# Lowest ranking book on Amazon? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 12, 2008, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lowest-ranking-book-on-amazon/449089 "2008-05-12T21:53:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lowest-ranking-book-on-amazon/449089/1 "2008-05-12T21:53:38Z")
While doing some searching on Amazon, I ran across this obscure book, [Essentials of Internet, by Gretchen Marx, Arthur Marx, and Robert T. Grauer.](http://www.amazon.com/Essentials-Internet-Gretchen-Marx/dp/0135914965/ref=sr_1_40?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210628662&sr=1-40) It’s ranked #6,149,269. My first thought was, Holy Library of Alexandria, Amazon has over 6 million books in its database? Then I realized it has to be even more than that, because if Amazon has never sold a particular book it has no number ranking at all. Wow. That’s a lot of books. But how low can we go? What’s the book with the lowest rank (i.e. highest number) on Amazon? ---
**Author:** ![ArizonaTeach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@ArizonaTeach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArizonaTeach)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lowest-ranking-book-on-amazon/449089/2 "2008-05-12T22:01:32Z")
Wow. That’s…impressive in the wrong way. I would actually be kind of interested in seeing what the Essentials of Internet were in 1997. Sticking with the Internet idea, [This one has it beat by a couple hundred thousand.](http://www.amazon.com/Welcome-Internet-Mystery-Tom-Badgett/dp/1558284249/ref=sr_1_54?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210629634&sr=1-5434) ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lowest-ranking-book-on-amazon/449089/3 "2008-05-13T01:15:51Z")
All right, let’s see who can find the lowest. And bonus points if you’re the last poster before a mod sends this thread off to the Game Room! I’m sorry to say that the lowest I found was in the 3 million range. Of course, that’s not including that arresting work,_The 2003 Import and Export Market for Knitted and Crocheted Under Garments in Togo_, which, sadly, hasn’t been reviewed yet. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lowest-ranking-book-on-amazon/449089/4 "2008-05-13T02:01:18Z")
I’ve bought books in the #6 million range before. It’s typically out of print stuff without a huge demand. ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lowest-ranking-book-on-amazon/449089/5 "2008-05-13T02:08:56Z")
If you search for " " in books, you’ll get 21,609,563 results. That’s a nice lower bound to aim for. ---
**Author:** ![Omphaloskeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bcef8e/32.png) [@Omphaloskeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omphaloskeptic)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lowest-ranking-book-on-amazon/449089/6 "2008-05-13T02:18:54Z")
[This](http://www.amazon.com/SEARCHING-SUPERWORLD-Celebrations-University-Scientific/dp/9812700188/) (#6,674,068) is the best I’ve found. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lowest-ranking-book-on-amazon/449089/7 "2008-05-13T02:51:29Z")
[QUOTE=Omphaloskeptic] [This](http://www.amazon.com/SEARCHING-SUPERWORLD-Celebrations-University-Scientific/dp/9812700188/) (#6,674,068) is the best I’ve found. [/QUOTE] At $128 a pop, I don’t think its ranking is going to rise very soon. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lowest-ranking-book-on-amazon/449089/8 "2008-05-13T02:55:07Z")
[QUOTE=Frostillicus] At $128 a pop, I don’t think its ranking is going to rise very soon. [/QUOTE] Just in case, though–there are more on the way when that last (only?) one sells! ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lowest-ranking-book-on-amazon/449089/9 "2008-05-13T03:07:01Z")
If you take the search referenced above (ie, a blank search in books) and then reverse the bestselling sort (which I did by adding a minus sign in front of the sort keyword - based on how Amazon reverses the price sort), this is the first book listed - theoretically the lowest ranked book: [übrigens…5. Spracherziehung. Neubearbeitung. Arbeitsheft. Baden-Württemberg, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland (Paperback)](http://www.amazon.com/%C3%BCbrigens-5-Spracherziehung-Neubearbeitung-Baden-W%C3%BCrttemberg-Rheinland-Pfalz/dp/3507482185/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210646422&sr=1-1) However, it has no sales rank listed and it appears that the list is really sorted quasi-alphabetically in some bizarre fashion. Paging through the list (by manually changing the link, clicking the little page numbers takes you back to a straight bestseller descending sort interestingly enough), I find that some books have a rank, but others don’t and the ranks are random-ish. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lowest-ranking-book-on-amazon/449089/10 "2008-05-13T03:29:10Z")
Apparently nobody’s yet bought [my grandfather’s book](http://www.amazon.com/Russian-European-Publications-Libraries-States/dp/0837167671/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210649085&sr=8-1). Can’t imagine why. ETA: Although [this one](http://www.amazon.com/Libraries-Librarianship-Melville-Raynard-Ruggles/dp/B000L3DAV2/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210649258&sr=1-5) is ranked a surprising 4,000,000 or so. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lowest-ranking-book-on-amazon/449089/11 "2008-05-13T04:25:02Z")
My brother’s book of [satirical fairy tales](http://www.amazon.com/Bedtime-Stories-Insomniacs-Christian-Brando/dp/0595215831) is #6,697,098. Well, I bought one. ---
**Author:** ![Wheeljack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@Wheeljack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheeljack)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lowest-ranking-book-on-amazon/449089/12 "2008-05-13T05:52:18Z")
[QUOTE=ArizonaTeach] Wow. That’s…impressive in the wrong way. I would actually be kind of interested in seeing what the Essentials of Internet were in 1997. [/QUOTE] I find these things in Goodwill all the time. “AOL 2.0 For The Rest Of Us” and so on. I highly recommend them. ---
**Author:** ![Baraqiyal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@Baraqiyal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baraqiyal)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lowest-ranking-book-on-amazon/449089/13 "2008-05-13T05:58:34Z")
[QUOTE=Wheeljack] I find these things in Goodwill all the time. “AOL 2.0 For The Rest Of Us” and so on. I highly recommend them. [/QUOTE] Or at the local library. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lowest-ranking-book-on-amazon/449089/14 "2008-05-13T18:02:24Z")
[QUOTE=Sal Ammoniac] All right, let’s see who can find the lowest. And bonus points if you’re the last poster before a mod sends this thread off to the Game Room! I’m sorry to say that the lowest I found was in the 3 million range. Of course, that’s not including that arresting work,_The 2003 Import and Export Market for Knitted and Crocheted Under Garments in Togo_, which, sadly, hasn’t been reviewed yet. [/QUOTE] I’ve read about that guy. He basically has computer programs that assemble books like that (really a list of statistics); he lists the books on Amazon, and when someone buys one he prints it out. He’s “written” a sh\_tload of similar books. His goal is to completely automate the entire process, so he can sit back and rake in the big bux. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lowest-ranking-book-on-amazon/449089/15 "2008-05-13T18:53:54Z")
What is #1? ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lowest-ranking-book-on-amazon/449089/16 "2008-05-13T18:57:15Z")
[QUOTE=HeyHomie] What is #1? [/QUOTE] Apparently, [this](http://www.amazon.com/Last-Lecture-Randy-Pausch/dp/1401323251/ref=pd_ts_b_1?ie=UTF8&s=books). ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lowest-ranking-book-on-amazon/449089/17 "2008-05-13T18:59:36Z")
[QUOTE=HeyHomie] What is #1? [/QUOTE] You are #6. Sorry. Well, not really 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lowest-ranking-book-on-amazon/449089/18 "2008-05-13T19:00:55Z")
[QUOTE=HeyHomie] What is #1? [/QUOTE] [A book by some guy called Randy.](http://www.amazon.com/Last-Lecture-Randy-Pausch/dp/1401323251/ref=pd_ts_b_1?ie=UTF8&s=books) ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lowest-ranking-book-on-amazon/449089/19 "2008-05-13T19:12:18Z")
I’ve figured out how to tweak the URL to rank search results by reverse order of popularity. 🙂 The first one the list of all books is [this](http://www.amazon.com/%C3%BCbrigens-5-Spracherziehung-Neubearbeitung-Baden-W%C3%BCrttemberg-Rheinland-Pfalz/dp/3507482185/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210705881&sr=1-1), but it doesn’t have a rank. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lowest-ranking-book-on-amazon/449089/20 "2008-05-13T19:24:17Z")
Hmm, maybe I haven’t - looks like it was just forcing it to list in reverse alphabetical order somehow. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lowest-ranking-book-on-amazon/449089.md?page=2)