The Anime/Manga I Bought Today Was...
- Thread starter Suiseiseki
- Start date
Aion said:
Bizarrely I seem to have had quite the opposite experience. I was regularly getting Manga from Amazon that looked haggard, or like they were used copies and it was taking forever for allegedly In Stock books to ship, so I stopped ordering from them and switched to The Book Depository. I've never had any kind of shipping delays from them, I find their shipping estimates to be 100% accurate, and I have never received a book that wasn't in perfect condition. Quite interesting to see such polarising experiences.
Aion said:
This however, I very much agree with. HMV are really excellent. Any company that sends pre-orders out a week in advance are great in my book! Play used to be such a reliable and speedy company, god knows what happened to them
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Aion
Time-Traveller
I started ordering manga from Amazon before using TBD. They were always fast but the books nearly always arrived with a slight knock because the books moved around in the boxes. Nothing too bad, though - I could always tell the books were unused.
I then discovered TBD, who are nearly always cheaper. I started out by receiving a damaged Naruto set, getting a £18 refund. I then received a mint Death Note set. I followed that up by ordering NHK 2-8 from them, and they all arrived mint. My luck then started to do a 180 with Confidential Confessions, with nearly every volume having knocks or rips, one even having yellowed pages and looking used (I got a free replacement copy, but that was just as bad.)
In my experience, TBD have a lot of stock with damage and yellowed pages. They mix them in with the stock they should be selling for new prices. I don't know how they store older books but they sure don't look after them.
At first I was fine with the up and down service because of their speed, but for months now they've taken 5 days+ on average to send anything I've ordered. That, together with my local postal people seemingly being determined to damage anything sent in jiffy bags, means I'm often left waiting a long time for a damaged book to be given to me, and I then have to make a dramatic complaint in an attempt to get as much money back as possible.
While Amazon books will more than likely arrive with a few minor knocks because they aren't secure in the boxes, I can at least rest assured the boxes wll provide far better protection from the RM than a few small bubbles. And Amazon have always been fast to send, like HMV, so I don't have to worry about sending speed.
...of course, the books may very well still arrive damaged because of damage done on the journey from America to the UK, but there's nothing I can do about that. I just have to hope I get lucky.
As for Play, them sending my Planetes set to me in thin cardboard packaging and it arriving with a nasty dent has put me off ordering from them. HMV are usually very fast with pre-orders, usually have slightly better pre-order prices, offer excellent service and make sure art boxes don't get damaged. Why order from Play instead when you have to do a Google search just to find a CS email?
I then discovered TBD, who are nearly always cheaper. I started out by receiving a damaged Naruto set, getting a £18 refund. I then received a mint Death Note set. I followed that up by ordering NHK 2-8 from them, and they all arrived mint. My luck then started to do a 180 with Confidential Confessions, with nearly every volume having knocks or rips, one even having yellowed pages and looking used (I got a free replacement copy, but that was just as bad.)
In my experience, TBD have a lot of stock with damage and yellowed pages. They mix them in with the stock they should be selling for new prices. I don't know how they store older books but they sure don't look after them.
At first I was fine with the up and down service because of their speed, but for months now they've taken 5 days+ on average to send anything I've ordered. That, together with my local postal people seemingly being determined to damage anything sent in jiffy bags, means I'm often left waiting a long time for a damaged book to be given to me, and I then have to make a dramatic complaint in an attempt to get as much money back as possible.
While Amazon books will more than likely arrive with a few minor knocks because they aren't secure in the boxes, I can at least rest assured the boxes wll provide far better protection from the RM than a few small bubbles. And Amazon have always been fast to send, like HMV, so I don't have to worry about sending speed.
...of course, the books may very well still arrive damaged because of damage done on the journey from America to the UK, but there's nothing I can do about that. I just have to hope I get lucky.
As for Play, them sending my Planetes set to me in thin cardboard packaging and it arriving with a nasty dent has put me off ordering from them. HMV are usually very fast with pre-orders, usually have slightly better pre-order prices, offer excellent service and make sure art boxes don't get damaged. Why order from Play instead when you have to do a Google search just to find a CS email?
Who are 'TBD'?
The Book Depository? Thats all I can think of. Is that a company name?
Edit: Googled it, I assume it must be then you are referring to. I'd never heard of them until just now. XD
Edit: Just read the posts above, I see it was. ^^; I shoulda read before asking.
The Book Depository? Thats all I can think of. Is that a company name?
Edit: Googled it, I assume it must be then you are referring to. I'd never heard of them until just now. XD
Edit: Just read the posts above, I see it was. ^^; I shoulda read before asking.
Plays packaging has always been all over the place; i collect alot of toys, action figures and other collectables and picked up a couple of items off Play during their last sale. One was a regular, available at retail, Transformer toy (£7.99 with a rrp of £19.99) which came in a cardboard box way too big for it, it was probably possible to have squeezed another one in with it... and no, the space wasn;t filled with bubble wrap or anything. On the other side of the coin i also bought a DC Direct 1:6 Comedian figure (£24.99 with a rrp of £99.99) which was sent in a regular parcel bag... no bubble wrap or cardboard wrapped round it; just put in a bag and sealed up.
So that says something when the toy is put in a large cardboard box and the expensive collectable is shoved in a bag.
So that says something when the toy is put in a large cardboard box and the expensive collectable is shoved in a bag.
fabio de lunatico
Claymore
Just received a shipping notice from HMV for Darker Than Black 1 & 2, which I'd completely forgotten ordering when it was listed for £8.99 months ago. It's not due out until next Monday.
devilrules666
Combat Butler
gurren lagaan
devilrules666
Combat Butler
lol well i wasn't sure at first but nobody has a bad word to say about it so i thought i would give it a shot. watched the first 2 eps on youtube and i liked it so i can't wait to get it in the post!
well i wasn't sure at first but nobody has a bad word to say about it so i thought i would give it a shot. watched the first 2 eps on youtube and i liked it so i can't wait to get it in the post!devilrules666 said:lol
A couple of spoil sports on this website do
Please for the love of god don't listen to them
It gets amazing at episode 11
devilrules666
Combat Butler
don't worry already got the second volume on preorder!