Marvel Omnibus/Oversized Hardcover Discussion Part IV

[Kaim]

I have had happier shipping experiences lately, but since this is the Marvel HC thread I'll keep those to myself...

In more relevant Marvel news, I finally got around to reading the slipcased JLA/Avengers Absolute/Collector's Edition/Deluxe Edition/I seriously have no idea what that thing is supposed to be called. As a story, overall, I found it mostly meh. Hard to tell a really engaging story with a cast that size, though, and all things considered I think Busiek did a good job. Perez art was gorgeous, especially in oversize. The real money's worth was in the second Compendium book, which has all kinds of background information and sketches and original pencils in it. It's a cool thing to have on the shelf regardless, and has already served as a conversation starter a few times, even though I doubt it's a book I'll be going back to again and again.

[Kaim]

They want him to pay his own return shipping. From Australia.

It might be worth the potential net loss to see how many times he could return it before receiving a good copy or they acknowledged the utter BS of the situation.

[TamTam79]

It might be worth the potential net loss to see how many times he could return it before receiving a good copy or they acknowledged the utter BS of the situation.

lol, no. It's not worth it.

[Awesome!]

At this point I'm wondering if B&N even has any good copies of x-statix left.

[kodave]

Why do you international people order from B&N and Amazon after hearing of all of the difficulties that Americans have had with getting new copies delivered in relatively undamaged condition? Is it the price or something? Surely there are other retailers that will sell the books for not a whole lot more and package them securely for international travel?

[Meanmrmustid]

They are pretty much the only cost effective option. If we buy the books locally they are usually about cover price plus about 25%. There is book depository but they are usually more expensive than Amazon, (although sometimes they can be cheaper) I've ordered from Tales of wonder before for items not available at Amazon or elsewhere but you are looking at least $60 postage depending on the size of the order.
I've only had one issue from Amazon when the books were too heavy for the box and it was destroyed, but all of my other orders have been ok, 90% usually come with not even a dent to a corner.

[Awesome!]

You guys should really just get together and push your island closer to the rest of us.

[Kaim]

Why do you international people order from B&N and Amazon after hearing of all of the difficulties that Americans have had with getting new copies delivered in relatively undamaged condition? Is it the price or something? Surely there are other retailers that will sell the books for not a whole lot more and package them securely for international travel?

Less relevant for me as I'm just across the border, but I order from Amazon.com rather .ca semi-frequently because of prices. Maybe I've just always gotten lucky, but I've never received a book from then with worse than minor cosmetic damage - .com or .ca - so I've never had reason to stop ordering from then. I occasionally take my business to BD, but only for books that Amazon has out of stock or for a remarkably better price.

[davidn15]

Last time I'm ever ordering from B&N.

X-Statix just arrived in a box. It was lose without ANY padding and unsealed. Corner is ripped and the top of the cover has a lovely big ding in it.

Obviously sending this back (from Australia) is a no-go, but there is no freaking way I'm paying full price for second hand, damaged goods that was advertised as new.


Here are some pics.

Ehhh that is terrible. I was pretty fortunate with the Byrne FF omnibus I got from them a few weeks ago. The shrink wrap was ripping off but the book was in otherwise perfect condition.

[regomar]

Was it really massive hyperbole? Are you seriously going to say that book isn't ruined? Sure you can still read it but so could the guy with the book bent in half.

Yes it is massive hyperbole, and no, the book is NOT ruined. As a mint collectors item it's no good, no, and as I've said again and again that is NOT acceptable and should be sent back, but as a BOOK it's still in quite good condition. Perfectly readable and the VAST majority of readers out there would consider it in excellent condition.

But you guys wonder why these companies never take us seriously and adjust their shipping practices, if you're really telling them things like 'My book was demolished' and sending it back with a few dings they're just going to laugh and shake their heads and keep doing what they're doing because you're clearly exaggerating. I wouldn't take you seriously either. They'll send out the same book again and someone else will be perfectly happy with it.

If you told them that the book arrived dented and that was unacceptable for a new copy (IE: keep your claims grounded in reality), maybe they'd start taking us seriously, but claiming that a book with an exceedingly minor dent is 'demolished' is NEVER going to get you taken seriously. You might as well tell them the book took human form and killed your parents.

I mean, really? Are you comparing books with dents the size of a finger nail to books truly demolished like the book that was literally bent in half as if the damage level is anything close to the same?

Once again, since people keep responding to me telling me that such things are unacceptable, I 100% AGREE THAT THESE DENTS ARE UNACCEPTABLE, I've sent back books for less myself. I just think that making claims that a book with a finger-nail sized dent is 'demolished' is not going to help our 'cause' of trying to get these companies to take us seriously and ship things in a proper fashion. It's just making us look like loonies.

Sorry if my viewpoint bothers you so much, but that's the way I see it.

[Squallid Snake]

Yes it is massive hyperbole, and no, the book is NOT ruined. As a mint collectors item it's no good, no, and as I've said again and again that is NOT acceptable and should be sent back, but as a BOOK it's still in quite good condition. Perfectly readable and the VAST majority of readers out there would consider it in excellent condition.

But you guys wonder why these companies never take us seriously and adjust their shipping practices, if you're really telling them things like 'My book was demolished' and sending it back with a few dings they're just going to laugh and shake their heads and keep doing what they're doing because you're clearly exaggerating. I wouldn't take you seriously either. They'll send out the same book again and someone else will be perfectly happy with it.

If you told them that the book arrived dented and that was unacceptable for a new copy (IE: keep your claims grounded in reality), maybe they'd start taking us seriously, but claiming that a book with an exceedingly minor dent is 'demolished' is NEVER going to get you taken seriously. You might as well tell them the book took human form and killed your parents.

I mean, really? Are you comparing books with dents the size of a finger nail to books truly demolished like the book that was literally bent in half as if the damage level is anything close to the same?

Once again, since people keep responding to me telling me that such things are unacceptable, I 100% AGREE THAT THESE DENTS ARE UNACCEPTABLE, I've sent back books for less myself. I just think that making claims that a book with a finger-nail sized dent is 'demolished' is not going to help our 'cause' of trying to get these companies to take us seriously and ship things in a proper fashion. It's just making us look like loonies.

Sorry if my viewpoint bothers you so much, but that's the way I see it.

Man has a point.

I don't know whether I'm lucky or it's just the warehouse that is near me, but I've never had an issue with Amazon or B&N and every single one of my omnis/ohc come in pristine condition! Sometimes the packaging isnt sufficient and they are still perfecto. I'm in the northeastern US.

[JohnHorus]

Why do you international people order from B&N and Amazon after hearing of all of the difficulties that Americans have had with getting new copies delivered in relatively undamaged condition? Is it the price or something? Surely there are other retailers that will sell the books for not a whole lot more and package them securely for international travel?

For me, living in Argentina, Amazon shipping rates are only convenient when the order is just 2, or maybe 3, big books. Then again, if I don't pay for the "Priority International Courier", which is around $50 for that kind of orders, the books will probably arrive like 2 weeks later and in piss poor condition. Hell, even paying for the Priority International Courier, there's a huge chance the books will suffer some serious damage due to Amazon's unpadded boxes. And that's why I prefer to buy at DCBS or CGN. They use the USPS Large Flat Rate Box, which costs $60 (just $10 more dollars than Amazon's Priority International Courier), where you can fit 2 huge Omnis or 3 normal sized Omnis, and pack their books really well.

On the other hand, Amazon becomes quite expensive when you order OHCs (I guess they charge by the item and not by weight). The shipping costs for 6 or 7 OHCs, which would fit perfectly in a $60 USPS Large Flate Rate Box, is around $40 using standard shipping, and like $90 using Priority International Courier. So that's not good for me and I'll never use Amazon again, now will I ever try B&N.

[Samoth]

You can't go wrong with Bookdepository.com.

I've been ordering my TPBs and HCs for 4 years now, and i've never had any shipping problem whatsoever. And it's free, so that's a huge bonus for us europeans

[TamTam79]

Here's some shots of the cover with the DJ taken off.

[CrazyOldHermit]

Book Depository is where I do most of my buying. Only downside is sporatic prices. On a whim I bought three books on Saturday night, using the money I had put into my Paypal for Untold Tales. Just checked the prices and if I bought the same three books today, Monday, I would have paid more than 15 dollars more.