GTO 64 - Book by Doug Nye

My copy didn't have a numbered card with it!

 

Hi Frank, I think the best way is to directly contact Watermark. They have been extremely helpful with my Uber Edition problem. I don't think that Librairie Motors Mania has spare slipcases at hand to send a new one.

 

Personally I'd leave if for the bookseller to sort out, hopefully he can just swap it with another book/ slipcase.

Hmmmm that's the only issue with books not being physically numbered, if the manufacturing process breaks down and they miss inserting a card (or over time the card goes missing) some of the unique exclusivity goes with it as well. It's just too easy to lose. Again I'd be contacting the seller, in this case the publisher, for a replacement card or book.

It's an expensive book, you should be 100% satisfied.

 

The pic of Gpiro's No. 79 card showed the book still in its shrink wrap, so that was how I was expecting to find mine when it arrived i.e. loose in the box and not inside the book. I purposely didn't take the plastic off the book in case I had to return it. I'm now wondering if the card is actually inside the shrink wrapped book? Just wondering if everyone else's card was loose in the box or whether some were inside the sealed book (before I complain and look like an idiot because it was there all along!)

 

When I purchased my copy from Horton's at Pebble Beach in August, Ben handed me the card separately, it wasn't inside the shrink wrapped book.

At the time we thought it was a little odd that edition number card wasn't attached to the title page etc,. and not too impressed, but to be fair we thought this was because these we the very few first copies available before the main release.

I will investigate my card more thoroughly, but at the time I assumed it was a sticker of sorts to be stuck into the book.

 

With any collectable book, personal preferences aside, there must be a number that collectors most desire. With the GTO '64 book the preferred number must surely be 250 so well done to Hugo for securing that one.

However, there is a problem here with the books not being numbered. If I wanted to have book #250 I could more easily reproduce a card than I could replicate the page of a book and seemlessly insert it into a book. If I wanted to, I could scan the card from my copy (#170), dispose of it and reproduce another showing #250. We could all have #250 if we wanted! I wonder how many books with #250 will turn up for sale in the future, when Hugo still has the proper one? I am tempted to confuse the future collectors and historians by reproducing my card to show #1964/2000. It appears that in the future it will be as difficult to keep track of the book numbers as it is with the numbers of the actual cars.

Now books are (possibly) appearing with no card! I would not accept this: having paid this much for a book I would expect everything to be spot on. What is the publisher or the seller supposed to do though? There is probably no way of knowing which number this book is unless there is a number written on the box (which there seems to be) or they have just one card left over. If the book is returned and an unsold, numbered, one is used to replace it what then happens to the un-numbered one? It would not be possible to put a new card inside if the number is not known as there would be a risk of duplicating another number and so the book will probably be sold off with no number. Would that make it more or less valuable? If more valuable then we can all dispose of our cards and sell a rare, un-numbered, edition!

On the subject of keeping track of the numbers of the cars has anyone looked at the listings in the book for 4399GT (page 423-425)? There has been discussion in the historic section of Ferrari Chat about a car calling itself 4399 being entered for races but a replica then turning up to race. I know that the list on Barchetta cannot be taken as gospel but a comparison to the list in the book is a bit disheartening. There is either an omission or an admission here. An omission from the book (I hope not) or an admission that the real 4399 has not really been seen since 2005, apart from the Goodwood Revival in 2008 and the GTO Tours.

 

Mine was inside the front cover of the sealed up book.

 

Still waiting for mine to arrive unfortunately so I can't be much help.

If the card is actually a sticker well then that makes more sense but I'm surprised the publisher wouldn't have stuck them in prior to dispatch to avoid this issue your having now.

The Miura book did both, a written number in the book and a separate card, can't do better than that.

 

I've bought and received two, and from two different dealers. The first came from Hortons, which I received without the publishers cardboard box. Numbered card was inside the book, and the shrink-wrap had been opened at the end where the book comes out of its slip case. That said, the book and card were in perfect condition.
The second book came from Costwold's, sealed in its shrink-wrap and in the publishers cardboard box, which had the books number written on it. Card is loose in the box under some bubble wrap that also surrounds the book.

As for duplicating or creating a new fake card, I don't see that as viable. If a potential buyer, or "pigeon" for an unscrupulous seller knows what the originals look like, then that would probably not work. It would be very difficult and costly to make an accurate fake card. Not really worth the time and expense since you would have to make a hard metal stamp to emboss the card, and still have to also apply printing to it, etc, etc.

 

To proof I've got the only #250 I'll keep the correspondence about it with Watermark. Next time I'll go for a random numbered book to avoid sleepless nights thinking of my book being made into a GTO conversion ;-)
Card was not in the book, came separate in the packaging.

 

Thanks for the feedback. it looks as though the card should have been separate in the packaging. I've emailed Horton's to see what can be done about getting either a replacement card or book.
Shame #250 has already been bagged! It'd be nice to get another Ferrari number though e.g. 246, 308, 328, 512 etc

 

I think you have the point here: third party sellers receive the books in batches within bigger cardboxes containing more than one book, from the publisher.
In the end there’s no link between the books and the numbered cards, so the books may be limited but not numbered.

 

I suspect a lot of the cards will get lost over time. Besides, if Marshall (and others) has two copies then who is to say whether the right card is with the right book as delivered? But I'm not sure the numbers matter much for any of these limited edition books. I mean, if you want to buy one sometime down the road, you're surely going to pick one up when it comes up for sale at the right price and in the right condition. You're not likely to wait for a specific number.

 

100%.

When I was looking to buy a copy of Ferrari in Camera the last thing I worried about was the actual book number.

Condition and to a lesser extent price were the only things I cared about.

 

Thanks for the advice. Going forward, I will have to buy these books from the publisher(s) anyhow, because the seller is no longer willing to deal with “my” future issues. He will buy me a new slip case (he is the opinion that he will not get it free of charge) and thereafter regretfully no further purchases through this seller, at least not for these more exclusive editions. Is it me, when I have the feeling that I am “punished” twice? No hard feelings, I have understanding for his position from a business perspective, but is it not deeply sad that good client-supplier relations are damaged because of such futilities, little things which probably could be anticipated at the source.


Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app

 

I think you've dodged a bullet there Frank if that shop says they no longer wish to deal with you over a minor issue like that.

Plenty of other fussy, customer focused book sellers out there that will gladly have you as a future client.

I wouldn't even think twice.

 

Who is the bookseller?

 

Hi Jack, the book seller is Librairie Motors Mania in France. I always had a perfect service from them (as many others). The owner called me personally to get this particular issue resolved, but regretfully with the message to order more exclusive books through the publisher going forward.
Quite some publishers are located in the United Kingdom, also one of my other preferred book sellers, Hortons Books. I am living in Belgium, you cannot imagine how complicated it is these days (mainly because of the customs declaration) to get something supplied from the UK.
Best regards, Frank

 

Got around the issue by purchasing the Ultimate 250 GTO being individually numbered.

 

Why not buy both.

 

Noticed Doug you have liked a recent post.Ignore the very few whingers on here moaning about the content of the book it is excellent

 

Purchased from Horton's. Never have had one single issue with them or their service. #43 and card was inside the sealed book with slipcase.

 

I received #60 today. The card was loose inside the numbered cardboard box but outside the shrink-wrapped slipcase & book. I have enjoyed the first few chapters so far. I don't have a problem with the printing of the photo captions.