Originally Posted by
Br!an
The Haven Foundation can still accept donations. They have chosen not to. The letter states, "We are no longer accepting donations." That is a far cry from, "HF formally stated on letterhead that they were no longer allowed to accept outside donations per the restrictions that are associated with their re-classification of the charity imposed by the IRS." They never said that they could not accept donations. They never said they were reclassified. They never mentioned the IRS.
Subterranean Press has no obligation to publicize their business dealings.
The Haven Foundation must, and no doubt will, continue to abide by IRS rules in regard to donations.
A business deal between two parties that includes a charitable donation to a third party is not uncommon.
I absolutely agree with Mr. Lurker and Mr. Br!an. Subterranean Press is one of the most established private presses in the industry and it is extremely presumptive and outrageous of anyone to allege that Bill would throw away years of reputation built, for nothing. For those who have received bulletins and emails from Subterranean, it is clear that Bill not only does decision making from managerial level, but is also personally involved in all facets of Press operation, from marketing, accounting, to shipping. With hundreds of authors aligned with the Press with more than dozens of new books published each year, I also agree that it would have been pretty tough allotting some time to make this charity auction happen. Instead of having the books being shelved for another twenty years, Bill decided to sell the copies to a more capable seller and send that proceeds to HF.
Some are furious because they did not get the chance to submit their bids for the books via auction. However, strongly believe that if they were offered via auction, the individual books could have reached $15k ~ $20k, making it even more out of reach for vast majority of the collectors.
Some are also fuming because Camelot is taking a substantial amount of proceeds that could have been gifted to HF. Although there is merit to this argument, if Bill handed the books to established auction houses (Bloomsbury, Swann Gallery, and etc.) to do the sales for him, they would have taken in excess of 20% in premium of the final value from the seller’s side, and another 25% from the buyer’s side. (Some claims that Ebay could be used, but who on the right mind use Ebay for auction when their reputation is at stake?) Camelot has been in business for over two decades and has access to customers with deep deep pockets and accordingly, used their vast connection to instantly sell the copies. I don’t see why the bookseller should not be compensated for his/her effort.
Also, please try to remember that Subterranean has not pocketed a single cent from this transaction. Subterranean had leftover signature pages and with the approval by SK, decided to do something meaningful for everyone. They even used their own out of expense to do the binding, printing, and making traycases for the books. A lumpsum check was received from Camelot and the Press sent that amount to HF without taking a cent. HF benefited. The prospective owners of the copies benefited. Even those who will soon receive aid from HF will benefit. All except Subterranean. Why are we complaining?