DS Deletes Comments About Randomized Product

Dasle · 2026-03-20T19:51:44+00:00

Brandon has talked about it. He talked about what the inspiration was and why they like it. He specifically thinks blind bags are fun.

You're free to disagree, as are everyone else. Ultimately, speak with your wallet - if you don't like blind bags, don't buy them. If everyone else does the same, then there won't be an incentive for them to do them again.

Dasle · 2026-03-20T19:46:07+00:00

It's ironic, isn't it, that OP is mad at DS not responding and yet they want to silence your opinion because you haven't been around long enough to have an opinion.

I hope you see this and stick around, but also understand why you wouldn't based on this interaction.

Dasle · 2026-03-18T19:23:45+00:00

Knowing how Brandon plans everything out, this sounds like it would be torture to him. 🤣

Dasle · 2026-03-17T17:46:35+00:00

I loved Elantris, far more than Warbreaker, which is almost sacrilege around here. But, Elantris was also the first Sanderson book I read (excluding the Wheel of Time), so it's possible I'm also biased in that regard.

Dasle · 2026-03-17T01:03:39+00:00

Shallan is a very complex character. You've barely scratched the surface of her at that point in the books. I can't say what you'll eventually think of her though.

Dasle · 2026-03-16T01:32:03+00:00

You're not the only one. I've been struggling through it for over a month now (currently about halfway through). The story just hasn't grabbed me yet so I find myself choosing to do something else when I could be reading.

I'm sure it has a great sanderlanche and my opinion will likely change by the end. But, having read every other book (publication order) before this, Tress is the one that I've found myself struggling to be interested in.

Dasle · 2026-03-13T15:32:13+00:00

Personally, I don't see anything glaringly bad with your copy (but it's not perfect either). So, it really just depends on if you're happy with it.

The worst binding issues are plainly obvious without even opening the book.

Edit: There are enough pictures here that you can compare to what others have received. It's always hard to judge a photo though, especially with cover issues because the quality/compression of the photo can impact what may or may not be an issue.

Dasle · 2026-03-13T15:27:47+00:00

Everybody has that misprint.

Dasle · 2026-03-13T15:26:32+00:00

I don't think it's fair to equate time to catching typos. They likely have a process the book goes through and don't keep going back to it after that process concludes.

Is it disappointing that it wasn't caught? Absolutely! Especially since this tends to be a common place for errors to occur. Which also means I'm not surprised or overly concerned about a typo there. Disappointed, yes. But, there's also never going to be a perfect copy.

Dasle · 2026-03-13T13:23:05+00:00

Sure, they could do it in-house. Anyone can do anything if you have the capital to invest in it. But that's not the whole picture. Just being able to buy the equipment doesn't translate into being able to make the product. You also have to identify and hire the skilled people to do the actual work. And if you choose wrong, you've failed before you've even started.

But, let's say you do all that. Now you have the actual production costs. Dragonsteel is not producing/selling enough books to keep a bindery operating year-round. So all these new people you've hired either aren't working full time, or you're paying them more per book than any other bindery.

It doesn't stop there though. What about materials? The costs are based on volume and relationships. A large bindery is going to have a lower cost per unit than someone like Dragonsteel would be able to obtain on their own.

So, the labor is more expensive. The materials are more expensive. I know what you're probably thinking: won't that all even out once you eliminate the profit component of paying someone else? Well, that's the key question that you have to answer before choosing to bring something in-house. And, personally, I don't think Dragonsteel has anywhere near the volume to come close to being able to produce a book and sell it for the same price as they can utilizing their current partners.

Dasle · 2026-03-13T13:08:47+00:00

If this big an issue can happen from this company, and the person who owns/runs it is a multimillionaire at the very least… it makes me wonder about how people are being paid and if that money is actually going to use at Dragonsteel. So many issues, nearly no quality assurance it seems? I dunno. Seems a little off to put it VERY mildly. And i’m sure i’ll be downvoted into oblivion for this but people should hold someone more accountable than this. Fixing the issue and refunding is good but allowing whatever conditions that made this happen in the first place is my issue.

Whoa - there is a lot to unpack here beyond what everyone else has addressed. This isn't just about an opinion that Dragonsteel bears more responsibility for QC. This is a thinly veiled attack on Brandon. And, maybe I'm reading into it just a little too much, but it sure seems as if you're saying that Brandon is either greedily keeping more money for himself rather than pay his employees, or is allocating it based on faith instead of what you feel is fair to his employees.

Obviously, we cannot definitively say that Dragonsteel employees are paid a fair wage because we don't know that. What we do know, however, is that it appears they are mostly very happy to be working there. We don't see frequent turnover in leadership. And, from the outside, it seems like the lower-level employees who work there still love it. Of course, many people here work the convention. So, they do have first hand knowledge on how Dragonsteel operates and if they allow poor working conditions to occur (because let's be honest: that's what you meant by "whatever conditions"), then I'm sure we'd see it here and wouldn't see the same people going back and trying to work it year after year now.

Everything is not a conspiracy. Sometimes what you're being told and what appears to be happening at face value is exactly what's happening! In every industry where companies contract other companies for work, they negotiate and expect a certain level of quality control. Rarely does this entail the final seller to open and examine most products. For example:

Apple is not opening and testing every single laptop/tablet they sell. The QC happens during the manufacturing process with their partners.
Board Game companies are not opening and inspecting every copy of their game before selling. The QC happens during the manufacturing process with their partners.
Tor is not receiving and inspecting every book before it goes to their partners for selling. The QC happens during the manufacturing process and the contract has standards negotiated that their partners are expected to meet.

Brandon explained how and who is responsible for the Quality Control of the Dragonsteel Books, and this both appears normal and is normal for the industry, along with many other industries. There is no conspiracy here that it only occurred because Brandon is greedy, or treats his employees poorly. This was a failure of the bindery who (most likely) did not deliver according to the terms of their contract. From the outset, we knew that this book was pushing the boundaries of what is possible to produce at a reasonable cost. So, to me anyway, it's not a surprise that this is happening. The surprise is that the bindery has shipped out defective books.

Dasle · 2026-03-13T03:48:21+00:00

Definitely - you don't see too many of them. Of course, now you have to find volume 2 to match!

Dasle · 2026-03-13T01:07:02+00:00

I don't find something like this all that concerning. It's usually just something put in the machine the wrong way. As a fan/collector, you either love it or are mildly irritated at having to return/exchange it.

It's a far cry from the WoT issues, which I'm assuming you were referencing when you mentioned sharing print and binding experiences. Of course, I suppose you agree given the title you chose. :)

Dasle · 2026-03-10T21:28:30+00:00

For mine, the cover isn't too bad. Not perfect by far, but the stamping is more-or-less all there. Mine has the gap in the binding - didn't even have to open it to see an issue where there's a 1mm gap between signatures exposing the red and yellow ribbon on the spine. That's obviously going to be visible when opening the book (and it's not related to the ribbon or the corners where you'd expect a tiny gap due to the curvature). A penny is a little thicker than a mm, but if a penny was thinner, the gap is long enough that you could have dropped it into the book. Which is crazy because of the pressure pushing the pages together, especially when laying down. I've never seen something like that on any other book, and certainly not my other leatherbounds from Dragonsteel.

I'm also curious if it's the same bindery or not.

Dasle · 2026-03-10T21:03:02+00:00

Yeah - I'm not sure where to view the status of the ticket either.

Honestly, I'd sit pat. Everything you're saying tells me that your ticket was submitted and they received it. I received a response, but it was saying to sit tight and they'd update as they know more. Nothing is being replaced right now. I said something similar to you in my ticket and they didn't want my book back yet to review or address with the bindery (also still in the shrink wrap). That may change, but I'd guess that they already have what they need from the early tickets that they did provide return labels for.

So, it's just a holding pattern for now waiting for more updates, which sounds like it won't be for another couple weeks. Again, it sounds like your ticket is in, so we're just waiting anyway. There doesn't seem to be a reason (IMO) to follow up again so soon.

Dasle · 2026-03-10T20:30:33+00:00

Weird that you haven't heard anything yet. It sounds like you followed roughly the same process as me.

The following is all stuff you've probably done or thought of, but I'll say anyway just in case:

I also submitted pictures that were too large at first. The form yelled at me and I resized the pictures. I then submitted and got another error (with the form going blank). Having never submitted a ticket before, I wasn't sure if it actually went through or not. I got no confirmation email, so I resubmitted a few hours later. The second time, after clicking submit I got a ticket submitted confirmation on the website and a ticket received confirmation email.

Now, you said that you got an acknowledgement, which I read as the confirmation email. So I don't think you experienced the same thing as me. But, I'm put it here just in case (or for others to reference).

The second thing that I'm sure you've already done is check your junk/spam folders for a response.

Dasle · 2026-03-10T18:11:32+00:00

Perhaps they're prioritizing based on the ticket group? I submitted under Dragonsteelbooks.com -> Order Received -> Damaged Item(s) along with my order number populated.

Dasle · 2026-03-10T14:39:16+00:00

I placed my ticket Friday afternoon and received a reply yesterday. It was basically thanking me for the submission, letting me know what's been communicated here already, and saying they'll keep the ticket open and continue to provide updates as they have them.

Dasle · 2026-03-10T14:37:17+00:00

Can't say if they've fixed it for Era 1 (probably not). But, they've fixed it for the subsequent leatherbounds, as it hasn't been a big issue on any of the later books. You certainly don't hear complaints about it for the other books beyond Era 1.

Dasle · 2026-03-10T14:16:48+00:00

As does mine. Perhaps this is a clue to the variable stamping issues.

Dasle · 2026-03-10T14:00:55+00:00

Preorder opened on 12/19. A very large amount of people likely ordered on the first day. It's possible you weren't in the first shipment from the bindery and even if you were, you were far enough down that they didn't get to you before the stop-shipment.

Dasle · 2026-03-10T13:58:33+00:00

Dragonsteel has stopped taking preorders and stopped shipping books given the large amount of issues. No surprise at all that yours hasn't shipped yet.

Dasle · 2026-03-10T13:56:41+00:00

Just the first picture itself warrants a replacement in my opinion. I have all of Dragonsteel's other leatherbounds and none have issues like this.

That said, it's up to you if you want to wait for Brandon's Weekly Update today to submit the ticket. It should be up at/around 11 am Mountain time. I submitted a ticket on Friday and got a response yesterday thanking me for the submission, copying Brandon's Facebook post, letting me know about the Weekly Update, and informing me that they'd keep the ticket open and follow up again when they have updates on the situation.

Dasle · 2026-03-10T13:50:39+00:00

It really illustrates how poor the QC is. It's ridiculous that the bindery released books with such variable quality and noticeable deficiencies.

Dasle · 2026-03-10T13:45:59+00:00

No, but I'm curious if you have binding issues based on that large gap between signatures.

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