcGyNYIp/?img_index=1

My thoughts:
- Odd that they apparently consider Skarsgard's Pennywise to be canon
- Bev resembles the Bev of the 90s miniseries
- The werewolf looks like a bear
- Mrs. Kersh looks silly
- My FOMO is evaporating

>137 St._Troy: Quite the opposite for me, my FOMO has unfortunately intensified for this one.

I've personally never had any illustrated book where I loved *all* the interior artwork. I evaluate more on an average sense. And this is good to me as far as overall vibe goes.

I think I'll regret it later on if I don't seize the opportunity to get a copy.

>137 St._Troy: The werewolf is supposed to come from his imagination after seeing I Was A Teenage Werewolf which is more wolf man than werewolf as we know it now. If anything they erred on the side of wolfishness over the original which is just goofy looking.
Pennywise seems inspired by the recent movie but doesn't have the iconic makeup.
The art is definitely more in the cheesy 80s vein than Kinsella's take from the others.

>139 A.Godhelm: “Pennywise seems inspired by the recent movie but doesn't have the iconic makeup.”

The FS illustration literally has the very same identifying eye (above and below) makeup - the only difference is that FS isn’t using a movie still.

>138 Ibkay: I certainly regretted not getting the LE of Perdido Street Station.

>141 snottlebocket:

They can be purchased on the secondary market without any uplift beyond RRP, so no need for regret.

>142 stubedoo: can you point me to one? Cheapest I've found on the secondary was some 200gbp over RRP.

A short YouTube video on Jim Burns’s illustrations: https://youtu.be/Dy36-p01yJo?feature=shared

>143 snottlebocket:

Sorry, I thought I had answered this. Probably was when LT was playing up on the iPhone and posting was flaky. There was/is one for sale on the Folio trading FaceBook group. Was certainly available a couple of weeks ago. Had a very tiny spine bump (don't recall if it was head or foot) which looked like it could just be teased out with fingers. Must have been there from the factory as the clam was fine. Was located in the US, IIRC and was below RRP.

£740 (ROW), quite a markup from the £590 (UK) and the $825 (US). So, no thanks...

>146 Dr.Fiddy: The US mark-up isn't bad given today's exchange rate (£590 is $790 US), so $825 is less then a 5% mark-up. However, the ROW mark-up is over 25%, which seems steep, especially for those countries that don't have tax taken out of it.

With the tax properly calculated, it should be 631 Pounds for Germany. No way in hell.

>147 HonorWulf: Yes, the US mark-up is very modest. Even if the purchase was made directly in GBP from the US, your credit card company will likely charge a 3% foreign transaction fee anyway, so that further shrinks the mark up from Folio.

The real question now is if I'm willing to bite at this price...

Let’s see how fast it sells. It was up for sale at 16:03 GMT (11:03 EST).

Sold out in 2 minutes!

>151 HonorWulf: Is this a new record for Folio LEs?

740 pounds. Ouch. No, no way. I had it in the basket but no. I preferred to let it go. And fast it went.

>152 Ibkay: Yep, The Hobbit took at least 15 minutes!

Already on Ebay

The quick sell out time only encourages FS to increase their pricing next time. I passed on this just due to the high price, but it appears that many didn't feel the same, or that many are expecting the resale market to bring even higher prices.

Sold out in 10 minutes bought mine at 1 minute!😎

Wasn't showing as available on the US site even at 11:00am.

>158 NovelNexus: Hopefully, the SE will be two volumes and match the others, fingers crossed.

>159 Sand_Man: It launched late at 11:03am. It showed sold out for me at 11:05am.

Quicker than I thought they won’t ever break that record.

>162 Carl64: Next year, they'll do The Stand :)

>163 HonorWulf: Probably will since they made a mint on this one.

Not even 30 minutes since the release and there are already over 15 listings from scalpers on eBay averaging £1500 :)))))

edit to add: AND THEY ARE GETTING SOLD!

A couple of $2000 listings on eBay US ...

>151 HonorWulf: I got as far as checkout, entered the verification code my bank sent me, then ... the screen reverted to my basket. Must have sold out while I was in the payment process.

Frustrating but I guess I've saved some money to spend on the next collection :-)

Wow! I wonder how many of those will actually get read...

About 10% of the total limitation now appears to be on eBay already. Stinks.

I’ve never seen so many resell on eBay, that’s insane. And we’re barely 1 hour in.

Two eBay sold prices equate to just under $2,000 USD each. It’s incredible. Roughly $4,000 for two copies of the same book.

>172 NovelNexus:, I do think the FS dropped the ball by not getting SK to sign the book.

>174 Bibliophile-I: SK cut back his signing four or five years ago and no longer signs mail-ins or in bulk. He's limited his signatures to in-person signing events these days.

Do the resellers never get burned selling things on ebay? One scummy buyer reports having gotten nothing, suddenly your profit margins turn into losses?

Probably won’t receive mine for a few days since I am on the states. Glad I nabbed this one can’t wait to read it again. Will be bulky might have to prop it up on a pillow.😂

>171 Nerevarine: I actually find this really depressing. As someone who missed out on the book and actually would have bought it for my collection, it makes me a little sad to see eBay currently has 93 examples for sale already before they could even have been delivered; that's almost 20% of the entire print run.

>178 RHalley63: A lot of sharks probably bought it knowing they would make a profit.

Yeah, I'm not in the market for this one but that so many are instantly being flipped...maybe the FS needs to do an Oscar thing of having an automatic buy-back...

At least they limited it to one per customer this time, a small step in the right direction.

>181 folio_books: The fine print actually stated « one per order ». So I guess you could buy multiple copies if you were quick enough. :(

>178 RHalley63:

£1,536.71, £1, 536.72 (this one seems especially popular for some reason), £1,506,12, £1, 537.74, £1,434.72. Why these oddly specific numbers?

£1230.72 (plus £19.55 delivery in three days) is the best so far.

I'm an old-fashioned sort of guy pluttering around on my desktop. I was on there the moment it became available for me to 'add to basket' (which was about five past four, per my computer) but, in the time it took me to type in my credit card details, have the bank phone me back to request a verification code, and me to type that in, 500 other people had been faster.

As a non-techie, I'm wondering: How do they manage to buy so many so quickly?

While I'm never going to buy one for three times Folio's price, I am tempted to flood the scalpers with Best Offers of 50p. Just to pee them off, you know ;-)

Bots. They used bots as there’s no way to get that many through the servers normally.

I think the reason I was able to nab one was I logged in before sale and hit the buy button quickly and used Apple Pay.

>183 Cat_of_Ulthar:

I didn't buy this one, but using saved credit card data and being lucky when the provider doesn't demand a verification of one sort or another (in my case it's usually an app) has made it possible for me to do some fast checkouts when I might have lost out on a book otherwise.

>186 NovelNexus: They used bots for sure.

>188 Carl64: It seems possible - see also the almost instantaneous sell out (approx 3min for 750 copies) of Curious King's Assassin's Apprentice that released today (although those are more likely to be genuine buyers).

I think Folio is particularly exposed to scalers for the reason that they only make LEs available for purchase when they are ready to be shipped. Almost every other publisher doing high quality limited editions is much smaller and has pre-orders 6-12 months in advance. That's a lot of time for the scalpers' money to be tied up and much higher risk for them.

With Folio, they can predict a book being a big seller, nab one or more copies and have them listed (and possibly even sold) on eBay before they're even dispatched. And if they made a bad call and there's no demand, they have four weeks to return the book for a full refund so they've lost nothing.

>189 cyber_naut: if they made a bad call and there's no demand, they have four weeks to return the book for a full refund so they've lost nothing.
Now that's just diabolical.

>180 InVitrio: Sorry, but I’m not sure of what you mean by doing an Oscar thing of having an automatic buy-back.

>191 betaraybill: Academy Award winners are contracted not to sell their Oscars -- if they want to do so, they have to first offer it back to the Academy for $1.

>191 betaraybill: You can't sell an Oscar on the open market. One of the conditions of accepting one is that if you don't want it any more, you have to give the Academy first refusal to buy it back for $1. The Academy has had auctions halted for that reason.

The rule dates from 1950, so the early Oscars ARE "fungible". Notably Orson Welles' for Best Scriptwriting, which went for a million dollars (including buyer's premium) in 2011.

Did the LE It already get "released" and is sold out? I suspect that's the case because I've actually had a few people tell me "That's it, I'm done with Folio Society!" -- by which I take it they really wanted a copy of the LE It, but since it instantly sold out as everyone knew it would... well, can't say I expected any less from the FS of today.

>194 astropi: Yes, it sold out somewhere between 2 and 7 minutes.

I wasn't going to buy this anyway as it doesn't interest me (and I have no interest in scalping). But a 25% ROW uplift? That is purely Folio taking the piss.

>176 A.Godhelm:

Probably happens from time to time. Bad buyers are a much bigger risk on eBay than bad sellers, for sure.

>176 A.Godhelm: Sellers can purchase insurance to cover any losses, real or fictional, and use signature confirmation to circumvent buyers saying they never got it.

>198 A.Nobody: Well with that and the weeks to return it for a refund noted above (hadn't even considered that), it just seems like there's no real way to lose trying to flip a popular book. With those perverse incentives it's no wonder there's resellers camping out, it's hundreds of pounds in pure profit every time. A small limitation on a popular book like this and it's far worse than usual.
I feel bad for the real fans.

>192 HonorWulf: Interesting, thanks!

>193 InVitrio: That’s quite fascinating. I wasn’t aware of this. Thanks!

Anyone know if the artist who did the other 3 Stephen King books will continue the trend for future books, like Salem's Lot or Carrie? Or, are they going to keep the artist for It to do future books? Looking at the side profile of both artists, it looks like even if they do come out with a regular edition of It, the book will be styled differently from the 3 other titles.

The scalping only works if people actually buy them. Surprisingly, 7 copies so far have sold for around $1700 on eBay today. Either someone is playing games to manipulate perception and these aren't real sales, or there were 7 people who wanted it badly enough to pay over 2x retail price.

There are still 69 copies for sale on eBay. The scalpers who aren't lucky with sales will have to decide between returning them in a few weeks, which will mean stock available from FS again, or holding onto them long term and hoping someone eventually buys it. Keep in mind they have to sell for $1000+ on eBay just to break even after fees. And there is a high risk of buyers screwing with them.

Scalper’s Paradise. Some people love paying for air it seems.

>203 rogerthat2: which will mean stock available from FS again

What does folio do with returned LEs? I’ve never seen a restock of a sold out LE on the website - do they all just go to the pop up sale?

Received notice today mine has shipped today so I did actually acquire a copy! Was a little nervous since some tried to obtain a copy and were refunded.

On the Folio Society website page for It, it says "It sold out in under seven minutes", so I guess that's your official number for the record books:

https://www.foliosociety.com/usa/it

So is this the fastest selling LE from Folio Society ever?

>209 cazaniq: Yep. The Hobbit LE was the previous record holder at 15 minutes.

I didn't actually want this LE so I'm relieved it sold out so quickly. I agree with other posts that this one sold out so quickly because of bots. I probably would have missed out on getting The Hobbit if a similar strategy was used there. I can get a copy in 15 minutes but not two. I am worried that FS LEs are going the way of concert tickets with bots buying up almost all the tickets within a few seconds of them going on sale and then reselling them for outrageous mark-ups.

FOLIO SOCIETY EDITORIAL STRATEGY MEETING AGENDA

• Consider:
_______Product________Sell-out Rate
OLD FS : Queen Mary Atlas : 14 years
NEW FS: Stephen King 'It' : 7 minutes

• Suggestion to restrict output to target authors: Stephen King ; J.K. Rowling ; James Patterson

• Restrict LE limitation for these authors to just 6 million

• New Projected Sell-out Rate: 25 minutes, but with AI should get that down to 0.528762 seconds.

• Suggestion to use only the finest papered board and glue

• Suggestion to set up works dedicated exclusively to printing labels for author signing

• Suggestion to engage physiotherapist, specialising in wrist muscle conditions

• Suggestion to set up Cryogenic Facility to preserve authors indefinitely. They will be thawed out every six months to write a new bestseller, exclusive to the Folio Society, and sign six million labels, before being refrozen

• Where do we see the Folio Society in ten years?

• Is Any Other Business necessary?

Late suggestion for addition to Agenda from longstanding staffer:

• Projected LE of Treatise On Land Surveying Methods Using the Surveyor's Cross by Francesco Paciotti (1521-1591). 1000 copies

-----REJECTED-----

Substitute addition to Agenda:
• Possible disciplinary action leading to dismissal of longstanding staffer

>213 boldface:

Yes, those two sum it up, Jonathan. Poor old Longstanding Staffer won't get a look-in.

>213 boldface: FOLIO SOCIETY EDITORIAL STRATEGY MEETING AGENDA

The insider term is omni-porgy

Having previously experienced missing out (The Divine Coedy) while waiting for bank verification my sympathies are with those others that have experienced that. I do not understand why submitting purchasing information doesn't count as buying a book. Most online purchases in my country require data verification and entry of a personal identification number of at least eight digits before completion. This can take time and for Folio to sell someone else “my book” during this process over which I have little control is irksome. Knowing that one is competing with bots adds to the frustration. Folio may not mind if devotees or bots buy their books, but this could eventually harm interest in their books. I began buying Folio editions to replace my favourite well-worn books printed on low-quality paper. Illustrations are not a significant consideration for me, and most of my book purchases are standard editions, however for books that are special to me I do like to own a special edition. I was not aware of Folio prior to 2018. My feeling is that limited editions where special editions published not to a regular schedule but outside it and what was considered to be eligible has changed greatly and to the worse in my opinion (https://www.librarything.com/topic/330009). The trend now appears to be towards one per month with a cheaper edition following some months later. The number of standard editions is therefore moving to simpler versions of the limited editions or reissues resulting in an increasing lack of variety of new titles. I understand that Folio is a business, and businesses need to make money, but Folio used to stand for more than that in my view. The limitation numbers seem to have been far higher than today, reflecting that these were special editions of important works not intended to be sold out in minutes to bots for immediate resell for profit. I have therefore started to dislike Folio limited editions and frankly find it difficult to justify their cost, especially as these are not really what would be considered fine editions and too often not well put together.

>206 Carl64: Where did you hear about people getting their copies refunded? Just wondering if I should be concerned that mine didn’t ship yet. I did order some other books alongside IT however, so that could slow the shipping processing down.

>217 ReadingAlligator: On Folio site Facebook some were mentioning they ordered and were refunded because they had sold out. You should be fine since you haven’t been refunded.

This LE had half as many copies as The Hobbit, so it’s not an apples to apples comparison. Personally, I don’t think it was bots - the King fanbase is rabid, and many people saw it as an opportunity to make some easy money.

Mine is out for delivery today which is pretty quick since I live in the states.

My copy’s just arrived, no.219 for those who care about such things. It’s lovely and I wouldn’t swap it for a grand of free money, were that to be on offer. More pics in my gallery junk drawer, but they don’t really add much to the photos that are already out there.

Received mine and I too think it’s a magnificent edition - the illustrations are, to my mind, the best I’ve seen for this novel. The layout too is In tasteful contrast to CD’s red bordered pages which I’d find distracting. The leather smells like………leather. The title and motif on the solander are both debossed which is a great touch. Very legible also. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been able to acquire this edition at what was, by current ltd edition prices, a reasonable cost. Yes, I wish they’d split the book into two volumes but when in hand this really doesn’t disappoint. Great job, Folio!

>221 MisterTrister: It's always nice to see them in real world settings and lighting. Thanks. Looks like there's a little more bleed through than usual. Perhaps to be expected with the gargantuan page count.

>221 MisterTrister: Interesting to see that it was not typeset at Folio, but by Palimpsest.

I noticed that my FS copy of The Night Circus was also typeset by Palimpsest. I immediately noticed the difference in type area on the page. Quite different from the classic Folio typesetting style.

>223 A.Godhelm: I just received my copy and the paper is quite thin indeed. It would have been way too big with the usual thickness of Munken Pure though. Really should have been 2 volumes with thicker paper.

Otherwise it is a fine book. No regret whatsoever.

>205 cyber_naut: None of them will be returned. 30% of the stock was bought by scalpers who will all make money on the secondary market.

rogerthat is just the sad reappearing troll, desperately coping with the fact that as a scalper he lost out on a big payday. He's just jealous.

Received my copy very pleased with the overall quality and illustrations! My copy is 181 I do wonder if that was my order in line or just random pick.

>227 Carl64: They're random pick these days.

For those who have the book, what do you think of the paper's thickness? I agree with the comments that it is very nice in hand. My only exception is that the paper seems very thin, but maybe I'm spoiled by other recent purchases.

>229 SDB2012: Seems fine with me I think with that many pages it needs to be thinner otherwise it would have to be two books.

>229 SDB2012: I think we’re all likely to agree it was necessary to have thinner stock for this edition but is it to the books’ detriment? I’d say no. My preference is for thicker paper such as Folio’s maroon ‘Beowulf’ or their ‘Of Mice and Men’ but thinner paper can both feel, and be of, high quality - this is the case with ‘It’. The show-through is there but certainly not distracting. It will obviously be acid free and the tone is very pleasing. I’m confident my copy will be sat on a shelf, a century hence, and still be sound enough to enjoy - what more can we ask?

>231 cottonoverwood: what more could we ask?

Well, as book collectors, we can and do ask for a LOT! Given the extremely high demand for the title, I wish FS had gone a bit farther with quality and used thicker paper and split it into two books. The book exceeded my expectations and I like it a lot, but it seems like they pulled their punches when they could have done something truly exceptional.

I am happy that I was able to get a copy and will read IT many times over the years.

>232 SDB2012: Agree on every point

>232 SDB2012: ‘What more could we ask’ was used more as a turn of phrase than a question. You are bang on point - two volumes on thicker paper would have made it exceptional in every regard - definitely a missed opportunity and frustrating as it would have sold equally as well even if it cost £200 more as would have been likely.

>234 cottonoverwood: I know. I'm just having fun. +)

>234 cottonoverwood: just think though, we might get a standard edition in two volumes! Maybe even bound in series with the other SK standard editions.

(Still not for me, but would be a good addition to Folio's catalog.)

>236 abysswalker: Fingers crossed!

I'd be surprised if they improved upon this in a standard edition by making it two volumes. Usually it's the other way around, like with The Book of the New Sun.

I'd be surprised if they improved upon this in a standard edition by making it two volumes. Usually it's the other way around, like with The Book of the New Sun.

>239 SF-72: But not with Doctor Zhivago, though, nor War & Peace, The Decameron and Les Miserables ... all two volumes after a one volume LE. Although I suppose Les Mis was actually a different edition, so doesn't count. I wonder if creating a SE of a 1000+ pages creates problems in the way of structural integrity which might be more expensive to solve. What is the longest SE that Folio have produced?

>240 red_guy:

I think all of those were a while ago. I was thinking of more recent editions since I would consider those more representative of the current FS. Their cheaper edition of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, illustrated by Niroot Puttapipat from over a decade ago was in many ways more appealing than the more expensive limited edition. But my impression is that those days are over. I would be happy for people here, though, if I was wrong.

deleted since my post somehow got posted three times

deleted since my post somehow got posted three times

Does anyone think they will release a standard edition of IT? They still haven't done so for the Edgar Allan Poe LE

>244 cazaniq: Yes, for sure, assuming there aren't any licensing issues. There's usually at least a year between the SE and LE, and sometimes longer (Poe will be a year this October). There's always exceptions on the low end, where Folio has the LE and SE releases planned in advanced like with the Shirley Jackson books and The Book Thief, and the SE might come out sooner, but 12 to 24 months is more common.

I actually do think they will split the SE into 2 volumes. I think that gives anyone who purchased the LE with even the slightest thought to purchase a second copy (especially if they stick to the traditional black format of all other King novels).

>245 HonorWulf: Thank you!

>236 abysswalker: we can hope. I think it’s a distinct possibility.

>244 cazaniq: I'm pretty sure they will, since the King series is selling well and It is one of the best known books of his. Remaking it with new art to be in line with the others doesn't make a lot of sense.
>246 NotSoSlimShady: I'm also thinking they will split it because looking at the bleed through in the LE there's no real way for them to compromise on paper to reduce thickness, and it'd be hard to make it fit the design of the others, whereas splitting it looks about right with the other spines (~600p). This is a pure vibes argument from trying to visualize it. I think it'd also be easier for the customers to swallow paying double for two volumes ("it's like two books") which follows the pattern for their publishing of other lengthy works (Jonathan Strange etc).

In the video game world, Nintendo is known for releasing limited edition games without much fanfare, and often in incredibly limited numbers so that many people just do not even get a chance. There has been speculation on this for years "Hey, Nintendo knows people love Zelda, why do they make the limited editions in such small numbers?" and Nintendo has never replied to this. At the end of the day, most would agree that this is all done to create buzz and increase demand -- this is well known scarcity marketing. I'm convinced FS is doing this as well. No way anyone thought "A new LE of Stephen King's "It" with a signature from the world-famous director Guillermo del Toro, well 500 copies will certainly meet demand!" I think the FS is applying scarcity marketing to create FOMO for their editions and I find it fairly disgusting.

>232 SDB2012: " but it seems like they pulled their punches "

You mean they produced as little as they could get away with for the amount of money that they could charge. That's the reality.

>250 astropi: " this is well known scarcity marketing"

That's literally all limited editions are. There is no reason to arbitrarily limit an edition (i.e. choose a number, advertise it and never reprint) other than to create artificial scarcity and FOMO. Every single LE from every single publisher is doing that. People fall for it, so publishers continue to do it. People are often buying the thing ONLY because it is scarce, and they wouldn't bother at all if it wasn't. Human nature.

Well this is interesting.
There have been over 100 resellers for It on Ebay.
I missed out on purchasing the book when released at 1am in Australia. I set my alarm for 1am but by the time I got up and made it to my computer, all had been sold.
I just won an Ebay auction for the book for £803, which is less than the ROW price of £825 I would have paid directly from FS.
I think resellers may be getting desperate.

>253 wcarter: Very well done!

>253 wcarter: Excellent!

>251 stubedoo: I don't know. I can't read minds, but there are many easier ways to make money than selling books. It seems like they put a lot of effort into the book. Given the instant sellout, FS could have charged a lot more.

>250 astropi: I mean, you literally just explained precisely what a limited edition is. Is this insight something new, or a long-held feeling?

>253 wcarter: Haha very good!

>253 wcarter: "I think resellers may be getting desperate."

They have a month to return the book without it really costing them anything. That said, this could end up like The Hobbit, where the first copies were successfully scalped and then there were just too many on the market (different circumstances of course) and you can hardly even give them away at this point. The worm can definitely turn!

>253 wcarter: Prices do appear to be trending downwards - I see many copies for less than £1,000 now rather than £1,500-plus. Still more than I would choose to pay but I'll keep watching and maybe I'll get lucky :-)

48 copies still for sale on Ebay.
30 sold with most expensive sale £1500!
One copy sold for a few pounds less than my purchase and some sold for "best offer" price where final price undisclosed.

>256 SDB2012: " there are many easier ways to make money than selling books"

You could apply that consideration to almost any business, though. There is always something easier. Doing that easier thing requires the right ideas, skills, investment, management and stakeholder interests, etc. That's why there is more than one business in the world.

Two more copies have been added to Ebay in the last four hours! The percentage of the limitation taken up by scalpers is huge. .

>261 stubedoo: not sure what your point is. You critiqued one part of my comment but not the other.

I share the sentiment that many of the limited editions put out by FS recently arent up to the same standards as in the past. I don't think anyone that isnt part of the decisions can say why they've made the choices they have, but I'm going to assume that people who are working in this field are doing the best they can to put out a quality product.

Edit- with that said, the FS Moby Dick seems to be loved by a lot of people. My opinion is that the FS IT had a lot more creative effort put into it and is superior in almost every way, other than the paper.

>262 wcarter: At least a tenth of all copies to scalpers is nutty. Has anyone done any napkin calculations for other LEs, it'd be interesting to see how big that share is normally. The limitation here was unusually small as well.
I'm a little heartened to see they're not all getting away with it, even as the risk (with returns) seems nonexistent.

What odds a pile of returns being flogged half-price at next year’s pop-up sale?

>264 A.Godhelm: >260 wcarter: I see 91 for sale on ebay with 33 sold (edit: on UK ebay there are 123 listed and 34 sold). That's not counting what might go up on the facebook trading site. I would guess at least 30% went to scalpers overall. I would not be surprised if that number rises to 40%.

They are getting away with it. Even the cheapest sold is still £200 over the FS price.

I think they will all sell by the end of the year.

On the non-mercantile side of things, I just got the "IT" e-book from my library and am currently on chapter 4. This is going to be one hell of a slog.

This is why I flagged up before that a limited member model might work better for FS. Restrict limited editions - at least for a day - to those with a record of orders. That way scalpers would have to buy SOMEthing beforehand.

>265 MisterTrister: No chance at all. Any returns, if in saleable condition, could easily be sold at full price. And I will still not be interested in buying one.

Are Folio LE's with lower numbers more valuable than higher numbers? Or is it the other way around

>269 cazaniq: Some people care about low numbers and might pay extra. "Special" numbers might also be more attractive (getting a Hitchhiker's Guide LE #42). I'm not sure what it could translate to into dollars though, I suspect not too much of a premium. Folio seems to have no strategy in giving the first number to the first order so it's essentially random.

>269 cazaniq: The short answer: no.

>270 A.Godhelm: Thank you!

>263 SDB2012: " but I'm going to assume that people who are working in this field are doing the best they can to put out a quality product."

That's a terrible assumption. Business of all types put out all manner of different qualities of products. And not necessarily to rip anyone off, but to meet different price points and to maximise profits. I'd say Folio often is putting profit above quality at this point (as are many other publishers). They are a business doing what businesses exist for - making money.

>273 stubedoo: I'm tapping out, but will leave you with this. Your comments are pronouncements about basic microeconomic theory rather than anything specific to FS.

I didn't say I assumed they were putting out the best or highest quality product but rather that the people involved are doing the best they can to put out a quality product.

And in my experience, whether working as an entry level employee, executive, or owner in various businesses over the years, people care deeply about quality. Money is obviously an important thing but not the only thing.

>264 A.Godhelm: "Has anyone done any napkin calculations for other LEs, it'd be interesting to see how big that share is normally."

I haven't done the calculation, but I am 99.99% sure this is the Stephen King limited edition effect, and nothing particularly specific to the Folio Society.

>252 stubedoo: That's literally all limited editions are. There is no reason to arbitrarily limit an edition (i.e. choose a number, advertise it and never reprint) other than to create artificial scarcity and FOMO.

I do have to disagree. There are absolutely legitimate reasons to limit a production. 1)Certainly having "special" editions that are signed, numbered, and similar features adds a sense of uniqueness which is important for anyone spending hundreds (or more) dollars on a collectible book. If the book could be re-published at any time that edition is no longer unique. 2)Also cost management -- if you end up with the majority of your limited edition books unsold that's not good for the bottom line. And while publishers may not necessarily have money as their priority, obviously no company can survive without some capital. 3)Anthony from Curious King recently posted in the fine press forum that for him artistic value is top. He argued that publishing 1000 copies can still maintain his artistic vision, but if he were to just publish thousands upon thousands, in his mind that's no different than any mainstream publisher. So there definitely are legitimate reasons to limit editions. However, I will never believe that the FS actually thought 500 copies of a limited edition Stephen King novel would come close to meeting demand.

Also, as @wcarter noted, there were clearly lots of people that purchased only with a quick profit in mind. Obviously, it's not possible to stop people from reselling (no should that be the case), but at the end of the day I can only imagine such a small limitation to one of the most popular novels from one of the most popular authors on Earth was solely to create artificial scarcity and FOMO.

>274 SDB2012:

Honestly, your statement doesn't really even mean anything useful. To paraphrase - "Employees are doing their best". OK, but also not useful at all in determining whether or not a business is producing a quality product (where "quality" is a completely moving target anyway, as previously mentioned). Also tapping out as I'm not even sure what you are trying to argue.

>276 astropi:

You have just listed reasons that you have decided are "legitimate", but are actually (a) just the same reasons as FOMO ("Uniqueness" = creating FOMO), or (b) Limited because we can't sell more than the limitation anyway, so we claim it is limited for FOMO.

Limited Editions (or at least the marketing of such) exist to drive sales through the perception of scarcity/being something special. In reality, of course, often the limitation is so high that it isn't really limited at all (Easton Press do this, sometimes never even producing as many copies as they "limited" to).

>278 stubedoo: Disagree. FOMO is only legit if you really have a good chance at missing out. If a limited edition book you want to get will sell out in a few days, or even a few weeks/months, then you're likely not going to be feeling any FOMO - I know I would not. On the other hand, if a book will sell out within minutes, and it's questionable if you will even be able to make it to the website, then that legitimately creates FOMO. A limited edition publisher such as Suntup, CTP, etc. do try and match demand as best as possible. I know for popular titles Suntup will up the numbers which is much appreciated. Also, you note: often the limitation is so high that it isn't really limited at all - that's really just not true. Yes, Easton Press has had limitations in the thousands (and surprise, they still sell out, granted over months/years), and the LEC limitation count was typically 1500 (again, they often sold out), and newer fine press publishers have limitations between 500-1000 typically, and as has been seen they can still sell out within minutes.

Something I've seen done on limited release whiskies is to engrave the customer's name on every bottle. That discourages scalpers because it dramatically reduces the resale value - who wants to buy an LE with someone else's name engraved on it? I wonder if something similar would work on FS LEs. On the title page, maybe. Maybe not mandatory, but with a significant premium if you want an unlabeled version.

>224 Ibkay: how would you describe the difference? Is it a step down from the usual FS typesetting? (Asking as the Night Circus is very much on my list)

>281 BorisG: The page type area is more 'symmetric' in the top and bottom margins, as compared to the classic FS type area which typically follows the Jan Tschichold style asymmetric top and bottom margins (with bottom margin noticeably larger).

I personally prefer the classic FS type area as the margin asymmetry is aesthetically more pleasing and has an elegant feel to it.

But the FS Night Circus typesetting is still fine - I think most readers won't even notice or care. The typeface used is very good. The book is also very well made, with blocked-cloth binding (thankfully Folio didn't cheap-out with paper covered boards).

I find typography extremely fascinating. It's the first thing I evaluate in any book. Always appreciate publishers that have tasteful typography (shout-out to Centipede Press, Conversation Tree and Folio Society).

>282 Ibkay: thanks for the detailed reply, very helpful!

>279 astropi: " Also, you note: often the limitation is so high that it isn't really limited at all - that's really just not true."

You limit your discussion to a very small number of publishers. Larger publishers often have limitations in the many thousands. It is pure marketing and fundamentally is "Limited to as many as we can sell".

HarperCollins had "Available for a limited time only" on their 2004 Lord of the Rings. It is still in print 21 years later.... It is a limitation that is a lie.

Prices are definitely coming down: the last few days' ebay sales were all for less than £1,000. And I'm getting emails offering reductions in the price if I want one.

>285 Cat_of_Ulthar: Scalpers cannibalized each others with the vast quantity of copies available on eBay. Gotta love it.

>286 Nerevarine:

Oh yes!

>286 Nerevarine: At the moment. Once copies start drying up, prices will of course also go up. If someone really wants this, now might be the time to strike.

>284 stubedoo: You limit your discussion to a very small number of publishers. Larger publishers often have limitations in the many thousands. It is pure marketing and fundamentally is "Limited to as many as we can sell".
True, but we're not discussing large publishers here, we're discussing FS, Suntup, Curious King, etc. all small publishers.

>288 astropi: Indeed, I think now is pretty much the best time to get a copy on the secondary market. It will eventually go up as inventory dries up !

I begrudged giving scalpers my money but I finally bought a copy today. For anyone who is still interested, the prices on eBay over the last couple of days seem to be at their lowest so far; I've been watching a number of listings and am getting offers from sellers ranging from about £680 to £750. A few of the most recent auctions ended around the £670 - 690 mark, which isn't too far above the original list price.

There are still so many copies listed for sale right now that it's hard to imagine the average selling price increasing much for some time - but equally it's hard to imagine them dropping much further either if the sellers want to make any profit on their original £600 investment, so as others have pointed out now is probably the time to buy.

>290 RHalley63: So, for those of us in ROW, eBay seems like a better option than buying it directly from FS at £740...

>291 Dr.Fiddy: Rather incredible the ROW mark up on an already quite expensive book is that high, but yes indeed.

It's an awful lot to spend on a book but nice to think the savings over the ROW price might offer a patina of value to some.

Just in case it helps anyone: I'm still getting alerts on eBay because I watched a number of copies, and I just got notified one has had the price dropped to £666.40 or best offer.

>270 A.Godhelm: One seller thinks somebody out there cares enough to pay through the nose for this particular #1:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/187415229283?_skw=folio+society+it+limited+edition

I wouldn't myself but I'll be interested to see what it does go for.

Perhaps there's an obsessive millionaire out there who lines their man cave with LE #1s ;-)

>290 RHalley63: Like you, I begrudged paying more than what Folio charged but it's a book I really wanted so I gritted my teeth and accepted that I was going to have to pay more. Or wait months or years in the hope that a cheap one would come up.

I was aiming for around £650-£700 with a max of £750. My lower offers were declined but I did end up getting one for less than £750. Not the cheapest one so far, but acceptable to me. There's definitely an excess of supply versus demand at the moment* so I hope more people get better deals although I agree that sellers are going to resist cutting their profits. (My OCD has come into play here so I'm keeping a spreadsheet of sales and prices.)

It's a beautiful volume** and is a gripping read and kept me up well past my bedtime last night so I'm not suffering any buyer's remorse as yet :-)

* At least if people keep expecting to get £1,000 or more; adjust your expectations, folks.

** If rather disturbing to look at. When I first unwrapped it (the seller hadn't even opened the carton, simply replaced the address label, so it was as close to having bought it directly from Folio as you're likely to get - as well as an example of shameless capitalism in action), I actually recoiled because it looks like a sponge soaked in blood. It genuinely spooked the crap out of me for a few moments.

>295 Cat_of_Ulthar: Goodness! £3.5k for a #1 limitation. That's quite a surcharge.

I haven't received my copy yet but I understand it to be essentially the same purely transactional resale as yours with the carton unopened and ready for forwarding. On the plus side, that makes the secondhand purchase as close to buying firsthand from Folio as possible, but it still feels incredibly sad to me that such a high concentration of these books appear to have gone directly to resellers.

I'm happy you managed to snag one at an acceptable price and cannot wait to receive mine; from your description it sounds like they did an excellent job on atmosphere, and as I otherwise tend toward more classic authors and bookbinding I think it will add some color (literally as well as figuratively) to my collection!

>294 Cat_of_Ulthar: They may be right! For someone that's a big Stephen King fan, this might be too tempting. That said, I bet the seller is aiming to get around £3k for it, but who knows, they may be willing to come down to a cool £2.5k... or less. But you bring up an interesting question, how much does limitation number matter?

The fact that these are proving to be a poor speculative vehicle (and we have now got a series of releases that are doing poorly for speculators bar the first handful) is really good news for people who want to collect the books. Less speculation = lower prices. People will start to take note, slow down their buying and Folio will need to react by reigning in their greed a bit. The market is-a-changin'.

>298 stubedoo: I agree with you that the market has calmed down in general. But in the case if IT, it’s solely because of the huge number of copies bought for resale. eBay was/is flooded with copies, more than 20-25% of copies sold by FS found their way on there in a matter of days. That’s unseen.

Had IT seen similar number of copies resold on eBay (compared to other FS LEs), the prices would be quite a bit higher.

>298 stubedoo: Without the speculators, this would have sold out in 10 minutes instead of 7. I think the upcoming Homer and Jane Austen LE's will be better benchmarks.

>300 HonorWulf:

Would it, though - assuming people knew that it wasn't going to be a good store of value? Even those who weren't flipping IT would be aware that it was likely to be sought after by Stephen King collectors, yet values for ROW customers are already below what Folio would have charged them.

Perception is everything -- and we are going from "every LE goes up in value" to "Even a sure-fire winner isn't going up in value". If IT can't do it, I'm not sure what can.

Once people stop buying with an anticipation of appreciation, the whole market can shift really rapidly. I think the whole book bubble is deflating across the board, though time will tell.

>301 stubedoo: Don't believe most people are buying these as investments -- they're buying them as Stephen King and/or Folio fans. And they're still selling at a pretty hefty premium regardless -- last three confirmed sales on eBay this week were for $1215, $1108 and $1200.

In terms of ROW, Folio's one-size-fits-all pricing obviously doesn't work for a lot of markets, so they're better off using a reshipper or a reseller in some cases -- hopefully Folio rethinks their strategy there.

In terms of the overall market, I have no idea, but Folio's having a banner year -- all of their Limited Editions have sold out within days and even some of their Standard Editions from this year have also sold out.

For those of you who purchased one, can you share a photo of how you display it? This book likes pretty big!

>303 cazaniq: It's actually not that big -- it's the same height as the other Stephen King books (~10 inches tall).

>304 HonorWulf: Do you display it vertically or horizontally? It's quite thick, and I would be afraid to place it vertically in case it sags.

>305 cazaniq: If I had it, I'd just display it normally and live with some minor sagging over time as I do with other thick books. If you want to prevent sagging, though, you could always put a thin strip of acid free foam board underneath the bottom.