# I jump to under 100,000th! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 15, 2000, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-jump-to-under-100-000th/45696 "2000-12-15T04:19:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2000, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-jump-to-under-100-000th/45696/1 "2000-12-15T04:19:21Z")
Aaah! I suspec that omeone has made a mistake, but maybe I’ve lucked out. I’ve been keeping tabs on my position on he [amzon.com](http://amzon.com) selling list. When they first put my book on, I was 2,500,000 on the list – no competition for Harry Potter, who must by now hold five of the top ten positions. Over the course of a year during which my book actually came out) I slowly worked my way up to just shy of 500,000th place. Finally, last Monday I broke the half-million mark. If you define “Best Seller List” as the top 500,000 selling boos on Amazon, then I would’ve made the Bes Seller List. Of course, that’s an awfully elastic definition, and I doubt if anyone else would define it that way, but so what? But tonight I looked myself up, and I find that I’ve suddenly jumped to 98,000 on the list! In less than a week! (If you want to check it out: [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0195124316/qid=976850815/sr=1-16/107-8916456-3617346](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0195124316/qid=976850815/sr=1-16/107-8916456-3617346) ) Either somebody screwed up, or else there’s a LOT of strange Christmas gift-buying going on! ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2000, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-jump-to-under-100-000th/45696/2 "2000-12-15T04:25:31Z")
You’re Mr. Wilk? (I’m confused.) Congratulations – you’re **Eve** ’s favorite writer, you know. She said it here, on the Dope. Wonder how many copies she bought. And I just now noticed your sig. Is it new? Hysterical. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2000, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-jump-to-under-100-000th/45696/3 "2000-12-15T04:29:50Z")
Dear AuntiePam: Yes, that’s my true ame. Just part of my plan to keep everyone confused. Eve said I was her favorite writer? I’ll have to look that up – I must’ve missed it. If true, I’m incredibly flattered. She is a writer of high caliber. Yes, it’s a new sig. I figured it was time to change my sig, and this one has been running through my mind for some time, so I thought I’d inflict it on everyone else. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2000, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-jump-to-under-100-000th/45696/4 "2000-12-15T04:42:06Z")
Have you noticed any correlation between this rise in the standings and your loss of the ability to spell? 😉 Hey! I mighta hearda you! What else have you written? ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2000, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-jump-to-under-100-000th/45696/5 "2000-12-15T05:28:38Z")
Well, now I know what I’m getting my brother-in-law for Christmas! Thanks!! [sub]you sly devil, you![/sub] ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2000, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-jump-to-under-100-000th/45696/6 "2000-12-15T14:18:52Z")
I have no problem spelling – but for some reason certain letters don’t register when I hit them. (If you look at my posts the incorrectly spelled words are that way because of missing letters – I must not be hitting them hard enough.) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2000, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-jump-to-under-100-000th/45696/7 "2000-12-15T14:20:56Z")
Okay, I’m confused again. This morning I’m back to 450,000th place. This is higher than I was a couple of days ago, but a lot lower than last night. How does this happen? How often do they update? Did someone order 5,000 copies one day or something? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2000, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-jump-to-under-100-000th/45696/8 "2000-12-15T14:27:33Z")
Cal, how much shipping did they charge you for your order of 10,000 books? And where are you going to put them all? Just kidding. Congratulations. It must be a terrific feeling. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2000, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-jump-to-under-100-000th/45696/9 "2000-12-15T16:54:33Z")
I’ve always wondered what the sales rank meant. At first, I thought that it was the number of copies they had sold, but the high numbers on obscure titles made that implausible. Do you know for sure how it’s computed? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2000, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-jump-to-under-100-000th/45696/10 "2000-12-15T17:13:22Z")
I don’t know how they compute them – I just assumed that they looked at how many of each book they sold over a certain period (although how long that period is, I don’t know). Since Amazon accepts orders for books not yet out, you can start going up in the ranks before your book is actually out. In fact, one author I talked to told me that they put up a book that had not yet been written, and now looks as if it never will be. (It would be embarassing if that book occupies a higher position than mine). Anyway, my book briefly surged from about 485,000 to 98,000 (which is higher than Eve’s books!), but twelve hours later it was back down to 455,000 – higher than before, but a real letdown after that 98,000. I suspect that high number was an error – Lord knows I’ve had to correct enough errors in Amazon’s listings for my book. But as things stand it’s the only barometer I have on how well it’s selling. It’s encouraging that it’s going up, but I can’t help but wish it were going higher (and getting there faster!) ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2000, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-jump-to-under-100-000th/45696/11 "2000-12-15T17:30:25Z")
Well, what the hell, Cal. I just checked Barnes & Noble. You’re number 113,099 over there, and that’s before I placed my order. I’m looking forward to reading your work at a $7.00 discount over Amazon’s price. [_Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon_](http://shop.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=3MZI9IZRZO&mscssid=XJAXUP5DFA9X8HMF3MX6ACG5S0V3D71A&isbn=0195124316) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2000, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-jump-to-under-100-000th/45696/12 "2000-12-19T15:38:21Z")
This MIGHT be real. Last night I was up to 91,000. This morning I’ve dropped slightly to 92,000. I’m very confused about how this works. (On B&N I’m at 88,000 – and I was at 300,000 not so long ago.)Maybe a lot of people are buying this book as a gift? I notice that I’ve been put on the book list at [Archaeology.com](http://Archaeology.com) (associated with the magazine “Archaeology”), so maybe that’s where people are seeing it. I’m not advertising or boasting here – I’m just fascinated by the mechanics of something I don’t understand. Like a Rube Goldberg device. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2000, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-jump-to-under-100-000th/45696/13 "2000-12-19T16:04:19Z")
Hmmm . . . I am actually one of those authors who never checks her Amazon rating. So just now I did, and I think I’m depressed: Jean Harlow (rel. 1991)—# 715,887 Theda Bara (rel. 1996)—# 97,420 Anna Held (rel. 2000)—# 195,381 If I hadn’t just gotten a great whacking royalties check for “Anna Held,” I’d put my head in the oven. The Theda checks continue to dribble in, which is nice after 4 years. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2000, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-jump-to-under-100-000th/45696/14 "2000-12-19T16:17:43Z")
Looks like an interesting book. I’ve always been fascinated by mythological symbols. Right now, you’re at 92,372 in the Amazon rankings and 88,092 in the B&N rankings. Here is the B&N link BTW – [Cal’s book](http://shop.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=1LHSOZYCJE&mscssid=M4C00JS4G7L99NHQXKTH3UW6HVB74CA9&isbn=0195124316). Here is what Amazon says about sales rank: > [@](#): > > What Sales Rank Means > > As an added service for customers, authors, publishers, artists, labels, and studios, we show how items in our catalog are selling. This bestseller list is much like The New York Times Bestsellers List, except it lists millions of items! The lower the number, the higher the sales for that particular title. > > The calculation is based on [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) sales and is updated regularly. The top 10,000 best sellers are updated each hour to reflect sales in the preceding 24 hours. The next 100,000 are updated daily. The rest of the list is updated monthly, based on several different factors. Of course, they don’t tell you anything about what those “several different factors” are.