And now, an academic paperback for over $1500

So I went to Amazon to pick up Constance Classen’s The Deepest Sense: A Cultural History of Touch, which I’m looking forward to reading.  This is what I found:

 

While I’m definitely interested in picking up the book, and while it is clearly eligible for super saver shipping, this is the first over-$1500 academic paperback I’ve ever seen. Either someone made a whopper of a typo, Amazon has some kind of algorithmic error (or U of Illinois press does), or the press has a truly insane pricing plan for purchasers outside the United States.

Luckily, there are other vendors who will sell it for less.

Assuming it’s an error, and one that might be to the author’s detriment, I emailed Amazon to ask why the book was so expensive. If I hear back, I’ll post it here.

Update:

Here’s the email I got back from Amazon.  Suitably cryptic:

Thank you for writing to us at Amazon.ca.

I am sorry, but this item’s price “The Deepest Sense” was listed as wrongly on our web site.

We build our web site information from many sources, and we really appreciate knowing about any errors which find their way into it.

I’ve forwarded your message to the inventory department and I can ensure that this error is corrected as soon as possible. This process will takes 5 to 7 business days, so we request you to wait until that time to get this issue corrected.

I will write back to you within 5 to 7 business days with a resolution.

Thank you for your patience and understanding, and thanks for shopping at Amazon.ca.

Did we answer your question?

If yes, please click here:
http://www.amazon.ca/rsvp-y?c=cycdthew3542761760

If not, please click here:
http://www.amazon.ca/rsvp-n?c=cycdthew3542761760&q=caff

Please note: this e-mail was sent from an address that cannot accept incoming e-mail.

To contact us about an unrelated issue, please visit the Help section of our web site.

Best regards,

Vel S.
Amazon.ca
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Postscript:

On Facebook, Dave Noon pointed me to this $23 million book about flies.