A 54-piece mini puzzle of two walruses

It's made of the sort of cardboard that is more like paper, and even new right out of the box it curls up at the edges, making the puzzle difficult and frustrating to fit together.  I feel invited to sit down and assemble it right away, see if all the pieces are there.  Would someone put a puzzle out without all the pieces?  Sure.  They'd think, Well, it's still fun to put together.  Who cares if part of one walruses tusk is missing?  Actually, I am this sort of person (though I am not the previous owner of this puzzle).  G---- is not this sort of person.  We've rented vacation houses that always seem to feature 500-piece puzzles, and when it becomes clear that some of the pieces are missing, this is a very difficult thing for G----.  I'm not sure which way is better: to hold to the original promise of an item, or to be content that you assembled all 498 pieces and so what if the Statue of Liberty's face is missing?