First off let me state my computer crashed several times while trying to reply to you and I lost a lot of posting, so if I come off angry it's not at you.
Second that VIZ's volume 19 of Claymore was just announced for November 1st 2011. Volume 18 is still scheduled for June 7th. So Claymore this time is on a 5 month cycle between volumes and volume 19 will be released before Chistmas... why is this important to our topic?
... because last year Volume 16 also came out in June but Volume 17 was released in Mid January... the start of the slowest season of the year, a place books with no expectancy to sell except to there diehard fan are printed. So last year the VIZ as a publisher treated Claymore like it wasn't a money maker but this year it's being treated much better. Now an early November release date is no mid November to early December release (the peak hot selling new releases slots before a the holiday season) but November is still November and Claymore latest volume will be relatively new and will be in stock for the holiday season.
So based on this alone I'd say Claymore isn't in trouble of going away forever but that doesn't mean it won't be some time until Volume 13 gets some more copies printed so Rightstuf can buy more. So it's unlike Claymore is about to get an omnibus (as I previously suggested as a possiblity) or a reprint with new translation. Based on my memory Cyclone says most of VIZs Claymore is edited or poorly translated in spots... he states Riful and Dauf edits all the time as proof. I even spotted a MAJOR mistake on page one of volume 16 and I can't speak Japanese. In short Rubel after witnessing Clare, Cynthia, and Yuma kill that nameless AB in a random town in the West states that they're in Rabona (EPIC FAIL... they left that town 2 chapters prior
). I don't recall any major whining about volume 13's translation.... need to reread it I guess.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DragoZERO
Okay. I ordered from Rightstuf and it was on back order for two months and they just canceled it, telling me the manufacturer has discontinued it. However, it's available at every other store... just at a higher price. I want to know if Viz found something wrong with this specific volume and are going to make a second printing, if they are, I will wait. Only 13 was canceled and in unavailable at Rightstuf, no where else.
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Now I have to ask for clarification here due to previously working in a book store. Did the web site tell you only volume 13 was "discontinued" and none of the others were affected. Or are you just assuming that volume 13 is the only one effected since the rest of your order wasn't effected? Next off please realize that when a publisher tells a site that they canceling an order after failing to meet the order for an extended period of time they tell you it was "discontinued" and not going out of print. So "discontinued" doesn't always mean a book is out of print... especially if the supplier of the book can't find it cheaply enough since it is "discontinued" but only from the vendors that sold it to them that cheaply. So what they're telling you is true but not the whole story as why they canceled the order.
Publishers are in a kinda war with stores. The publishers used to be the top dog until a company called Barnes and Nobel came alone and changed the industry (the full history lesson in brief:
http://www.robertringer.com/book-publishers.html). Now publishers make most of there profits from mass selling of best sellers since it costs the publishers money to stop printing something and reset up for another book (especially when it comes to restocking things that have long sense been best sellers)... so the more times they stop printing the less they make and the more it costs them. Often they'll use a single over booked press to do this or pay a minor third party a small amount to do it for them once there enough demand for something or they get too backed up to do it themselves. That being said it selling out at only a few places but still having a good number of copies floating about at higher prices likely doesn't yet warrant another printing in there mind (especially since they prefer books selling at higher values... publishers have mad a big deal bout there products being under valued).
Now web sites like places like amazon would love to print you the book themselves but due to copy right laws they can't do that without paying the publishers money (at least until the book is ~60 years old). So the web sites can't spend the money to print it just for you, pay the publishers there cut, and still make a profit (and hopefully not get finned for printing it either). Publishers of course won't sell the rights to others to print there stuff since in the long run they fear doing this would make them lose control over the pricing (and as a result they would die as a company) and they've been slowly losing this battle of late with the advent of these web sites and chain store selling books cheaply by buying in bulk or what not.
So, I hate to say it but, as far as the publisher is concerned you not being able to find the one book you're looking for on one web site cheaply only benefits them in the long run. Low on copies isn't sold out yet. After all they care about control of there product, not running out of a best seller, and getting the next best seller ready... sure they'll likely print more copies eventually but that will likely only be so you'll buy volume 18 or 19 as well. BTW it's very common for books in a series to get more copies printed when the next book comes out, since after all you do have too have read all the previous books to likely want to buy the latest one. So there
may be more copies coming out in June or November or maybe not...