This item will most certainly be shipped in a publishers box to protect in transit. With the additional shipping box, the risk of damage will be minimal. I personally haven’t had any issues since HarperCollins started using these boxes a couple of years ago.
The boxes are an awesome layer of security, for sure. I have purchased a total of 4 books (author-illustrated deluxe Silmarillion and LOTR, deluxe Illustrated Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales) and 1 set (2024 WM Deluxe LOTR) and managed to have the copy of UT damaged enough to exchange. It wasn't all that bad, but the external box was pretty beat up and decently torn. Amazon had also packed the box with 3 other books with decent weight. That added enough mass to make the bump or drop that much more damaging. All the impact apparently went straight to UT, damaging the slipcase and book cover even through the publisher box.
In other words, it's still necessary to check while in the return/exchange windows if there is one.
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