Osprey only print copies of Lion Rampant on demand!!!???

[Harry Faversham]

The book has to be specially printed for the individual customer... did you know this?

 

[carlos marighela]

Makes sense , the next logical step in vanity publishing. It's a niche within a niche. They probably don't expect to shift many, so why keep stocks? Pretty easy to crank out copies on demand, it's not like they are getting scores of print setters to cut type face.  I suspect you will see more and more of this. You'll notice that Osprey now sell a goodly proportion, if not most of their range in multiple formats. The e-book being a popular format.

[Digitarii]

Amazon has it in stock in paperback.

[Skyven]

It is always best to get an osprey book when it is first published, after that initial print run they tend to go POD (print on demand) and the reproduction quality of pictures, in my opinion, is somewhat lacking.

[Cubs]

Yeah, I found that out after chasing up my copy from Books Etc. Presumably they wait until they have a decent number of orders, rather than doing each book individually.

[Harry Faversham]

Yeah, I found that out after chasing up my copy from Books Etc. Presumably they wait until they have a decent number of orders, rather than doing each book individually.

Cubs, they're the clowns I've just been chasing up for giving me the same crap. Reminds me of that line from The Outlaw Josey Wales...

"Don't piss up my back and tell me it's raining!"

 

Be warned more cowboys here than in the High Chaparral!

BOOKS etc.
8 Kings Road
Fleet
Hampshire
GU51 3AD

[Captain Blood]

It's a trend in low volume 'niche' publishing. I have several plays published, and my publisher used to do print runs of 2,000 - 5,000 paperback copies, and then reprint if a particular title went well. Now they've moved to on demand printing. It's just more cost effective for them to do it that way, than to have several thousand (or even several hundred copies) of a slow moving title sitting in a warehouse gradually being called off over a period of years.

[robh]

Not just Lion Rampant, my recent order for IHMN and expansion were also Print on Demand as were the last 2 Osprey MAA series I picked up.
Seems to be their policy after initial print run unless someone orders in bulk.

[Skyven]

Sorry you guys have had problems with Books Etc, but it is more likely that they have had problems getting the books from Osprey, who print on many such books on demand (and can be damn slow about it, especially over Christmas). I've been buying books, and especially Ospreys, from Books Etc for several years, and have averaged 45 books of all kinds a year for the last two. In all that time there has only been one book that got lost in the system. This is compared to Amazon, which is supposed to have the books in stock, and have buggered up orders five times.

[Craig]

Not just Lion Rampant, my recent order for IHMN and expansion were also Print on Demand as were the last 2 Osprey MAA series I picked up.
Seems to be their policy after initial print run unless someone orders in bulk.

Interesting, as according to the twice-yearly statements of sales they give us there should be plenty of hard copies of heroes, Villains & Fiends and Sleeping Dragon, Rising Sun left in stock.
Our policy at The Ministry of Gentlemanly Warfare is to do a print run and once half has sold look at the rate of sales to determine when we shall need another. Print on demand is expensive and cuts into the already small proit margin considerably.
As far as I know Dan's Lion Rampant has been a glorious success so I see no reason why they should go to POD so soon.

[Arlequín]

It's a common business model, whether you are printing books or making cars... stock is dead money and print/make to order is how you don't end up with stuff you can't shift.

[Smith]

Morning, guys.

These days, ALL of Osprey’s books go to print-on-demand (POD) at some point in their existence, and we’re working on bringing a lot of the older books onto this system as well.

As some of the above posters have noted, this is simply the most viable option for ensuring books remain in print. A title may only sell 10 books a year, so a traditional print run will either not be cost-effective for such a small quantity, or (if we reprinted enough to be cost-effective) would leave us with several years’ (if not decades!) worth of stock, and the warehousing costs that go with it.

That is, of course, an extreme example, but it’s true for all our books to some degree, and striking the balance in terms of when and how many to reprint is a tricky one, and the source of constant frustration for our Sales guys. By and large, if it is viable to print a full, traditional print run, we will – POD is more expensive, and it’s less profitable for Osprey (though it has no effect on author earnings!).

With POD, we can keep our thousands of books in print and avoid the situation we had a few years back where some titles were NEVER being reprinted, because every time a reprint batch came up, they kept being passed over in favour of more in-demand titles. In all honesty, in some cases, it’s a case of a POD book or no book at all!

The specific situation with Lion Rampant which, as Craig says, has been fantastically well received, is a little odd, however – it’s the high demand that accelerated the move to POD, not a drop-off in demand. Quite simply, demand was so high that we decided to POD the book in order to avoid a prolonged period of unavailability while we reprinted.

That is, I hope, an insight into the nature of Osprey’s POD system. I’m happy to answer any further questions if there are any, and if I can!

The one assumption I would like to address is regarding distributors that order POD titles from us. Naturally, it takes longer to print and ship a book than it does to simply send one out from a warehouse, but some vendors do not take this into account when supplying delivery estimates. Furthermore, some wait to receive a number of POD orders before passing them on, and do not place them on a case-by-case basis. If delivery times or delays are a concern, you can always order from a smaller stockist such as North Star or Spirit Games – if they don’t have a book in stock, they’ll tell you right away! Or order from Osprey directly – and if anything goes awry (as happens from time to time – that’s inevitable!), we can be informed and should be able to remedy matters directly.

[Harry Faversham]

Don't think it's owt to do with Osprey directly, just the idiots I was dealing with at BOOKS etc. When they told me...

"The book has to be specially printed for the individual customer."

As an excuse for appallingly bad customer service. I parried with the observation that they initially offered me 'Lion Rampant' with 'next day delivery' option! I've got a copy arriving today from another seller, moral of the story is deal with BOOKS etc. at yer peril.

[Cubs]

Cubs, they're the clowns I've just been chasing up for giving me the same crap.

I'm not unhappy with them. I paid half price for the book and when I chased up the delayed delivery they answered me the next day. I wish they'd stated on the original listing that this was the case, but it was only a 3 week wait so that's fine with me. I always had the option of cancelling the order if I was dissatisfied.

Besides, as I said, I paid half price.

[Harry Faversham]

Besides, as I said, I paid half price.

Poltroon, selling yer soul to the devil... thought it woz us Yorkshireman that had the short arms and deep pockets!?