Amazon, NY Times Sabotaged Sales of Tucker Carlson Biography, Claims Irate Publisher Who Is Exploring Legal Options
The publisher of Tucker Carlson’s new biography has taken to social media with complaints alleging that sales figures of the book about the former Fox News host were manipulated to make it appear the biography is a flop.
Gray Delany of the book’s publisher, All Seasons Press, wrote in an Aug. 16 news release that “the craven forces that have tried to silence Tucker Carlson, the dominant force in broadcast journalism since 2020, are at it again.”
“This time their misinformation and suppression tactics are aimed at (author) Chadwick Moore’s recently released blockbuster biography, ‘Tucker,’ Delany claimed.
Delany accused “the left-wing echo chamber” of attempting to “tank” the sales of the book “with the goal of diminishing Tucker’s stature and enforcing the narrative that Tucker is now irrelevant.”
The publisher explained that the book-sales reporting outlet BookScan used figures that appeared to be inaccurate.
The book was published on Aug. 1.
“For the first week ‘Tucker’ was on sale, BookScan only reported 3,227 copies sold, placing it 40th on its bestseller list,” Delany wrote. “This is because it appears Amazon did not report its complete week one sales to BookScan. If it had, it would have likely placed between 5th and 7th.
“Right on cue, the liberal media took aim, using the BookScan number to report it as a ‘flop’ and proof of Tucker Carlson’s irrelevance,” Delany complained.
Official statement regarding possible irregularities in reporting sales to BookScan by major retailers of @Chadwick_Moore‘s biography of @TuckerCarlson. pic.twitter.com/jhBewdROuA
— All Seasons Press (@AllSeasonsPress) August 16, 2023
The publishing firm has retained an attorney and plans to investigate the ranking practices “and how these rankings populate various bestsellers [lists],” Delany wrote.
“Should findings warrant, All Seasons Press will be forwarding these findings to the Federal Trade Commission.”
Delany explained some of the inner workings of book sales figures and how they could be manipulated.
“BookScan does not measure actual sales from retailers but uses an algorithm taking samples from some, but not all retailers,” the publisher said. “Most importantly, BookScan relies on accurate reporting from said retailers.”
As evidence to support his point, Delany said that when pre-sales were announced, “Tucker” hit the No. 14 spot among all books on Amazon and placed first “in numerous categories.”
When “Tucker” launched, more than 50,000 copies had been shipped to retailers, including 7,523 units to Amazon, he said.
“On launch day, the book was listed as “SOLD OUT’ on Amazon within minutes,” he continued.
But something didn’t add up, Delany said.
If the book really had sold out within minutes on Amazon, “why weren’t those sales reported to BookScan?” he asked in the news release.
“If they did not sell out their 7,523 unit inventory, why did they announce that the book was sold out and unavailable for sale?”
Delany added additional sales details that he called “certainly curious.”
Instead of fulfilling pre-ordered copies immediately after the book launched, he said, Amazon first fulfilled the orders received after the launch.
Delany said a customer poll showed 40 percent of Amazon customers who pre-ordered the Carlson biography had not received their copies 10 days after the book’s launch.
Then, he said, “After listing the book as out of stock, Amazon emailed many preorder customers to ask if they wanted to cancel their orders,” he wrote.
“The email required the customer to go on a desktop, not the app, and proactively confirm they still wanted the book or the order would automatically cancel.”
Amazon sales are only reported to BookScan after the customer’s credit card is charged and the order has shipped, “so the BookScan number does not reflect a significant number of Amazon pre-orders,” Delany said.
“It begs the question: Is Amazon intentionally trying to sabotage ‘Tucker’ sales and bestseller status?” the publisher asked.
Delany maintained that “Tucker” has sold far more copies than what is reflected in the official numbers.
“The fact is that not only Amazon, but retailers across the country sold out of ‘Tucker’ almost immediately,” he wrote. He said direct sales through All Seasons Press numbered almost six times the number of copies reported by BookScan and what Delany called “the frenzied, error-ridden journalists.”
“In spite of what seems to be a concerted effort by Carlson’s detractors to prevent the success of ‘Tucker,’ demand has been so strong that All Seasons Press has already ordered a second printing,” he said.
In a follow-up news release on Aug. 18 titled “Tucker Crushes it!” Delany called Carlson’s biography “a runaway Bestseller,” but added a new allegation, indicating that the New York Times was also inaccurately reporting sales of the book.
All Seasons Press statement on “Tucker” week 2 sales. pic.twitter.com/Y0pnPCfptQ
— All Seasons Press (@AllSeasonsPress) August 18, 2023
The publisher cited sales figures for the week ending Aug. 12 that showed ‘Tucker’ had sold 11,491 copies, placing third on the Publishers Weekly list of hardcover nonfiction best-sellers and fourth on the Wall Street Journal’s best-seller list.
However, he added, “The New York Times unsurprisingly totally excluded the book in spite of the fact that ‘Tucker’ sold 50% more than their #2 nonfiction hardcover and just 150 units behind their #1!”
“Contrary to the Left’s wishful thinking, Tucker remains one of the most important figures in American media,” Delany proclaimed. “He isn’t going away, and neither is this book.”
Carlson isn’t the only conservative figure to experience challenges in the area of book sales. Earlier this month, Mark Levin accused Meta of blocking ads for his new book, “The Democrat Party Hates America.”
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
