I do think there is a massive difference between a random merch company designing something and then getting agreement from Bloomsbury to sell the thing they designed (the licensing stuff)
And an actual book seller who is selling limited editions of the books using a design they've "worked with the author on"
Those are two completely different things, the first isn't even marketing, the second is intentional and would have had input from SJM and BB as part of a larger marketing strategy. Any official bookseller asking to make a cover that runs counter to BB marketing their biggest release in actual years, they will NOT be getting a licence lol
(my favourite part tho is how juniper changed the colour of the acotar books from red to purple specifically for acotar 6&7 🤭)
