Mine did arrive in a box - I ordered it with CSH for the Switch. I can't say the interior packaging was great. There were a couple of pieces of brown paper, but not enough to keep everything secure. Still, the box was thick enough that the art book did arrive in perfect condition. The game, on the other hand, has either a crease or a tear in the front cover art. Probably was like that before the insert was even placed in the case, though.
If you ordered 2 books and a game, you should be good. I'm actually a little surprised I got a box if others are still getting padded envelopes - I had pretty much the same order with Thimbleweed Park (switch game and the art book) and they arrived in an envelope with the book in rough shape.
Yeah, from the business side, I understand the "bubble mailer", as it's cheap and keeps cost down. But from two guys who claim to be collectors, sending anything but a small thin CD/DVD case in a bubble mailer is blasphemous to say the least. All the boxes I have got from LRG in the past, have come the same way you described, with some brown paper and not much else. It has been effective, as it's been used to keep the empty spaces less empty, and so long as the trip isn't to harsh, it works.
I can only imagine how many replacement request they are going to get from customers, all to save a few pennies, which they are gonna end up spending and then some(damages, returns, shipping twice, using boxes for returns, etc). Measure twice, cut once, but I guess that's news to LRG. As a fan, seller and buyer, I've seen bubble mailers from all sides, and they don't work, period. Unless the item included is small and very rigid, anything else WILL be damaged(to varying degrees). Maybe that small savings was worth the potential headache, but the loss productivity of now answering emails, reshipping, having to now box, loss inventory, and for what?
These guys should know their base if nothing else, and they would be pissed if they got a collectible in a bubble mailer, so why do it to fans? That seems a complete disconnect to me, but maybe someone in shipping made the call, and Josh & Doug can plead ignorance. That's an excuse that shouldn't be offered, as it's your company, and nothing should happen without your knowledge. So even if it's offered up, I'm not biting, as this kind of shit should never happen, especially in a "limited" retail market.
