New Naturalists / Editions of our books / Print on Demand / What have you ordered? / Latest Posts

RE: What have you ordered?

Collins — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:06:46 GMT

Sorry I was not referring to your specific case Mckay - generally speaking over the last two years this forum has been running our record has been good when it comes to addressing issues raised. Whilst there is no full time administration of this forum (it's just me and I do have rather a lot of other work to do!) I admit that we took too long to respond to your specific comment. This is because although we do check the forum regularly we do miss some issues raised here and have always directed users to email us at newnaturalists@harpercollins.co.uk for a quick response. Looks from your comments as if it's too late to make amends but we do welcome feedback regardless and there are no plans at present to close this forum down.

Best
Alex

RE: What have you ordered?

Hengus — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 15:42:40 GMT

[quote]

So, if like me, you simply required a working copy of New Forest (sorry to those this doesn't concern, or who have wider interest than just that this volume) you may find the following useful.

Title: [b]The New Forest[/b]
Author: Colin R. Tubbs
Publisher: New Forest Ninth Centenary Trust
Date: 2001
ISBN: 0952612070

I encourage others to research the availability of other titles from other publishers before assuming that they need, or can only obtain, New Naturalist editions. Unless you are absolutely certain you require the [i]look[/i] and [i]feel[/i] of New Naturalist, you may find a solution to your needs elsewhere.

McK
[/quote]

This is, I believe, actually a revised edition of the NN text containing nearly 100 additional pages......so, on that basis, is actually 'better'!

RE: What have you ordered?

Hengus — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 15:38:25 GMT

[quote][b]Collins (02/03/2010)[/b][hr]Sincere apologies for the printing error which as explained is being looked into now. We are very responsive to feedback and do look to put things right. We accept that some customers will always feel aggrieved regardless, but we will keep trying to win you over Hengus.[/quote]

One and a half cheers for the apology, Alex. You might have got the other one and a half if it had come without prompting..!

[Btw, if I sound in a particularly bad mood its because I just bought a new (27 yr old) Landy subject to it having a new MOT. It promptly got one with no advisories 11 days ago. My specialist took one look at it yesterday and described it as 'fundamentally unsafe' and suggests it should have failed its MOT on at least 4 points, and with half a dozen other advisories. It's as much as I can do to avoid using the words 'and, another thing...' ]

RE: What have you ordered?

Collins — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:54:47 GMT

Sincere apologies for the printing error which as explained is being looked into now. We are very responsive to feedback and do look to put things right. We accept that some customers will always feel aggrieved regardless, but we will keep trying to win you over Hengus.

RE: What have you ordered?

Hengus — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:28:58 GMT

[quote][b]Collins (02/03/2010)[/b][hr]I have responded actually with the latest information which is that production are reviewing the issue. When I have feedback I will of course update you.

Alex[/quote]

I was talking much more generally about the forum as a whole, not just the issue of NN112.

In any case I thought the whole issue of corporate responsibility for production 9and other) errors was incredibly straightforward these days. Get in there, make a fulsome apology, and then work to find an agreeable solution in as short a period of time as is possible. I haven't even heard one single word of anything approaching an apology for this, or indeed for the shenanigans about the leather bound copies. Or indeed for anything else. Talk about taking us all for granted.

Anyway, I don't want this to just be my voice against yours...it seems there's only 2 or 3 other people who care enough about these books to write on here, so maybe I am living in a cloud cuckoo land of my own making.... I'll back off now.

RE: What have you ordered?

Collins — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 09:30:06 GMT

I have responded actually with the latest information which is that production are reviewing the issue. When I have feedback I will of course update you.

Alex

RE: What have you ordered?

Hengus — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:52:02 GMT

[quote][b]Collins (01/03/2010)[/b][hr]It's a pity you see us like that Hengus, we can only try our best to persuade you otherwise through the direct dialogue we have with customers here on the forum and the swift amends we make when alerted to an issue.

Alex[/quote]

Hi Alex

Indeed. Well, I look forward to being pleasantly surprised, and await your response to the issue of the seemingly entirely blighted 1st print run of NN112 with interest.

As a point of record there are several (I crossed out 'many' after a brief argument with myself) direct requests for information and/or a response from 'you' on this forum that have been entirely ignored.

RE: What have you ordered?

Collins — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:36:41 GMT

It's a pity you see us like that Hengus, we can only try our best to persuade you otherwise through the direct dialogue we have with customers here on the forum and the swift amends we make when alerted to an issue.

Alex

RE: What have you ordered?

Hengus — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:54:50 GMT

[quote][b]Collins (01/03/2010)[/b][hr]Not sure what you are implying Hengus, nor am I sure where the posting has gone, but the New Forest is being repackaged and a replacement copy on the way as promised.

Alex
Collins[/quote]

Only that disappearing forum messages rather ties in with an organisation that thinks it is ok to describe items as 'sold out' and then mysteriously finds a load more for the launch of a new website. Or one that lets an (allegedly) entire print run of an expensive new book go out with a pretty fundamental quality failing.

The forum was probably hacked. It tends to happen to government ministers when they twitter things they later regret. Those damn hackers, eh...

I'm just a silly old cynical sausage really...don't mind me, Alex.... Apologies.

RE: What have you ordered?

Collins — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:15:37 GMT

For the sake of new members if you require an immediate response please email newnaturalists@harpercollins.co.uk

McKay your details are with Martins the printers, as are John Beals: both of you will be sent replacement copies. Anyone else who ordered The New Forest is also entitled to a replacement copy. I trust that answers all your questions.

Thanks
Alex

RE: What have you ordered?

Collins — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:02:37 GMT

Not sure what you are implying Hengus, nor am I sure where the posting has gone, but the New Forest is being repackaged and a replacement copy on the way as promised.

Alex
Collins

RE: What have you ordered?

Hengus — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 09:06:53 GMT

[quote][b]jasona (01/03/2010)[/b][hr]Hello,
I cut and pasted the post from Alex at Collins as part of a PM to a member. This is it;

'Thanks for alerting us to the repetition of plates on page 93 and 95 of The New Forest. We are now rectifying and will send you a replacement copy free of charge. Please note the print on demand editions are based on scans of original books and will therefore contain any flaws, errors and colour plate variations that existed in the original due to the processes used in the original manufacture. For full details on the process of manufacture please see this page: http://www.newnaturalists.com/features/Pages/ThemakingofprintondemandNewNaturalists.aspx'

Seems very odd (if not a little sinister) that the post has 'disappeared'

As a Forum and NN neophyte, this doesn't fill me with hope about Collins' customer care.

[/quote]

Well done for that!

Very odd. A little sinister. And not altogether unpredictable....

RE: What have you ordered?

jasona — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 08:43:31 GMT

Hello,
I cut and pasted the post from Alex at Collins as part of a PM to a member. This is it;

'Thanks for alerting us to the repetition of plates on page 93 and 95 of The New Forest. We are now rectifying and will send you a replacement copy free of charge. Please note the print on demand editions are based on scans of original books and will therefore contain any flaws, errors and colour plate variations that existed in the original due to the processes used in the original manufacture. For full details on the process of manufacture please see this page: http://www.newnaturalists.com/features/Pages/ThemakingofprintondemandNewNaturalists.aspx'

Seems very odd (if not a little sinister) that the post has 'disappeared'

As a Forum and NN neophyte, this doesn't fill me with hope about Collins' customer care.

RE: What have you ordered?

Lee3764 — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 21:47:06 GMT

[quote][b]McKay (28/02/2010)[/b][hr][quote][b]John Beal (10/02/2010)[/b][hr]Just to confirm McKay that the image on page 93 of my POD New Forest is indeed repeated on page 95 and is of a somewhat better quality.

John B[/quote]

How strange. Can somebody help me out here with regard to the POD quality issue that we were discussing previously?

If I'm not mistaken, Alex (at Collins) posted a Forum msg to this thread (on 18/02/2010) concerning repeated images in our copies of POD NN No.73. The msg suggested that this was a clear error on Collins part, and that replacement copies of the volumes affected would be offered "free of charge" to those who had purchased them.

Unless I am going completely nuts, it now appears that that post from Collins has been deleted. Am I missing something here? I know the post was there because a couple of people private msg'd me about it.

Additionally, though I got in touch with Alex over a week ago, to say that the offer of "free replacement" seemed like a satisfactory outcome, I got no reply. Am I alone in this? Some communication/transparency from Collins would greatly reassure customers who, let's remember, were sent defective POD copies with repeated images on consecutive pages - a fact that Collins has now admitted.

McKay[/quote]

Just to back you up....I remember seeing that post from Collins/Alex offering a free replacement but it has disappeared! It's a shame that somone didn't 'Quote' that post in one of their postings so it would have been able to be seen on more than one posting!

I have not gone down the POD route yet. I'll see what Collins reply is. £50 is a lot of money to get a faulty book!

Lee.

RE: What have you ordered?

John Beal — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:01:33 GMT

Just to confirm McKay that the image on page 93 of my POD New Forest is indeed repeated on page 95 and is of a somewhat better quality.

John B

RE: What have you ordered?

Stephen — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:07:04 GMT

I have an original paperback version of New Forest - The photos in it are not much different from those you have posted I'm sorry to say - However I am very intrigued in pages 93 & 95 showing the same photograph as they are quite blatantly different in the original - could you show an attachment of these (PS - How do you fix an attachment? I can't see a way of doing this?)

However I do strongly recommend The New Forest as a book - this was one of the first I ever read - & I believe it shows Colin Tubbs to have been a great author and I strongly recommend people to almost ignore the photos (sorry) and read this one for its content - Heathlands likewise was exciting to read and perhaps because of this these managed to keep the series ticking over - when these first came out they could often be acquired through a natural history bookclub - I suspect they did boost the numbers of sales at a difficult time for the series.

The Black and White printing was often weaker in NNs published in the 80s than earlier and later in the series - many were really too detailed to fit the small boxes they were placed into - I think probably as an attempt to fit more illustrations into a given area -

Although I like the modern colour photos I think this is possibly why there have been some comments on illustrations in the last few books - we`re perhaps a little spoilt now - when NNs started full plate colour photos were revolutionary & costly - only the large print runs helped it take off and it was amongst the first things to reduce when sales dropped.

RE: What have you ordered?

Collins — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:28:57 GMT

Collins is able to confirm that the POD editions derive from digital scans of the original publication and thus the quality reflects production standards of the time.

Alex
Collins

RE: What have you ordered?

Bill — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 12:03:14 GMT

[quote][b]McKay (06/02/2010)[/b][hr]In My NN POD copy, most - though not all - of the B/W illustrations are poorer than late-1970's photocopies. Page 174 includes a photograph of Rushpole Wood but it is so poor that there is no gradation of greys at all - just one grey! If it were not for a triangle of sky at the top, it would be a mid-grey rectangle and a few highlighted areas of indistinct details in the centre. You cannot make out anything more.[/quote]

McKay,

I've posted a reply to your other post on the same subject under a different thread, so I won't repeat that here, but just want to comment on the illustration on p174 in the orignal first edition - it is also terrible. It's difficult to judge a printed page against an image on the screen, but your picture actually seems to show slightly better contrast than the original photograph!

This book is littered with very many poor black and white illustrations, a reminder perhaps that the NN series was in decline at this stage and I imagine that Collins were reducing costs in an effort to sustain the series. Some other examples that are equally poor are on pp 29, 36, 204, 206, 212, 232 - what do these look like in the POD?

Bill

RE: What have you ordered?

John Beal — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 11:35:38 GMT

Thanks for your comments McKay and Lee,

Yes my New Forest is a POD. I've looked at the three other PODs I bought at the same time.The b/w photos in Heathlands (NN72) are the same grey standard as in New Forest (NN73). These reproductions are of a poorer standard than the b/w photos printed on the inferior cartridge paper of my limpback version of British Warblers (NN71) .

My POD Hebrides (NN76) shows another aberration in its b/w photos. Where these are printed right across the page, the white gap between the captions and the text proper extends up into the photos as a faint, pale "ghost shadow", see for example pages 138 and 139.

The fourth POD I bought, A Country Parish (NN9), does not have any of these aberrations. The thirty-two b/w and the thirty-two coloured plates are well reproduced and this could be because of the higher standard of original production. It would be interesting to learn in which POD volume the "grey" photos first appear.

On first receiving my four PODs I was very satisfied with the overall impression they gave. It's a question of what you can live with. The coloured plates in all four volumes are fine in my opinion.

John B

RE: What have you ordered?

Lee3764 — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 16:43:12 GMT

John,

Is your copy of 'The New Forest' a POD or an original?

Cheers,

Lee.

RE: What have you ordered?

John Beal — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 15:41:14 GMT

My copy of The New Forest is exactly as McKay describes it.

The lack of contrast in the black and white photographs is reminiscent of the immediate postwar standard of reproduction.They are probably no better than the illustrations in the Bloomsbury editions. I haven't read this book yet and hadn't registered these problems, having only looked at the coloured illustrations.

I bought three other titles at the same time and must have a careful look at these.

John B

RE: What have you ordered?

Lee3764 — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 15:08:44 GMT

I would love to aquire N/N no:73 'The New Forest' but your comments regarding the POD version has definately put me off! I'd like to see if this is a one off too or if it is the norm. I wonder how it compares to the original?

Lee.

RE: What have you ordered?

Jackbus — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:24:27 GMT

So, it's interesting. I would have thought most orders would be for books in the golden 13. But it seems people are ordering the older books as well. The laminated covers do fit in well with the 70-95 numbered range. I would have thought they would look a bit different when slotted on to the shelf alongside the earlier matt jacketed ones.

I am still missing a 46 broads in really nice condition so that may well be my next order. Those photographic covers on 46-47 had a laminated look to them so I imagine the POD version would fit in well.

RE: What have you ordered?

alane — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:46:25 GMT

[quote][b]alane (10/20/2009)[/b][hr][quote][b]alane (10/19/2009)[/b][hr]Last week I ordered number 34, The Open Sea I.[/quote]

Well that's what I thought I had ordered (on the evening of the 13th). This morning (the 20th) number 37, The Open Sea II arrived. So a fast and impressive turn around but not the book I'm certain I had ordered. My order history and confirmatory e-mail only record my order for "The Open Sea" not the series number or which volume. I'll have to send an e-mail later and try and determine what's going on.[/quote]

Ho hum, apparently checks have found the error to be mine. Ooops!

RE: What have you ordered?

alane — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:04:03 GMT

[quote][b]Collins (10/20/2009)[/b][hr]Hi Alane, sorry to hear there has been a mix up in delivery, please email newnaturalists@harpercollins.co.uk with your order number and I will ensure the correct book is dispatched.

Best

Alex
Collins[/quote]

Thanks Alex, I sent an e-mail just before seeing your posting.

RE: What have you ordered?

Collins — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:02:51 GMT

Hi Alane, sorry to hear there has been a mix up in delivery, please email newnaturalists@harpercollins.co.uk with your order number and I will ensure the correct book is dispatched.

Best

Alex
Collins

RE: What have you ordered?

alane — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:24:45 GMT

[quote][b]alane (10/19/2009)[/b][hr]Last week I ordered number 34, The Open Sea I.[/quote]

Well that's what I thought I had ordered (on the evening of the 13th). This morning (the 20th) number 37, The Open Sea II arrived. So a fast and impressive turn around but not the book I'm certain I had ordered. My order history and confirmatory e-mail only record my order for "The Open Sea" not the series number or which volume. I'll have to send an e-mail later and try and determine what's going on.

RE: What have you ordered?

alane — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:16:11 GMT

Last week I ordered number 34, The Open Sea I.

RE: What have you ordered?

Collins — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 10:54:45 GMT

If the main series does well in print on demand we will look at printing the monographs on demand next year.

Alex
Collins

RE: What have you ordered?

wtga — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:25:24 GMT

Will Monographs be available POD too?

RE: What have you ordered?

SimonRead — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:30:20 GMT

The facsimiles of the first 10 volumes were £75, but note that the POD volumes aren't facsimiles - they will be noticeably different than the original volumes (e.g. will have laminated jackets).

RE: What have you ordered?

Stephen — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:46:07 GMT

I've ordered British Bats - glad to see that at long last we are able to get this at a reasonable price considering it was only published about 2003

RE: What have you ordered?

Bill — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:35:42 GMT

I've also ordered Hebrides to get some idea of quality - I am only missing 4 issues from the complete series (the others being Orkney, Wild & Garden Plants and Freshwater Fish), so I guess they will be ordered next.

Really pleased to see that they are published at a reasonable price - unless I'm msitaken, the first 10 were published at £75 each, although were offered by some dealers at much lower prices. At £50, they are the same as the current RRP of new editions!

Regards,

Bill

RE: What have you ordered?

Cyndi — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 20:03:37 GMT

I ordered Orkney. Next is the Hebrides and then Shetland and the Folklore of Birds.

RE: What have you ordered?

Brendan — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 19:41:08 GMT

Thanks Alex,

Good to be able to manage my enthusiasm, and I think we all understand that there's likely to be quite a big initial spike in orders. I'm sure it'll be worth the wait!

RE: What have you ordered?

Collins — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:41:55 GMT

Hi Brendan

You ask about delivery and the printer has asked for a 28 day leeway on initial orders, although they will try and turn them around much faster. This is an exception for launch. Once the initial surge is over, normal delivery will be 5 days to print and bind the books, plus postage time of around three days. I hope you are not kept waiting too long.

Alex
Collins

RE: What have you ordered?

AndrewCarey — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:56:59 GMT

Hi everybody, my first post, maybe to celebrate the arrival of POD and a forum that works!!? I'm interested to see what these volumes are like, so we have ordered Orkneys & Hebrides to give it a spin.....2 volumes we cannot afford to pay dealer prices for, and doubt we will find going for a song anywhere these days!!

I think it will be very interesting to see the quality of these volumes, as I only have some 15 gaps in my collection, and I'm sure the bank manager would rather I filled them this way. Congrats to Collins on finally getting us to the new site and POD. Best wishes, Andy

RE: What have you ordered?

Brendan — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:07:47 GMT

I've ordered The Folklore of Birds and The New Naturalists (might give me some ideas on the next half dozen purchases!). With POD being a five-day process normally, I wonder how long we'll be waiting for delivery after the initial surge of orders?

What have you ordered?

SimonRead — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 12:02:15 GMT

I've just placed my initial order, for The Folklore of Birds.

It'll be interesting to see how the scanned pages from one of the older books look - I'll post my thoughts on production quality and so on once I get the book.

Great to see that Collins have moved to using proper forum software, too!