Packaging, Shipping, Refunds and Replacements - Share your Experiences!

[Legion564]

I ordered an omnibus and 2 Absolutes from BaN and picked the slightly faster shipping option. Does anyone know if that means it will be packaged better?

[canadianaidan64]

I've wondered that myself. I don't think the guys in the warehouse pack express orders any better than they do standard ones. However it will spend less time in transit and being manhandled so it will suffer less exposed to harmful elements.

[danmar85]

I ordered an omnibus and 2 Absolutes from BaN and picked the slightly faster shipping option. Does anyone know if that means it will be packaged better?

My guess is no. I think I read a post by another member mentioning they received UPS Express or something similar. The package showed up damaged, but the books were fine. Nothing special about the packaging.

[zaboraviti]

I ordered an omnibus and 2 Absolutes from BaN and picked the slightly faster shipping option. Does anyone know if that means it will be packaged better?

i've tried them all - it most certainly does not. it's possible though that the less time it takes a package to reach you, the better your chances are. have they shipped your order already? i don't know where you live, but with 2 absolutes and 1 omnibus they might send it via UPS Express, just like mine.

[FiveGhosts]

Just had to file a claim on Half.com because a seller did not ship the book I ordered. It turns out that I should have checked their feedback first, as someone had already tried to buy it with the same result. The seller's username is "a_very_lucky_find," so remember that it might seem like a lucky find, but it would appear to be too good to be true.

[kodave]

I've been avoiding this thread but I feel the need to chime in on my Barnes and Noble package that came today.

It had three Marvel Complete Collections in it. It was a small box that fit them almost exactly. The excess space up top had a a solid air bag in place.

To me, this is great. I think all of the books should be perfect.

I pull out the first one. It's not completely mint but it's definitely near mint.

I pull out the second and third ones, and somehow one has a crushed/bent/damaged bottom of the spine and the other has a crushed/bent/damaged bottom right corner of the book.

I can't even figure out how that's possible. The only two possibilities I can think of are as follows:

1. The books were damaged before they were put in the box, and the warehouse worker was like "Fuck it, I've got quotas to meet" and stuck them in anyway.

2. The box doesn't have a flat bottom. The box has each edge flap folded into the perpendicular flap, so it's not a flat smooth bottom and you can push up into the box.

Either way it's ridiculous and now I have to try and get CS to send me undamaged copies so I can return these now damaged copies.

[Wollodrin]

First time I ordered from tfaw last week.
The package got to me (Netherlands) in like 6 days (which is insane, all my other American orders took 3 or more weeks) and all 13 books in perfect condition.
It was 1 big box filled with peanuts and some papers and each book was in extra plastic and after that wrapped in paper.

So yeah, can't get much better than that.

[FiveGhosts]

Damaged books from B&N:
photo 1.jpgphoto 2.jpg

No padding in the box whatsoever. It's almost as if they WANT bookstores to go away...

[FiveGhosts]

double post

[danmar85]

Damaged books from B&N:
photo 1.jpgphoto 2.jpg

No padding in the box whatsoever. It's almost as if they WANT bookstores to go away...

Holy crap. It took me a second to realize picture one was a book bent too hell. They better make things right with you. If I'm lucky I'll get my order by Monday so I'll post back with my own experience with B&N. Either way, it may be the last time I bother using them.


On a separate note, I received a small order from IST the other day. Books came perfect except for a dent on one, which was probably before packaging. Usually they cushion both bottom and top, but this package only had the foam wrapped in plastic snuggled on top of the books. The bottom was bare and I'm a bit surprised. I guess they spoiled me a bit. Still a huge improvement over Amazon.

[Iron Fist]

Damaged books from B&N:
photo 1.jpgphoto 2.jpg

No padding in the box whatsoever. It's almost as if they WANT bookstores to go away...

Are they not repairable? I had a bent TPB in the main, I just stacked a few omnibuses on it for a day and it was back to normal.

Doesn't fix the issue of their bad packaging though, I guess.

[ob1er]

I got two orders from barnes and noble using the 3 for 2 deal, sent through UPS, this week with very mixed results. My first package was an omnibus and absolute in a box packed tight with paper and no damage. It was by far the best condition package I've ever gotten from BN. I still have another omnibus from this order coming in a separate box, though, so this shipment can't be labeled a total success yet.
Next, I got a box that was shipped containing three omnibuses: Millar's Wolverine, classic Flash, and Planetary. The box looks as if the entire bottom had ripped open in transit and been re-taped. The Flash omnibus is dented and torn (looks like it dropped onto the floor), the Wolverine looked okay, but the Planetary omnibus is simply gone, as if whoever taped the box back up simply lost it or neglected to put it back in. BN say they'll ship new copies of all three (I'm sending the two I got back), though the Planetary and Wolverine are on back-order. Hopefully they follow through, and I end up with all 3 books in passable condition, which is the most I hope for whenever I'm dealing with UPS. They don't seem to care what condition their packages arrive in.

[kodave]

I got two orders from barnes and noble using the 3 for 2 deal, sent through UPS, this week with very mixed results. My first package was an omnibus and absolute in a box packed tight with paper and no damage. It was by far the best condition package I've ever gotten from BN. I still have another omnibus from this order coming in a separate box, though, so this shipment can't be labeled a total success yet.
Next, I got a box that was shipped containing three omnibuses: Millar's Wolverine, classic Flash, and Planetary. The box looks as if the entire bottom had ripped open in transit and been re-taped. The Flash omnibus is dented and torn (looks like it dropped onto the floor), the Wolverine looked okay, but the Planetary omnibus is simply gone, as if whoever taped the box back up simply lost it or neglected to put it back in. BN say they'll ship new copies of all three (I'm sending the two I got back), though the Planetary and Wolverine are on back-order. Hopefully they follow through, and I end up with all 3 books in passable condition, which is the most I hope for whenever I'm dealing with UPS. They don't seem to care what condition their packages arrive in.

I think you're looking at it the wrong way. And I don't think that's a UPS problem.

Everyone who has ever sent anything in the mail knows or should know that whether its USPS, UPS or FedEx, things are going to get dropped, tossed, tumbled, etc.

It's up to the retailer/sender to use sturdy packing material and to use it properly. InStockTrades is perhaps the best example of this because they use double thick boxes or the thick Diamond boxes. They thoroughly tape the box at all flaps. Inside they use packing peanuts or foam inserts that completely fill all free space. They always bag/seal regular sized trades together so they don't shift during transit. They have the best packaging for anything I've ever ordered ever.

If Barnes and Noble stuck three Omnibuses/large hardcovers in one box, and somehow the entire bottom ripped open, it was likely B&N's fault. They probably didn't properly seal the bottom of the box and they probably didn't secure the books. Books that freely tumble inside boxes not only damage themselves, but they can escape the box. I just had this happen to me with a different crappy company. They stuck a dozen trades and hardcovers in a box and didn't seal the bottom other than 1 piece of tape along the main flap. So all of the books shifted during transit and three escaped by shifting under the bottom flap on the inside and out the side. A fourth was hanging out when the box was delivered on my door step. When I opened the top along the main tape line, the entire box spilled open because the shifting books also ripped the cardboard and glue apart from the sides of the flimsy box. I'm lucky anything arrived at all since the box was literally held together by two pieces of tape. So my point is, BN probably packed it like shit. And their boxes are awful at BN. Cheap and flimsy. Nearly all of the ones I receive from them are on the verge of falling apart if they've contained Omnibuses or Absolutes. I can't even make decent scrap out of them and just toss them into the recycle bin right away.

Compared to the way USPS handles packages, UPS is far more delicate, relatively speaking. But when the name of the game is shipping, none of the delivery services are going to treat your package like a carton of eggs. It's up to the sender/retailer to protect the goods inside.

[Wollodrin]

Lesson learned from this topic is do not order from large have it all shops like amazon and do not order from big book shops like barnes and noble.
Go with the comic shops like IST - TFAW - Cheap-Comics etc cause they take care of their products.

[FiveGhosts]

Are they not repairable? I had a bent TPB in the main, I just stacked a few omnibuses on it for a day and it was back to normal.

Doesn't fix the issue of their bad packaging though, I guess.

The bent TPB is a Christmas gift.
As for IST and TFAW, I'd like to order from them, but their prices really aren't as good as people say they are. If you're getting 40% off, but still paying $6-$10 on shipping, it brings the price right back to retail price.