Topic: WorldNetDaily
After months of begging for hundreds of thousands of dollars from his readers to print a massive first printing of his new book citing demand he never substantiated -- money which he apparently failed to receive -- WorldNetDaily editor Joseph Farah is doing what a smart businessman would have done in the first place: printing what he could and then claiming they sold out in an attempt to induce demand by invoking scarcity.The script goes to plan in a Nov. 15 WND article:
Where’s all the Good News?
It’s everywhere – not just in the New Testament, but in every book of the Old, documents a new red-hot holiday title.
In fact, “The Gospel in Every Book of the Old Testament” is SOLD OUT, says the author, Joseph Farah – unlikely to be back in stock in a major supplies before the New Year.
But with interest in the book peaking, Farah sees a great opportunity for believers everywhere to help spread the Good News.
“Spreading the Gospel is participatory,” Farah says. “Jesus commanded all of His followers to take part personally in this work. And we are encouraging believers to do just that with their support of this book, which shows the often-overlooked redemptive, restorative, merciful and graceful side of the Hebrew Scriptures we should expect from one unchanging Creator.”
Just one little problem: there doesn't seem to be an actual problem obtaining Farah's book right now. The page for it at the WND online store does not state that it's sold out, and Amazon (which the WND store curiously links to) not only has it in stock, it also lists at this writing 35 new copies and 31 used copies through independent sellers. And, of course, there's the digital edition of the book, which never goes out of stock.
Yet Farah insists on making the scarcity case:Partnering with missions organization Gospel for All Nations, WND and Farah are asking churches, individuals to make tax-deductible contributions and grants to keep this book widely available and in print.
“We need help,” says Farah. “There’s a demand for hundreds of thousands of copies right now in the marketplace but we can’t keep up with it. That’s not because of any special skills on my part but rather the uplifting message that reveals the miraculously consistent character if a loving God.”
As before, Farah offers no substantiation for the claim that "there’s a demand for hundreds of thousands of copies right now in the marketplace." And if Amazon's sales rankings are any indication, that demand doesn't exist; the hardcover version is ranked at No. 10,168, and in the Kindle store, where it's No. 43,848 overall and even in the incredibly narrow category of "Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Religion & Spirituality > Christian Books & Bibles > Bibles >More Translations," it's still ranked only 26th.
The article closes with the usual appeal to give a tax-deductible donation to Gospel for All Nations to support the book (WND has never released the details of the agreement that permits this), give directly to WND, or "order it in unlimited number of digital e-book copies or wherever the hardcover can be found."
But it looks like hardcover copies can be found pretty easily -- and Farah is merely playing his same money game, just from a slightly different angle.
