When David Mazzucchelli’s Batman Year One Artist’s Edition was announced in 2023 it quickly became the most anticipated AE format book of 2024. It collects the complete inked art and pencil roughs, covers, and preliminary art. Please take a minute to read my review if you’re not familiar with the book. Along with the normal Artist’s Edition, there would be a signed and numbered slipcase edition available only from the IDW store, but only 250 copies.
The online AE format community waited with bated breath for the release date of the slipcase edition, and word went out during San Diego Comic Con that it would go live on Monday July 29. At the time, the IDW store had a partnership with Loox, which offered a 20% off coupon as a referral program, “Give your friends a gift!” along the right side of the site. As well the IDW store offered 15% off coupons for those who left something in their cart, and 10% from other online promotions. There was significant chatter on the forum about the launch, using a coupon code, and an overall euphoria for this release.
The book went live at approximately 1 PM Eastern. There were no official posts from IDW. Orders were placed, and in general everyone was thrilled with their discount. There were no limits placed on the number of copies per customer or order. About two hours later every order using a coupon was cancelled.
Order PUB-#xxxxx was canceled because of unforeseen circumstances and your payment has been refunded.
Placing another order with any coupon code resulted in a cancelation email a few minutes after receiving the successful order email. The product page made no mention of limitations on ordering. After contacting the IDW store some received this response when asking why their order was canceled.
I would like to inform you that coupon codes were not allowed on the Batman Year One Signed Edition that’s the reason of your order cancellation. We apologize for the inconvenience.
The product page was never updated to state no coupon codes, nor were the option of coupon codes removed from the checkout page. I placed three orders with different coupon codes and they were all cancelled after successfully checking out.
Only orders placed at the listed price of $300 USD were not cancelled. That same day it sold out.
If you left the book in your cart that night, the following morning you received this email.
Your saga at IDW Comics isn’t complete yet. We’ve noticed some great books waiting in your shopping cart!
We’re delighted to offer you an exclusive 15% discount on your next purchase. Apply the code IDW15 at the checkout to seize your savings.
On August 9 Canadian customers started receiving brokerage notices from UPS that a shipment from IDW was arriving. It appeared foreign orders were fulfilled first, with domestic to follow. People received copies as early as August 12, but the forum started filling with reports of damaged books being received.
A normal Artist’s Edition is packed in a cardboard case. That’s how you generally see them for sale. When IDW switched to Penguin Random House as their distributor they added a shipping box to the package, so an Artist’s Edition comes inside its cardboard case inside a tight cardboard mailing box. Tight in that there is no padding: cardboard overtop the cardboard case. The inner box and the outer box.
This slipcase edition had no cardboard case or inner box: it was shipped inside the tight shipping box or outer box with no padding or additional packaging. Other than shrink wrapping, this is how I received my copy. Many received their book with one or more damaged corners, damaging the slipcase and the book inside.
Emails to the IDW store regarding the damage received this response.
I’m sorry to hear about your experience. Could you please send us a photo of the products you received? This will help us better understand the situation and provide you with the most effective assistance possible.
After submitting photos a few people received a response, but many did not. Subsequent follow-up emails would eventually garner a response with an offer of a partial refund.
Thank you for contacting us and sharing the photos of your Batman Year One purchase. I’m truly sorry to hear that your product arrived in less-than-perfect condition. We completely understand how disheartening it must be to find damage on such a special and highly anticipated item, especially considering the value and care you’ve placed on it.
Unfortunately, due to the extremely limited availability of this edition, we are unable to offer a replacement. However, we absolutely want to make this right for you. As a gesture of our commitment to your satisfaction, we will issue you a partial refund of 40% off the purchase price. This refund will be processed upon your approval.
We know this situation is far from ideal, and we genuinely appreciate your understanding and patience as we work to resolve it. Thank you again for bringing this to our attention and for giving us the chance to make amends. We value your support and hope to continue serving you in the future.
Buyers have reported multiple refund percentages offered, but usually 30% if your slipcase was damaged and 40% if your slipcase and book were damaged. IDW was making an attempt at repairing the damage done by not properly packaging these books. US customers were also emailing IDW and asking for additional packaging for their copies, and users have reported the shipping box being put into a larger box with some packing material around it.
Forum members who had not received their copy yet emailed IDW and asked for more secure packaging. Most received this response.
Thank you for reaching out. A few customers have been bringing the issue of slipcase damage to our attention. We understand how crucial it is for your order to arrive in perfect condition, and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
To address the problem and prevent further shipping issues, we are now using improved packaging to protect your items better during transit. This enhanced packing will be in place for all orders going forward.
We are pleased to inform you that your order will be shipped out this week with the new, more secure packaging.
If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to reach out. We’re here to help and appreciate your patience as we make these improvements.
On August 27, approximately one week after all orders were shipped, an email from IDW was sent out to everyone who purchased a copy of the signed edition.
We recently discovered that several Artist Proof (AP) copies of Batman Year One Artist’s Edition by David Mazzucchelli were accidentally shipped to you. These AP copies are reserved for the artist, and we kindly ask that you check your copy to see if you have received one.
If you do have an AP copy, we would greatly appreciate it if you could return it to us so we can ensure it reaches the artist as intended. We will cover all return shipping costs, send you the correct signed edition, and offer you a generous discount on your next Artist’s Edition purchase as a token of our gratitude.
Thank you for your understanding and for helping us make this right.
I am aware of one customer who returned their damaged AP copy for a replacement copy. They asked what this generous discount would be on their next Artist’s Edition purchase would be but didn’t receive a response. They received a tracking number for their replacement but haven’t received it yet.
At this point any good will garnered by the partial refund was lost. IDW didn’t have replacement copies for those who received damaged books, but now they had replacements available if you returned AP copies. There is no indication what a “generous discount” is, but if it’s provided as a coupon code, will it be honoured?
There were twenty-five AP copies produced, meant to ship to David Mazzucchelli, Chip Kidd, Scott Dunbier, and other contributors. Every AP copy have “AP” written on two sides of the outer shipping box in black marker. Did anyone receive their AP copies, or were they all sold by the web store?
There are customers still waiting to receive a response from the IDW Store.
Loox has been removed from the IDW site, and any accrued referrals no longer work.
Copies of David Mazzucchelli’s Batman Year One Artist’s Edition Signed and Numbered have been selling on eBay over the last few days for $700-1400 USD.
On August 29 there was another round of firings at IDW, “four staffers no longer with IDW Publishing, including in marketing, production, and the shipping department”.
My request for an interview went unanswered.
The person who returned their AP copy provided this update.
The replacement arrived in a bigger box. There is just a tiny bump to one corner of the slipcase. No response at all about the discount. No reply to any of my emails since they sent me the return label.
I realize this is not “striking while the iron is hot” but I wanted to wait and see how the final pieces fell together. If you are still waiting for IDW to answer your emails it may be time to reach out to your credit card company and open a claim.
When IDW had their own warehouse, a warehouse manager, and a dedicated team to handle online orders their packaging and customer service were raved about. Now they use Penguin Random House to warehouse their product, and only offer exclusive items on their web store that PRH doesn’t handle for them.
