I think sending copies to a supplier in Europe (e.g. TFS express) is a great idea. It certainly will boost the sales for you. As for now I think lots of non USA people are scared off by the high costs. So maybe work out a deal with a European supplier and add that option to the kickstarter project. So, I can back it for lets say 50 dollars for vol.1. You will send all the copies to TFSexpress, and they will ship it to me. This is an example, but I think it will lower the costs significantly for lots of people. And please let non USA people buy vol.1 only option. Hope you can work that out.

 

You're not going to stop piracy. I mean, this book is UNOFFICIAL, so I highly doubt these guys got Hasbro's and Takara's consent and are not paying them royalties. Also, all it takes is for one person to scan the book and upload it to the internet. So I won't get into all this ethical/unethical talk. [C'mon dude, don't tell me you never downloaded a Game of Thrones episode, or any other movie, tv show or song. We all do it].

But let's talk about this kickstarter and how it works. Nobody will have access to the books or e-books until the fund target is met and production is ready, so there won't be early leaks. Everybody will get their content at the same time. And someone who wants a hard copy will not be dissuaded with a digital option. Also, it is my understanding that this is a one time production run. So if these guys meet their fund target, who cares if their shit is pirated afterwards. They already got their money. The business of kickstarters is much different than your conventional retail outlet. There's a reason why Blockbuster is dead and Netflix is thriving. Digital content is what people want and be able to access it on the go. I truly see a good opportunity here and it'll be a shame if they're off by a bit in their fund target. Such option could definitely add additional funds. You take all those people who are interested but don't like the high price, high shipping rates, unavailable countries - you just opened up a new target audience.

 

I am quoting joopsta's post here. I live in Italy and beside the boring covers, I could be interested in this book. Maybe I could organize a "group buy" with shared shipping costs... but this definitely needs an option on the site for multiple buyers.
Also, please consider getting in contact with TSExpress and TF-Direct... maybe we can work it out a good solution for EU and Asian supporters.
Hope you Hyperoptic would consider that or maybe inform us on the difficulties or impossibility to do that.

No, not usually, hardly. Marking as gift here in Italy mean nothing to customs.

 

If I took a photo of a building, would I need to pay royalties to the construction company, or the architect?

So just because a lot of people get away with driving whilst drunk, we should all do it, and not expect any consequences? Gotcha.

Look, if the authors wanted to offer a download option, they'd do it. Maybe they will, I dunno. But that's their perogative, as it's their content, and they have the right to control its distribution as they see fit.

Unlike digital music and video content, sales figures show that the public aren't quite as ready to embrace digital books as readily as other digital media.

 

Excellent. Really happy with that.

 

They already said they wouldn't but I agree with this proposal. I prefer physical books, but it'd also be beneficial for those of us internationally who don't have a few hundred dollars to spare.

Doesn't really help avoid the $100 or so shipping fee (I'm thinking in NZD, but you guys don't ship to New Zealand anyway, so what do I care at this point?) which is separate from import taxes.
I'm disappointed because you said you were looking into getting cheaper international shipping options before launching the Kickstarter, but then launched it with exorbitant shipping costs and didn't even include half the countries you could have included. That seems really mismanaged to me. I don't think distribution was thought through well at all, and even if that's not your area of expertise, you need to get every aspect right for a successful project, not just some of them. Plus, you know, distribution is very important.

As far as I know, the same goes for New Zealand.
Oh, and "fragile" means nothing to customs and NZ Post either, even when it's plastered all over the box. Dickheads.

That might be a valid argument if it didn't have "Transformers", a registered trademark, plastered in big, bold letters on the front of both books.

That's not the analogy he made and you know it. You're using a false equivalency.

You're right that if they wanted to do it, they would. The point isn't that they don't have the right to do what they want with their content, but that there is a market for a digital version, especially for those of us outside the US who cannot even begin to consider affording these.

That is an illogical argument. For starters, not all digital sales figures are public. Then you have to consider how many people want digital books. You say less people want digital books compared to other media. Okay, but the amount of people who buy digital books is still a substantial number, so are you saying just because it's a lower number than other digital media that it's irrelevant? Because that's just not the case at all.

Spoiler

Come live in New Zealand and then tell me that.

Poverty is at an all-time high, our biggest city (Auckland) averages $1m for a house (and rent is absurd too), and it's where a vast majority of jobs in the country are (as well as about half of our population), the government keeps trying to introduce new taxes just to make everyone's lives even more difficult (and even for a middle-income family like mine, it's still very difficult to get by), and our living costs are much higher than even Australia's. Also, we are probably one of the biggest welfare states in the friggin' world and yet a family with both parents working has trouble getting by, let alone those on benefits.
Heck, I have extended family members who struggled much more than we ever did and now one of them is terminally ill so only one of the couple can work, and though they get government health benefits, they've had to rely on sizeable contributions from the rest of the family to get by.
And I'm not saying we're the worst-off country in the world, because on the contrary, we're far from it. But that's the point - we're in a shitty situation, and we're far from the only country like this, nor are we the worst.
Oh, and government taxes are almost never spent wisely, often overcharged and wasted in the most asinine ways (I can think of at least three local examples off the top of my head right now, but that's a story for another time). Our government was praised with keeping the country afloat during the recent economic crisis, but do you know how they did that? They borrowed a ton of money and took a lot of money out of important sectors (such as health and education), which have negatively affected the country long-term.

My point is that the government isn't your friend, and in plenty of countries, they're not helping people anywhere near the amount they should. Also, we have relatively affordable healthcare in New Zealand but it's still getting more expensive all the time.

 

Good deal, because I used wife's card on kickstart and she doesn't care about Transformers too much. Hate for her name to be used instead of mine because of it.  

 

Alright.....I see I'm talking to a grade 6 level of intelligence here so there's no point in explaining logic and business with you. Don't know you're PMS'ing all over the idea. Not like I'm saying to abandon hard copies and this ain't even YOUR SHIT so why you getting all defensive. Sheesh, typical TFW mongrel. TCJJ already said they're not doing it (I haven't been following this thread) so this is the last I'm going to mention it. Good luck to the creators - I hope you succeed in your funding target. Great that you're at 32% now, but you'll see that getting the last 10% will be staggering.

 

For those of you who want a digital version available... Are you willing to pay the same price as the full books for it (sans shipping)? Comic books, D&D books, and video games all cost the same for the digital versions, so no reason this wouldn't be as well. Just no crazy shipping cost. I don't have a horse in this race as I'm in the US, but if they DID do a digital version, expect it to be the same price.

 

My brother and I want to buy both books. A set of each for us. He will use his credit card. Will both of our names be printed in both sets due to this?

 

As someone who has already pledged for a set of the books, I also wouldn't mind a PDF copy that I could put on my tablet for when I am not at home to access the books should I need to reference them for whatever reason. Let's face it, carrying around those books would not be easy. Now, I don't think a PDF copy should be free, but I also don't think they should cost the same amount as the books because part of that cost should be for printing expenses. Maybe half of what the books would cost? Works out to $32.50 for Vol. 1 and $25 for Vol. 2... or make a deal of $55 for both. Just my 2 cents on the whole thing.

 

You only described how you benefited from money that the government stole from other people   (sorry I've been watching Stefan Molyneux lol)

Meanwhile in "communist" China we have 300km/hr trains zipping all across the country lol. There's some "poor" villages I went to during CNY, 10 years ago they were barnboard wooden shacks, they're almost all gone now (kind of sad though) now everyone has these big concrete and brick mansions, some are really massive. All thanks to the free market (and I hate to say lack of voting, so people can't vote to steal, it's a worrisome conclusion).

 

Great work so far and I am behind you guys 100%. I am curious why the pledging is only for a month and not two months or longer? I am sure die-hard fans like me will see the sign up and act fast. But you may have additional luck giving people who are on the fence a bit longer to act.

 

Can't wait see this fully backed and into production!

 

China is not free market, let's just be clear. Massive protectionism, minimal to no protections for IP, requirements for foreign countries to share IP, and currency manipulation.

 

...seriously consider bringing a retailer package onboard: this is a hugely-appropriate christmas gift, but most consumer demand won't hit before thanksgiving, so you'll need those middlemen to finance holiday stock in advance...

...have you talked to any of the retailers yet?..

 

Nice, have been waiting for the KS to start =)

 

Just backed for both books. Will do my best to promote the project!

 

For this quality of books I can understand the price for the kickstarter. I may have to bite the bullet and find it. The pictures and layouts are gorgeous.

 

I'm hoping for the same thing.