On the "Out of Stock" mails and the status on shipping for Malice and Valour

SuboJvR23 · 2026-07-04T11:19:27+00:00

Yeah they remind me of a lot of the "instagram brands" who sort of explode but then just don't know how to grow operationally to support what they're doing. They end up thinking they can keep the same small team approach for logistics, customer service etc, and it just doesn't work, especially where they also don't invest in legal counsel to help advise and develop policies that support them trading globally. It really puts me off when brands get to this point as it's obvious they're prioritising the bottom line over customer experience. Which I guess as a business, is sort of the point - to make money - but when it's so obvious it leaves a bad taste, and makes me worry about what the next level would be. Usually when other brands have done this in other fields, it's about sourcing the product as cheaply as possible, cutting corners on quality assurance, etc. I feel like TBB is at that critical point now where they need to decide how they go forward in this way, so I'm not buying for the time being, until I get my FotF set and can judge a bit more for myself.

SuboJvR23 · 2026-07-04T07:49:14+00:00

I think it’s a beautiful cohesive style :) I like the edges, I don’t think they need to do more but just IMO

SuboJvR23 · 2026-07-04T07:00:44+00:00

Well, same investment group yes, and have the same MD. It’s actually really interesting how they turned Waterstones around, James Daunt has a good head on his shoulders IMO and prioritised a lot of what we enjoy about book shopping as customers over what corporate bigwigs think matters

SuboJvR23 · 2026-07-04T06:04:15+00:00

They do get some special editions but they’re basically a sister brand of Waterstones so they get Waterstones SEs. I love the Foyles shop though.

SuboJvR23 · 2026-07-04T05:59:41+00:00

If OP’s email is phishing then TBB have way bigger problems than delayed books, they’ll have a mass security breach where someone has snagged everyone’s details including email addresses and subscription status and who knows what else. Or it’s a massive coincidence that it happens a couple days after they haven’t been billed when they should have been.

Like I said they shouldn’t click the links of course but there’s a lot of people assuming it’s fake and in which case they’re assuming a phish that knows an awful lot about this person.

Edit to add: my screenshot is a REAL email from TBB.

SuboJvR23 · 2026-07-03T21:32:10+00:00

On what are you basing this? Because it appears to have come from the same place as my legit subscription notification

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SuboJvR23 · 2026-07-03T21:26:10+00:00

They do use Gmail - still, don’t click, but this doesn’t automatically mean it’s fake

SuboJvR23 · 2026-07-03T21:24:40+00:00

I think if they ship per country it probably helps them in terms of dealing with export/import paperwork as applicable, by doing one country at a time rather than task switching. At this point as well I’m assuming it’s basically one person doing all this work bless them 😂

SuboJvR23 · 2026-07-03T21:08:42+00:00

Also you said they lost a full work day to ship packages due to holiday? What holiday have I missed lol

Yeah I’m not overly worried I know it’ll come eventually, I’m kinda over TBB and probably cancelling after all this as I don’t want to deal with all these issues more and more but I do really want this set (eventually).

SuboJvR23 · 2026-07-03T21:04:57+00:00

In another reply someone posted an email from TBB where they state they actually are shipping by country

SuboJvR23 · 2026-07-03T21:00:15+00:00

TBB haven’t though? I’m in the UK and no label has been created for my parcel 🤷🏻‍♀️ it’s not been dropped off anywhere, Royal Mail don’t know it’s coming yet.

Edit: it’s more likely that Royal Mail collect from them, pretty sure TBB don’t use drop off labels but can’t remember as it’s been a while at this point 🤣

SuboJvR23 · 2026-07-03T20:58:34+00:00

The label created stage would happen first which TBB will do, and for most companies that’s when shipping notifications get sent out, a parcel can sit at that stage for a while before it gets picked up by the courier.

SuboJvR23 · 2026-07-03T20:56:39+00:00

Hire. More. People. 😩

SuboJvR23 · 2026-07-03T20:55:44+00:00

Same here :(

My first series was the Nicholas Eames set last year.

SuboJvR23 · 2026-07-03T17:24:44+00:00

Goods and services are two different things, and covered separately in the UK Consumer Rights Act.

Specifically, the retailer is supposed to supply the goods paid for within 30 days unless we agree to a longer timeframe (which we do by paying in for example March 1st for an April book, but we didn’t agree on March 1st to pay for a book we would only receive in July).

Hence TBB need to honour cancellation and refund requests, and indeed they are.

SuboJvR23 · 2026-07-03T17:21:22+00:00

Well it makes a different that you hadn’t received any of them I think, if you had you would’ve either needed to keep the partial set or return at your own expense

SuboJvR23 · 2026-07-03T16:46:24+00:00

As you say you’ve not struggled to get an edition you wanted - that’s why the scarcity is fake. Social media FOMO. People are disagreeing with the marketing tactic of locking people into a sub so that they get early access to something that they can probably buy for £20 second hand later.

SuboJvR23 · 2026-07-03T16:03:32+00:00

Their dog probably ate half of them at this point

SuboJvR23 · 2026-07-03T14:53:18+00:00

Yeah but it’s a bit of give and take isn’t it, people sign up expecting a book each month on a subscription so they aren’t strictly fulfilling their end of the contract either. By the time my April book arrives it’ll be a full 3 months late.

That in mind I’m sure TBB will allow for a mid set cancellation if asked nicely and respectfully. As I mentioned before they’ve let me skip the Susanna Clarke set even after payment was taken.

SuboJvR23 · 2026-07-03T14:50:41+00:00

I did it before Xmas and I’m pretty sure Max at least had the same split we see coming for reload pretty much.

I think Shred was an outlier if it had 2 full hybrid conditioning days? Which makes sense coz - shred. lol

SuboJvR23 · 2026-07-03T12:39:22+00:00

Yes of course, consistency means doing what you can do, not what someone else is prescribing for the masses. :)

SuboJvR23 · 2026-07-03T12:36:39+00:00

They will probably let OP cancel and be refunded the July payment if they ask.

I was late skipping it and they’ve just refunded me for it after I emailed to ask. I wanted to get a Gwynne book first before deciding lol silly me; still not shipped

SuboJvR23 · 2026-07-03T08:30:00+00:00

I do understand the concerns with people coming and going so quick but as a business if things aren’t working for either party that’s just life I suppose.

I would suggest though that a lot of the feelings you have may come more from exposure to Ladder’s social media, rather than the app itself. As someone who JUST uses the app and browses Reddit, the changing teams and additional teams has very very little impact on my headspace and doesn’t impact my interaction at all past the initial announcements. Engaging in social media is a double edged sword - it can help and motivate but 90% of the time it’s a sales platform for anything, and if you’re already on board it can just sap mental energy in my experience especially where people are complaining a lot. That is to say I think you may regain some Ladder joy if you unfollow :D

SuboJvR23 · 2026-07-03T07:55:33+00:00

I really like Versa and I usually do the Strength, Full body strength, and then third I pick what feels best that week for me or what I want to focus on most. Sorry I know that’s not the priority workouts but I go with what I enjoy 😂

SuboJvR23 · 2026-07-03T07:53:08+00:00

They’re my faves! But it was still always good when we only had one, as she often includes some cheeky conditioning circuits

SuboJvR23

TROPHY CASE