Ex Occidente Press

[darknessdoubled]

Trev, your story is very nearly identical to my own experience ordering from Ex Occidente. Every detail is precisely the same except that I initially ordered Mark Valentine's The Rite of Trebizond along with the Jean Ray title. Well, it's been more than 6 months now and I have still not received The Rite of Trebizond. I did get the Jean Ray book several weeks after placing my order, but that was the only book in the package - and, yes, the book was damaged. Many, many months (and emails) later Dan sent me two "gift" books but still no ...Trebizond and no Jean Ray replacement.
Dan gave me the exact same stories about lost packages and about using DHL at an astronomical cost so that I could get the requested books (though, of course, he never actually did this). As it stands, I am still essentially waiting on my original order from back in March.

So, here are my two cents about the various trials and tribulations of independent publishing: I agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Barker's assertion that independent publishing is a fairly thankless task and one that comes at considerable financial risk (and usually drain) to the entrepreneur in question. Furthermore, attempting to satisfy customers while continuing to issue new product and maintain fair prices is extremely challenging. (I feel that I can speak with some firsthand experience about this topic as I have run my own tiny record label for more than 10 years). All these points being taken into consideration, however, I have to say that my complaints about Ex Occidente are based on Dan’s simple carelessness (or else he’s purposely being deceptive – I prefer to think of it as carelessness). He claimed on several different occasions to have sent my order to me and that I didn’t receive the books because the package he sent was either lost or stolen. Well, this may or may not be true, but seeing that it cannot be proven either way, I won’t dwell on that aspect of the situation. What can definitively be stated though, is that I have received exactly two packages from Dan now and neither one of them contained what they should have contained. Yes, accidents will happen, but the facts of the matter are that Dan has been careless and he has clearly not been in a hurry to remedy the situation(s). Once again, more than 6 months have now passed and I am still waiting for my original order.

I have a considerable amount of experience with various facets of mail order retail and the service received from Ex Occidente has been some of the worst I’ve yet encountered. It’s too bad, because he’s got a number of very appealing titles being offered now. I can’t recommend ordering directly though. And Trev’s point about PayPal disputes is one that should be seriously considered.

I understand that a small handful of customers have been taking advantage of Dan's teething problems and are cynically milking him for as many free books as possible, knowing that they will quickly spiral in value as they go out of print. Regretably I had similar experiences with Reggie Oliver books.

I have advised him to compile a blacklist of problem customers i.e. those who aggressively demand refunds or free books whilst refusing to return allegedly damaged books, and to consider refusing to supply overseas customers direct, instead directing them to acquire books from well-known dealers such as Cold Tonnage or Mythos Books. Finally I have recommended that he raise his postage prices so that every book sent is insured and tracked.

Of course, honest and reliable customers will suffer, but as every small publisher knows, there are a handful of people out there who know that a $40 book will be worth $200 on Ebay next year, and they seem to be quite ruthless in taking advantage of newcomers.

In the 'good old days' all one had to do was provide proof that a book had been posted, and leave the matter of insurance up to the customer. Nowadays the USA postal system and paypal put the seller in a very vulnerable position. They place the burden of ensuring a book arrives safely and in top condition upon the seller whilst allowing the customer to opt for cheap, untracked insurance. This opens the floodgates for fraudsters and can cripple a small press running on low profit margins.

Naturally, I do not refer to anyone in this thread.

JK

[Robin Davies]

Quote Originally Posted by Robin Davies

Interesting, but frustrating! I ordered The Nightfarers on the 12th of August and I'm still waiting. Ex Occidente have a mouthwatering list of books but I wish their service was a bit quicker. Good to hear that All Gods Angels, Beware! is a bit nearer publication though. That's the one I'm really looking forward to.

Update: The Nightfarers arrived this week.

[nomis]

I'd get in touch with Dan and get things sorted. I know there have been some issues with delivering to the USA over the summer, but I don't think anyone knows why.

[Evans]

I've sent him an email about it a week ago. He was pleasant and helpful when I spoke to him before to him before about reserving a copy of said book for a few days.

In other news I'm picking up a copy of The Nightfarers (I've found out about loads and loads of new authors since I've joined this site)

[Beclabbered]

I live in the U.S. and have also not received a few orders. This is strange, since I have received some of the books I ordered from him. I ordered a few copies of the Jean Ray book and still haven't received them. I got so impatient that I ordered a copy from Cold Tonnage and it arrived two weeks later. I 've emailed Dan and his response is always kind and sympathetic and helpful. Three times now he said he would re-send the books and they still haven't arrived. I am frustrated over this situation, and I know he must be as well. I can't expect him to lose money on the transaction, but then the books I ordered represent a week's worth of work for me and it's a monetary blow to lose it.
I think the problem must somehow be with the postal service. I plan to file a missing package form at the local post office, but seriously doubt those books will ever materialize.

[nomis]

There does indeed seem to be a black hole between Romania and the USA. I'd suggest American buyers place their orders with dealers rather than the publisher directly. Cold Tonnage in the UK, or Realms of Fantasy in the USA.

As a Canadian, I've suffered none of these issues, strangely enough.

[Robin Davies]

Quote Originally Posted by nomis

There does indeed seem to be a black hole between Romania and the USA. I'd suggest American buyers place their orders with dealers rather than the publisher directly. Cold Tonnage in the UK, or Realms of Fantasy in the USA. As a Canadian, I've suffered none of these issues, strangely enough.

It's not just the USA. I live in the UK and The Terrible Changes took about 6 weeks to arrive.
Provided they arrive eventually I'll keep ordering because books of this quality are worth it.

[qcrisp]

Announcement:

The details of All God’s Angels, Beware! have now been finalised. The cover and interior frontispiece are shown below. The contents will be as follows:

Troubled Joe
The Were-Sheep of Abercrave
Ynys-y-Plag
Karakasa
A Cup of Tea
Asking For It
The Fox Wedding
Mise en Abyme
Italiannetto
Suicide Watch

The frontispiece artwork is: "The Lovesick Man" (1916) by George Grosz


http://files.myopera.com/quentinscrisp/albums/879367/AllGodsAngelsBeware!.jpg


http://files.myopera.com/quentinscri...sick%20Man.GIF



A limited edition chapbook of tales that did not make the final contents due to considerations of book size will also be made available at a later date. This chapbook will be free to those who have ordered the book already, or who order it pre-release (pre-order). Details of the contents and so on of the chapbook are to be confirmed.

[qcrisp]

The announcement came out slightly better here:

http://www.ligotti.net/showthread.php?t=2785#8