I've never had my DR800 drop out. I don't know what "bending" they were doing. I would guess they were not just bending the cover back, but actually "bowing" the spine. That might make the pin system pull away from the device. I can't see anybody bending it in that way during normal use though.
Whether you think it's ugly or not is subjective. I don't think it is, but some people seem to. I don't see any issues with the build quality.
For me, the most important thing is how much it protects the screen. eInk screens are really expensive to replace if they get broken. The leather cover has MUCH better protection than any of the other "official" options right now.