the journal of a fangirly insect

It's the first day of my three-and-a-half week vacation. If that wasn't awesome enough, I got a package in the mail. :D



These are issues that I really, really wanted, and yet they cost way too much for me to seriously think about buying them: Team-Up with Widdle Wade, the Encyclopedia Deadpoolica, Deadpool/Death annual 1998, Deadpool #44, Black Panther #23, New Mutants #98, Baby's First Deadpool Book (okay, I already have a copy of this, now that I think about it, but it was part of the lot), and Deadpool #66-69. All of them are in NM condition. And I got them for an average of a dollar apiece, including shipping.

*huge comic book geekgasm*

I know no one is likely to care but me, but...dude. This is incredibly awesome.

I think that I update my journal on Thursdays to complain how tired I am. XD Well, today is no different. I'm exhausted, and I will probably be asleep by eight tonight, because I am that tired. And I have so much to do! I still need to write my fic for masked_ball, which was due a few days ago. I've started it, but alas, real life and I are not getting along right now. And answer some emails and messages and OH GOD, I AM SORRY, I'VE KIND OF DROPPED OFF THE PLANET. Tomorrow I'll catch up, I hope.

I did manage to find room to read Deadpool #12 (the newest issue), and what. This just makes me cling to my almost-complete Joe Kelly run all the harder. I love Deadpool. He is my favorite comic book character. I also have more than a touch of OCD when it comes to being a completist. And yet if Daniel Way doesn't get better in the next few issues, I'm dropping this solo. :P

Umm...nothing else to say, except sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

I'm sorry, but this is going to be a rant. Maybe a rant of epic proportions. But definitely a rant.

So, I signed up for Amazon Prime in April, mainly because I am a huge book nerd. I also lack a great deal of patience, so I like to have what I want NOW. So, I figured that it'd be a good investment. Since signing up for Amazon Prime, though, I've been getting a hell of a lot of books that look like this:



That, my friends, is a "new" book shipped from Amazon. Oh yes, it arrived in two days. But...the condition! The front cover has two large diagonal creases (the "classic" you see in the bottom corner is actually from the first page and not the cover), and the top corner is literally peeling apart (the inside pages aren't white - that's the "guts" of the cover) and smushed.

Now, I know that this could happen to any order. What I dislike, however, is that this is happening at a very high rate. Out of the nine books I've ordered in the past two months, five have been damaged so much that I have had to return them. That's over 50%, and I don't like those odds.

The problem is that Amazon throws books into boxes that are far too large for them without any packing materials at all. So, in the end, I get a book that looks like it has been brought here by the Pony Express from California, not UPS from Kentucky.

I'm pissed. I'm tired of having to return books all of the time because Amazon can't get this right. I've emailed customer service three times, and all I get is a "oh I'm sorry, we'll send you a replacement" canned response. The kicker? The "replacement" is often in just as bad of shape, if not worse, than the original.

Take, for example, the Clay Enos Watchmen book I bought for $35. The first copy I received had a three inch tear in the dust jacket. Now, I pay $35 for a book, I expect it to be in very good condition. I do not expect a three inch tear in the jacket. I returned it. Amazon sent me a replacement. I was happy until I opened the box. The replacement had three tears in them, one of them being four inches long. Yes, I measured these tears. Back it went to Amazon, this time for a refund, and I bought the book on eBay from someone for $18 including shipping. It arrived in pristine condition.

ARGH. I am definitely not renewing my Prime membership once it expires. :P It's nice to get books quickly, but you know what's even nicer? Getting them in good condition. :P