Conservative radio host and author Glenn Beck caused confusion and conspiracy theories at one Barnes & Noble store after he announced a 50 percent off deal for a new book.
As you can see by the radio show clip embedded above, Beck announced a special one-day deal for Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25–the first book published by his new Mercury Ink imprint. However, Beck didn’t clarify the online nature of deal. The post later clarified: “Tuesday’s 50% off special of Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 is only available as an online pre-order, not in stores.”
One bookstore employee recounted the chaos at his store: “We had a slew of people coming in to the store, expecting to get the book 50% off (a one day online only offer) but being told that we couldn’t sell the book to them until next week. We got told by several people that this was a liberal conspiracy to suppress this book. Also, we only received 9 books, and there were none in our warehouses, and a very very small number at a supplier’s warehouse. So, underprinting, artificial scarcity and pre-release hype. Also, manufactured controversy in some customers minds about the fact that we didn’t have their book. It’s all very diabolical and brilliant in a way, even though they are gaming the system.”