Would like to get a list by sales volume in descending order of the
"For Dummies" series of books by title. They are published by Wiley
(www.wiley.com) and the books (www.dummies.com) are sold all over in a
variety of titles - what I want is a list of the most popular ones
ranked by sales. If you can get me stats and a validated source, and
provide the list. I will pay you the $$$....need at least 25 on the
list to make it valuable....

---

Request for Question Clarification by inquisitive-ga on 01 Sep 2004 13:37 PDT

Are you looking for a list of the "For Dummies" books which are
currently most popular (in terms of current sales)? Or the all-time
best sellers (in terms of total sales volume)? The former will reflect
current trends and popularity, but may discount some of the older
editions, while the latter will be more skewed to older books (which,
by being available for a longer time, will be more likely to have
greater total sales)?

Thanks!

--inquisitivega

---

Clarification of Question by hemisphere123-ga on 02 Sep 2004 10:48 PDT

Thanks for the clarification question - what I am looking for is the
most popular of "all time" - I'm hoping the current trends won't be
much of a swing factor. I need the list to look something like this
(and this is just an example):

1. Internet for Dummies  published 1992 all editions sold 245,000  2.
Italian cooking for dummies published 1999 all edition sold 212,000
etc. etc. etc.

You can see what I am trying to do - what are the most popular titles
of all time - because they keep updating each title. Even though it
was first published years ago, it still sells....thanks!

---

Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 02 Sep 2004 13:24 PDT

Hello hemisphere123-ga,

There are a fair number of stats out there on the Dummies books, and I
probably could piece together some sort of list that was close to 25
titles long, BUT...

The statistics that are available are all over the place -- a real mix
of apples and oranges.  Some talk about total sales for a given title;
some give sales for *previoius* editions, but don't include the
current edition; some stats are from 2004, some from 2002, some
undated.  There are even statistics that lump two related titles
together (combined sale of more than 500,000 copies!).

To top it all off, some stats come directly from the publisher, while
others are from authors' or booksellers' websites.

So you can see, a clean-cut ranking is not possible from figures like
these.  The best I can offer (and I suspect, the best anyone could
offer) would be to present the information that's available in a neat
format, so you can see the scope of sales for a given title.

For example:

http://www.wiley.ca/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0764568205.html
Diabetes For Dummies -- July 2004
First published in 1999, this friendly guide has long been our top For
Dummies health title?a book that has sold more than 180,000 copies


=====

http://www.wiley.ca/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0764543598.html

2003
 
...Digital Photography For Dummies...with more than 280,000 copies
sold in four editions...

=====

http://www.redtechpress.com/bio.htm
[author's website]

QuickBooks for Dummies...Over 400,000 copies in 8 Editions... 1994-2002. 

==========

Would a set of statistics along the above lines -- complete with the
caveats I mentioned earlier -- be useful to you as an answer to your
question?

Let me know.

pafalafa-ga

---

Clarification of Question by hemisphere123-ga on 03 Sep 2004 09:25 PDT

yes - that would be sufficient - but I need a least 25 titles, and I
need to have them in cumulative order - so if there were 4 editions of
"DOS for Dummies" I need the total sales figures for that item. I also
need a source so that I can verify the information -

---

Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 03 Sep 2004 11:49 PDT

Hello again, and thanks for your note.

Here are the first ten "For Dummies" books in the list I've compiled
(I should have about 25-30 when all is said and done).  If this looks
OK for your needs, let me know and I'll post the entire list as an
answer to your question.

pafalafa-ga




40,000
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/miamiherald/business/columnists/bea_garcia/9340419.htm?1c
ACT! 6 for Dummies, sold 40,000 copies

=====

70,000
http://www.whsmith.co.uk/whs/go.asp?isbn=0764554816&DB=220
Small Business for Dummies
over 70,000 copies of the first edition in print...

=====

100,000
http://global.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/pid-1002850299/section-books/code-w/did-6194/
Football for Dummies
2003
more than 100,000 copies in print of the previous edition

=====

120,000
http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:brGGjGZr-I4J:www.forbesbookclub.com/bookpage.asp%3Fprod_cd%3DIKVGK+wiley+%22for+dummies%22+%2210000..100000000+copies%22&hl=en
Dieting for Dummies
2003
already sold 120,000 copies

=====

150,000
http://www.jcwarner.com/books.htm
Dreamweaver For Dummies has sold more than 150,000 copies and is now
in its 5th edition.

=====

180,000
http://www.wiley.ca/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0764568205.html
Diabetes For Dummies -- July 2004
First published in 1999, this friendly guide has long been our top For
Dummies health title?a book that has sold more than 180,000 copies

=====

200,000
http://www.bookworkz.com/lifestyle/gardening/0764519751.html
Feng Shui For Dummies (0-764-55295-3) more than 200,000 copies sold

=====

230,000
http://www.compman.co.uk/htmlcat/0764538829_FrontPage_2003_For_Dummies.asp
FrontPage 2003 For Dummies
Previous four editions have combined to sell more than 230,000 copies.

=====

250,000
http://he-cda.wiley.com/WileyCDA/HigherEdTitle/productCd-0764525786,courseCd-CT0010.html
2003
A+ Certification For Dummies, Second Edition (0-7645-0812-1) with more
than 250,000 copies sold in all editions

=====

250,000
http://www.kathleensindell.com/Investing4e.htm
Investing Online For Dummies
With over 250,000 copies in print...

=====

---

Clarification of Question by hemisphere123-ga on 03 Sep 2004 12:34 PDT

yes - that is acceptable..

Thanks for looking over the preliminary list.  Here is the total list
of 32 entries -- ranked by sales volume.

By the way, I gleaned the list by taking advantage of Google's
numerical range searching function:

 [wiley "for dummies" "10000..100000000 copies" ]

 [wiley "for dummies" "million copies" ]

and extracting the relevant information, to compile the full list.

Before rating this answer, please let me know if you have any
questions.  Just post a Request for Clarification, and I'll be happy
to assist you further.

Cheers.

pafalafa-ga

==========




40,000
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/miamiherald/business/columnists/bea_garcia/9340419.htm?1c
ACT! 6 for Dummies, sold 40,000 copies

=====

70,000
http://www.whsmith.co.uk/whs/go.asp?isbn=0764554816&DB=220
Small Business for Dummies
over 70,000 copies of the first edition in print...

=====

100,000
http://global.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/pid-1002850299/section-books/code-w/did-6194/
Football for Dummies
2003
more than 100,000 copies in print of the previous edition

=====

120,000
http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:brGGjGZr-I4J:www.forbesbookclub.com/bookpage.asp%3Fprod_cd%3DIKVGK+wiley+%22for+dummies%22+%2210000..100000000+copies%22&hl=en
Dieting for Dummies
2003
already sold 120,000 copies

=====

150,000
http://www.jcwarner.com/books.htm
Dreamweaver For Dummies has sold more than 150,000 copies and is now
in its 5th edition.

=====

180,000
http://www.wiley.ca/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0764568205.html
Diabetes For Dummies -- July 2004
First published in 1999, this friendly guide has long been our top For
Dummies health title?a book that has sold more than 180,000 copies

=====

200,000
http://www.bookworkz.com/lifestyle/gardening/0764519751.html
Feng Shui For Dummies (0-764-55295-3) more than 200,000 copies sold

=====

230,000
http://www.compman.co.uk/htmlcat/0764538829_FrontPage_2003_For_Dummies.asp
FrontPage 2003 For Dummies
Previous four editions have combined to sell more than 230,000 copies.

=====

250,000
http://he-cda.wiley.com/WileyCDA/HigherEdTitle/productCd-0764525786,courseCd-CT0010.html
2003
A+ Certification For Dummies, Second Edition (0-7645-0812-1) with more
than 250,000 copies sold in all editions

=====

250,000
http://www.kathleensindell.com/Investing4e.htm
Investing Online For Dummies
With over 250,000 copies in print...

=====

280,000
http://www.wiley.ca/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0764543598.html
October 2003 
Digital Photography For Dummies...is a perennial bestseller, with more
than 280,000 copies sold in four editions.

=====

280,000
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=1883743&cat=19534&type=3&dept=45183&path=0%3A45183%3A108880%3A52229
Resumes for Dummies
2002
The Fourth Edition of this perennial bestseller (280,000 copies of
previous editions in print)

=====

300,000
http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0764572040.html
July 2004 
Spanish For Dummies...which has sold more than 300,000 copies

=====

300,000
www.wileyeurope.com/WileyCDA/ WileyTitle/productCd-0764572067.html
Cooking Basics for Dummies
October 2004 
Over 300,000 copies sold

=====

300,000
http://www.buch.de/buch/04529/370_unix_for_dummies.html
Unix for Dummies
2004
Fifth edition. The premiere reference on UNIX - over 300,000 copies
sold in previous editions

=====

325,000
http://www.monotapu.co.nz/books/computing/softwarebeginners/50834.htm
HTML 4 for Dummies (4th Edition)
2003
...previous editions, with sales totalling more than 325,000 copies

=====

350,000  [and see the 3.5 million figure as well]
http://www.textbookx.com/product_detail.php?detail_isbn=0764553291
Mutual Funds For Dummies, 3rd Edition 
With 3.5 million copies of his For Dummies books in print -- including
350,000 copies of this book's previous editions -- Eric Tyson is one
of America's most trusted and popular financial authors

=====

400,000
http://www.redtechpress.com/bio.htm
QuickBooks for Dummies (Over 400,000 copies in 8 Editions) 1994-2002. 

=====

450,000
http://www.bookworkz.com/lifestyle/wines_and_spirits/0764551140.html
Wine For Dummies
2nd Edition
over 450,000 copies in print

=====

475,000 (combined)
http://www.adorama.com/BKPRARFD.html
Dummies books on digital photography and Photoshop have combined to
sell over 475,000 copies.

=====

500,000
http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0764525956.html
March 2003 
Creating Web Pages For Dummies, Sixth Edition...which has sold more
than 500,000 copies in all editions

=====

650,000 
http://eshop.msn.com/search/detail.aspx?pcId=12091&prodId=398942
Upgrading & Fixing PCs for Dummies
08/2002
Previous editions have combined sales of 650,000 copies

=====

800,000
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0764524313/ref=ase_aaabooksearch-21/202-2389939-4322205
Investing for Dummies  
2002
Third Edition of this bestseller (over 800,000 copies of previous editions sold)

=====

1,000,000
http://www.redtechpress.com/bio.htm
Quicken for Dummies (Over 1,000,000 copies in 13 editions), John Wiley
& Sons, 1994-2002

=====

1,000,000
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0764552317/002-9356238-1948000?v=glance
Personal Finance for Dummies
Wall Street Journal bestseller ? over 1 million copies in print! 

=====

1,000,000
http://www.mimidonaldson.com/introducing.html
Negotiating for Dummies
...has sold over 1 million copies worldwide

=====

1,700,000
http://shopping.yahoo.com/p:Word%202003%20for%20Dummies:1979614998
Word "X" for Dummies
2003
...over 1.7 million copies sold in previous editions

=====

3,000,000
http://www.loc.gov/catdir/description/wiley039/2003105860.html
PCs for Dummies
...More than three million copies of previous editions are in print,
making PCs For Dummies an undisputed bookstore champion

=====

3,000,000
http://www.greymatter.co.uk/Developers/gmhome/disp_product.asp?prs=77712
The Internet for Dummies
...previous editions have sold more than three million copies

=====

6,000,000
http://slate.msn.com/id/2065577/
DOS for Dummies
...it eventually sold 6 million copies.

=====

11,000,000 
http://eshop.msn.com/search/detail.aspx?pcId=12091&prodId=398942
Windows for Dummies 
...with over 11 million sales to his credit...


=====

150,000,000
http://www.billboard.com/bb/daily/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000579995
All the "For Dummies" books
2004
...The For Dummies brand was launched in 1991 by John Kilcullen, now
Billboard president/publisher. He was a founding member of the company
that created the how-to brand, which remains popular and has sold more
than 150 million copies in 29 languages. The company went public in
1998; John Wiley & Sons acquired it in 2001...



==========

Again...let me know if you have any questions about the above material.


pafalafa-ga

---

Request for Answer Clarification by hemisphere123-ga on 08 Sep 2004 13:45 PDT

thnaks - looks good - I will pay you for this service - could you
please put it in the format of the previous clarificaion so I can can
screen scrape it?

1. TITLE       PUBLISHEd       # sold                               
2. title        pulisshed     etc.....

thanks!

---

Clarification of Answer by pafalafa-ga on 08 Sep 2004 16:26 PDT

Sure...here you go.  Let me know if there's anything else that you need.

paf

==========

TITLE........................YEAR PUBLISHED...............# SOLD


ACT! 6 for Dummies........................................40,000

Small Business for Dummies................................70,000

Football for Dummies...............2003..................100,000

Dieting for Dummies................2003..................120,000

Dreamweaver For Dummies..................................150,000

Diabetes For Dummies...............2004..................180,000

Feng Shui For Dummies....................................200,000

FrontPage 2003 For Dummies...............................230,000

A+ Certification For Dummies.......2003..................250,000

Investing Online For Dummies.............................250,000

Digital Photography For Dummies....2003 .................280,000

Resumes for Dummies................2002..................280,000

Spanish For Dummies................2004..................300,000
.
Cooking Basics for Dummies.........2004..................300,000

Unix for Dummies...................2004..................300,000

HTML 4 for Dummies.................2003..................325,000
....
Mutual Funds For Dummies.................................350,000

QuickBooks for Dummies...................................400,000

Wine For Dummies.........................................450,000

Dummies books on digital photoS and Photoshop............475,000 (combined)

Creating Web Pages For Dummies.....2003..................500,000
...
Upgrading & Fixing PCs for Dummies.2002..................650,000

Investing for Dummies..............2002..................800,000

Quicken for Dummies ...............2002................1,000,000

Personal Finance for Dummies...........................1,000,000

Negotiating for Dummies................................1,000,000

Word "X" for Dummies...............2003................1,700,000

PCs for Dummies........................................3,000,000

The Internet for Dummies...............................3,000,000

DOS for Dummies........................................6,000,000

Windows for Dummies...................................11,000,000



All the "For Dummies" books........2004..............150,000,000

Great communications and flexibilty - added some insight, and helped
me help them to help me! Great researcher....thanks!