Ugh, So the books arrived. HOME 1 is not sealed and is quite ratty and both the LOTR and Hobbit are later impressions (seller told me they were cloth cases), let alone the other minor issues with the cheaper books (sun faded spines). The HOME 1 looks quite awful. Yikes.

Yikes indeed!

I didn't really pay that much attention to the auctions once the prices started rising. I hope you weren't only going on the presence of a cloth slipcase for impression numbering in regard to LR? Were they stated to be first impressions? Having said all this, if the seller said a copy was sealed, & it wasn't, --then clearly this is grounds for returning the item as not described. You spent a hell of a lot of money to not be happy with the condition of these books...

BH

Tapuvae wrote:
Ugh, So the books arrived. HOME 1 is not sealed and is quite ratty and both the LOTR and Hobbit are later impressions (seller told me they were cloth cases), let alone the other minor issues with the cheaper books (sun faded spines). The HOME 1 looks quite awful. Yikes.

That's terrible news re the HOME 1 - Don't muck about here. You must immediately file a dispute with eBay on that book. If the book is not as described, then you should pursue a refund ASAP, and you need to maximise your chances of success by saying within the time windows. Sealed or otherwise, the HOME 1 is stated to be in "as new", "mint", "unread" condition.

I notice the text for HOME 1 doesn't say "still in shrink-wrap", which is - perhaps - telling. I also notice what looks like tape at the top and bottom of the Home 1 Pictures. It looks like an unsealed book with some cling-wrap taped on -- but only with the benefit of hindsight. I'm assuming the other books WERE sealed, and the seller cleverly gave the impression that this one was also, without actually stating it. It also means the pictures didn't show the condition of the book at all -- sneaky.

I think with the Hobbit, you are out of luck, unless you still have the email communications with the seller stating it is a cloth slipcase (if you do, then definitely file a dispute). There is nothing in the auction itself to indicate that it is the 1st impression. From the pictures it appears to be a 2nd impression with vinyl slipcase (if I had to guess), but it isn't possible to be sure either way from those pictures. I guess it is down to any email claims, and as to whether it is in the stated condition (you mention sun-faded spines?).

With the LOTR, I can see fairly easily that it is a 3rd/4th impression by looking at the picture of the reverse of the slipcase. You can see the fake grain showing through. However, again - if the seller has claimed a cloth slipcase in your email communications with them, then I would say you have grounds for a dispute. If not, then it is just down to whether the book is in "mint", "as new" condition. Note that a cloth slipcase wouldn't have guaranteed you a 1st, as the first two impressions of LoTR had cloth slipcases.

I hope you get a decent result. I think you are definitely in the clear with HoME1 if it is tatty, but you may struggle on the others, and it may depend on the communication outside of the auction. Best of luck getting an acceptable outcome.

Yes, I knew cloth was 1st or 2nd on the LOTR but thought that was ok with me. Still waiting to hear back.

Yes thanks, I do have email communication through Ebay about all of this, including the cloth slip cases, so I have my fingers crossed. Wait until some of the winners get their various HOME editions that are price clipped. But to the point others have made, having now seen these earlier "deluxe" sets in person, well, not so impressive ;)

PS: did people see that Pieter added one of the deluxe single slip-cased sets to his site? 2650 Euros.

Tapuvae wrote:
Yes thanks, I do have email communication through Ebay about all of this, including the cloth slip cases, so I have my fingers crossed. Wait until some of the winners get their various HOME editions that are price clipped. But to the point others have made, having now seen these earlier "deluxe" sets in person, well, not so impressive ;)

Yep, they certainly aren't anything to write home about (but equally none of the deluxe editions really ever have been) :) Of course, that's not the fault of the eBay seller (they can't be responsible for the merit or lack-of in the underlying product). All the eBay seller has to do is make sure they describe the condition and details fairly and accurately, and seems in this case they have not done that in one or more of the auctions you "won".

That seller's feedback has a lot of the same IDs pop up again and again - which may be indicative of legitimate repeat purchases . But I do wonder if an eBay name change changes that name in historic feedback (I suspect not). So is d***i (1565) actually the same ID as r***8 (1562)? Both provide feedback on lots of transactions, the latter just prior to the former.

It is easy to read things into the feedback that aren't there, unfortunately -- and it just creates confirmation bias.

Tapuvae wrote:
PS: did people see that Pieter added one of the deluxe single slip-cased sets to his site? 2650 Euros.

Those slipcases are very rare. HC created a handful of them as prototypes, but they didn't fit very well and HC gave them away years back to people who asked. That whole set was given away last year as part of a FaceBook contest for a big box of books if I remember rightly. It isn't a one-of-a-kind, but it is unusual. There was an all-in-one slipcase alongside 3 books with individual slipcases sold a few years back on eBay (for a lot less than that - 450 GBP all in).

https://www.tolkienguide.com/modules/n ... =ASC&type=&mode=0&start=0

I always feel that "rare" does not correlate with "valuable". Is a rare slipcase worth 1300 pounds over the price of the individually slipcased books (which in themselves are not rare)? I'd personally say not, because the number of people in the world that actually care about that slipcase enough to want it to the tune of 1300 pounds will be tiny (or zero). Especially is it doesn't really fit well.

The job of a book dealer is to extract as much money as possible, so these high priced listings are to be expected.

Seller finally got back to me and is asking about the partial refund route, given how much it would cost me to mail the items back I may be ok with this (eh, not really). The question is, how much? This just stinks all around because in part I was willing to pay higher prices as the auction progressed because I thought the HOME 1 was the key piece. So that being worn kills it all, in a way. The fauc leather cases on LOTR and H just bookend the lousy experience.

Vol 1 - £266.00
Vol 2 - £252.22 (sealed)
Vol 3 - £203.26 (sealed)
H - £127.00 (sealed)
LOTR - £118.00 (sealed)

Tapuvae wrote:
Seller finally got back to me and is asking about the partial refund route, given how much it would cost me to mail the items back I may be ok with this (eh, not really). The question is, how much? This just stinks all around because in part I was willing to pay higher prices as the auction progressed because I thought the HOME 1 was the key piece. So that being worn kills it all, in a way. The fauc leather cases on LOTR and H just bookend the lousy experience.

Vol 1 - £266.00
Vol 2 - £252.22 (sealed)
Vol 3 - £203.26 (sealed)
H - £127.00 (sealed)
LOTR - £118.00 (sealed)

As I understand eBay policy, for any items that were SNAD (significantly not as described), it is for the seller to pay return postage and refund the purchase cost.

I've never ever returned anything on eBay, but in your situation, I'd just return HoME 1 and the Hobbit and LOTR as these were not as described (condition for HoME 1, slipcases for H and LOTR). You clearly don't want these books, so what is the point in buying them, even at a reduced price?

For anything that is just buyer remorse, I'd say that is your problem. The fact that you perhaps paid too much for Vol 2. and 3, I don't think you can really blame on the seller -- it is for you to wear. You chose to pay those prices, and I don't think you can sensibly put that down to "HoME 1" being the "key piece" as you put it. That makes no sense to me (just being honest). You just need to learn from the process and not be over-exuberant in your bidding in future auctions. Set a limit and stick to it!

As such, I wouldn't personally try and negotiate on the prices of the these two books as there is nothing wrong with them, other than the price being a bit higher than you might like, but a deal is a deal (unless there is evidence of wrongdoing by the seller).

I'd return the three books that are SNAD, end up perhaps 100-150 down on the best price you might have got for the two you are keeping, and write it off to experience.