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Dylan - Philosophy of Modern Song - UK - £500

RIP my inbox, but here it is...

https://coles-books.co.uk/the-philosophy-of-modern-song-by-bob-dyla...

Tags: Bob, Dylan

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Permalink Reply by itf on November 13, 2022 at 12:26am

Just to say I think this is a terrible idea. If these are autopens then fair enough but at least let the books arrive as there’s every chance these are legit and she has nothing to do with whatever happened in Canada.

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Permalink Reply by Stepeanut on November 13, 2022 at 1:00am

FWIW, I agree.

Ms Baboneau will certainly receive an email from me, if the U.K. books turn out to be autopen, but until then it’s not fair to have a go at her over the Indigo fiasco. She may or may not be aware of what happened over there, but either way it wasn’t her direct responsibility, so she’s unlikely to want to comment on it in a professional capacity. She’s put her name to these U.K. books, which is a different matter altogether.

If you want answers from Simon & Schuster over Indigogate, I would suggest emailing someone in the North American division.

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Permalink Reply by 5816nick on November 13, 2022 at 1:07am

I emailed her politely asking if she was aware of the Indigo fiasco and pointing out this put a lot of people off ordering a copy from Coles and asked whether any more copies would be signed if it turns out the are legit and also for proof they they are signed by Bob and how / where / when they were signed - I think its justified on a £500.00

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Permalink Reply by Stepeanut on November 13, 2022 at 1:29am

I’m not questioning your politeness, Nick, but the woman is going to wonder what the hell is going on when she loads up Outlook tomorrow morning. A single, polite enquiry is one thing, but she may very well wake up to dozens of emails about something that we don’t even know is a problem yet. For me, it’s about choosing one’s battles wisely, and fighting them when there’s actually something to fight for.

As a longtime Dylan watcher, I can tell you that you’re never going to get definitive proof of him signing these books. They’re not going to release a photograph of him, pen in hand, smiling at the camera. It’s not Bob’s style. You’ll be lucky if she confirms that these were signed during his recent visit to the U.K., but I wouldn’t hold my breath for more detail than that.

As for signing more copies, I very much doubt that will happen — at least for the U.K. market, possibly worldwide. Dylan is aware of the financial value of his signature, and he has never been known to sign more than 100 copies of a limited edition before (the Nobel Prize book).

The Indigo presale never felt right, to me, because of the length of time the book was available. As someone who has bought a legit signed Dylan book before, this Coles offer does feel correct. But we’ll see. If I’m wrong, then the book will go back to the retailer, and Ms Baboneau will receive an email from me. Until then, I don’t feel the need for a preemptive shot across the bow.

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Permalink Reply by Jason H on November 13, 2022 at 2:34am

I understand where you and Steve are coming from but I see it a different way. Regardless of what division she is in, this publisher in question did in fact know the Indigo versions were autopens and they have already attempted to dupe us out of $500 give or take, with a fake signature. I have to say, regardless if this book arrives real or not, for me, the damage is already done. There is now a name associated with someone responsible in making sure this book is actually hand signed. I believe that she is most certainly aware of what happened previously with Indigo. On the off chance she is clueless, this is still a way to voice how wrong it was to even think they could get away with it. This wasn't a $30 book. Im not mad at Suzanne at all. As a person, sure she doesn't deserve to be bombarded with emails.. but this isn't a personal email address. We are not harassing her at home. I feel its another avenue to voice our displeasure directly to the publisher. Its just another small step in the huge fight against autopens in general. Publishers need to know we are aware of what they are doing.. $500 for an autopen is completely unacceptable and im going to make sure we as consumers and hobbyists are heard at all costs. How long are we going to stand by and let publishers keep thinking they can get away with this. An autopen attempt at this extreme of a level must be dealt with. For me, this frustration has been building for years. Book after book being autopened from many different publishers. Autopen technology will only get better in the future. Once it reaches a certain level, it will be too late to fight. I honestly believe that in this case we need to all go a little overboard and take a stand. I cant state this enough that this is completely about their previous attempt to legally rob us all out of more than $500 for an autopen. This item in particular may turn out to have a different outcome, but the events are still connected. We have a chance right now to voice our opinions directly with a publisher instead of them using a retailer as the middleman, where they just send us a typical response that "the publisher has informed us that these are in fact hand signed blah blah blah..." I dont want this release, if real, to help them in any way in moving on from Indigo. We should take advantage to use our voice while we still can

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Permalink Reply by NeilL on November 13, 2022 at 3:13am

I totally agree with ITF. Please can anyone who hasn’t emailed her not do so. Guys surely you understand she isn’t going to reply to being bombarded or insulted? She may know nothing about Indigo directly as she runs the UK side. I wrote her a very polite short and professional email. I now wish I’d never said so. Can we all leave it alone, see what the books look like and see if she replies at all? indigo was Canada, this is UK and we are assuming the worst with zero fact. We do not know if she was aware of Canada or not and we will never find out either way. So please let’s leave well alone now and see if she replies to anyone at all. Worst case scenario is this deluge could cause them to pulp a legit edition out of fear and before you all jump on me I know that’s highly unlikely but please leave it. Same goes for approaches to Coles - we don’t need them deciding not to proceed just because of what happened in Canada. Of course if these turn out to be fake we will all find out here and I’m confident we would all get full refunds provided we approach it politely and professionally. Shouting the odds never gets the right outcome in the long term.

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Permalink Reply by 5816nick on November 13, 2022 at 12:59am

I just e mailed her as she is the MD in the UK and asked if she was aware of her Sister Company in Canada trying to rip us all off with a £510.00 plus postage autopenned book and attached the Links on here from the Indigo debacle, being MD she obviously has some clout and asked whether the 99 Copies her company are supplying to UK bookseller Coles are indeed legit and how Bob came to Sign them and for proof of him signing them!

It doesn't make a difference to me as I never ordered a copy anyway from Coles - I just watched them count down to Zero which took 16 minutes - i'm only ever fooled once !

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Permalink Reply by itf on November 13, 2022 at 1:07am

Assuming these are legit (and if they’re not, fair enough) then what we don’t want to do is stop this kind of thing existing in the future. I’d be surprised if people here didn’t get 20% of the total stock or more - and we don’t want to make people at the top think these aren’t worth the hassle in future.

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Permalink Reply by Dan on November 13, 2022 at 2:59am

I really don't understand how you guys could place orders for this.

A conman tries to sell you a jalopy car, you find out, but when he comes back a month later with another spanking brand new car for a too good to be true price you still bite. Go figure...

Fool me once, shame on you. fool me twice, shame on me.

I for one have already moved on to greener pastures.

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Permalink Reply by JIMMY JAMES on November 13, 2022 at 9:30am

+1 Dan !!!

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on November 13, 2022 at 2:02pm

1 never ordered but Gilmour, which came for free, Would NEVER play these games. I buy stuff I can see and don't get caught in a landslide trying to get one darn the price while losing my eye for quality. YMMV of course!