The Cover Came Off My Catalogue

So, I ordered a Stanley Gibbons Concise Catalogue in paperback, and when it showed up, the cover was not attached.
No tearing or evidence that it was misused. The glue that is supposed to hold the cover to the book is nice and clean and shiny. Like it cooled or set before they applied the cover. I can't even tell where the glue touched the cover.
Do I;
1. hit it with an iron and try to melt the glue.
2. use Gorilla glue and apply weight
3. try to use hot glue

New book from printer/dealer- Take a picture and inform the seller that the item arrived in that cndition. They may be able to do something for you.

Edit- if they wont do anything see your local printing shop, they would have the proper adhesive to reaffix the cover if they do bookbinding.

Polyvinyl acetate is apparently what is used- it's that opaque white glue used by woodworkers that dries clear. Also sold by office supply shops as paper glue.

There's a double-sided tape used for attaching vinyl flooring- that's probably strong enough.

Purchased through Abebooks.
I have Titebond II wood glue.
Should I glue the entire spine?
Or, just where the existing glue appears to be.

I would not pay for a brand-new book and accept it in this condition. It would get returned and/or replaced. If the retailer gave me a hard time, I would do a chargeback if paid with credit card. If you try to fix it yourself and it does not succeed you gave up your shot at replacement and are stuck with a damaged book to boot.

What year is the catalogue? Is the catalogue 2021-ish?

I'd ask the seller if they have another. If not, I'd ask them what they think a good resolution might be.

If you have any interest in having it as a PDF, before asking a print shop to attach the cover, you could ask if they can slice off the binding and you could scan the pages. Then they could bind it back up for you.

It sounds as if this wasn't a "new" copy. Personally, I'd negotiate a part-refund from the seller, then repair it myself with glue and sellotape (you may call it "Scotch tape"). The days of proper sewn bindings are long gone, in the UK at least.

I see an add for a spring 2021 list. BB Stamps, would not advertise an ancient listing. That suggests you received the 2021 Concise, as these appear around May.

Since it is 2026, I would not be surprised if this is a second-hand item.

I used to sell various antique reference books, (500+different titles). Every once in a while I would get books that had missing sections of pages and a few times they were bound upside down, as well as loose bindings. These were done at the printers and not from the book vendors I dealt with. There was no way the could examine every book that went out of their warehouses. They always replaced the books in question and did not want them back. Told me to keep them or give them away. You could see what the vendor you got yours from would do. If they are reputable they should do something. Good Luck....

I'd save myself all the hassle some people are suggesting undertaking here by doing the following:

First I'd try heating up the line of existing glue with a hair dryer to see if it tacked up nice and sticky or not. If it does, try pressing the cover down on it and load it up with heavy books over night. See if that works.

If that old line of glue does not get sticky, take a razor blade or sharp knife and scrape off as much as you can to try to flatten out that area. I have a bladed tool designed for book repairs that I'd use, but any sharp razor-like device would work if you're careful not to cut the pages. Work slowly.

With most of that line of old glue removed, I'd look online for book glue to see what's recommended, but myself I'd probably run a line of of either rubber cement or Elmer's white glue where the existing line of glue was. Let it tack up for a minute or two, then press the cover down on top of it, making sure it's squared up with the rest of the book, add the weights, and wait overnight. It should work.

This should take no time and save you all the other hassle. Glue often dries out on book bindings like this. It's not unusual.

The seller gave me 28% back.
I grabbed a regular iron, some parchment paper and ironed it.
It's fixed.