Divine Error? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Divine Error? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
GodSlayer
04-02-05, 11:43 AM I finally got around to ordering Complete Divine from an online store and when it got here I immediatly opened the book to begin reading it when I found my pages were Upside down and backwards. First i thought maybe I'd opened the book wrong so i double checked and I had the Cover right side up but all the pages were Upside down and backwards. Anyone else have this happen to them?
Count Arioch the 28th
04-02-05, 11:54 AM Not I.

But it sounds like a printing error. Might want to try showing the guy at the bookstore what happened, and try to get an exchange.
GodSlayer
04-02-05, 12:41 PM Nah I'm going to keep it. Something like that i would hope wouldn't happen that often so it gives my collection an oddity so i'll just have to buy another copy to use.
Alcari Ambaron
04-02-05, 01:23 PM colectors item...keep it
DarthRandal
04-02-05, 02:07 PM Nah I'm going to keep it. Something like that i would hope wouldn't happen that often so it gives my collection an oddity so i'll just have to buy another copy to use.

Why buy another one? If (as it sounds like), all the pages are otherwise correctly oriented, relative to one another, the book is still perfectly usable. You just have to flip the bad boy over while you read it. Heck, do so in public places, and freak out the norms! :D

If, however, the pages aren't in the correct order, or whatever, I'd just return the book for a correct copy. This sort of printing error rarely goes up in monetary value, and I just don't see the entertainment value in a book full of randomly ordered and oriented pages. (Of course, you and your gaming group may just be the easily entertained type. ;)) I wouldn't waste my money buying another copy of a truly defective book (or anything else, for that matter). If you bought a new computer, brought it home, and found out it didn't work, you wouldn't go buy another computer, and keep the defective one as a "collector's item," would you?
Seeker95
04-02-05, 04:14 PM colectors item...keep itIt is not a collector's item.
It is a printing-run error.
They happen all the time.
GodSlayer
04-03-05, 10:21 AM You just have to flip the bad boy over while you read it. Heck, do so in public places, and freak out the norms! :D

You know I never thought of it that way...
Ranger REG
04-03-05, 08:39 PM It is not a collector's item.
It is a printing-run error.
They happen all the time.
Unlike that rare postage stamp featuring an upside down aeroplane, an error for the US Postal Service. How much is that valued in today's collector's market? :smirk:
Escef
04-03-05, 08:46 PM Unlike that rare postage stamp featuring an upside down aeroplane, an error for the US Postal Service. How much is that valued in today's collector's market? :smirk:

The difference being that such stamps are almost always (99+% of the time) caught before being released to the public and destroyed. Further, there is surprisingly little that can go wrong with printing stamps, books require a much more error prone process. So misprinted books getting out to the public happen all the time, misprinted stamps are horrifically rare.
GodSlayer
04-04-05, 07:11 PM So misprinted books getting out to the public happen all the time, misprinted stamps are horrifically rare.

Ok I have to admit I'm curious if misprinted books happen all the time why is I never saw a book with an upside cover before? I buy a lot of books and I don't encounter that very often (so far only once). I'll agree Minor Errors such as Mispelled words, improper grammar, etc happen frequently but that is usually just poor editing not bad printing. But collector Item or not aside its still an oddity and was just curious if anyone else has had this happen.
Escef
04-04-05, 07:33 PM Ok I have to admit I'm curious if misprinted books happen all the time why is I never saw a book with an upside cover before?

Probably because the rate of error is usually so low that only one or two seriously screwy books are in any one given store. And I mean of all the books they have. The error rate is probably close to 2%, which is huge compared to the printing of stamps or money in the U.S.
Red Knight
04-04-05, 07:35 PM Ok I have to admit I'm curious if misprinted books happen all the time why is I never saw a book with an upside cover before? I buy a lot of books and I don't encounter that very often (so far only once). I'll agree Minor Errors such as Mispelled words, improper grammar, etc happen frequently but that is usually just poor editing not bad printing. But collector Item or not aside its still an oddity and was just curious if anyone else has had this happen.

Well, most book stores do quality control on their merchandise, so its easier to catch those sorts of weird errors before the books hit the shelves. If they do miss something, a customer will usually point it out to the cashier or some one else.

Aside from that, bookstores don't sell as many books daily as an internet buisiness such as Amazon.com would, so it is much easier to quality control a few boxes of books in a bookstore rather than a warehouse full of books, so errors generally make it thrugh much easier in a warehouse than a bookstore.

Aside from that, if you call and complain about the book, the seller might give you a partial refund for the book, or something. Might even send you a new copy for free.

On the collectors item: the book is neither rare nor valuable to begin with. It is a book that is still in print, with a relatively low demand to begin with. If, say, you ordered a first edition copy of Sherlock Holmes, and that particular copy of the book was originally printed and bound upside down, that would probably be worth more than a right-side up 1st edition copy of the same book.
LukiLoki
04-04-05, 07:39 PM Speaking from 8+ years' experience in the college textbook industry:

I've seen thousands of such misprints. It happens all the time.
I've seen much more screwed up things than just printed upside down. I've seen books with the straight-up wrong cover (i.e. the cover of another book), books in which the first 50 or so pages just repeat, over and over...
The Horror...

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
GodSlayer 04-02-05, 11:43 AM	I finally got around to ordering Complete Divine from an online store and when it got here I immediatly opened the book to begin reading it when I found my pages were Upside down and backwards. First i thought maybe I'd opened the book wrong so i double checked and I had the Cover right side up but all the pages were Upside down and backwards. Anyone else have this happen to them?
Count Arioch the 28th 04-02-05, 11:54 AM	Not I. But it sounds like a printing error. Might want to try showing the guy at the bookstore what happened, and try to get an exchange.
GodSlayer 04-02-05, 12:41 PM	Nah I'm going to keep it. Something like that i would hope wouldn't happen that often so it gives my collection an oddity so i'll just have to buy another copy to use.
Alcari Ambaron 04-02-05, 01:23 PM	colectors item...keep it
DarthRandal 04-02-05, 02:07 PM	Nah I'm going to keep it. Something like that i would hope wouldn't happen that often so it gives my collection an oddity so i'll just have to buy another copy to use. Why buy another one? If (as it sounds like), all the pages are otherwise correctly oriented, relative to one another, the book is still perfectly usable. You just have to flip the bad boy over while you read it. Heck, do so in public places, and freak out the norms! :D If, however, the pages aren't in the correct order, or whatever, I'd just return the book for a correct copy. This sort of printing error rarely goes up in monetary value, and I just don't see the entertainment value in a book full of randomly ordered and oriented pages. (Of course, you and your gaming group may just be the easily entertained type. ;)) I wouldn't waste my money buying another copy of a truly defective book (or anything else, for that matter). If you bought a new computer, brought it home, and found out it didn't work, you wouldn't go buy another computer, and keep the defective one as a "collector's item," would you?
Seeker95 04-02-05, 04:14 PM	colectors item...keep itIt is not a collector's item. It is a printing-run error. They happen all the time.
GodSlayer 04-03-05, 10:21 AM	You just have to flip the bad boy over while you read it. Heck, do so in public places, and freak out the norms! :D You know I never thought of it that way...
Ranger REG 04-03-05, 08:39 PM	It is not a collector's item. It is a printing-run error. They happen all the time. Unlike that rare postage stamp featuring an upside down aeroplane, an error for the US Postal Service. How much is that valued in today's collector's market? :smirk:
Escef 04-03-05, 08:46 PM	Unlike that rare postage stamp featuring an upside down aeroplane, an error for the US Postal Service. How much is that valued in today's collector's market? :smirk: The difference being that such stamps are almost always (99+% of the time) caught before being released to the public and destroyed. Further, there is surprisingly little that can go wrong with printing stamps, books require a much more error prone process. So misprinted books getting out to the public happen all the time, misprinted stamps are horrifically rare.
GodSlayer 04-04-05, 07:11 PM	So misprinted books getting out to the public happen all the time, misprinted stamps are horrifically rare. Ok I have to admit I'm curious if misprinted books happen all the time why is I never saw a book with an upside cover before? I buy a lot of books and I don't encounter that very often (so far only once). I'll agree Minor Errors such as Mispelled words, improper grammar, etc happen frequently but that is usually just poor editing not bad printing. But collector Item or not aside its still an oddity and was just curious if anyone else has had this happen.
Escef 04-04-05, 07:33 PM	Ok I have to admit I'm curious if misprinted books happen all the time why is I never saw a book with an upside cover before? Probably because the rate of error is usually so low that only one or two seriously screwy books are in any one given store. And I mean of all the books they have. The error rate is probably close to 2%, which is huge compared to the printing of stamps or money in the U.S.
Red Knight 04-04-05, 07:35 PM	Ok I have to admit I'm curious if misprinted books happen all the time why is I never saw a book with an upside cover before? I buy a lot of books and I don't encounter that very often (so far only once). I'll agree Minor Errors such as Mispelled words, improper grammar, etc happen frequently but that is usually just poor editing not bad printing. But collector Item or not aside its still an oddity and was just curious if anyone else has had this happen. Well, most book stores do quality control on their merchandise, so its easier to catch those sorts of weird errors before the books hit the shelves. If they do miss something, a customer will usually point it out to the cashier or some one else. Aside from that, bookstores don't sell as many books daily as an internet buisiness such as Amazon.com would, so it is much easier to quality control a few boxes of books in a bookstore rather than a warehouse full of books, so errors generally make it thrugh much easier in a warehouse than a bookstore. Aside from that, if you call and complain about the book, the seller might give you a partial refund for the book, or something. Might even send you a new copy for free. On the collectors item: the book is neither rare nor valuable to begin with. It is a book that is still in print, with a relatively low demand to begin with. If, say, you ordered a first edition copy of Sherlock Holmes, and that particular copy of the book was originally printed and bound upside down, that would probably be worth more than a right-side up 1st edition copy of the same book.
LukiLoki 04-04-05, 07:39 PM	Speaking from 8+ years' experience in the college textbook industry: I've seen thousands of such misprints. It happens all the time. I've seen much more screwed up things than just printed upside down. I've seen books with the straight-up wrong cover (i.e. the cover of another book), books in which the first 50 or so pages just repeat, over and over... The Horror...