There is at least one copy up on eBay, so HC must be shipping them

Check out the images here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360003444123

I emailed HC to ask exactly when they would be shipped & by what delivery method (to ensure I would be in when the courier came with it!). They stated w/c 10th using a 'Next Day' courier. Mabey they started a little early (saturday).

Did anyone order very early on the morning the email from Tolkienstore came through? (10:19 on the 19th for me; then another at 13:28). First order was to get #1 I gather. Your order number that you received, I'm told, does not relate to the exact number you'll get (although it was perhaps the intention) . I was told:-

They will be sent out on an first-come-first-served basis and details are loaded onto the system in sequential order, however because some of the transactions failed...

So if your order # is '100' -you'll get a lower numbered book apparently, because of the glitch. So this seller must have been one of the first to place an order. And, #1 must already have found a home :)

Looks nice though! Excited...

#23 is on ebay too! Early copies seem have got to bookdealers then. No collectors got theirs yet?

You beat me by 20mins (my order was at 10:39am). Congrats.

But are you sure they will distribute copies No 1 and 2. I would have thought No. 1 would go to Christopher Tolkien and possibly No. 2 to Alan Lee?

My first copy got delivered on Saturday (won't see it for six months - next time I am in the UK!). I ordered a second copy for delivery to Australia, and I haven't heard about that one (got a shipping notification for the UK dispatched one, though). Mind you, the delivery notification also included the info for someone elses order! Hopefully the international dispatches will be coming out soon and won't get held up by the Christmas post!

Stu