ANNIVERSARY Amazon Price Glitch of 2010 + Barnes and Noble

It was one year ago when lightning rained down from the heavens and Amazon's prices mysteriously plummeted for trade paperbacks, hardcovers, and the epic omnibus editions! Within 24 hours the Top 100 bestselling books were all omnibuses and comic hardcovers fueled by the manic ordering of thousands of fans. Ebay auctions by sellers looking to profit from the situation were posted before shipment confirmations were ever received. Later the cause was found to be errors in Diamond Distribution's upload for the weekend which sent a collective shiver through comic fandom across the US.  My own personal experience in the thick of things can be found in the labels section under "Amazon Price Glitch of 2010"

AMAZON PRICE GLITCH OF 2010 - FINAL TALLY

Start: March 6, 2010 - Saturday night the "glitch" was discovered
Finish: March 12, 2010 - Final round of books arrive
Duration: 6 days on an emotional roller coaster!

$599.86 MSRP of Items Received

$241.72 Paid to Amazon

59.7% Savings off MSRP
+$25.00 gift certificate

Actual items received details:
Civil War Hardcover $14.99
Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis & Alex Maleev Omnibus Vol. 2 Hardcover $14.99
Criminal (Deluxe Edition) Hardcover $14.99
Invincible Iron Man Omnibus Vol. 1 Hardcover $14.99
X-Men: Supernovas Hardcover $14.99
Uncanny X-Men: Rise & Fall of the Shi'ar Empire Hardcover $14.99
Annihilation: Conquest Book 2 Hardcover $14.99
Ultimate X-Men Vol. 8 Hardcover $14.99
Annihilation Classic Hardcover $14.99
Avengers: First To Last Premiere Hardcover $14.99
House Of M: Spider-Man, Fantastic Four & X-Men Hardcover $14.99
House Of M: Wolverine, Iron Man & Hulk Hardcover $14.99
Hulk: Green Hulk/Red Hulk Hardcover $14.99
X-Men: Asgardian Wars Hardcover $14.99

Cancelled items:
X-Men: Messiah Complex Hardcover $14.99
Avengers Forever Hardcover $14.99
Avengers Disassembled: Iron Man, Thor & Captain America Hardcover $14.99
House Of M: No More Mutants Hardcover $14.99
X-Force Vol. 1 Hardcover $14.99
X-Men: Inferno Crossovers Hardcover $14.99
3x Fantastic Four Omnibus Vol. 1 Hardcover $8.24
5x The Incredible Hulk Omnibus Vol. 1 Hardcover $8.24
2x The X-Men Omnibus Vol. 1 Hardcover $8.24
10x Iron Man Omnibus Vol. 1 Hardcover $8.24
2x Secret Wars Omnibus Hardcover $8.24
2x Wolverine Omnibus Vol. 1 Hardcover $8.24
2x The Ultimates Omnibus Hardcover $8.24
10x Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis & Alex Maleev Omnibus Vol. 2 Hardcover $8.24
The Marshal Law Omnibus Hardcover $14.99 (pre-order)
Fantastic Four Omnibus Vol. 1 Hardcover $14.99
The X-Men Omnibus Vol. 1 Hardcover $14.99
Iron Man Omnibus Vol. 1 Hardcover $14.99
Secret Wars Omnibus Hardcover $14.99
Wolverine Omnibus Vol. 1 Hardcover $14.99
Golden Age Marvel Comics Omnibus Vol 1 Hardcover $14.99
The Ultimates Omnibus Hardcover $14.99
Daredevil Omnibus by Ed Brubaker Vol. 1 Hardcover $14.99
The Death of Captain America Omnibus Hardcover $14.99
Howard The Duck Omnibus Hardcover $14.99
Tomb Of Dracula Omnibus Volume 1 Hardcover $14.99

BARNES AND NOBLE PRICE GLITCH OF 2010 - FINAL TALLY


After lightning comes thunder and incredibly it was Barnes and Noble with the same type of "glitch". The Amazon glitch had prepared me for this second round and I fired off several small orders (including quite a few pre-orders).  This time the discount attained was much better (due to the pre-order lock-in prices).

Start: March 10, 2010 - Wednesday afternoon/early evening
Finish: October 18, 2010 - After receiving many books my final pre-order was cancelled
Duration: 7 months of nail-biting anticipation!

$324.93 MSRP of Items Received

$100.84 Paid to Barnes and Noble

69% Savings off MSRP

Actual items received details:
Walking Dead Compendium Vol 1 Paperback $10.79
Tomb Of Dracula Omnibus Vol 2 Hardcover $10.79
Killraven Hardcover $6.28 (bargain bin)
Spider-Man: One More Day Hardcover $6.28 (bargain bin)
House Of M: No More Mutants Hardcover $10.11
X-Men: Mutant Massacre Hardcover $10.79
Invincible Iron Man Vol 1 Hardcover $10.79

Cancelled items:
Criminal: The Deluxe Edition Hardcover $10.79
Hellboy Library Edition Vol 2 Hardcover $11.99
Witchblade Compendium Vol 2 Hardcover $10.79
Rising Stars Compendium Hardcover $10.79
Captain Britain Omnibus Hardcover $10.79
Daredevil By Brian Michael Bendis & Alex Maleev Omnibus Vol 2 Hardcover $10.79
X-Men: Inferno Hardcover $10.79
X-Men: Inferno Crossovers Hardcover $10.11

Seeing all of those amazing omnibuses and hardcovers for ridiculously low prices was an utter shock. Waiting to see if any of the books would be honored over the next week was unbelievably intense.  I think the odds of a price glitch of this magnitude happening again are akin to being struck twice by lightning.  Those who lived it will always remember the Amazon Price Glitch of 2010!