scutter
|
| posted on 25/11/13 at 10:48 PM |
|
|
Midlana book price
I know this is a subjective thing, but after reading the progress of Kurt's build with avid admiration and a little desire (ok a lot).
He's finally revealed the price of the book, which was on my Xmas list.
The price is $100 or £61. I know he's put a lot of effort into it and he's compared it to other sources of material of a similar type, but
I feel the price moves it out of the Nice to have range of books and seriously into the 'If I'm gonna build one, then that's
ok'.
Sorry for the mini rant, I'm just a little disappointed at the idea of spending £100 on shipping and VAT for some light reading.
The less I worked, the more i liked it.
|
|
|
|
|
balidey
|
| posted on 26/11/13 at 09:08 AM |
|
|
I know you said its objective and this is not meant to sound like a rant at your comments, but on his website he states the price and then clearly
explains why its that price. Then finally his last line is saying that he thought he should let these reasons be known before quote:
any commentary
regarding price
.
But think about it realistically. Its going to be a small volume print. Its a niche market. Does anyone really expect it to be much below £100?
Lets say it was £80, there would still be people saying it should be less. Same with £60. etc etc.
And you guarantee that in a couple of years there'll be a pdf floating around the internet which means even less revenue to the author and
printers.
These people are not doing it to make a loss, they need a profit.
We know you 'can' build a locost for £250. But you don't expect the likes of MK to sell you a kit for £250.
Honestly I think £100 sounds about right.
I probably won't buy a copy, and yes that is mainly because of the price, but I don't know what figure would suddenly make it
affordable.
[Edited on 26/11/13 by balidey]
Dutch bears have terrible skin due to their clogged paws
|
|
|
scutter
|
| posted on 26/11/13 at 10:00 AM |
|
|
I have had a sleep on the matter and post mini rant (it was a rant out of frustration) your comments are quite true.
I still wish to build this after my Alfa 7, So to soften the blow I'll put £5 away a week to pay for it 
Still have massive respect for Kurt and fully wish him the best with the sale of the book, just gotta wait 6 months before I get to read it.
Regards Dan.
The less I worked, the more i liked it.
|
|
|
balidey
|
| posted on 26/11/13 at 10:15 AM |
|
|
Can I borrow your copy when you have read it?
Dutch bears have terrible skin due to their clogged paws
|
|
|
Irony
|
| posted on 26/11/13 at 10:29 AM |
|
|
I was looking at the Kimini book the other day and my jaw literally fell open when I found out the price. I guess I am just used to buying books for
£5 secondhand from amazon or ebay. When however you stop to think about the amount of work, the printing costs and other such things that go into low
volume books then the price is about right.
I print/make hardback A4 portfolios for work on occasion. Very low volume for our reps to take round. They look as professional as a 'home
made' book can. The costs are:
Setup
Laser Printer - £750 - £1000 (secondhand)
Heat binding system £300
Printing
Paper £5
Ink £5
Hardback Heat Transfer Book £5
So even if I made them I would have to sell over 15 at £100 to make a profit on purely manufacturing.
Then you've got marketing, advertising, printers markup, etc etc etc etc
[Edited on 26/11/13 by Irony]
|
|
|
scutter
|
| posted on 26/11/13 at 10:30 AM |
|
|
Yes matey. £2 a week to rent it.
Regards Dan.
The less I worked, the more i liked it.
|
|
|
Slimy38
|
| posted on 26/11/13 at 11:11 AM |
|
|
If you consider the 'Build your own' books have the backing of Haynes behind them, they can afford to sell it for a decent price. The
Tiger build manual also has the backing of a decent sized publisher, but that's still £30. The plans for the Toylander are £40, so it
doesn't take much to get up to £60.
I just find it frustrating that people aren't taking advantage of the 'free' costs of online publishing. Obviously it's not
completely free (hence the quotes), and piracy is a massive thing. But I'm sure that would then bring in the 'nice to have' crowd,
and maybe even boost the sales of the hard copy.
|
|
|
designer
|
| posted on 26/11/13 at 11:44 AM |
|
|
You will find that 'specialist' books are sold at prices they can get, what the market is usually at and will sustain.
The Toylander plans are vastly overpriced! Can't remember what MEV charged for the trike plans, but am sure they were a lot cheaper.
Coffee table books have embossed covers, glossy pages and are full of colour; these are expensive to print, anything on normal paper isn't.
I use on-line publishing, it's simple, it's quick and it's cheap. That's why I can sell my book at a beer money price.
It's also makes very little difference whether soft or hard bound.
Irony: it's much cheaper to get portfolios printed and bound outside, even with a very low volume!
|
|
|
b14wrc
|
| posted on 26/11/13 at 12:36 PM |
|
|
Hi All,
Personally I think the price is very competitive. I remember a few years ago when I was designing my midi, there is very little literature out there
on how to build such a locost, my work on my car has been very involved and had to ask for a lot of advice and search for other sources that would
give inspiration.
I must be honest, I’ve been following Kurts build for a good few years now and have had many good ideas from him which I have tried to use in my own
car. I am much too far on now to make major changes to my locost, but I want the book to read to compare my design with a one I know is now out there
being used. I think it will be a really interesting read, it might even inspire me to write a book once my project is complete……
I have already emailed Kurt asking to be put on the distribution list. 
For the cost of the book, I know I have wasted many times that in my own developments, so hopefully I can improve the rest of my build learning from
Midlana.
Obviously, if you’re not building a Mid Engined car, then the normal Locost book will do you. I can’t wait to get the book.
PS. Kurt said its likley it will be available in the UK as there are printers here, so i guess that will help with postage costs.
Rob
20vt powered rear engined locost
|
|
|
matt_gsxr
|
| posted on 26/11/13 at 12:48 PM |
|
|
My experience is with academic books and in those cases they sell in around 1000 and cost maybe £150.
So £60 doesn't sound unreasonable on that basis, but we all know the publishers are making money out of the authors.
You can get small run printing done these days for not much (cheaper than printing it yourself), the first hit on google
(http://www.bookprintinguk.com/), for example
Product: Paperback Book
Number of pages: 200
Number of copies: 100
Size: A4
Colour/BW: Colour
Inside Pages: 100gsm
Cover thickness: 250gsm
Finish: Gloss
Portrait/landscape: Portrait
Total cost: £1,060.00
Price per copy: £10.60
Estimated delivery time: 10 working days
|
|
|
big_wasa
|
| posted on 26/11/13 at 02:28 PM |
|
|
Based on what the terrapin book and plans sell for its not outrageous.
I havn't read the updates for a while. If the book is going to be that soon I may go that way instead of a terrapin.
|
|
|
iank
|
| posted on 26/11/13 at 02:52 PM |
|
|
Certainly if it contains full blueprints then it'll be worth the money if you are building one.
If it's just a rehash of the website on paper then not.
Pricing is one of those things, the Haynes book attracts a lot of dreamers and is cheap enough (especially when on offer) to buy on a whim. At £60
you'll only buy a copy if you really plan to build one.
--
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
Anonymous
|
|
|
coozer
|
| posted on 26/11/13 at 04:49 PM |
|
|
I want a copy but at that price I'll have to wait and see if I defo want to build one..
Shame cause I was looking forward to reading all about it..
1972 V8 Jago
1980 Z750
|
|
|
rick1962uk
|
| posted on 26/11/13 at 05:29 PM |
|
|
Thats great news i had thought they would be about £150 so going to get mine on order asap
|
|
|
big_wasa
|
| posted on 26/11/13 at 06:09 PM |
|
|
I can not find it for sale / pre order, any links ?
|
|
|
rick1962uk
|
| posted on 26/11/13 at 09:33 PM |
|
|
try emailing kurt he always replys
|
|
|
Simon
|
| posted on 26/11/13 at 10:01 PM |
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by Slimy38
If you consider the 'Build your own' books have the backing of Haynes behind them, they can afford to sell it for a decent price.
That argument makes it sound like Haynes subsidises the cost which clearly is not the case.
There is no argument for an expensive book, unless it is made from exotic materials.
If you are going to sell something, I'd always aim to sell at lowest price and sell more for less profit. As has already been seen by the
op's post, he's unlikely to get the book just yet. A lot of people might have bought it just for the fun of it, that won't happen at
that price.
£60 may sell a couple of hundred copies, £15 may well be into the thousands.
ATB
Simon
|
|
|
b14wrc
|
| posted on 27/11/13 at 08:10 PM |
|
|
Simon has a good point. But I think what Kurt is doing is so specialist, it can warrant the cost. I bought books for my degree that were very
expensive for what they were, but it's the way it is.
Also, I don't think Kurt is in it for profit, just wants to pass on the info which he has worked hard to attain through his own development
work. That I can relate as I've done similar....
Just my thoughts...
20vt powered rear engined locost
|
|
|
Alan B
|
| posted on 29/11/13 at 05:06 PM |
|
|
Even if Kurt was motivated by profit (which I'd seriously doubt imagining the hours he must have put in the book) then that's perfectly
acceptable too as the market will dictate the success or otherwise. As has been pointed out he's put tons of free info. on the website...who
could really begrudge him earning something from the effort put into it?
If you purchase the book and don't get full use then maybe you'll lose out a little, however if you get full benefit from it then
you'll think it was an absolute bargain.
I'm part way through a book of my own and I really get the feeling of the enormous task ahead....and yes I mean writing one..
Just my 2c/p
|
|
|
froggy
|
| posted on 29/11/13 at 07:10 PM |
|
|
i think i paid £40 for the kimini book which was well worth it .
[IMG]http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r187/froggy_0[IMG]
|
|
|
steve m
|
| posted on 29/11/13 at 07:43 PM |
|
|
I would say that the low v high book price, bears a lot on who will buy the book v who will build a kit
I bought the original Haynes "build a sport bla bla" for about £14 back in 1997 and even though the first edition book was fraught with
errors I managed to build something that resembled the book
But had the book been offered for £100 would I of bought it ? probably not
The Haynes "build a sports car books", have sold millions, and will do for many years to come, as they have a very large capture of
possible builders, to dreamers
Yet a book that retails at £60 plus. will have a very low market place, and probably a 20th of the sales against a £15 book
yet is only 4 times the cost
It will attract to the genuine builder, but loses out to the chancer, dreamer, who would get a copy for the read factor, and curious
Steve
Thats was probably spelt wrong, or had some grammer, that the "grammer police have to have a moan at
|
|
|
big_wasa
|
| posted on 7/12/13 at 07:38 PM |
|
|
Just got mine through the post
|
|
|
b14wrc
|
| posted on 7/12/13 at 08:22 PM |
|
|
What's it like??
20vt powered rear engined locost
|
|
|
coozer
|
| posted on 7/12/13 at 09:07 PM |
|
|
Just ordered mine though lulu for £43.90...
1972 V8 Jago
1980 Z750
|
|
|
big_wasa
|
| posted on 7/12/13 at 10:17 PM |
|
|
How did you work a 19 quid discount then ?
|
|
|
