Video summary
Bu videoda konuşmacı, Stephen King'in 40. yıl dönümü kutlamaları kapsamında yayınlanan "It" kitabının satışını yapan Cemetery Dance yayınevinin ve sahibi Richard Chizmar'ın tüketicileri hedef alan şüpheli ticari uygulamalarını eleştirmektedir. Konuşmacı, yayınevinin uzun süredir stokta olmayan ve yıllar önce tükenmiş sınırlı baskıların tekrar piyasaya sürüldüğünü iddia ederek bu durumun bir "nakit çekme" (cash grab) operasyonu olduğunu belirtmektedir. Özellikle Chizmar'ın, yıllardır satılmış olan kopyaların yeniden bulunabildiğini ve bunları yeni stok olarak sunarak koleksiyoncuları kandırdığına dair güçlü iddialar öne sürülürken, bu konunun Reddit gibi platformlarda da geniş çapta tartışıldığını vurgulanmaktadır.
Yayınevinin güvenilirliği konusunda ciddi şüpheler dile getirilirken, Chizmar'ın özel e-posta adresi üzerinden satış yapması ve beklenen kitapların aylarca gecikmeli şekilde teslim edilmesi gibi sorunlar detaylandırılmaktadır. Konuşmacı, kendi deneyimini paylaşarak Doubleday baskısının "Pet Sematary" kitabını on yıl boyunca alamadığını ve bu süreçte yayınevine olan güvenini tamamen yitirdiğini ifade etmektedir. Ayrıca Todd Keisling ve Jeff VanderMeer gibi yazarların da benzer şekilde mağdur olduğunu ve bu şirketin koleksiyoncuların finansal durumundan faydalandığına dair uyarılar yaydığını hatırlatarak, Stephen King'in imzalı kopyaların sadece bir tanesinin sunulacağı iddiasının bile şeffaf olmadığını, bunun daha çok pazarlama taktiği olduğunu savunmaktadır.
Sonuç olarak, izleyicilerden bu tür ürünleri almadan önce dikkatli olmaları ve alternatif satıcıları tercih etmeleri istenmektedir. Konuşmacı, kitabın sadece kap renginin değiştirilerek (beyazdan siyaha) yeniden basıldığı ve arkasındaki görselin güncellendiği gibi minimal değişikliklerin yapıldığını belirtirken, bunun değerli bir sınırlı baskıdan ziyade standart bir ticari hamle olduğunu vurgulamaktadır. Özellikle Stephen King'in kariyerinin son aşamasında bile yayınlanan kitapların kalitesinin düşüklüğü ve yayınevinin yazarın mirasından maksimum gelir elde etmek için her şeyi denediği görüşüyle video, tüketicilere "satıcıdan sakının" uyarısı ile kapanmaktadır.
Read the full video transcript
Hello everybody, E here. Um, as the
title suggests, um, I'm here to warn you
um about something that I think is a
horrible cash grab that they are not
even remotely putting enough effort into
um and it is unfortunate. I don't know
why it is happening, but also Cemetery
Dance uh has has jumped on the bandwagon
and they are selling the book also and
what uh Richard Chizmar is promising is
that one person
will get a signed copy of the book. But
not even signed copy, it's going to be a
tip-in signature sheet. Um, so
uh
here here's here's the problem with
that. Um, if you are subscribed to
Cemetery Dance's newsletter, uh you will
have seen that uh
it's been sketchy over there.
Uh Chizmar is selling things through his
own private uh AOL account, which is
cdpublications@aol.com.
Um, he he's been selling stuff that
shouldn't exist. Um, he's been selling
uh limited editions that have been sold
out for for years, some over a decade um
and he just suddenly finds new copies in
a warehouse. You don't have to believe
me, you can go on to Reddit. Um, there's
plenty of people talking about it. I
don't have to talk about it because it's
I mean, I haven't talked about it before
because I'm just done with Cemetery
Dance. I am still waiting on my copy of
the Doubleday year edition of Pet
Sematary, um, which I bought nearly a
decade ago um through a private email
that uh Cemetery Dance uh sent and I
purchased um and it's the last one that
that I bought it back in 2018, I believe
it was. It was a uh compound deal with
The Stand um that would finish up my
collection, which I have up here from
Carrie all the way to The Stand. Um, I'm
just waiting on Pet Sematary and I'm
done with Cemetery Dance forever. I'm
done waiting a decade for books. Um, I'm
done with the back and forth about how,
you know, printer issues. No matter what
it is, I don't really care what's going
on. I do not trust Richard Chizmar. I do
not trust Cemetery Dance. Um, I do have
friends employed by Cemetery Dance um
but I I just I can't I I I I just can't
support them anymore. Um, I also have
author friends who have been just
utterly, you know, screwed over by
Chizmar and Cemetery Dance. Uh Todd
Keisling, Jeff VanderMeer, um all these
people have come out warning people,
trying their best to warn people um and
I I don't think that I have a big enough
platform to extend that warning, but I
know a lot of Stephen King collectors
follow me um and I just wanted to give
you a heads-up about this right here.
Um, if you
you're looking at this, right? Um, it
it's a black version of this book.
And it does have a different back cover.
This one is the edition that they that
Scribner
uh yeah, I believe it's Scribner. Simon
& Schuster released um
right around the time that It chapter 1
and It chapter 2 dropped. Um, they were
trying to capitalize on and yes, I
bought it because I actually like I I
like this one. Um, I I think it's rather
different um and I haven't seen a uh a
cover of it quite like this one and it's
another hardcover. Uh as far as I know,
other than the 25th anniversary edition
that Cemetery Dance did, um, this is the
only the second hardcover version of
this book other than like the UK first
edition so on and so forth. Um, but I I
think it's incredibly cheap that they
are just doing a palette swap, that they
are changing the white from this copy to
the black and putting a new image on the
back. If there's other stuff uh that is
going to change, I I don't think it's
going to be much. And this is why I say
that. This is the original copy
of Bag of Bones, okay? Uh this is the
first edition, first edition, first
printing. And then you have this one.
Sorry. Yeah, this one, which is the 25th
anniversary of the book. Uh they didn't
do much. There's a 14-page interview in
the back of the book and that's it. I
spent like $30 on this. Uh retail price
is $30. Um, and I bought it brand new.
Uh I pre-ordered it uh
and I I got it and I was very very
upset. Um, so in hindsight, I wouldn't
have bought it and I'm not going to buy
this new one. Now, there's not a whole
lot I can do whether or not you're a
grown adult uh with their own money,
your own financial, you know, things
going on. So, if you want to buy it, go
ahead and buy it. But they are
definitely taking advantage of
collectors, of people who have
disposable income um to resell you
another copy. I have 18 copies of It.
It's not that I don't need another one,
it's just that I do not see the
difference between these books. I do not
see that I do not see this as a special
40th edition limited edition of the
book. Also, I think that Chizmar uh good
doing one copy of possibly maybe maybe
one copy uh having this tipped-in
signature from Stephen King, I think
that that is not deceptive, but I I I
think that it's it's a cash grab, of
course, but everything's a cash grab.
So,
um I I do not trust this company. Um, if
you do, that's fine. Um, and if you
think that I'm being a hater by doing by
saying all this stuff, definitely leave
all your comments down there in the
doobly-doo. That's what the comment
section is for. Um, I I love the
engagement. Um, but yeah, it's uh it it
doesn't look good. Um,
especially, you know, here at the end of
King's career when we've gotten books
like Never Flinch and Holly um that is
not up to uh the anywhere near the the
King name. Um, and it just seems like at
this point they were just regurgitating
and trying to make as much money
off of this man as possible before he
dies. And whether or not he cares or
not, I I I don't know. I I I don't care
what what he thinks about it um because
he's not technically the one doing this.
He's giving them the rights, of course,
but, you know,
it's whatever.
Um, do I think that Stephen King is
trying to rob you blind? No. Do I think
that Richard Chizmar is?
I mean, you can put all the stuff
together. I highly suggest you go over
to Reddit. Um, if I can find the link
again, I will put it down there in the
doobly-doo.
Um, if not, all you really have to do is
go over there and search uh Cemetery
Dance or Richard Chizmar and you will
find plenty of people trying to warn you
about this company. Cemetery Dance has
not always been like that. Um, and I
think it's really egregious. I think the
most egregious part of about all of this
is how these books, these limited
editions that collectors have bought
just keep popping up again. It's like,
"Oh, we found another copy. We found
another copy of It, the 25th anniversary
edition. We found another copy of uh
'Salem's Lot', the Doubleday years." All
these books have been sold out forever
and you're telling me
that you just found extra copies laying
around in your warehouse. Now, if that's
true, that's fine, whatever, but I mean,
there there's no there's no proof of
such things and the fact that you keep
finding them,
Richard Chizmar,
is an issue. Um, so even if you are
doing even if you are above board with
all of this, you do not look. The
perception is you do not look above
board. Eh, but what who who cares what
Ed and Lorraine has to say, right?
Anyways, um but yeah, buyer beware. Uh
definitely do your due diligence and
check on anything uh having to do with
Cemetery Dance. Also, there's a very
very good chance that if you buy this
from Cemetery Dance, it'll be a year or
more before you get your copy. So, if
you're going to buy it, definitely buy
it from another retailer, maybe an indie
bookstore that can order it for you or
if you have to, go through Amazon. If
you want it that badly, just just buy
your own copy um because it is a
probably a one-in-a-million shot that
you're going to get that signature if
that signature even exists. But yeah,
that's all I have to say on the matter.
Until next time, I have been E, you have
been you. This has been unfortunately
another buyer beware uh episode. I've
only This is only the second one I've
ever done and the first one was for a
bootleg for Rage um that was floating
around for $1.50 on Amazon. Uh so yeah,
I'll talk to you guys later. Bye-bye.