Velmeran wrote:

Emilien wrote:

I miss the heavy-weight acid-free paper , which were the main level-up of the old deluxe editions).

On a plus/encouraging note the listings for the deluxe version of The Battle of Maldon on both Amazon and HC's website list the acid-free paper in the description (something that's currently missing from The History of the Hobbit listing).

Edit: Then again I just pulled down insert about FoN's de luxe edition because I wanted to compare it to others in the line and noticed this:
Definitive version of the text printed in two colours on heavyweight acid-free paper and including a ribbon marker

Guess it'll be a waiting game, other than the paper being the same as the trade and the slipcase being a pinch shorter than the others my FoN Deluxe has no issues so personally I'm willing to give this one a chance (though since HotH comes out sooner, if that one has quality issues it's easy enough to cancel a preorder these days)

I think all the paper will be acid-free, trade or deluxe (most paper is acid-free these days). When they use the phrase "acid-free" instead of "superior" (as they have in the past), I think it probably means "same as the trade".

Yeh, it's a misconception to think there is a connection between acid-free paper & "quality"; whatever that is (it's certainly subjective up to a point). The "toilet paper" copies being referred to were all acid-free paper I think.

Emilien wrote:

They only proposed me a 20% refund, which is not acceptable as I'm not satisfied with my copy... So I chose another replacement...

Stick to your guns Emilien. More people need to so that publishers get it that collectors want good quality books, not discounts.

Stu wrote:

onthetrail wrote:

Mr. Underhill wrote:

I do think that at least some on the editorial team at HC do care about Tolkien and his legacy.

Just to be clear, I am talking about HarperCollins the business rather than the individuals who I am certain do care.

When the individuals in a business truly care, generally the business will appear to care. Businesses are made from people (and assets) and tend to reflect the ideals of those who work for them (particularly those at the top who have greater influence).

Certainly true. Every business I have worked for has reflected my values and if they didn't get into the spirit of that then I didn't work for them for long. I suspect when the mother ship is News Corp, there will not be much opportunity to argue for quality.

onthetrail wrote:

Emilien wrote:

They only proposed me a 20% refund, which is not acceptable as I'm not satisfied with my copy... So I chose another replacement...

Stick to your guns Emilien. More people need to so that publishers get it that collectors want good quality books, not discounts.

Yes I will , but not sure I could stay on target for so long afterward... May the 4th be the good one! Then I will have to look at it as a relic, and, above all, not hold nor read it !

I am glad to see that a CD will be issued in a standalone release fro those who want it without having to buy a deluxe. I would prefer they removed the CD from the deluxe and used that cost to make a better book. I will happily buy both to have a better product.

I would rather have the CD for free with the Deluxe edition, I am always in favour of additional items like this.

But as you say, if you don't want to get a free CD with the Deluxe edition, you can now buy it as well as the Trade edition

Trotter wrote:

I would rather have the CD for free with the Deluxe edition, I am always in favour of additional items like this.

But as you say, if you don't want to get a free CD with the Deluxe edition, you can now buy it as well as the Trade edition

I think we have very different ideas about what 'free' means

The retail on this is the same as comparable deluxes in the past. The RRP has not increased but the cost has, the cost of the CD comes from somewhere else from within the production. HarperCollins will decrease the cost on the book itself to cover the CD's cost. Thus the book will almost certainly be lesser quality. It is standard business practice, especially in mass production/printing.

The definition of the adverb for free is without cost or payment.

The book is a fixed price and would be the same price with or without the CD as I am paying for the book.

It fits the definition as far as I am concerned.

Trotter wrote:

The definition of the adverb for free is without cost or payment.

The book is a fixed price and would be the same price with or without the CD as I am paying for the book.

It fits the definition as far as I am concerned.

But you are paying for it. It is not a free item and nowhere in the description does it say that it is free above the cost of the main item. It is part of the cost, and hence part of the production cost. It is simple economics.

It is very simple, HC have costed the CD as part of the overall costings, and as such the cost of the books production will suffer. We have seen this to alarming degrees re. HarperCollins in the last three years. You have all seen it with HarperCollins 'faux' deluxe items that are using the same text blocks as the standard, same poor paper, same lossy derived artwork, increasing production errors, poorer quality control. It is all part of cost saving at the expense of the collector/consumer.

Sometimes less really is more, and collecting should not be about volume, but rather about quality. If costs increase but RRP does not, then the collector will suffer for it.