DEAN KOONTZ - THE FACE, copyright 2003, published by Bantam, ADVANCE READING COPY (also commonly referred to as Uncorrected Proof, Advance Reader's Edition, or "ARC"), larger trade pb format with DJ illustrated cover, printed in small quantities several months before the trade hardcover release (book was used by editors/book reviewers in advance of hardcover publication.  NOTE - THIS PROOF WAS (UNUSUALLY) PUBLISHED WITH A CARDBOARD SLIPCASE (THAT IS USUALLY MISSING WHEN THIS PROOF IS FOUND UP FOR SALE).

      Book has no cover creases, no vertical spine creasing, no spine lean, pages that are white with sharp corners,  no creased page corners, some age darkening/foxing to outer page edges (which is quite odd given that those edges have been protected all of this book's life inside the slipcase), nice tight spine, no internal hinge splits, no former owner's markings or used bookstore stamps/stickers inside, no scotch tape marks or other discoloration to endpapers, no wear to spine tips, no edge wear on spine, no dust rubbing to covers, no soiling/staining to covers, no bumped corners, no spine sun darkening.  Slipcase has a bump along bottom edge and some age/sun yellowing at top/right edges to slipcase.

   Overall a FINE-/N-FINE book of a rare advance state (predating the hardcover trade edition) Dean Koontz first printing proof book.  I have a number of other U.S. and U.K. Dean Koontz 1st printing hardcover/paperback/magazine appearances up for auction on ebay - just click on the 'see other items' link to the right of the picture.

      NOTE - MEDIA MAIL ROUTINELY TAKES 3-4 WEEKS (REGARDLESS OF WHAT EBAY MAY SAY - THEY DON'T CONTROL THE POST OFFICE).  For U.S. buyers, both priority mail (3-5 days) and media mail (3-4 weeks) shipping options will be listed in the ebay invoice (or if the book is a paperback or small magazine both 1st class mail (5-7 days) and media mail shipping options will be listed in the ebay invoice) - SIMPLY CLICK ON THE BLUE 'OTHER SHIPPING OPTIONS' LINK IN THE INVOICE TO SEE BOTH SHIPPING OPTIONS/COST.

     DELIVERY CONFIRMATION IS NOT TRACKING (despite what ebay and paypal want to call it - again they don't control the U.S. post office).  Delivery confirmation is merely what it says it is - it confirms delivery to prevent fraudulent chargebacks of claimed unreceived items (which is why I don't charge for delivery confirmation in the shipping costs).  Also, since I print shipping labels from home (as opposed to purchasing shipping at the post office), the delivery confirmation number IS NOT SCANNED BY THE POST OFFICE AT THIS END.  Therefore, in most cases, the first time that the Post Office will show anything when you check the delivery confirmation number is when the package hits your local post office/sorting center (basically the day before its delivered to you).   Occasionally (about 25% of the time) a package will get scanned at the Federal Way, WA transfer station, but in the vast majority of the cases the delivery confirmation won't show anything until basically the day before you get the package.

     I  DO COMBINE SHIPPING COSTS FOR MULTIPLE  ITEMS WON (if you would like estimates of what combined shipping costs might be for a certain group of auctions, please e-mail me before the auctions close but a very rough estimate is $.50-$1.00 per additional book for media mail, $1.00-$2.00 per additional book for priority mail, and $6.00-$7.00 per additional book for international mail). 

       As for returns -All items are used (not new) books and therefore are sold as-is, which is why I try to provide a fairly detailed description of the item itself (i.e. what it is and what it is not) as well its specific condition, noting any significant defects (for collectible items).  Book grades are provided in the posting, however book grading standards/categories very widely from seller to seller, so please do not rely solely on the grade that I have given a book or ebay's provided "condition" box description, without considering the specific condition/defects described for that particular book.  I do, on occasion, miss a significant defect in an item or simply make a cut/paste error in the description (i.e. an error in the description from using a prior posting as the "shell" for this book's description), and for collectible items, if that happens, on a case-by-case basis I do issue a full refund (including the cost of return shipping) depending upon the collectible significance of the undisclosed defect.