Adrian

My instincts say that this is going to be a screaming deal for someone who can be at the right place on the right time. Don't think anyone would bid too much online on an item sold "as is" based on the description made by some "expert".

Sorry for the confusion Barry Dunno why I had in mind that you were American, as you have the location published in your profile. So we're looking for a well known and trusted American (living in the US too) who can handle the money. Anyone stepping forward? :D

Brian, If you share the details with someone in the US who is willing to help (maybe Barry for example) perhaps we would be able to move this forward a bit. In any case you're going to need someone in the US to collect the $, for obvious economic reasons (paypal and bank transfer fees, contract6 with a domestic printing company and so on). If any trusted volunteer steps forward, of course. :D

About Paypal, the 3.9% fee applies ony to certain international transactions. (doesn't matter if the buyer and seller are in the same room, it matters in which countries the accounts are registered). For example, the Germans pay a fee of 1.9% plus a 0.35 euro flat fee for all EU transactions (they were VERY reluctant to accept Paypal, even on ebay, guess it paid out for them) Within the US the fee is 2.9% plus $0.30 USD . When a US seller gets money from a non US account it's 3.9% + $0.30 USD (and it getts smaller past 3000$/month ) The French pay 3,4 % + 0,25 € for all EU transactions. (not sure if this is just for personal transfers or also for purchases, maybe Jean can tell us all the details). And so on. TBH I find these differences in fees (from country to country) to be an absolutelly disgusting business practice. Basically they are squeezing more money exactly from the people who accepted paypal easily and made possible it's developpement.

Perhaps running a commitment topic could move things forward a bit? Considering the larger oders mentioned in the topic we are clearly over 100 copies right now. What I'm suggesting is a topic where every person interested would clearly commit to buy and also mention the number of copies. From what I saw on these two topics, most of the people interested were known members here, I kinda doublt that there is going to be 30% withdrawal rate, particularly at this price and quality. TBH at this point I really don't see why we should complicate things using a platform like Kickstarter. The market for this project is right here.

Any progress Brian?

If you deposit some money they may let you bid by phone. Give them a call tomorrow morning (London time, of course) worst thing they can do is say no :D

Brian, if you're shopping for a Yari have a look at this one. http://www.ebay.com/itm/YARI-ANTIQUE-JA ... 596wt_1399 Looks legit to my untrained eye :D

Same here. Trying to steer a business trip to Japan towards the end of October tho :D .

I'd say that @ 85$/copy for offset print it would be ridiculous to even consider digital print. 150 copies isn't that much, in fact it's a great offer by all standards.

The only reason why they are considering it is because these are tough times for the printing business. Basically they take now projects like this to keep the business going (cover expenses, pay salaries and so on) not to make any profit. This is why I was so sure that such project is feasible at this moment. Let us know when you make some progress, based on the preliminary discussions I had on this subject it's clear that this price can be beaten so we should definitely focus on this option.

I think everyone approves such approach. It's always better to get more for the same money (or even cheaper) :D . If Brian confirms that the offer he got is for the same quality, then taking this offer is the obvious choice.

If the quote you got from the US is for offset print, hardcover with sewn binding (this is important for a book of this size) and good quality acid free paper then it is far better then the best offer that I got so far and we should carry it on this way. I don't want any royalties for the idea :lol: , feel free to pursue this path. However I wouldn't say that time is a non-factor here, I was able to discuss such a small edition strictly because of the current economic situation. Before 2008 no printing company capable of printing this kind of books would have considered anything under 500 copies.

Barry, it went quiet because I was simply waiting to see how many interest votes will be cast. Plus I've been really busy the last week. Considering the interest votes that were cast here, I find it hard to believe that we could get 100 copies paid for, but I am considering the alternative of doing this with my own money, as mentioned in an earlier post, with a slight cost increase. This would put the cost per copy at 115$ and I would suggest that an additional 5$ donation is made to the NMB by every buyer for each copy purchased. Again, this price will NOT include packing, handling and shipping. I expect packing&handling to be about 5-7$ per copy but will be able to get an exact figure before any order is to be placed. Shipping will be done at post shipping cost unless buyers require a different carrier. However I will need two things: 1. Brian clearly offering the NMB's support to such project. and then 2. To figure out the cost of relatively long term storage in a proper book deposit. I don't have the time to sell 1 copy at the time so things will work out in the following manner: a) After the books are printed I will sell a few copies to 2-3 designated individuals (so they can testify that the product actually exists and this isn't some kind of scam). I'll have to ship these myself but for such a low number that's OK. b) I will allow a month for everyone who wants to order to send in the money. c) I will have the copies that were paid for during this time shipped by the shipping company that will be hired for this. d) The remaining copies will be stored and subsequently sold when a minimal number of orders is placed on a topic opened here. This will allow me to hire again a shipping company.

Thanks a lot Tony. PM sent

Attachment viewed 137 times and no reply. No one has this list?

I realise that these have little relevance for today's market, but this is one of my things, I like to have the hammer prices for all the auction catalogues that I own So, if anyone has the list and doesn't mind to share it...

My deal Denis, the idea was (as you clearly figured it out :lol: ) that the small extra money would cover for relatively long term storage of the unsold copies plus subsequent individual handling and packing. Plus act as a reserve for the money blocked in the unsold copies. So I have to thank you for your extremely generous and considerate suggestion but I'm afraid I'll have to pass.

I think the important part is if I feel comfortable about it since it's going to be my money. Of course we are going to let it run it's natural conclusion but judging from the last day's trend I'm pretty sure what the conclusion will be. Therefore I wanted to let those interested know that this project will be continued (with the already mentioned small modification) even if we falls short of the requested pre-order number. Of course, I perfectly understand that you will definitely have some objections even in that situation :lol: .

Guys, don't worry, if we fail to get enough pre-orders but make it close enough I will do it with my own money anyway. Of course this will bump the price a bit but not by much (say 15$ a copy - I'm not greedy just want to cover the risk of having some of the money blocked for a while in books that require storage).

You are correct, I'm quite tired and multiplied percentage instead of actual votes :lol: Thank you for pointing this out. :D

According to my calculations (that include the posts where the authors mentioned the intention to purchase more then 3 copies ) we have now interest votes for 115 copies. ( I added the mentioned numbers for 10, 5 and 5 copies and removed 3 x3 votes form the poll)

Thank you for the advice Grey. About Guido's affirmation, since I guess we're (as in him and me ) both non-native English speakers, I also guess that you guys stand a good chance of being right. Tho in that case the context was really badly chosen, particularly given the not so old run-in we had on another topic... However the part about the persecution complex... :lol: . Jeez Brian, where did that come from? It's not that it would be unreasonable to read Guido's message the way I did, all things considered. :lol: Even his second comment hints to the fact that at least a good amount of baiting was intended . Anyway, maybe it would be wise to get back at the very peaceful saya making subject. :D

Since I was the only one who made specific references to that book's content, I'll let the others be the judge of that. Even if we accept (without any reason whatsoever ) your claim that the comment wasn't directed at me, it was still misplaced as no one on this topic gave the slightest hint that they considered themselves all knowing after reading a book on the subject. So, indeed you're right about one thing:

Hmm, I wonder how can someone come to this conclusion based on the following message: As P. G. Wodehouse put it: "I didn't knew I had one of those "magnetic personalities" that drive people nuts at first sight" :lol: Anyway, back to Saya making, I'm not delusional about my ability to replicate a technique that takes years (and guidance by an established sayashi) to master. However, since I clearly mentioned that I plan to do this project for a tired blade in old polish that is probably worth some 300$ and which isn't properly stored at the moment, I really don't understand the flames. Would it be better to let it stay in koshirae for the following decades?