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Forum Newbie
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 08 August 2010
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| Myles can you answer me on here why i had no feedback to my concerns about the packaging on the signed copys . i recieved Bager today..it was sent in what is nothing more than a thin cardboard sleeve , with a sheet of brown paper over the book inside..no padding whatsoever. dont you think as i and others asked before, we deserve some kind of decent packaging? yes you heard me complain before..yes you must be thinking oh no not him again..but why is it tell me that when ever some one voices a valid complaint nothing ever changes? and please dont say the forum is not the place to voice a complaint , because i tried the other way and heard nothing. Miles at the end of the day.. a £65 collectors book should be boxed, not a cheap alternative such as a thin cardboard sleeve. if you had got back to me and others when we voiced our concerns over the way these are sent to us now, i would not have to have brought it up in the forum. all we ever heard from you was..you would have a word to the packaging dept..well i guess whatever you said has changed nothing. and before anyone says "well the book arrived undamaged didnt it??"..yes it did thankfully ..but i kind of believe only by luck.
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Supreme Being
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Last Login: Yesterday @ 22:28
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| I get my N/N's from NHBS in Totnes Devon who pack them in cardboard purpose made to fit the N/N's but of course they don't sell the signed copies! How is it that I can pay £38.99 for my copy and Collins want an extra £26.01 for a signature bringing it up to a total of £65.00? This is a lot of money for a signature surely??!! For 75 x limited copies that are signed this amounts to an extra £1950.75!!!!!! Someone is on a big earner at the expense of the loyal band of N/N collectors and they are not packed in strong damage proof packing!!?? Personally I would not waste the extra for a signature! I purchased the new edition of 'The Butterflies of Britain & Ireland' by Jeremy Thomas and Richard Lewington in April which was signed by both authors free of charge!!! This was a special offer by British Wildlife Publishing as long as you ordered the book by end of May this year. This was great recession busting value and was so popular that the authors had to sign 1600 books each!! A lot of work but I believe in the current economic climate, excellent value without charging over 65% more than I pay for my N/N books compared with a signed copy from Collins and it is well packed too! How about £5 extra at most for a signature and a competition every time a N/N comes out to win 1 of 10 signed copies? Put a bit more sparkle into the N/N market please in this current economic climate? Comments anyone please or from Collins?? Thanks, Lee.
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Junior Member
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Last Login: 02 August 2010
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It's a tough call really - on the one hand, Collins are clearly extracting some fairly serious amounts of money from collectors for leatherbound and signed copies, but there are clearly one or two hundred wealthy (or extremely dedicated) NN collectors for whom these prices make sense. The rest of us who buy copies on the cheap through NHBS or Amazon might actually be benefitting from the patronage of the richer collectors; without the extra revenue stream from premium copies, would the series receive as much attention and investment from HarperCollins?
I'd completely agree with the sentiments raised over packaging though - given that I want Collins to succeed with the premium editions, it sounds like they need to stop shooting themselves in the foot with cheap packing materials.
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Forum Member
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Last Login: Today @ 11:44
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| I have no vested interest in defending Collins, but the earlier suggestion that Collins are earning a fortune from the signed copies is falsely calculated and misleading. Firstly, the cost of Badgers from NHBS does not include shipping - standard shipping is an additional £2.99 and there is no cost quoted for a courier service, but we can assume it is more expensive. The cost of a signed hardback copy at £65 includes courier shipping using FedEx. Secondly, the suggestion that the extra cost is all addiitonal profit to Collins is unlikely to be true, as the books need to be shipped to the author for signature, or the author needs to travel to Collins to sign them - that's an additional and I assume, not insubstantial cost. There may be other additional costs - I don't know - but the additional profit generated by the higher retail price is certainly below £1,000. Not exactly riches! There are no excuses for poor packaging and I accept that Michael's complaint is justified. I have also complained directly to Alex in the past about the quality of the packaging used for the signed editions and it does appear to have fallen on deaf ears - my copy of Badger was packed similarly, although there was some crumpled brown paper in the box to act as padding. However, I am saddened that others continue to use the odd complaint as another excuse for "bashing" Collins. And finally, selling books is no different from any other commercial enterprise - if a company's marketing department do their homework correctly, the correct price for a product is what a customer is prpeared to pay for it, irrespective of the cost of making that product. Clearly there are enough customers happy enough to pay £65 for a signed copy of each NN title! Regards, Bill
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Forum Newbie
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Last Login: 08 August 2010
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| Bill...i pay £65 for each signed new naturalist that is published..i find the extra money to pay this, although i feel that Collins could maybe reward the army of new naturalist collector/readers with a slightly lower cost for a signed copy..this is not my real beef, what is my complaint is the fact that a £65 book should be posted to me..to you...to all...in decent packaging.i.e a strong cardboard box. If for instance a seller on ebay was to send out a book this way ( in a thin cardboard sleeve ) he or she would knowdoubt receive before very long some negative or neutral feedback. regardless of as these points Collins can surely use decent packaging and it borders on rudeness to totally ignore the request to use decent materials to send these books to us when it is only by luck that damage does not occur in the post because of this.
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Forum Member
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Last Login: Today @ 11:44
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| Michael, I agree with you. I also decided to purchase the signed hardback edition of each new title (starting with #108) and agree that the quality of packaging used by Collins for shipping these books has been poor ... but remarkably / fortunately, has done the job so far. What I was trying to point out was that the higher price we pay (£65 compared to prices below £40 at Amazon, NHBS and others) is probably generating very little additional profit to Collins ... and that the price comparison used by an earlier correspondent was not a fair one. Yes, of course, I wouldn't argue if I was asked to pay a lower price for the signed edition ... but then if it wasn't much dearer than a standard copy from NHBS or Amazon, everyone would want one and you and I might not get a copy ;-) Bill
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Supreme Being
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Last Login: Today @ 14:06
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| As posted previously, we have requested a review of the packaging for signed editions, but apologies that no change has been made in time for Badger send outs. Best Alex
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