What Amazon’s Crazy Signals Tell Us About Ron Paul’s Book

Amazon is once again saying The Revolution: A Manifesto will be in stock within 8 to 10 weeks. This is a crazy, nonsensical statement, since the book’s official release is less than two weeks away. But let me share some of my own experience to shed some light on this.

When my Politically Incorrect Guide to American History came out, it far exceeded everyone’s sales expectations, including Amazon’s. When that happens, Amazon’s system panics that it won’t be able to satisfy all orders right away, and it begins saying crazy things. Suddenly my book “usually ships within 4 to 6 weeks.” But by the next day it was “usually ships in 24 hours.” And the next day, once again, it was 4 to 6 weeks. I frantically complained to the publisher, and they explained that this was how Amazon’s system coped with the unexpected. It had plenty of books, but had simply gone into panic mode.

Now I have never, ever seen anything on Amazon say it will ship within 8 to 10 weeks. This must mean that the demand for Dr. Paul’s book, even before his marketing campaign has gotten started, must be far, far greater than they anticipated. I am sure the book will ship from Amazon relatively promptly.

The Best of Tom Woods