The Incredibly Frustrating Thing That Was the FairyLoot Fourth Wing Sale

***Edit!!! FairyLoot just announced today (30 June 2023) that a second, unsigned printing will be offered! See my Special Editions Calendar for all the deets!***

Well, FairyLoot had an early access sale for their exclusive edition of Fourth Wing today (21 June 2023). After all of the news I heard from UK and International beautiful bookish folk about the total dumpster fire that was the sale on the UK site, I had no doubts the sale would be SNAFU for those of us in the US and Canada.

No surprise. It was.

I put up a poll in my stories after checking out the FairyLoot site well before the sale went on in the US and Canada to find there was ALREADY A QUEUE but the sale hadn’t started. So I asked you if there were any early emails received.

Here’s what the poll results stated:

From all the accounts I’ve read, this sale for Fourth Wing has been incredibly frustrating for everyone and fraught with inconsistencies.

Let me just be up front.

I hate queues for Special Edition/Past Items Sales.

I don’t trust them.

I’ve NEVER been able to get a special edition or access a past item if the sale is on a queue system, despite getting the email on time, logging in ahead of time, and taking every precaution to make sure payment info is loaded, etcetera etcetera etcetera. (I was able to this time, so I’m not sure what happened there.)

And according to many, many replies, the email reception and sale in general was just all over the place.

Some got the email very late.

Some got the email early.

Some got it on time but had crazy wait times.

Some signed in early and got the email on time but still weren’t able to secure an order.

Some were with friends and signed in at the same time, got the email at the same time, and the wait times for each friend were vastly different. By hours.

Some waited in the queue for a couple of hours only to see the OUT OF STOCK button that had been there for a while.

The odd circumstances go on and on.

I know what FairyLoot’s stories have said about the wait time fluctuating, but my synapses are misfiring on that logic. Wait times should never go up. By hours. Which is what some people have told me they experienced.

I’m glad there’s a possibility that there will be a reprint. I’ve heard it won’t be signed. I hope it will be. I know I’ve caught some flack on social media (not necessarily Instagram) for complaining about no signatures in SE books, so at least those lovely folks won’t be put out by the lack of signature. Yes, that was snark.

All I can recommend is that every person with an experience like the ones I described or even remotely like the ones I described email the FairyLoot team and—very politely and professionally—relay to them your experience. A book sale should not be like winning the lottery.

The dopamine crash when you arrive at the sale to get the SOLD OUT button sucks. I hate it. I wish I could send each of you a Snickers Ice Cream Bar or something to help. It flipping stinks.

Please feel free to share your comments and experiences below. Perhaps there will be some adjustments made to these sales that will make them a bit more equal in terms of access for everyone (not you, flipper-scalpers).

Obiligatory disclaimer: I am not sponsored or affiliated with any of these boxes, books, or authors. Additionally, a mention on my page does not mean I endorse the boxes, books, or authors. I am simply providing information.

#fairyloot #specialedition #booksale #outofstock #fourthwing #rebeccayarros