My word Stu that is dreadful damage,

I had TLoAaI from Amazon UK and it was damaged due to lack of care in the packaging. I ordered a replacement which arrived unscathed but again poorly packed. Amazon seem to have stopped using dedicated book mailers from the UK, certainly for all my orders anyway. Amazon Germany still use them.

onthetrail wrote:
My word Stu that is dreadful damage,

I had TLoAaI from Amazon UK and it was damaged due to lack of care in the packaging. I ordered a replacement which arrived unscathed but again poorly packed. Amazon seem to have stopped using dedicated book mailers from the UK, certainly for all my orders anyway. Amazon Germany still use them.

It was in one of Book Depository's thin card envelopes and one end was totally crushed. The thick cardboard ones that they use on heavier books hold up so much better. At least with BD, they don't quibble about sending replacements, though, and there is no messing about having to return the knackered copy.

I have attacked it with an iron and got it to the point is is fairly flat and perfectly readable, so at least I have a reading copy to be going on with until a (hopefully) undamaged copy arrives.

Stu wrote:

I have attacked it with an iron and got it to the point is is fairly flat and perfectly readable...

It can now be listed for sale as "Near Fine"

Amazon asked to return the damaged copy and they would refund the postage. I told them to sod off and deal with return themselves. They then decided it was not important to return, So like you I now have a reading copy. The damage with yours is much worse though. Mine was mostly visual.

I am worried about the packing for the Beren and Lúthien releases next year and dreading the potential if they just willy nilly stuff the books in a box. I may look at alternates to BD and Amazon.

I suspect with BD, if you have ordered lots of books from over the years, without any problems, they are more trusting. I've actually been very lucky with the post and have not had many damaged books.

I provided a link to my Google drive with photos for each of my last two problem books (Kullervo deluxe - misbind) and this one, but I don't know if they looked at them. I think the only other book I have ever had refunded/replaced by BD was the Child's World Oliphaunt, which didn't turn up -- until a couple of months after being posted. Mind you, I was glad that one DID turn up in the end as it was withdrawn from sale, and is extremely rare!

I wish BD did use better packaging, but my experience is definitely that it - surprisingly - usually is good enough. I'm sure it does depend on your local postal operators, though -- my rural NZ post contractor is pretty good (and a nice guy, to boot).

Stu wrote:
I'm sure it does depend on your local postal operators, though -- my rural NZ post contractor is pretty good (and a nice guy, to boot).

Surely this is part of the problem. Disgruntled underpaid and overworked post workers in my area throw stuff around, don't knock on doors and leave packages out in the open rather than a few inches further ahead under the roof (so you know what happens if it rains). I cannot change the sociopolitical situation but I've learned to either buy second-hand and customize shipping or return to Amazon and BD several times until one copy arrives undamaged by lucky chance.

Morinehtar wrote:

Stu wrote:
I'm sure it does depend on your local postal operators, though -- my rural NZ post contractor is pretty good (and a nice guy, to boot).

Surely this is part of the problem. Disgruntled underpaid and overworked post workers in my area throw stuff around, don't knock on doors and leave packages out in the open rather than a few inches further ahead under the roof (so you know what happens if it rains). I cannot change the sociopolitical situation but I've learned to either buy second-hand and customize shipping or return to Amazon and BD several times until one copy arrives undamaged by lucky chance.

Yeah, local situation must have a huge impact. Where I am, the same guy (an independent contractor) covers our area for courier post (NZ Post), Fedex, DHL, etc. I think it makes a difference when you know your post guy to say hello to (and it is the same guy for many years). It is only one leg of the journey, but that's one less leg for things to be tossed around uncaringly.

I'm interested to get the views of anyone who has read the "official" version of Aotrou and Itroun, and also the Serbian/English version.

So far, my feeling is that the Serbian/English version is a far more enjoyable read. The HarperCollins version is - as usual with the official books - overburdened with dry padding. Do I really need a footnote to tell me what a Phial is or what Reave means? Really? Do we have to footnote commonly known words, now?

The HarperCollins release also has the Corrigan Poems, of course, so it is worth having both. If I only had to have one, it would be the Serbian edition (with its sometimes clumsy English).

One of these books is a product, and the other is a labour of love. They are both worth having, mind.

Well, the Facsimile Hobbit that I'm planning to use to make my 2nd impression turned up from Book Depository. Still marked as "I" and identical to the other first impressions. Not sure if this means that BD got more firsts in stock or if the 2nd impression didn't get a numberline change (would not be the first time)/

Did they switch printing to China?