THe Krag Rifle Story

[IditarodJoe]

A short while ago I ordered a used copy of Franklin Mallory's book "The Krag Rifle Story" [Hardcover] [2001] through Amazon.com. As advertised,, the book should have 343 pages. The book that I actually received was the second printing (1980) of the 1979 edition with 224 pages. The book is in good shape, but obviously I didn't get what I ordered. The price I paid was typical of what good used copies are currently selling for.

I know that most people will only have one copy, but does anyone here know what the difference is between the 1979 and 2001 editions ... that extra 119 pages sound like a lot. I'm trying to decide whether or not to return the book. Any help would be appreciated.

[Dick Hosmer]

Most of the added pages are serial number tables, but there is some new material too. The paper is better quality so the pictures look better, and the font has been changed to a more "normal" form. Frank did the first book on a shoestring, and it showed in spots. I would definitely recommend the later version.

[Kragrifle]

If you like Krags, keep them both!

[IditarodJoe]

Most of the added pages are serial number tables, but there is some new material too. The paper is better quality so the pictures look better, and the font has been changed to a more "normal" form. Frank did the first book on a shoestring, and it showed in spots. I would definitely recommend the later version.

Thanks for your help, Dick. I've contacted Amazon and requested a return authorization.

[Rick the Librarian]

That's one of the dangers when a book is published in different editions. There are often errors on getting the same one advertised. It's happened to me a few times. The only way to prevent it is email/PM the seller and ask him to be more specific - like copyright, cover, description, etc.

[IditarodJoe]

It's even worse that that, Rick.

All of the major on-line booksellers seem to be using the same ISBN-13 for ALL editions of this book. I've written to three different sellers asking for specifics and all three responses were (almost verbatim):

"Thank you for your inquiry. Unfortunately, our inventory is stored in a warehouse facility in a location separate from our customer support department so we are unable to manually research this item for you. I am not personally familiar with this listing so I am unable to sufficiently answer your question.

"We list our item's conditions according to the market place's guidelines for 'used' books. Your satisfaction is guaranteed, if you should purchase an item from us and the item is not as described as per the listing, we will happily make amends to you. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance to you in any way."

I can see no point in shipping a bunch of books back and forth that I don't want, so I'm giving up for now. <sigh!>