• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Birds of Bolivia - Rip off? (1 Viewer)

I guess printing it in the Northern Hemisphere would have made the book more expensive for people in Bolivia, whom were their main target "audience". And you'd need to travel to say, Spain or the UK, to take care upclose of the printing process (quality check, choosing the right paper, etc...). But maybe there were other completely different reasons behind their choice?

No Rafael,
you print on both sides of the planet as is routinely done with European and American versions of the same book!

To make it cheaper, it needs to have a version printed in Europe, the original charity would still make plenty of money but those who want it would get it at a fair price and it would probably address any quality issues?

A
 
Last edited:
Often a sure provocation to the digital advocates out there to move the thread in a different direction. Remember: Birds of Bolivia!

Gary H

The problem is that most people outside Bolivia will not have the chance to got this book as most platforms are apparently not able to get copies in stock. And if it is out of print it wll be almost impossible to get a copy otherwise you are willing to pay a very high price for a used copy. I'm also not appeal to ebooks too but it might be a cheaper alternative for a wider distribution.
 
I'm also not appeal to ebooks too but it might be a cheaper alternative for a wider distribution.

I wasn't lumping your suggestion (which is quite relevant to the thread) with those often used to hijack discourse by dismissing the all things paper.

You made an excellent point & one would hope an ebook version might be on the horizon.

Gary H
 
Reviewing this thread and Cajanuma's comments, I really have to agree. The first printing is slightly oddly bound (like the jacket was made a hair too large for the text) and the printing quality is perhaps not world class. But after getting past aesthetic niggles like that it's a remarkably excellent field guide. The par quality of the art is very high, the range maps are excellent, the text is spot on. Considering it's a first effort for a country that never had a field guide by a first time field guide author and not leveraging existing artwork, I think it is pretty amazing. In fact I would say it is one of the best field guides in S America.
 
Buteo Books has copies in stock now

……………..
Edit: I notice Buteo Books have not even listed the book any more!

I got a notification from Buteo Books that they now have the Bolivia FG in stock again. Price is $ 95.- So not exactly cheap. I had hoped to have them send it to my son in Chicago as he is about to visit us here in Switzerland. But rather than risking losing the race before he visits, I decided to have the book sent directly to me. The cheapest version is around $ 35 for a so called Flat-rate envelope. So including shipping, the book amounts to about $130.- I presume that would be the same for the rest of Europe.
I have no immediate plans for a visit, but it's always good to get some desired books while they are available. B :)

Edit: Looks like the few copies they had are already gone. https://www.buteobooks.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Store_Code=BBBAO&Screen=PROD&Product_Code=14746

Good thing I ordered right away. So if you need/want one, make sure you either backorder a copy or have them notify you as they get more in stock. That's what I had done.
 
Last edited:
I got a notification from Buteo Books that they now have the Bolivia FG in stock again. Price is $ 95.- So not exactly cheap. I had hoped to have them send it to my son in Chicago as he is about to visit us here in Switzerland. But rather than risking losing the race before he visits, I decided to have the book sent directly to me. The cheapest version is around $ 35 for a so called Flat-rate envelope. So including shipping, the book amounts to about $130.- I presume that would be the same for the rest of Europe.
I have no immediate plans for a visit, but it's always good to get some desired books while they are available. B :)

Edit: Looks like the few copies they had are already gone. https://www.buteobooks.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Store_Code=BBBAO&Screen=PROD&Product_Code=14746

Good thing I ordered right away. So if you need/want one, make sure you either backorder a copy or have them notify you as they get more in stock. That's what I had done.

I don't want it badly enough to pay this silly price Robert but thanks for the update.
 
I have one since May 2017 (am I one of the first in Europe to have seen the book? :)

The rationale behind the distribution / production in Bolivia is easy to understand, and the complexity exporting any of those finished books is also easy to understand and frustrating at the same time for travelling birders.

I only know that Sebastian Herzog is a really great guy and if he could have done it in a way that would have fit for both the sponsors of the NGO and the travelling birders abroad, he would have done that.

I also guess that companies like Lynx are more willing to bring out there own guide as they now have the basics on every bird on the planet (drawing, info regarding habitat and distribution,...), even though it will be hard to improve the Bolivian guide.
 
Associacion Civil Armonia, publisher of the Bolivia guide, posted two days ago on FB saying that the guide is nearly sold out, and that copies remain in Bolivia at a few select locations, as well as in the US. The FB post says that copies in the US can be gotten by emailing [email protected] - just passing this info along. I have the guide and it is thorough, authoritative, and fills a tremendous gap.

Hopefully a second edition/publishing will be forthcoming, though I do not know anything about this.
 
Associacion Civil Armonia, publisher of the Bolivia guide, posted two days ago on FB saying that the guide is nearly sold out, and that copies remain in Bolivia at a few select locations, as well as in the US. The FB post says that copies in the US can be gotten by emailing [email protected] - just passing this info along. I have the guide and it is thorough, authoritative, and fills a tremendous gap.

Hopefully a second edition/publishing will be forthcoming, though I do not know anything about this.

I contacetd them direct at the time of publication, three times and got no reply.
 
I got a notification from Buteo Books that they now have the Bolivia FG in stock again. Price is $ 95.- So not exactly cheap. I had hoped to have them send it to my son in Chicago as he is about to visit us here in Switzerland. But rather than risking losing the race before he visits, I decided to have the book sent directly to me. The cheapest version is around $ 35 for a so called Flat-rate envelope. So including shipping, the book amounts to about $130.- I presume that would be the same for the rest of Europe.
………………...

My copy arrived on the 24th, thus 6 days after placing my order. So the $35 are for a very speedy delivery, at least. Buteo Books needs to be commended for extremely fast service plus extremely well wrapped package. Something those cheaper competitors usually can't deliver. B :)

As for the supposed "rip off" price of the book, one has to take into account that (1) the Bolivian publisher Asociación Armonía needs the book to generate funds for conservation work. And (2) Buteo Books states that "Copies are only available when we are able to get copies hand delivered from Bolivia". That is obviously a rather costly or at least not very efficient way to get books. But then, apparently the only viable method for the moment.
 
I presume that will only be the case when/if there will be a second printing.

I gave up on it a long time ago.

I won't pay $130 for it just because it's hard to get, poor effort IMO. A real missed opportunity, especially if the proceeds are going to conservation.
 
My copy arrived on the 24th, thus 6 days after placing my order. So the $35 are for a very speedy delivery, at least. Buteo Books needs to be commended for extremely fast service plus extremely well wrapped package. Something those cheaper competitors usually can't deliver. B :)

As for the supposed "rip off" price of the book, one has to take into account that (1) the Bolivian publisher Asociación Armonía needs the book to generate funds for conservation work. And (2) Buteo Books states that "Copies are only available when we are able to get copies hand delivered from Bolivia". That is obviously a rather costly or at least not very efficient way to get books. But then, apparently the only viable method for the moment.

Consevation would have been better served by making the book more widely available, not expensive!

I'm sure the original price was not $95 plus postage was it and my 'Rip off' line was aimed at those who wer bumping the price, simply as it was hard to get.
 
Last edited:
I've recently seen that at least one library in Germany has a copy. Maybe I can lend this book via the Interlibrary Loan.
 
Warning! This thread is more than 4 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top