[RPG] Without opening the PHB, is there a way to know if it’s a particular printing

booksdnd-5e

Related: How do I know which printing of the PHB I have?

There's finally a PHB in-stock in our FLGS, I want to buy it but I read the above question and learned that there's a second printing with corrections of the first printing. Ideally, I'd like to grab a copy of the second more updated (and apparently, more durable, as I've read here but can't find the source) copy.

Problem is, I can't remove the PHB from its plastic wrap so I can't look at the credits as suggested in the answers to the above.

Is there a way to tell the printing of the PHB without opening it?

Best Answer

Ask the FLGS owner about his return policy. Tell him you're specifically interested in getting the most recent printing of this book, but you're concerned that the only way to tell for sure is to open it up.

He MAY be willing to pull off the shrink wrap off and help you check, or he may have one from the same delivery batch that's already open. At the very least, he MAY be willing to take it back subject to store return policies.

If this FLGS is the kind of store that has tables and people hanging out, you could also ask around if any of the regulars had purchased a PHB from this recent delivery batch, and if so could you take a look to see what revision it is.

This is not a guaranteed solution, of course, but at least in my experience the FLGSes I've done business with have generally been understanding of us geeks and our attention to detail. If nothing else, you can ascertain how fully screwed you'd be if you bought it and it wasn't what you wanted.