Yes in the end I ended up going out and picking up my set from Hatchards in person, even though it meant forgoing the very nice online discounts, just because it *is* a bit of a lottery getting books through the mail.

Some sites are a lot better and more careful than others, and most will certainly let you return and replace a damaged copy, but it can be a bit of a timesink sometimes and if it's an edition I know I want in as nice a condition as possible it's sometimes quickest and easiest to be able to check it over myself before buying.

Finally have received my boxset and I am a little confused. I either got very lucky, or some of the criticism of the box is slightly harsh. My box is very solid, yes the books are tight, but the box itself is really well made, especially given the price of this thing. My expectations were low but I am very pleased with the finish of the box.

The books are simple cheap things, but then the set was cheap. The paper is a better choice than the POD and the jackets are quite simply superb.

I agree with you -either I was lucky or some criticism is undeserved.

That being said, my copy of BoLT Pt1 has the spine tittle issue (it's like...shifted to the right) both in DJ and the book itself...hmmm

Joselillo3 wrote:

I agree with you -either I was lucky or some criticism is undeserved.

That being said, my copy of BoLT Pt1 has the spine tittle issue (it's like...shifted to the right) both in DJ and the book itself...hmmm

Yes, I should ahve said in fairness, my BoLT1 is slightly skewiff also. It doesn't make much of a difference but both the jacket and book are not exacting. But as I say, overall, I am very happy with the product. I expected much worse from the box especially.

Just so folks who don’t have it yet understand what I’m talking about with the box, here are photos of mine. You can see the damage to the joints. Again, not a big complaint on my part, I am very satisfied with the overall product especially for the price. By comparison, I recently bought this boxset of Alter’s translation of the Hebrew Bible. The box is a similar thickness but allows for much better ease of removal and replacement of the books, which is hopefully evident in the photo. I hope they have a bit more wiggle room in the future sets.

It looks to me like your box was damaged after it was produced, either on the way to the wholesaler or being shipped to you. I don't think it is a design issue with the box.
The box does need to be a bit wider, a few millimetres, which I hope can be addressed for future releases.

Trotter wrote:

It looks to me like your box was damaged after it was produced, either on the way to the wholesaler or being shipped to you. I don't think it is a design issue with the box.
The box does need to be a bit wider, a few millimetres, which I hope can be addressed for future releases.

Yes, to be clear I am not claiming that the damage was with the production as opposed to happening during shipping. That said, better quality/sturdier boxes have less likelihood of being damaged in transit. For example, I haven't had any issues with the higher quality slipcases for the recent deluxe illustrated editions. Again, solid box for the price point, but as I said earlier, I would have been happy to pay a bit more for a sturdier box less likely to be damaged either from shipping or from regular handling.

Tuor son of Huor wrote:

Yes, to be clear I am not claiming that the damage was with the production as opposed to happening during shipping. That said, better quality/sturdier boxes have less likelihood of being damaged in transit. For example, I haven't had any issues with the higher quality slipcases for the recent deluxe illustrated editions. Again, solid box for the price point, but as I said earlier, I would have been happy to pay a bit more for a sturdier box less likely to be damaged either from shipping or from regular handling.

I second this. My box came split all the way through top and bottom. I’m going to order a second set (to display both jackets) and if the box is ok on that one, I’ll keep that box and display the older style jackets without a box.

Just to be clear on my point about people exaggerating how poor the box is. That was not aimed at anyone here who had damaged boxes, those are legitimate damaged boxes, I meant more about people claiming that the thinness made them lesser quality, which Facebook and Reddit has a fair amount of.

onthetrail wrote:

Just to be clear on my point about people exaggerating how poor the box is. That was not aimed at anyone here who had damaged boxes, those are legitimate damaged boxes, I meant more about people claiming that the thinness made them lesser quality, which Facebook and Reddit has a fair amount of.

Seems that (outside of this forum, Reddit and elsewhere) many are looking to find fault with this set and have settled on the thinness of the box. I think that if you are looking for something wrong with a thing, you will always find it.