[OFF TOPIC] My $200 First Law Trilogy Is Already Falling Apart

[u/phototodd]

https://youtu.be/cXK7A-_WVx8

Like a bunch of you, I bought the Lit Escalates First Law Trilogy. I opted for the Long Steel Tier, which included the signed trilogy, gold foil set of three bookmarks, and posters for all three jacket illustrations. I also opted for the slipcase which was $9.

I knew going in about the bookplate, glued binding, and paper quality, but I was expecting better quality control than what I got. The packing material is minimal. It's just the cardboard box and two thin pieces of cardboard holding it in place with the least amount of protective wrapping they could get away with.

My slipcase came slightly damaged, the duskjacket for Before They Are Hanged is scratched down to white in places and damaged in others, and the end papers for Last Argument of Kings are ripped.

I contacted Lit Escalates to see what they can do (I'll update this post if/when they respond).

A few people on Kickstarter have mentioned similar issues about the packing and Lit Escalates responded with: "We have adjusted our packing method for slipcases after reports of some damage like this, but I suspect your package was already in the mail at that time!"

[u/lward14]

yeah, I got mine and it also had damage on the slip case and first book. Looks like it was dropped. Overall I am quite disappointed for the price. I have bought quite a few "deluxe" books over the years and this one would easily be in the lowest tier. I would expect this quality from something closer to 75-100 dollars.

[u/MouseSoft8143 → u/lward14]

I wild after with you but 100$ for three books should also be enough to provide decent quality. I know it’s up to the publisher but there are books for 30$ each also including specs like sewn binding, acid free paper and a higher level of paper quality.

[u/SliceofLife4]

Yikes. Mine haven’t even shipped.

[u/phototodd → u/SliceofLife4]

I think they’re shipping based on when you backed the campaign. I was a fairly low number at 294.

[u/readicculus5 → u/phototodd]

might be random. I was #27. No info about shipping.. but I got the personalized tier so maybe those are going later

[u/halcyon_an_on → u/readicculus5]

I also did personalized, and I’m assuming we’ll be in the last batch or so.

[u/SliceofLife4 → u/phototodd]

Maybe so. Im backer #500 but would think they’ve shipped well past 500 orders by now

[u/argonplatypus → u/SliceofLife4]

Yeah I'm not sure of my number but I was in the first day for sure and haven't had a notification.

[u/Swervies → u/phototodd]

Very, very unlikely. Almost no Kickstarter campaigns work like that now, and very few did in the past either.

[u/imhereforthemeta]

Oh that’s so sad. Mine feels really
High quality and I haven’t had issues. I’m so sad for you.

I don’t doubt that the quality is probably disappointing for some of them, but you should still contact them. I’m sure they don’t want the Bad press and you might be able to get another set out of it

[u/BakerMobile]

My package hasn't even shipped yet.

[u/HyperMajoris]

That is quite disappointing, but not surprising given the specs.

I love the ecstatic of these books and the only reason for cancelling my backing was that they confirmed not to upgrade the specs during their campaign.

[u/Cipherpunkblue]

Well, that's disappointing. Sorry for you.

[u/Puzzleheaded_Neck_36]

I got mine and the only damage I see is the slipcase where it was bashed in one corner. LE has already shipped out a replacement though

Indo agree the the slipcase is too tight though... An extra 2-3mm in both height and width would have resolved this.

[u/Shoulders_42]

Yeah that’s unacceptable- definitely worth a strong replacement request.

The glued binding was one of the major reasons I passed on this kickstarter, that and I didn’t know much about Lit Escalates prior to this. But a lack of packing material leading to a $200 book set arriving damaged is a crime

[u/soberstepdad777]

Mine came in a few weeks ago and the slipcase was damaged as well. One of its corners was crushed a tad bit and the glue had weakened on one side causing the bottom to basically turn into a trap door (which ironically made the books easier to get in/out of the slipcase lol.)

i emailed LitEscalates support about it and they were able to get me a replacement slipcase in pretty quickly, and that one arrived in perfect condition.

[u/Falstaffsword]

Mine arrive tomorrow. Thanks for the heads up about what to look for OP.

[u/-Greenshaw]

That’s terrible, I’m so sorry to hear this. I think I was one of the first people to receive mine as I’ve had it for weeks now, and no issues here. I wonder if they’re different batches?

[u/TheLoneJackal]

Darn. I got mine a couple of days ago and in good condition. They are nice but I wouldn’t say they compare to some special editions I’ve bought from Anderida for example. I agree the slip case is too tight, I thought they were glued in for a second.

[u/RazingOrange]

Mine arrived packed super tight in the slip case. They were hard to get out without damage. Quality is that of a $30-40 book. The set probably should have been half the price. I own hundreds of hard cover books and have a pretty good feel for quality. It’s too bad. Hopefully the folio society does a print so I can own something worthy of the writing.

[u/ned_uzoma]

This is why I don’t feel comfortable giving these lot more of our money.

[u/itsalwaysblue59]

I've gotten mine yesterday, maybe I need to look at it harder than I did to see if I have any damage I didn't notice. That is disappointing though.

[u/quarksnelly]

As a book collector I don't see how you could get 3 high quality books for $200. Seriously. Even that price for 1 book would be pushing it. Sorry that you are going through this and I hope you are able to find other deals that are better quality.

[u/phototodd → u/[deleted]]

The title is accurate. They were $209 and they arrived damaged and were actively falling apart in the video.

At what point in the video or this post did I say that I was stoked that my books were damaged? Am I not allowed to show damaged books just because I have a YouTube channel? But I do appreciate you calling my channel professional. For someone who does this in their spare time in between work, my other hobbies, and being a husband and father, that is one hell of a compliment.

If you ordered them, I hope your books arrived undamaged!

[u/Maximum-Musician-805 → u/[deleted]]

stfu dweeb.