OT: Tascen Sale - January 30th 2020

Taschen Sale starts January 30th:

https://www.taschen.com/pages/en/company/whs/index.our_january_sale_is_coming.ht...

How exciting! I will definitely look forward to this!

>1 bookfair_e:

Thank you. It will be interesting to see what's in the sale. Do you know at what time it usually starts?

2AM or 3AM EST -- I know this because in previous years I have planned to stay up until midnight to secure the low-stock items (fewer than one might imagine, by which I mean little sells out on day one), only to abandon the plan when seeing the countdown timer on the Taschen splashpage.

>3 SF-72:

There appears to be no start time given. I would guess that in the stores it will be the usual opening time for that store on the day.

ETA:

Stores:
• Berlin
• Beverly Hills
• Brussels
• Cologne
• Hollywood
• Hong Kong
• London
• London Claridge’s
• Miami
• Milan
• Paris

>3 SF-72:

email reply from Taschen re start-time for their sale:

“…The Sale will start on Thursday at 9 a.m. online. But we would recommend you to get your computer started a little earlier, just in case…”

ETA - That's GMT

Thank you all for your replies. That's good, it should fit a break I have at work. During the last years all the titles I was really interested in were already sold out when I got home from work.

Thanks again for the link. I bought in their sale for the first time - it will be interesting to see the condition of the books, the two Hiroshige titles. A pity the Rembrandts weren't included, but then they are relatively new.

I think the two bibles - the Luther Bible and the Gutenberg Bible are of interest though I will wait next year for buying those.

I didn't find any books on my admittedly short wishlist for Sale. I am glad I picked up Stanley Kubrick's Archives in the large, rectangular edition when it came back into print due to an exhibition on his life and work. It's no longer available through the Taschen website, so I have made the right call.

The Kay Nielsen Arabian Nights Art Portfolio is on Sale at the moment for a hundred euros off (40% discount). I know there were Devotees interested in purchasing this book when rumors flew of its publication.

>8 SF-72: I, too, was hoping for their complete Rembrandts to be included. I recently bought their Rembrandt self-portrait book and the production is sublime.

>11 ubiquitousuk: the production is sublime

I was hoping for that. I was lucky enough to be able to visit the All Rembrandts exhibition in Amsterdam last year and it was very impressive, but the volume about the exhibition I bought at the museum didn't do the paintings justice at all. In one particularly bad case you couldn't see the background, which was essential to understanding what it was all about. I was sure that Taschen would be a lot better, but the prices for the large volumes are steep enough that I haven't gotten around to buying them yet.

I got the Kay Nielsen’s A Thousand and One Nights, long time waiting.

>12 SF-72: I work at the Rijksmuseum and we have display copies of the Rembrandt books. They are beautifully done but immense in size. So large I will pass them in the current offering. I’m hoping for a diminished offering, say XL. If you are in the market for the XXL of today, buy the perspex bookstand now on offer in the Taschen Sale for support.

>14 NLNils: What a fabulous place to work!

I agree with you about waiting for the XL editions; I have a couple and, whilst spectacular, the XXL books are simply too big for the space I have available.

>14 NLNils:

Thank you. I do have a wooden stand another German publisher sold a while ago, but I'm thinking about getting the Taschen bookstand that lets you put the books mostly upright. As it is, I have to stand and look down at the table / bookstand if I want to take a look inside the XXL books I already have, which is less than ideal.

>9 ironjaw: The Luther Bible and the Gutenberg Bible are both great, highly recommended.

>13 fp13: Kudos to you for being able to wait on the Kay Nielsen Arabian Nights at 40% off. Best deal of the sale.

>15 HuxleyTheCat: I understand your issues with the XXLs but I just can't resist. I store them on the floor behind the couch in my living-room.

Does Taschen have a low inventory counter? Or do they simply sell out without warning?

I have a couple that I am on the fence on whether or not to purchase. Everyone's sales are killing me and I am already way over my book budget for the past couple of months.

>18 hamletscamaro: Not that I am aware of but they do start flashing a few quantity remaining warning below the book on the sale page if the count gets low enough.

I received an email earlier that Bruegel: The Complete Works had been added to the sale at 50 % off (£75 with free p&P). Yes, it's huge but it's Bruegel and my resolve crumbled. I would have added Codices Illustres but that one has already sold out and will have to wait until next time.

>20 HuxleyTheCat:

I bought Bruegel before Christmas. It's wonderful.

>20 HuxleyTheCat: A big thank you for pointing this out. I'm not normally interested in these big coffee table books but, as you say, this is Bruegel and at a bargin price too. Having never ordered from Taschen before, finding that the p&p in Europe is free over €50 was an added bonus. The sale ends today it seems, so I'd have missed this had it not been for your post.

>22 Levin40: Glad to have been of help. Anyone with an interest in art books should ideally get on the Taschen mailing list. They've added another 'flash sale' title today: Andy Warhol. Seven Illustrated Books 1952–1959, once again at 50% off. It's not my thing at all so I won't be biting.

Has anyone bought King Tut? If so I'd be interested in your opinions on the quality of the photography, as a big deal is made of it in the Taschen blurb.

Unfortunately one week to late for me (I had hoped for the previous weekend as I was in London then). Nevertheless I could buy the Most Beautiful Libraries and LA online, which were both high on my whishlist.

They have modified their postage policy to Australia. Now US$70 for one small book, or a dozen large books, making a large order worthwhile.
Bruegel, Book of Symbols, Klimpt and Nautical Works duly ordered.

>25 wcarter:

So have you figured out which of your current books are going to have to go, on the one-in-one-out plan? ;)

>26 folio_books:
Plenty of standard hard cover books that are not as beautiful or well presented as FS, Taschen or fine press publishers that I can dispose of. One day I may have to buy an offsite storage cage ;-)

>27 wcarter: One day I may have to buy an offsite storage cage ;-)

I've often considered a similar solution!

>21 boldface: I've taken delivery of Bruegel: The Complete Works and 'wonderful' is absolutely right! Its the same height (but somewhat thicker) than the Tachen XXL Bosch and somewhat smaller than the Velasquez etc XXL series. In fact I think it's closer in dimensions to the XL editions of this series. I'm very happy indeed to have bought it and thoroughly recommend anyone interested in Bruegel to keep an eye out in the next Taschen sale.

Just a reminder that postage for this expensive behemoth within Europe was free - Folio could learn from that - however, the packaging was awful. A thin cardboard box sufficiently large that the book could move freely within it, and without tape on the end flaps so the book could have slid out without some care being taken by the DHL courier, who warned me about it as he handed it over. I know that the book comes in its own cardboard carton but that doesn't excuse the shoddy exterior packaging: this lesson should go in the other direction. I hope your copy, Warwick, arrives safely.

>29 HuxleyTheCat:

I'm so glad you like it, Fiona. I'm still working my way through it, gorgeous page by gorgeous page.

>29 HuxleyTheCat:
Thanks Fiona. I’ll let you know when it arrives.

>11 ubiquitousuk: >12 SF-72:

TASCHEN once again is holding its Summer Flash Sale. The Rembrandt XXL books are included this time. €60 off, and thus available for €90 each:

Rembrandt. The Complete Paintings
Rembrandt. The Complete Drawings and Etchings

General TASCHEN Sale

>32 NLNils: thanks for the tip-off.

For those not ready to sink £90, they also have the self portraits book (https://www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/art/all/04641/facts.rembrandt_the_self_portraits.htm) on sale for £25, which is an absolute bargain.

I made a blog post and video about that volume for those who are interested here: https://ubiquitousbooks.wordpress.com/2020/05/16/rembrandt-the-self-portraits/

Oh, you guys really are enablers. Damn. At this rate I better look for some Bookaholics Anonymous therapy session.

>34 santiamen: You will not find that here.:)

>29 HuxleyTheCat:

Advice taken re Bruegel, Fiona - though it's £75, not £50, this time around. I spent most of February kicking myself for being dilatory. It's a pity the shelf for big books is full - the last space went to Taschen's Cabinet of natural curiosities - and that's what held me back last time. Now, it's a problem.

>32 NLNils:

Thanks! I've been waiting for the Rembrandts to be discounted since I saw the Complete Rembrandts exhibition in Amsterdam, and it was a very pleasant surprise that the Japanese Woodblock Prints were discounted, too. Of course now I don't have a clue where to put these XXL books...

>32 NLNils: Thank you for the reminder! I ordered the NASA Archive and Moonfire. I'm thinking about Stan Lee and 125 Years of Nat Geo.

Phaidon also have their sale starting today. It seems all publishers have conspired to have their sale this weekend.

Yes, I've been waiting for this sale to pick up Japanese Woodblock Prints (1680–1938).

"A Thousand and One Nights" seems very cool. I'm admiring the gold-foil paper.

https://www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/art/all/02810/facts.kay_nielsens_a_th...

Does anyone own this edition? Would you recommend it?

>41 PatsChoice: I own the book. It is really nice and you can definitly frame the included prints. For 125€ it's a really good value. You can read a bit of discussion about the book here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/266656#6136704. You should be aware of the size of the presentation box though. It is enormous. I don't have a book shelf deep enough for it. I can fit their XXL sized books on my shelves, but not this box.

Well this turned into an expensive thread.

I have been uninterested the last couple Folio sales and as I recall the last Taschen sale didn't have anything I wanted.

Splurged on the Stan Lee Story for my sons & the NASA Archives for me, then some others tumbled into the cart.

>39 c_schelle:
>40 kdweber:
>42 c_schelle:

Thanks for the insight, fellas! Ended up ordering "A Thousand and One Nights" and "Japanese Woodblock Prints" from Taschen as well as "Animal" from Phaidon. I'm very happy with the prices and I can't wait to peruse these books.

I was going to buy the Japanese woodblock prints as well but 100 aud for shipping is kind of demoralising.

>45 Charon49:
That is exactly the current shipping for Folio books as well. For whatever reason I had less trouble justifying it with Folio than Taschen.

Bought the NASA archives, really pleased to see it in the sale. I already have the small Taschen softback Moonfire, and couldn't mentally justify the upgrade. Unless anyone has some particularly kind words to say about it...

>47 EuanM:

I faced the same choice with Moonfire, but for $25 I took the plunge and my local library sale will get the smaller copy

>44 PatsChoice: At 50% discount, the Arabian nights book is a steal!. It is extremely well made and you will definitely enjoy it.

>49 venkysuniverse: Thanks, Venky. I'm sure I and many others in this group will treasure this edition for a long time. :)

A benefit of clicking on the Taschen sale link above is that I now have Taschen banner ads following me around (much better than the other banner ads I would be inflicted with).

I had the Arabian nights book in my cart to check out, and I hemmed and I hawed, and now the sale is over. Maybe not such a bad thing, as I've made quite a few purchases lately. If it's still around on the next sale I'll likely get it then.

Unfortunately, Taschen's shipping packaging has improved only slightly compared to the January sale where the books arrived in a vastly oversized box with no packing materials whatsoever.

This time they arrived in a more appropriately sized box with only one small scrap of packing material. The books were all arranged right at the edges of the cardboard shipping box with no extra cushioning, so there was a very high chance of the extremities of all the books getting bumped (3 out of 6 of the books had bumped corners). The XXL books have their individual cartons for extra protection but the regular books have none at all and are obviously very vulnerable .

I've always found Taschen customer service to be excellent - I will need to call on them again.

Is anyone else finding it increasingly difficult to collect new books that actually arrive in 'new' condition? It's always been a risk with ordering online, but over the last couple of years it seems that around 50% of the books I receive from Amazon, Book Depository, Waterstones, Foyles, Blackwells, Phaidon, and Taschen have some level of minor damage due to insufficient packaging.

>53 GardenOfForkingPaths: "Is anyone else finding it increasingly difficult to collect new books that actually arrive in 'new' condition?"

Absolutely, yes. One of my biggest pet peeves. Even Folio books, which tend to be packed with an excess of material, seem to suffer frequent damage (though this has improved of late). Perhaps with Folio it is shipping from UK to US that accounts for the high rate. But there is no excuse for how Taschen or Amazon ship large, heavy books with no protection. It has in fact prevented me from ordering several books I would otherwise have been interested in.

>54 UK_History_Fan:

I agree - even when you know you can always get a refund/replacement, it really takes the enjoyment out of collecting these books when one opens the box with trepidation rather than excitement, and I can understand why you might prefer to just skip some titles all together. I'm currently on my 3rd attempt to get a copy of "Chronicle of The World - 1493" without a dented corner from Book Depository. On the first two occasions I was refunded in full and told to keep the books. Each replacement is sent out in exactly the same way.

It's especially frustrating and disappointing buying directly from Taschen when they are the ones who have put so much effort into every stage of the production of these books, only to fall down at the final hurdle. The design, content and value for money of the books I received is superb as usual.

This happens in my country as well, I never tried to ask for a replacement because it happens with 99% of books and I don't believe they even have any copies that wouldn't have bent corners. It's unbelievably frustrating because they're hardbacks, I know they wouldn't end up looking like this in my care so it leaves me annoyed instead of joyful when I receive them. The real irony is shipped paperbacks are in mint condition because it's easy to keep them flat. To be honest, it often happens with books in bookstores as well, they manage to destroy them before any customer even gets to touch them.

I assumed if I complained I'd look like a nitpicking psycho since most books here cost up to roughly £10 so I just accept it. With these pricey books (FS, Taschen) it would really bother me though.

>53 GardenOfForkingPaths: "Is anyone else finding it increasingly difficult to collect new books that actually arrive in 'new' condition?§

Yes, and I find it extremely frustrating and feel really uncomfortable about how often I have to either return and replace books or be stuck with one that isn't mint anymore when I've just received it.

I just hope mine will arrive in better condition. They sent me the shipping information last Friday, after my email to them and after one week.

>53 GardenOfForkingPaths:

Yeah. I notice very few people will even bother with bubble wrap these days. If they use bubble wrap it's usually only one sheet.

eBay on the other hand has left me very impressed as fellow book lovers tend to pack them with bubble wrap and cardboard protectors for edges and sturdy boxes.

For the most part you are right. I recently purchased Folio's "The Story of the Middle Ages" on Ebay. It was packed tightly with no room to spare. The slipcase was split in transit.....

Has anyone else been waiting for their July order this whole time? I always bought Taschen books in physical stores and the first time I order online it's two months of waiting with no end in sight. They are absolutely impossible to communicate with, I keep getting generalised mails saying they'll get back to me but I just don't get how anyone manages to lose massive packages of books within the European continent. Even in the depth of the quarantine I'd receive products from South Korea within 3 working days. Is this normal with Taschen? It's unbelievably frustrating, two months and I have no books, no money and no idea whether anyone is even dealing with this, what happened or what they intend to do. Have you all got your orders without a glitch?

>62 santiamen: Mine was dispatched a few days after order and arrived a few days after that, via DHL I think and without issue. I remember being pretty happy with the service as shipping was free. Definitely sounds like there's a problem with yours and it must be frustrating being unable to get a response. Didn't you get a tracking number with your shipping confirmation?

I've been waiting for an order since March. And I don't think I'm the only one; I've seen others online saying they're going through the same thing. Tried to call once with no luck; guess I'll just have to keep trying.

>62 santiamen: as >64 Bookworm59: says, you are not alone.

I've been waiting 7 weeks for a resolution to an order of Sale books that were damaged during shipping. I finally received an email about 2 weeks ago, to which I replied, but since then...nothing.

My only suggestion is to try sending them a direct message on Facebook. I never received a reply on Facebook but I did get an email from customer service the following morning, which may or may not have been a coincidence.

I think everyone is generally sympathetic to the strains on customer service at the moment but there seems to have been a complete breakdown in the system. In any case, the bare minimum they could do is send round an email from someone at a senior level with some kind of explanation, along with profuse apologies and reassurance.

Well, your posts made me look up current reviews of Taschen online and it is a lot of customers speaking of fraud and not getting any kind of response. Brilliant.

Could have gotten about 15 Everyman's Library books instead.

Awful awful approach, can't believe a company this big would risk their good name by ignoring their customers for 2 months (or longer) and that they're incapable of writing down the correct address or tracking packages correctly in the 21st century. Within Europe. Never had even tiny packages from China with no tracking numbers misplaced so I am starting to think this might have been deliberate.

Fortunately my Taschen order was posted just in a week.

So in the end I contacted Taschen on FB as someone here suggested (thanks for the tip) and the package arrived, after 2 months.
Out of five books three are damaged, with very visibly bent or scuffed corners. I wrote to the customer support about it and got this reply: "During our sale, ex-display and damaged books are sold at reduced prices." Did I completely miss this being advertised during the sale? There are constant sales everywhere and they tend to be for new, undamaged items (FS being a perfect example) so I wouldn't automatically assume that getting something at discount means I get it in a state none of the books I own and actually read are.

Have you all received more or less damaged books and had to accept they can't be replaced because they are sale items? Was the sale advertised that way, perhaps in your newsletter if you were subscribed to it?

>68 santiamen: I don't know how they advertised it elsewhere, but Taschen is a german publisher and books intended for the german market (even multi language ones) have fixed prices. They can only sell at lower cost if the books are damaged (that only applies to books sold in germany, books sold in other countries are not affected). Having said that, I have never received a damaged book during one of their sales and I think most of the books they sell during the sale even in Germany are new. Here is the sale advertisment from their website: https://www.taschen.com/pages/en/company/whs/index.our_summer_sale_is_coming.htm

>68 santiamen:

They do advertise the sale like this and are forced to because of the German law mentioned in post 69. You can't duscount new books here legally. But all the books I got from there looked new, were shrink-wrapped and in fine shape. I ordered from Germany during the sale, and my order arrived very quickly.

The customer service you describe is appalling, though. Did it look like damage during shipping or damage incurred before they were shipped?

I wish I'd known about that, wouldn't really pay for a damaged book even when discounted when it's not some rare copy and I could simply get a new, nice one at full price. :/ Guess I'm lucky the most expensive book looks fine.

The box itself was intact, it doesn't look like a shipping issue. All books were shrink wrapped but the three damaged ones had the wrap torn in many places. One of the books also has these wrinkled pages inside, as if someone scrunched it right in the middle (weird place anyway). I imagine if it was a shipping issue I wouldn't get a reply basically saying I should have expected this.

>71 santiamen:

That really doesn't look good, and yes, I too would rather pay full price for a fine copy than buy a damaged book in a sale. I asked people here before I risked my first purchase there and was told that the books were actually new, and that's been my experience, too. You were really unlucky there.

This is disappointing, and makes me hesitant to purchase any of their books on sale.

>68 santiamen:

I've always been aware that the Taschen sales were technically 'damaged and display copies' but, like everyone else, I have always received as new copies with no damage at all.

This time, I've been in a similar situation to you (4 books with bumped corners/spines). The packaging was inadequate with the books placed directly against the edges of the shipping box with no cushioning whatsoever, making bumped corners highly likely.

I contacted customer service and told them I thought it was a shipping issue due to poor packaging. After several weeks, I received the same reply that you did and was told I could send them back for a refund but would not be sent replacements because they were display copies. I replied that I wasn't satisfied with this outcome and that it felt like damage that was likely caused by poor packaging was now being excused by calling them display copies.

After a few more weeks without a reply I decided to send one more email asking for a resolution as well as saying how disappointed I had been with the general lack of communication. I finally received an email with a returns label for the damaged books and notification that replacements were being sent.

Looking at the pictures you posted, are you certain it wasn't caused by the books rubbing against the sides of the box or each other?

And was this a parcel that had been out in the wild for the last 2 months, or did they eventually just send another?

If it were me, I would probably try and press the issue a little more and see if it gets you anywhere. After all, the customer service has been so poor in the last two months, they should be looking to make amends wherever possible.

Going forward, the only sale books i'll buy directly from Taschen will be the XXL ones that come in their own protective cardboard case.

>74 GardenOfForkingPaths: Thank you for explaining how it went for you, at least it makes me feel less alone in this disaster of an order.

It's possible the books were bumped in the box given there was no bubble wrap but I have no way of proving this. If they sell things on sale as damaged it actually protects them from having to resolve even potential shipping damage - they can always claim the sale was for damaged items to begin with.

It was a completely new package sent after 2 months of begging so only a few days of travel for the box.

To be honest, all I care about now is whether I'm expected to cover the shipping costs when returning the books back to Germany because that'd get pricey. Otherwise, I have no energy left to drag this on any longer, it was frustrating enough trying to get anyone to react to the mails I'd sent waiting for any books to arrive in the first place. Maybe they punished me for my relentlessness with especially damaged books. :)

I am done with Taschen and sales, that's for sure. The books I purchased in the past were from a physical store which seems to be the only way to make sure they're in good condition and won't arrive months later.

On the other hand, my experience with Folio Society so far has been the complete opposite of this. I had one book arriving with slightly scuffed edges and asked about it in a mail, not even demanding a replacement, just wanting to know whether that particular book would end up looking like that no matter what, being moved from the slipcase. I received a completely chill and friendly reply that they'd send a new copy and there was no need to return the other one. Crazy. It kind of makes sense now why the books cost so much with that level of customer care.

Seeing these distinct approches to a customer has just left me thinking at least I know where my loyalties should lie.

>71 santiamen:

Disappointing, but they make it pretty clear that they're selling damaged copies. Don't know about the customer service. I've bought most of my Taschen books through Amazon.

Another Taschen sale happening at the moment.
https://www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/sale/all.htm?utm_campaign=whs_2021_01...

Beware: As per Taschen "Offer on display copies and slightly damaged books, available while stocks last until January 31."

>77 Mujaddadi:

That made me hesitate in the past, but so far all the books I bought there were brand new and in perfect shape. I have read on here that someone else wasn't that lucky, though.

>78 SF-72: Same here. I haven't find any issue with the sale books yet but we maybe just lucky.

My XXL Rembrandt drawings sale volume had a loose leaf title page. I got the same tough luck response from customer service.

Thank you for the reminder, order placed for Dark City and Jacques Devaulx Nautical Works.

I've never had an issue with the books, but their packaging is usually terrible.

I'm on the US West coast.

>81 kcshankd: Interesting, as I've had lots of packaging issues when buying Taschen volumes on Amazon but good luck when buying directly from Taschen (usually during a sale).

Unfortunately, the one title I was looking for was in the sale but sold out before I found it.

Just got an email message from Taschen announcing the XXL Rembrandt books are 50% off this weekend only.

In case it was of interest to someone - UK Amazon mimics the discounts of some Taschen books during the sale. It's a great option for people in the UK, avoiding the customs handling fees, taxes, waiting and hoping the books aren't too visibly damaged.