Faithlife: Please break up the C.S. Lewis collection!

I keep getting excited when I see the books each have individual entries in the Logos catalog, but then my hopes are dashed when I see there's no purchase button.

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/857333#Comment_857333

I know it took a while for Faithlife to get these works by CS Lewis, Therefore it could be a publisher decision.

Robert Harner

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/857349#Comment_857349

. . . Therefore it could be a publisher decision.

I'll never figure out why a publisher would want fewer sales. I already have a lot of them on dead tree, there are a few I'd like though.

Kenute P. Curry

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/857350#Comment_857350

I certainly wish I could buy them as individual volumes. As a collection they are way too expensive.

Glenn Crouch

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/857356#Comment_857356

I certainly wish I could buy them as individual volumes. As a collection they are way too expensive.

Agreed

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/857349#Comment_857349

I know it took a while for Faithlife to get these works by CS Lewis, Therefore it could be a publisher decision.

In many (most?) countries outside the US Lewis's works are in the public domain...I'm not sure what kind of arrangement Logos made with the publisher but I hope they aren't paying them for purchases made by those who don't live where they have copyright. This would also mean Logos is free to sell them however they want elsewhere as long as they don't use the publishers artwork, etc.

MJ. Smith

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/857393#Comment_857393

but I hope they aren't paying them for purchases made by those who don't live where they have copyright.

Ah encouraging breaking the law? See https://www.hg.org/article.asp?id=5443 which will tell you that generally the laws of the seller's country not the buyers' countries applies.

Jan Krohn

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/857399#Comment_857399

CS Lewis has been dead for only 53 years. I honestly doubt that the copyright has expired in a lot of countries.

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/857399#Comment_857399

but I hope they aren't paying them for purchases made by those who don't live where they have copyright.

Ah encouraging breaking the law? See https://www.hg.org/article.asp?id=5443 which will tell you that generally the laws of the seller's country not the buyers' countries applies.

I'm not sure how it works these days with ebooks but try going to Amazon.ca and looking up Lewis's books. What price do you see? Does it offer you a dozen different Kindle versions for $1+? When I go to Amazon.com it gives me cheap pricing based on my IP address. e.g. I can buy the 7 book Narnia set plus Boxen as a collection for $0.75 USD from some little known publisher. Even the volumes from Harper Collins are $0.85 each so I presume they are indeed basing my price on where I am, not that I'm buying them from a US website. Unless the American price is also dirt cheap. I can't tell though as I don't have access to a US IP address. My point is that Amazon.com and .ca are separate companies in separate countries but they treat me like a Canadian on either website.

Either way I haven't bought the Lewis collection because it's far overpriced.

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/857400#Comment_857400

CS Lewis has been dead for only 53 years. I honestly doubt that the copyright has expired in a lot of countries.

It used to be most countries had shorter copyright terms. Lewis's copyright has expired in a lot of countries. Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa all have life +50 terms while the US and UK have life +70. You can see the full list here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries%27_copyright_lengths.

Jan Krohn

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/857402#Comment_857402

That's a helpful link!

Australia has life+50 years only for authors who died before 1955. Since we're in 2016, that quite moot...

MJ. Smith

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/857401#Comment_857401

I'm not sure how it works these days with ebooks but try going to Amazon.ca and looking up Lewis's books. What price do you see? Does it offer you a dozen different Kindle versions for $1+? When I go to Amazon.com it gives me cheap pricing based on my IP address.

There is a big difference in that Amazon has branches in a number of countries to that the Canadian branch of Amazon can offer Canadian copyright laws. However, if you were in Sarawak where they do not have a branch, you would have to apply the laws of the branch of Amazon that supplies the book.

BTW I don't show many third party reprints so I don't have the low price options ... although there appears to be a bug in the Amazon sort by price routine.

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/857407#Comment_857407

What I'm saying is that Amazon.com is offering me works based on Canadian copyright law. If I was in Sarawak I presume that Amazon.com could also offer me works based on Sarawak copyright law based on my IP address (and CC address?) since that's what they're doing with .com.

Can you get this listing on Amazon.com? https://www.amazon.com/CHRONICLES-NARNIA-Collection-Childrens-Literature-ebook/dp/B01F9A5KXM It's for the Narnia collection for Kindle from some "publisher" for $0.56. It's doesn't say they're Canadian although there's another publisher called MapleLeafBooks which presumably is.

JT (alabama24)

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/857411#Comment_857411

Can you get this listing on Amazon.com?

Nope.

Kenute P. Curry

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/857418#Comment_857418

The link you gave Tom Reynolds takes me to THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION, which is priced under $20.00

Bernhard

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/857411#Comment_857411

If I was in Sarawak I presume that Amazon.com could also offer me works based on Sarawak copyright law based on my IP address (and CC address?) since that's what they're doing with .com.

Unless they have state-based copyright laws, that would be Malaysian copyright law [8-|]

MJ. Smith

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/857411#Comment_857411

What I'm saying is that Amazon.com is offering me works based on Canadian copyright law. If I was in Sarawak I presume that Amazon.com could also offer me works based on Sarawak copyright law based on my IP address (and CC address?) since that's what they're doing with .com.

What I am saying is that they could do that only if they have a company/physical presence there.

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/857393#Comment_857393

As these are official HarperCollins editions, anyone who wants them will have to pay the price--copyright really isn't a question for this particular collection. For copyright-free works, Faithlife would have to produce them manually from older editions--and that might be against their agreement with HarperCollins which is the only way to get them for US residents.

NevertheIess, I just want them available individually, and I'm still interested on hearing Faithlife's plans to break up the set.

I second the motion!

Steve Nicholson

Amen!

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/857655#Comment_857655

I'm about to buy The Abolition of Man....Please let me buy it in Logos and not Kindle.

Stephen Steele

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/858731#Comment_858731

Tempted just to buy his letters on kindle if we're not going to be given any indication if/when this will be broken up.

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/859031#Comment_859031

Puuuuleeeeeeeeeease?

I guess Faithlife must subscribe to the notion that if you can't say anything good, don't say anything at all.

Kris Snyder

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/858731#Comment_858731

I'm about to buy The Abolition of Man....Please let me buy it in Logos and not Kindle.

I had to purchase Mere Christianity, Abolition of Man and Miracles for a class I'm taking. I also would have preferred the Logos version.

Simon’s Brother

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/857418#Comment_857418

I can get it on amazon.com for $32.00 but i can't get it together on amazon.com.au

Can you get this listing on Amazon.com?

Nope.

Eric Back

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/857655#Comment_857655

I'm not sure if anyone's mentioned it but individual works are now available.
https://www.logos.com/products/search?q=c+s+lewis&Author=1804|C.+S.+Lewis&redirecttoauthor=true

James McAdams

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/973292#Comment_973292

I'm not sure if anyone's mentioned it but individual works are now available.
https://www.logos.com/products/search?q=c+s+lewis&Author=1804|C.+S.+Lewis&redirecttoauthor=true

I'm not seeing any available for individual purchase?

James McAdams

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/973295#Comment_973295

In fact, they specifically state that they aren't available or individual purchase:

Eric Back

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/973296#Comment_973296

Quite right. I apologize. I saw them broken out individually with prices and failed to check further.

Gary Graham

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/973317#Comment_973317

I would love to be able to buy these books individually. I broke down and bought a couple of his books from Google books. I would really have preferred to get them here, but the entire collection is out of my reach financially.

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/973317#Comment_973317

I wonder why they have the individual prices listed when they can only be purchased in a bundle? Confusing.

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/973331#Comment_973331

I'm sure Faithlife would break up the set if they were allowed to do so.

Everett Headley

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/973333#Comment_973333

Its been some time since these were released. Certainly someone from Logos can tell us if we could ever expect to see them broken up.

Ben Amundgaard (Faithlife)

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/973333#Comment_973333

I'm sure Faithlife would break up the set if they were allowed to do so.

At some point we hope to offer them individually. At this point, we're in the same position as we have been. For various contractual/rights issues, we're not able to sell them individually.

Dave Thawley

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/973344#Comment_973344

Hi Ben

Thanks for getting back to us. It is frustrating for everyone I'm sure. I have 99.9% of my book collection in Logos and have to Go to Amazon for the odd Lewis Book. Good luck in your efforts to get them on an individual sale basis :-)

Matt Hamrick

This is not Faithlife nor the publisher's fault, it is the Lewis family. Take the issue up with them.

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/973363#Comment_973363

Any chance on getting the Narnia series?

I just purchased them on Kindle, but would get them in Logos too if they were available.

Gary Graham

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/973344#Comment_973344

Thanks for the reply.

Its nice to hear from someone official, even if its not the answer I wanted. (but it was the answer I expected) [:)]

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/999999#Comment_999999

Nothing about Logos infuriates me more than this topic. Lately I’ve been getting emails promoting discounts on the CSL sets. If I wanted the damned set I’d buy the damned set. I have a shelf full of hard copies. I want to be able to use Logos to read and search some of these. I”ll buy them individually... like I could with Kindle.... one at a time, but I’m NOT buying the full set at once just because some pinhead is so greedy they won’t let users buy what they want instead of an excessive number in a collection.

Like I said, this infuriates me. Stop sending me the “discount” on the collection.

DAL

Nothing about Logos infuriates me more than this topic. Lately I’ve been getting emails promoting discounts on the CSL sets. If I wanted the damned set I’d buy the damned set. I have a shelf full of hard copies. I want to be able to use Logos to read and search some of these. I”ll buy them individually... like I could with Kindle.... one at a time, but I’m NOT buying the full set at once just because some pinhead is so greedy they won’t let users buy what they want instead of an excessive number in a collection.

Like I said, this infuriates me. Stop sending me the “discount” on the collection.

I understand your frustration, but cursing 🤬 won’t get the set broken up for individual sale any faster.

And if the set is “damned” then why in the world would you want to read “damned” material anyway? 😜

DAL

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1000000#Comment_1000000

To me it’s damned AS A SET. I believe it’s Satan himself that controls that decision.

I really doubt C.S. Lewis would have wanted it that way. If that were the case, then you’d only be able to buy the hard copies in sets. You’d only be able to buy them from Amazon in sets.

I don’t buy - for one second - that Faithlife couldn’t negotiate a better deal to market to Christians if they wanted to. Something has gotten in the way. I‘d really like to hear the truth.

David Taylor, Jr.

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1000002#Comment_1000002

To me it’s damned AS A SET. I believe it’s Satan himself that controls that decision.

I really doubt C.S. Lewis would have wanted it that way. If that were the case, then you’d only be able to buy the hard copies in sets. You’d only be able to buy them from Amazon in sets.

I don’t buy - for one second - that Faithlife couldn’t negotiate a better deal to market to Christians if they wanted to. Something has gotten in the way. I‘d really like to hear the truth.

You shouldn't make assumptions like that. Publishers have a lot of power and then throw resellers like Amazon in the mix and you have a recipe for just this very thing.

More likely than not, it is probably something like the contract Amazon has with the publisher keeps other resellers from going in direct competition with them. Amazon and even Apple have been known to do this.