Damaged expensive DLE’s

We just received 1984 DLE really damaged all over and all kind if unexplained paint on its slipcase and flaking gold. This is definitely not from shipment and not a FedEx fault. I think Easton press has miserable to non existing quality control. If anyone expect you to pay so much for a book they should deliver a much better product. Check all of your books as soon as you get them from EP, you’ll be surprise what you might find. Don’t trust EP to deliver a flawless product even if you buying the most expensive books from them.

Slowly but surely we are moving away from buying EP books. We purchased pantagruel and gargantua 2 vol LE from FS and it arrived flawless from London

Yes, we’ve mentioned it from time to time, but it needs to be repeated. Always take the shrink wrap off your new books and examine them page by page. I’ve had pages missing, etc.

Having said that, FS isn’t perfect either. A few years ago they published a 2-volume set (I think it was “From Dawn to Decadence”) that had the endnotes messed up in one of the volumes. They all referred to the wrong pages, and FS had to reprint the volume and send it free to prior purchasers. LT Devotees also frequently mention receiving damaged goods, especially slipcases, although I have not personally experienced that problem.

Congratulations on your purchase of Gargantua. It is my favorite work of fiction, and FS published the perfect combination of the Screech translation and the Dore illustrations.

>2 jroger1: thank you. We love Dore illustrations. No one is perfect but all of mine FS LEs arrived in perfect shape. Need to have especially tight quality control for all LE’s. Definitely remove shrink wrap as soon as you can

>1 fancythings: It's funny, but visit the Facebook Folio group, and you'll hear endless complaints about Folio's supposed lack of quality control, including on its LEs. All levels of books from all publishers have flaws and quality control issues from time to time. And by my unscientific estimate, I think people are about 50x more likely to post to complain than to post when they're happy.

The biggest question is how does customer service handle the issue. The good news for me has been that with both EP and FS, whenever I've had a problem I've gotten prompt replacements with relatively little bother. Of course, it's still annoying when something nice you've been anticipating arrives damaged or with flaws, but it's going to happen from time to time.

>4 whytewolf1: agree and yes really annoying. A replacement copy of 1984 dle is on its way. I guess we got lucky with our fs LE’s.

>1 fancythings:

It happens with all products from all companies from time to time. With EP (and FS and others), the worst is when you've ordered something that sold out permanently and no replacements are available; sounds like you were lucky in this instance. It's no reason to stop buying from EP, though. Besides, it's not likely EP's quality control that missed/caused the problem - all of their DLEs ship straight from the factory (e.g., BindTech) and never pass through EP. That being said, EP is obligated to inspect and grade the binder's operations to try to keep the quality level high. Did they ask for the book back or ask for photos? I'm sure the binder will get an ear full over it, either way!

>6 treereader: yes, they emailed us a return label.

>1 fancythings: I'm glad your 2 volume Pantagruel and Gargantua LE from FS arrived safely. I wasn't so lucky. I have many FS LEs, in the old days these editions were really well packed with a nice buffer around all four sides, fully protecting the contents. Even though FS LE shipping costs have continued to rise, the FS has decided to cut costs and now often provides inadequate packaging. THE P&G LE had a good buffer around three sides but not on the fourth (only two layers of cardboard) with the result that the corner of my slipcase on the unprotected side was moderately bumped. Fortunately the books themselves only had a very tiny bump. Still, at the prices the FS charges for its LEs and the substantial cost they charge for shipping said books, I expect perfect copies. Once they managed this service but not anymore.

On your more general comment I whole heartedly agree that one should carefully check one's purchases on arrival including removing the packaging.

>8 kdweber: I’m glad you have it too. Really beautiful book and oversized. I’m glad FS separated it in 2 volumes. Easy to read. I really like translation and Dore illustrations. For now, my parents stopped buying books from both EP and fs. My parents were more than generous buying mainly dles from EP and last month they purchased Pantagruel 2 vol LE from fs. Enough is enough lol

Forgot to mention that my parents also collected most of FS letterpress Shakespeare. Love reading it and watching Shakespeare plays