First Autographed Book of Longing on Ebay
, but I just got a whiff of gas and oil.Hi Lightning ~
Speaking for myself, the indignation comes from there being many, sincere people who genuinely wanted a copy of the book, with Leonard's signature, for themselves or as a gift for a loved one... not to market it for their own gain... beginning at a gouging price and unaffordable for many.
It's known that this is a 'kick-start' for Leonard's sales of the book, to which Leonard was willing to lend his energy; yet, it is also a 'limited edition' that actually has meaning for [some] people. The window of time was brief and restricted. Some people lost out at the fair price for the book with the gift of Leonard's signature.
It's predictable that this would happen ~ yet, the original word used here was "Nasty" ~ and, under the circumstances, I second that word.
~ Lizzy
Speaking for myself, the indignation comes from there being many, sincere people who genuinely wanted a copy of the book, with Leonard's signature, for themselves or as a gift for a loved one... not to market it for their own gain... beginning at a gouging price and unaffordable for many.
It's known that this is a 'kick-start' for Leonard's sales of the book, to which Leonard was willing to lend his energy; yet, it is also a 'limited edition' that actually has meaning for [some] people. The window of time was brief and restricted. Some people lost out at the fair price for the book with the gift of Leonard's signature.
It's predictable that this would happen ~ yet, the original word used here was "Nasty" ~ and, under the circumstances, I second that word.
~ Lizzy
The price is not so nasty. Wait till you see what it goes for in the future if it is not murder. Investors buy low and sell high . Not everyone fetishizes Leonard's handwriting . In fact, most people do not. They see an author's signture as a collectible. And that's one thing Ebay is for: collectibles. If the author's fame increases the signature increases in value. Most people would rather have a signed Charles Dickens or William Burroughs Try to get that for $99.
Hi Lightning ~
Land grabs are done by investors who buy low and sell high. We've all seen areas that have been done that way. My property is barely worth anything, but I get letters often from 'people' in South Florida wanting to buy it. Investors. No interest in living here ~ guaranteed ~ but ready to over-price it to someone who is in the future. New Orleans stands to lose out that way, too, with its original people unable to afford the investor's price. Meanwhile, while the investor[s] has/have grabbed up Leonard's book[s], some genuine Leonard fans missed out because there were only so many to be gotten. I'm guessing mine will be signed. If it's not, it won't be earth-shattering. However, at least I'm interested in Leonard's signature being there, rather than just turning a quick buck. I know it's the capitalistic way, but a lot gets lost in that tidy process.
~ Lizzy
Land grabs are done by investors who buy low and sell high. We've all seen areas that have been done that way. My property is barely worth anything, but I get letters often from 'people' in South Florida wanting to buy it. Investors. No interest in living here ~ guaranteed ~ but ready to over-price it to someone who is in the future. New Orleans stands to lose out that way, too, with its original people unable to afford the investor's price. Meanwhile, while the investor[s] has/have grabbed up Leonard's book[s], some genuine Leonard fans missed out because there were only so many to be gotten. I'm guessing mine will be signed. If it's not, it won't be earth-shattering. However, at least I'm interested in Leonard's signature being there, rather than just turning a quick buck. I know it's the capitalistic way, but a lot gets lost in that tidy process.
~ Lizzy
Kush:
Enjoy your fans!
Dem
Mr.Cohen,Oh it doesnt matter to me what Harriet Brown is doing it for...if I needed the money or if Ebay was a regular source of income for me I would do it no question.
Enjoy your fans!
Dem
Last edited by Dem on Thu Apr 27, 2006 10:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
lightning:
Investment right!
During the German occupation an "investor" bought my grandfather's vineyard for two sacks of potatos.
You see my grandfather's children were starving to death.
I guess you have no problem with this kind of "investors" but I have.
And thank a God after the occupation in Greece we hanged some of those
"investors" with our own hands .
Dem
Investment right!
During the German occupation an "investor" bought my grandfather's vineyard for two sacks of potatos.
You see my grandfather's children were starving to death.
I guess you have no problem with this kind of "investors" but I have.
And thank a God after the occupation in Greece we hanged some of those
"investors" with our own hands .
Dem
Is it legal to buy the book and the resold it on Ebay. But anyhow, the moderators of this forum will remove such advertisings here. I think it's sad, as Lizzytysh said. There are many people who tried to get signed copy from Chapters Indigo. Leonard signed *more* than 1500 books. Many people got letters they will NOT get the signed copy. And just yesterday, signed copies appeared in bookstores in Toronto, normal price - *not* in Indigo Chapters' stores!
Leonard Cohen Newswire / bookoflonging.com (retired) / leonardcohencroatia.com (retired)
eBay
I used to play a card game with my parents and their friends
when they were still alive. It was called "Screw Your Neighbour."
It was a lot of fun, but I don't think that the idea behind that
phrase is what I want to use as the guiding force in my life.
Obviously, everything is relative. If someone has something that
they own, particulary if it is something they no longer use or need,
and wish to sell it on eBay, whether or not they need the money, I see nothing wrong with that. But that's not really the question here. The
question relates to 'intentional opportunism' and the 'meanings' that
we attach to things. One must assume that the book in question has no 'meaning' for the person who bought it and is now selling it on
eBay. (I also think that if she were selling it to raise money for
charity, she would have said so, as she would likely get more for it.)
The same thing can perhaps be said for art sold at auction. Some of
the people who buy it may value it for more than it's going price and
never want to resell it, others see no symbolic or emotional value and
merely want to make a profit. I'm sure if we were to search, we could
find people who are morally opposed to art auctions as well. I certainly
have no intentions of selling my Chagall watercolor on eBay!
This debate could go much further and vere into subjects like why are
movie stars and certain athletes paid so much more than other people
whose contribution to humanity might be seen as so much greater, but
I think I'll stop there.
Sherry
when they were still alive. It was called "Screw Your Neighbour."
It was a lot of fun, but I don't think that the idea behind that
phrase is what I want to use as the guiding force in my life.
Obviously, everything is relative. If someone has something that
they own, particulary if it is something they no longer use or need,
and wish to sell it on eBay, whether or not they need the money, I see nothing wrong with that. But that's not really the question here. The
question relates to 'intentional opportunism' and the 'meanings' that
we attach to things. One must assume that the book in question has no 'meaning' for the person who bought it and is now selling it on
eBay. (I also think that if she were selling it to raise money for
charity, she would have said so, as she would likely get more for it.)
The same thing can perhaps be said for art sold at auction. Some of
the people who buy it may value it for more than it's going price and
never want to resell it, others see no symbolic or emotional value and
merely want to make a profit. I'm sure if we were to search, we could
find people who are morally opposed to art auctions as well. I certainly
have no intentions of selling my Chagall watercolor on eBay!
This debate could go much further and vere into subjects like why are
movie stars and certain athletes paid so much more than other people
whose contribution to humanity might be seen as so much greater, but
I think I'll stop there.
Sherry
This person obviously lives of autographs' bussiness. You can easily see in which enterprise big eBayers are by chenking their feedback. This person has positive feedback from users like buzzautographs, signature_house, originalautographs etc. Obviusly, his/her job is to watch which author is releasing new book, catch all public signings, and then sold the books on eBay for at least double price.
Leonard Cohen Newswire / bookoflonging.com (retired) / leonardcohencroatia.com (retired)
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Young dr. Freud
- Posts: 667
- Joined: Fri Dec 06, 2002 2:41 am
Just checked in for a few minutes. And I see all the usual suspects are being illogical. And Dem, your analogy is asinine. Nobody is going to go hungry if the E-bay seller gets a buyer. More power to him if he can get some idiot to pay $99+ for Leonard's sig. There's nothing unethical, immoral, nasty or "sad" about it.
YdF
YdF
Ironic. Today's A-Word-A-Day from Wordsmith:
This week's theme: uncommon words with common suffixes or prefixes.
philography (fi-LOG-ruh-fee) noun
The practice of collecting autographs.
[From Greek philo- (loving) + -graphy (writing).]
-Anu Garg (gargATwordsmith.org)
"Virtually anything to which ink will stick can be collected, swapped or
sold, according to the Universal Autograph Collectors Club, a 2,000-member
association of experts in the field of philography."
Ben Steelman; While You're Standing in Line; The Wilmington Morning
Star (North Carolina); Oct 22, 1998.