Ordering 2021 Illustrated Silmarillion or other books without damage

Hi Johnykwst! Welcome to the site.

It is a hard call, and I don't have any easy answers for you for shipping to the USA. Multiple books is not a bad idea, and gift wrap (where available) will add a bit more protection. An independent bookshop you can talk to the staff of and make special requests to might work best, but then you are going to pay full retail plus shipping.

Worth saying that all the dustjackets for the 2021 Sil have minor damage along the front flap fold. It is where they fold it tight on the front and then do a (presumably manual) fold on the rear. You probably won't find a perfect copy, as I don't think they exist.

Uruloke,
Thank you for the welcome! The independent book store with a special request to be well packaged might be an option as I do not mind paying more so long as the price doesn’t get too close to the deluxe edition. I did receive the deluxe edition in satisfactory condition as it was protected by the additional protective cardboard case that they all come in.

Stu,
Noted about the front flap, however both of my copies received from Blackwells suffered from not only dust jacket rub damage but also spine denting on one and corner cover denting on the other.

Still open to suggestions if anyone has any.

I ordered the standard & deluxe from AGreatRead. They shipped separately. Deluxe had publisher's protective outer packaging, so was fine. Standard was damaged; both the jacket and the book. Replacement was in same condition. While the jacket is prone to significant wear & tear (slightest movement within packaging for example) the book is something else. The copies I received both had significant spine lean i.e. the page-block (which is thick) wasn't square & had been subjected to significant pressure (probably through stacking). Upon warehouse checking, AGreatRead basically confirmed that all of their copies had been received thus from the publisher. I've been refunded (customer service was great) and have ordered from SpeedyHen. Fingers crossed...

There is a reason why jackets used to be laminated not matte....

My experience has been the same with the Silmarillion, UT and the Hobbit/LOTR box set. All my first purchases had to be returned to Amazon due to damage. The replacements are better, but still not perfect. Common issues appear to be damage to the folds of the dj on the Silmarillion and UT, damage to the box on the LOTR set, fraying to the DJ’s around the spine, dents to the boards and dusty marks on the page edges. I have never seen a set of new editions so prone to damage and one wonders what has gone wrong at HC. Fortunately, my de luxe copies of the Silmarillion and UT are perfect.

This is interesting to me that you have received multiple orders from Blackwells with damaged books. I have been ordering from them for years and never had a book damaged.

I don't touch Amazon or Book depository anymore. I have had good experiences with Paperbackshop-US for new releases as well

https://affiliates.abebooks.com/c/9724 ... cm_sp%3DBOT-_-seller-_-sf

I rolled the dice last week and ordered UT Deluxe and the Hobbit/LotR boxed set from Amazon UK (to Germany). I wanted to give it another try because of the comparatively low prices (£50 each). The books arrived today. The Amazon packaging was heavily damaged and basically fell apart in my hands. So I expected the worst. Fortunately, however, the contents were unharmed. So I was lucky this time but I really can't recommend it. The packaging certainly wouldn't have survived much longer.

SpeedyHen standard S, which was ordered on Thursday night, was delivered this morning (SAT). Speedy. Despite zero protective packaging, book was in far better condition; square & the jacket about as umarked as one could hope for.

It's a real pity these jackets are so (relatively) fragile in terms of cosmetic appearance. It's the HC golden runes all over again. In 20-30 years time these aren't going to fair well.