Manga Collected Editions

[Enigma]

It is a really nice collection, even just the way it opens feels really nice, which sounds stupid

[ShooCat]

It is a really nice collection, even just the way it opens feels really nice, which sounds stupid

I actually lol'd at that.

[Brewman]

I missed it but I really want this so it's either amazon or some other online store which means it will be more expensive but I don't care I have to have this.

Did you contact customer service? Because if they can't get more anyone who wants it should probably act fast.

[Dark-Flux]

I will see if I can get a bit off or something :P

Mine arrived from AmazonUK with a huge gash in the box and the contents exposed. It was put in a box twice its size with one roll of packing paper...
Luckily there was only minor damage - a slight dent on one edge.
I contacted customer support and they offered free return or a 30% refund. I took the refund, they gave me 20% credit. I complained again and they said theyd refund the additional 10% to my card. Still waiting...

Bottom line: Amazon sucks.

[Enigma]

Its been a long time since I ordered from them to be honest, and I doubt that I will buy books from them any time soon, certainly not something like the Akira boxset anyway...

[Balakin]

amazon really dropped the ball on this box set. My problem is that they never ever learn. Since it's a pricey and popular item they might notice the loss this time (probably not) but even if they do they will probably only make steps that are bad for us costumers and not ones that would improve their service.
These big companies are like giant dinosaurs with the big, lumbering body and a teeny tiny brain.

Also lately they try to screw people over with their cheap preorders, cancelling the books than relisting them again for a higher price. Same isbn and everything, just a new, more expensive listing.

[Enigma]

They gave me a few options, but with the hassle and likelihood of getting an at best equally damaged replacement, I'm just going to take the £30 refund.

[RamblingMan]

amazon really dropped the ball on this box set. My problem is that they never ever learn. Since it's a pricey and popular item they might notice the loss this time (probably not) but even if they do they will probably only make steps that are bad for us costumers and not ones that would improve their service.
These big companies are like giant dinosaurs with the big, lumbering body and a teeny tiny brain.

Also lately they try to screw people over with their cheap preorders, cancelling the books than relisting them again for a higher price. Same isbn and everything, just a new, more expensive listing.

I don't think they really care when it comes to shipping most things. They will continue to do the bare minimum as a lot of places do. It's probably overall cheaper for them to deal with a small percentage of returns rather than any alternative (pay warehouse employees more, more emphasis on packing quality/materials).
I had multiple air packets in a recent shipment and I was shocked!
On the other hand, my other collectable hobby similar to books is records. I've never received a damaged record from amazon. Either single albums or heavy box sets. Maybe those guys work in a different department. Who knows.

[Balakin]

I don't think they really care when it comes to shipping most things. They will continue to do the bare minimum as a lot of places do. It's probably overall cheaper for them to deal with a small percentage of returns rather than any alternative (pay warehouse employees more, more emphasis on packing quality/materials).
I had multiple air packets in a recent shipment and I was shocked!
On the other hand, my other collectable hobby similar to books is records. I've never received a damaged record from amazon. Either single albums or heavy box sets. Maybe those guys work in a different department. Who knows.

2 things that just doesn't add up about this. One is that sometimes you get something really durable and cheap (like someone said he ordered a judo belt) and they pack it with great care (maybe different warehouses as you said) the other is that packing material is dirt cheap! Just use newspaper and it's fine! Maybe not perfect but much much better than what they usually do. Even a £5 partial refund is at least 10times more than what better packaging would cost.

[RamblingMan]

2 things that just doesn't add up about this. One is that sometimes you get something really durable and cheap (like someone said he ordered a judo belt) and they pack it with great care (maybe different warehouses as you said) the other is that packing material is dirt cheap! Just use newspaper and it's fine! Maybe not perfect but much much better than what they usually do. Even a £5 partial refund is at least 10times more than what better packaging would cost.

It often makes no sense to me either. Packing material IS cheap. Maybe some guy somewhere figured out that a little bit saved on a package times millions of packages is worth the headache of returns. I've had amazingly well packed shipments for stuff that cost 15 bucks and terrible packaging for stuff costing hundreds. At Indigo chapters recently I had ordered a bunch. In one shipment I got 2 omnibuses shipped together and they were on a piece of cardboard shrink wrapped so they wouldn't move (only time I have ever got this). Others I ordered at the same time had little to no protection. You're at the mercy for how well someone wants to do their job rather than good policy. I always provide feedback on their packaging. Feels like a waste of time.
Given the option I will order from a place I know does good packing although that's its not ALWAYS an option.

[Balakin]

my Akira set arrived today with a very very small ding that could have happened in the factory so good times. Probably the courier has more damages, she was sweating and seemed like the box any second
The weirdest thing is that all the spines have some dirt on them, clearly someone touched them with a dirty hand before shrink wrapping the box. Bit annoying but hey ho, what can ya do?

[awayne83]

my Akira set arrived today with a very very small ding that could have happened in the factory so good times. Probably the courier has more damages, she was sweating and seemed like the box any second
The weirdest thing is that all the spines have some dirt on them, clearly someone touched them with a dirty hand before shrink wrapping the box. Bit annoying but hey ho, what can ya do?

Yeah i had some dirt on mine as well. Wiped clean easy enough. Much larger than i expected, tho i have to say for the price point i was disappointed in both the paper and dust jacket quality. Nice overall presentation. Bindings and covers were good

[Dark-Flux]

Dirt on mine too, lol.

[SkyMason21]

amazon really dropped the ball on this box set. My problem is that they never ever learn. Since it's a pricey and popular item they might notice the loss this time (probably not) but even if they do they will probably only make steps that are bad for us costumers and not ones that would improve their service.
These big companies are like giant dinosaurs with the big, lumbering body and a teeny tiny brain.

Also lately they try to screw people over with their cheap preorders, cancelling the books than relisting them again for a higher price. Same isbn and everything, just a new, more expensive listing.

That must be an amazon uk thing, I've never had them cancel a pre-order unless the publisher specifically changed something major (like move a book to a new imprint). Even then, I had a volume 9 of a series delayed and changed to a double volume that had 9 & 10 and they still didn't cancel it. So got that for $10.99 instead of the cover $17.99. Also had two double volumes accidentally listed at $12.99 instead of $20, both got discounted to $9.87 and when the fix came my pre-orders stayed.

Also my replacement Akira Boxset came this past Monday. Ding or two on the box, but much better than the first lol.

[kesselrig]

Hi guys, I'm pleased to say my copy arrived in Australia this morning from Amazon. It shipped out of a warehouse in L.A. and I certainly can't fault the packaging on this shipment. Mine came double boxed. It looks like Kodansha packaged the boxset in a form fitting cardboard box from the factory. Amazon put this box into a larger box with a few inches on each side and a string of air pillows around it. The air pillows on one side were deflated on arrival but happily my copy arrived mint.

Akira.jpg

Kodansha's box indicated the shipping weight as 21.6lbs, so Amazon shipping it halfway around the world for $10.50 was amazing. I suspect Amazon didn't know the shipping weight at the time of pre-order. I'm sure they get amazing shipping rates due to their volume, but I think postage would cost more than I paid for the whole boxset if I'd had to ship it myself.

The set is really nicely produced. I particularly like how the flaps of the box snap shut, I suspect there are magnets embedded in it. The individual books are lighter than I expected for their size, but the paper is nice and stiff and i like the matte feel of them.

Very happy to have this in my collection. I'm actually not a fan of the anime (heresy, I know), as it seemed gratuitously violent. I've always been much more a fan of manga than anime, so it will be interesting to see if I feel the same way about the manga. I find there are often nuances to manga that just don't translate to anime, so I'm hopeful that there's additional depth to the story. After reading the first chapter, I can already see how well Otomo's art and pacing lend themselves to storytelling. Looking forward to diving in.