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Beware Kenneth D King Books

regatta | Posted in General Discussion on

I purchased two Kenneth D King Books at the same time from different retailers – Home Sewing Couture Techniques creating Designer Quality Fashion from an Australin retailer and Cool Couture Construction Secrets for Runway Style from America,

The Australian book came first and I really enjoyed it and learned a couple of things.  Imagine my disappointment when I received the second book from America with a different name and a different cover and identical inside in every way.  WHAT A WASTE OF MONEY.

You can probably tell that I am really annoyed and am unlikely to buy anymore books by this author.  To buy this book from America I have paid more postage than the book cost so can.t really return it unless I lose even more money.

I think this is a really unethical thing to do – it amount to ripping off people who would think that an author published in Threads would be  trustable (is that a word?)  I hope that no-one else has this experience –

Marika

Replies

  1. Pattiann42 | | #1

    A Book Of A Different Title

    Trustworthy may be the word, but I think it goes back to the publisher as to whom you should contact for a refund.  It that does not work, then put it up for sale locally.

    Books sold at Amazon, and maybe other sites, allow a bit of an overview of the book before purchase. 

  2. nani | | #2

    It isn't the author's fault!

    I have found that often international books and magazines change the cover or title because they need to appeal to that region's audience. Think about how some words mean different things, even in English speaking countries. For example "biscuits", means cookies in the UK, but here in the USA, they mean, well, biscuits! Not just words, but trends could be different or more popular as well.

    I agree with the other comment, sell the extra book on Amazon, and let another Kenneth King fan enjoy it.

    1. regatta | | #3

      Why isn't it the authors fault.

      Perhaps if the language was at all altered or some of the words changed - but this was not the case.  Except for the cover and the fly leaf,  that details the different  copyrights  the different ISBN numbers and publishers, from the contents onwards they are identical.

      The book that I purchased from Amazon in America is advertised by them alongside the one I purchased in Australia,  If I had not been able to get one here then I would have purchased both from Amazon. 

      I just believe that if an author is selling books about a subject that you might wish to purchase more books  about, especially if you have enjoyed his/her  articles in a reputable magazine and have enjoyed a previous book by him/her then it is not really in their best interest to make the purchase rfeel  ripped off. Wouldn't you agree?  Now I won't buy anymore of his books.

      The reason that I posted here is to make others aware and perhaps save them the dissapointment and  hasstle and annoyance that I have had.  The boook in itself is good and I am giving it to someone who will appreciate it.

      1. Pattiann42 | | #5

        Duplicate of KDK.

        This is one reason I search other places and do not take Amazon's description as a complete overview.

        Instead of trashing the author for something he most likely had nothing to do with, share one of the books and gift it to a friend.

  3. overflowingstash | | #4

    Warning was on author's website, so bad Amazon, bad bad Amazon

    Thanks for the warning. Totally sympathise with your anger at the situation. Even reselling one copy you might still be out of pocket unnecessarily. But... There's always a "but" isn't it! }:-)

    Unless it can be proven that the author was solely responsible for choosing the different book titles in different regions, and knew that consumers might purchase books internationally and therefore potentially fall prey to duplicate purchases, then personally I'm inclined to give the author the benefit of doubt and put this down as a very very unfortunate situation which publishers, retailers - especially international ones like Amazon, and the author should work together to correct.

    I actually found Kenneth's website before stumbling across this thread. In his "Books" section he makes it very clear they're the same book just different title and cover, and for some reason the information isn't shown on Amazon.

    Maybe the publishers are not up to date with consumer purchase behavior. Nowadays we buy stuff internationally much more often and they really should stick to the same title, or at least make clear in book description or through some clever linking of different editions so you'd know they're all the same book.

    Personally, I'd probably still buy books from this author despite this warning. I'd just be more careful in the future to check online more thoroughly before purchasing. I've come across other form of annoying duplications and waste of money before, so a bit of due diligence with any author wouldn't go amiss.

    Good luck with recovering your money.

    1. regatta | | #6

      All sorted

      I have been in touch with Kenneth D King and  he was not happy that the name etc was changed either.   I have had a satisfactory response from him  look forward to more of his articles and books. I have given the book to someone who appreciated it.

      In future when buying online I will know  this sort of thing can happen and be more vigilant. A lesson learned

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