that the controversy over the Christmas Field Guide would die down, but it did not, and so the decision to discontinue had to be made. Many of the activists groups saw their role against the publication as the major factor in its downfall. Abercrombie & Fitch analysts received the decision with praise. Supposedly, the Quarterly was discontinued because it took up time and money that should have been allocated to more important company issues: "It was more trouble than it was worth." Store sales had been declining, with a major fall in November 2003 of 13%. As a result, the analysts/investors were being hit really hard financially. It was expected that without the weight of the Quarterly, A&F could focus more on producing better results for upcoming fiscal quarters. Analyst Robert Buchanan from A.G. Edwards & Sons wrote to investors that A&F Quarterly was unimportant in his view, and, that by recognizing this, A&F should be able to bring business back up by focusing on its clothing. Jeffrey Klinefelter of U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray echoed this sentiment, hoping that the US$33 used towards the publication and marketing would help launch a successful Spring Break 2004. The decision did not change the contempt with which some community-focused groups viewed Abercrombie & Fitch. The big question on every critic's mind was addressed by the Focus on the Family: "[Abercrombie & Fitch] will stop producing pornographic catalogues, but what will replace them?" Phil Burress, president of Citizens for Community Values, commented that "they [Abercrombie & Fitch] have a track record of sexual exploitation and there are many different ways to continue that campaign." Burres had previously posted an advertisement in The Wall Street Journal to question if A&F's investors really knew what they were investing in. Alissa Quart penned the book Branded: The Buying and Selling of Teenagers and had negative view towards the defunct publication: "It became more of an emblem than anything else. It served as an icon for the hypocrisy of America's attitude toward youth, using it as a sign of innocence while at the same time peddling a semi pornographic catalogue at them." Absence (2004–2007) Out-of-print copies of the Quarterly have become highly sought after as collectibles. eBay is the target destination for purchasing the rare periodicals; on the site, a single copy received a bid of US$122.50 after just four hours and thirty minutes on auction. In 2004,