Toys2 and Busted Batman

UPDATED - Situation resolved. Eric (the owner) is definitely the man to talk to with any customer service issues. Prompt reply and so far a stand-up guy. As of now, my experience is beginning to mirror the positive feedback Toys2 has received on these forums.


So it turns out my first experience with Toys2.net may end up being a sour experience.

I was posing my HT Batman tonight (nothing extreme), and I felt a sag in the leg. Turns out that the lower calf had snapped off inside the suit. There wasn't even a sound indicating a break!! Clearly, it was weak base body (i.e. - defective). I haven't even had it a week and even less time to even pose it!!!

I called Toy Square about 20 minutes ago and discovered they have no kind of return/exchange policy for such occurrances. Eventually, I point blank asked "So I pretty much have a busted $150 toy?" and the response was "Yes"

They did request that I e-mail pictures to them, and they'll "see if they can fix it or help me", but I'm not holding my breath.

Has anyone encountered this problem with exchanging a defective product with Toys2.net??

In my e-mail, I did say that if they cannot stand behind their products, then I'd like to cancel my TDK Costume and Batpod orders without any cancellation charges.

And in case anyone is wondering, I stayed cordial and professional the whole time. I didn't go off on them like some others would.

For your viewing pleasure, here are the pictures I sent them.

Nope when my SR figure had a ripped collar i sent it back and they refunded me.(you shoulda just said it came that way)

That really sucks. They should at least exchange your Batman for you. That is just poor customer service then.

This is a unique situation. My Rambo 3 wrist pin broke the first day I had him. I contacted Toys2, they gave me tips on how to remove the peg stuck inside the forearm as well as contacted HT and acquired a new wrist joint for me at no charge.

I'm sure you were cordial, but going after them of sorts with the whole cancel other orders and looking for them to not hold cancellation fees against you may not smooth things over.

wow, that sucks. ive order for the 2nd wave from them. Hope that doesnt happen to mine. however you would think that would of happened before or during being placed in the box and since they come from Asia already in the box i dont see how it would be toys2 fault anyway.

Krayt Dragon said:

Nope when my SR figure had a ripped collar i sent it back and they refunded me.(you shoulda just said it came that way)

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That really is the best advice. And in this case, it is probably the truth.

That sucks and a lot of company's have the no refund/no exchange policy because the "mint in box" condition is important, not to me but other collectors. I had a hard time of this when I recieved a damaged product and I just asked to speak to the sales manager (most of these companies are pretty small). I explained that the product arrived broken and that I am a reputable buyer and avid collector who just wants a fair exchange.
They offered to try to repair the item, then they tried to contact SSC and HT for replacement parts before finally replacing the product altogether.
It takes a lot of follow through but you should make them back up their products.

MaulFan said:

I'm sure you were cordial, but going after them of sorts with the whole cancel other orders and looking for them to not hold cancellation fees against you may not smooth things over.

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It really wasn't "going after them" though. I made very sure not to rant and rave about it. But with the kind of money these things cost, I won't want to order from a store that isn't going to do what they can to replace defects. Maybe I've been spoiled by Sideshow's customer service.

As for the request to waive the cancellation fees, I don't feel it's inappropriate. First, they shouldn't have any difficulty selling the pieces allocated to me to someone else. Second, it's not like I simply changed my mind on buying the items. If they won't waive the fees, I'll keep the orders and put them up for sale on the Commerce section when time comes, and hopefully a fellow SSC Freak will enjoy them. And I only want those orders cancelled if they won't try to help get this resolved with Hot Toys.

And to be perfectly frank here, I'm interested in getting a defect fixed...not smoothing their feathers or ego. I kept it cool, professional, and respectful. But I'm not going to kiss butt to get customer service. Again, that's just being blunt here because I'm among digital friends. I certainly didn't phrase it that way.

This is just very frustrating. It really makes me think twice about buying out of country and buying specialized Hot Toys figures. Getting burned your first time out can do that to you.

preeny101 said:

They offered to try to repair the item, then they tried to contact SSC and HT for replacement parts before finally replacing the product altogether.
It takes a lot of follow through but you should make them back up their products.

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They did mention fixing it, and that's why they wanted the pictures. I'm willing to play ball for now and see what they can do. If it takes time for them to get parts and such, that's understandable. But I'm not entirely hopeful simply because they affirmed that I just may have to deal with it.

I'd just replace the body, but I don't know how to get the suit off. I know there's a way because sellers on eBay have parted out the figure. But I think I'd end up doing more damage.

The only upside is that the suit is so form fitting that it can keep the pieces semi-in place. If I leave the figure in a neutral pose on the stand, you can't tell it's busted.

LOSTaddict815 said:

wow, that sucks. ive order for the 2nd wave from them. Hope that doesnt happen to mine. however you would think that would of happened before or during being placed in the box and since they come from Asia already in the box i dont see how it would be toys2 fault anyway.

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I don't think it's their fault at all. I'm sure it's the result of an extremely weak spot on the body. Honestly, I would expect Hot Toys to supply them with a replacement. I guess things work differently outside the US??

Sith Lord 0498 said:

It really wasn't "going after them" though. I made very sure not to rant and rave about it. But with the kind of money these things cost, I won't want to order from a store that isn't going to do what they can to replace defects. Maybe I've been spoiled by Sideshow's customer service.

As for the request to waive the cancellation fees, I don't feel it's inappropriate. First, they shouldn't have any difficult selling the pieces allocated to me to someone else. Second, it's not like I simply changed my mind on buying the items. If they won't waive the fees, I'll keep the orders and put them up for sale on the Commerce section when time comes, and hopefully a fellow SSC Freak will enjoy them.

And to be perfectly frank here, I'm interested in getting a defect fixed...not smoothing their feathers or ego. I kept it cool, professional, and respectful. But I'm not going to kiss butt to get customer service. Again, that's just being blunt here because I'm among digital friends. I certainly didn't phrase it that way.

This is just very frustrating. It really makes me think twice about buying out of country and buying specialized Hot Toys figures. Getting burned your first time out can do that to you.




They did mention fixing it, and that's why they wanted the pictures. I'm willing to play ball for now and see what they can do. If it takes time for them to get parts and such, that's understandable. But I'm not entirely hopeful simply because they affirmed that I just may have to deal with it.

I'd just replace the body, but I don't know how to get the suit off. I know there's a way because sellers on eBay have parted out the figure. But I think I'd end up doing more damage.

The only upside is that the suit is so form fitting that it can keep the pieces semi-in place. If I leave the figure in a neutral pose on the stand, you can't tell it's busted.

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Yeah but you shouldn't have to settle for that. If nothing else, egay probably has the broken parts for sale for kit bashers. It may be worth a try...

Oh wow this sucks man, believe me I feel for you! I had a loose boot and had to force the damn thing to fit the peg in, i'm sure a little harder and we'd both be telling the same story.

It sucks that sometimes honesty gets you nowhere, I too would have just said it came that way. I'm still surprised that Toys2 would have responded this way, did you get the chance to speak to Eric?

Voorhees27 said:

Oh wow this sucks man, believe me I feel for you! I had a loose boot and had to force the damn thing to fit the peg in, i'm sure a little harder and we'd both be telling the same story.

It sucks that sometimes honesty gets you nowhere, I too would have just said it came that way. I'm still surprised that Toys2 would have responded this way, did you get the chance to speak to Eric?

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No, it was some woman who sounds like she has an Asian accent. Does that mean anything to anyone??

And I had the loose boot too, but I didn't have to force it back in place. I'm actually looking at the pics from the photo shoot I was doing, and I wasn't even moving that leg. I was moving the opposite leg. And I know it had to have broken at some point during the 10 minute shoot because suddenly it started getting wobbly. I didn't think anything of it. I just thought the balance was off. I didn't notice until I went to move that leg, and I felt the loose piece inside the suit.

And I did consider saying it was broken out of the box. But I've had it a week and taken pics of it. I don't know if their employees visit this board. I wasn't going to risk getting caught lying. And I couldn't have done it in good conscience. Had I known what my honesty was going to cost me, maybe I would've done things differently.

preeny101 said:

Yeah but you shouldn't have to settle for that. If nothing else, egay probably has the broken parts for sale for kit bashers. It may be worth a try...

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Problem is that I don't know how to swap out parts like that. I'd rather settle for what it is now that risk doing something worse. If I'm stuck with it, then I'd prefer to keep it as intact as possible.

Sith Lord 0498 said:

It really wasn't "going after them" though. I made very sure not to rant and rave about it. But with the kind of money these things cost, I won't want to order from a store that isn't going to do what they can to replace defects. Maybe I've been spoiled by Sideshow's customer service.

As for the request to waive the cancellation fees, I don't feel it's inappropriate. First, they shouldn't have any difficulty selling the pieces allocated to me to someone else. Second, it's not like I simply changed my mind on buying the items. If they won't waive the fees, I'll keep the orders and put them up for sale on the Commerce section when time comes, and hopefully a fellow SSC Freak will enjoy them. And I only want those orders cancelled if they won't try to help get this resolved with Hot Toys.

And to be perfectly frank here, I'm interested in getting a defect fixed...not smoothing their feathers or ego. I kept it cool, professional, and respectful. But I'm not going to kiss butt to get customer service. Again, that's just being blunt here because I'm among digital friends. I certainly didn't phrase it that way.

This is just very frustrating. It really makes me think twice about buying out of country and buying specialized Hot Toys figures. Getting burned your first time out can do that to you.

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I understand where you're coming from in not wanting to keep the orders, it's just a matter of how you're general outlook may come off to them. If you break out the, summed up, "fix it or I'm walking" card on the first communication, it might give them the impression you're already poised to walk away. They've got wait lists for these figures, it may not matter to them if you walk, stinks to think that, but it could be, and if you're really hoping to get help, best bet is to present that you want things to work out with them, you don't want to walk away, you just want to get quality products and have the safety net of good CS if something goes wrong.

Sith Lord 0498 said:

Problem is that I don't know how to swap out parts like that. I'd rather settle for what it is now that risk doing something worse. If I'm stuck with it, then I'd prefer to keep it as intact as possible.

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Well either way, good luck, dude. I hope you get that situation taken care of.

MaulFan said:

I understand where you're coming from in not wanting to keep the orders, it's just a matter of how you're general outlook may come off to them. If you break out the, summed up, "fix it or I'm walking" card on the first communication, it might give them the impression you're already poised to walk away. They've got wait lists for these figures, it may not matter to them if you walk, stinks to think that, but it could be, and if you're really hoping to get help, best bet is to present that you want things to work out with them, you don't want to walk away, you just want to get quality products and have the safety net of good CS if something goes wrong.

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Well, what's done is done I suppose. Bear in mind that my e-mail came AFTER I spoke to them one-on-one via phone. My e-mail statements are a direct result of the CS I received on the phone. I'm not trying play any cards here. I'm just expressing my view on this. I'm willing to stay a customer if they stand behind the products they sell. If they don't want to, I'd like to walk away amicably. If they want to charge me fees on top of it, so be it, but I'll never be able to recommend them to anyone who asks. If they help, then I'd wholeheartedly recommend them.

I actually just sent them a follow-up e-mail. I have a Truetype body arriving from them tomorrow to replace the Joker's body because a friend of mine was careless and snapped the wrist peg. It occurred to me that they may remember that and think I'm being shady, so I pointed out that I did pay to fix that problem myself. I hope that will assure them that I'm not trying to scam them and that this is a genuine defect. Them thinking I'm trying to pull something over on them is the only reason I could see for them not wanting to help replace Batman.

But I respect your candor, Sean.

This whole thing just sucks because I did my best to keep these two figures on order despite my wife and I being in a rough financial patch. And all I've seemed to have gotten out of it are problems. I'm starting to wonder just how good HT quality is. For all its limitations, I've never had a Buck break on me.

This frightens me. I guess I won't be doing many poses with the BB.

Well I hope I don't sound like a ^^^^ or anything, really just trying to help you get the best resolution you can from this.

Just keep on top of it with them and be patient and I'm confident you'll end up with some sort of positive resolution. I held out for Toys2 to get these figures because of my positive experience with them in the past, I thought I was ^^^^ed with Rambo 3 because it was after SSC and half the planet was sold out when T2 got their shipments in and I figured no replacement and they took care of me. Definitely be sure to talk with Eric if you don't hear from him anyway, he's the one that hooks me up.

scubasteve said:

This frightens me. I guess I won't be doing many poses with the BB.

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You shouldn't have to worry, I have been posing my Batman like crazy and the body is as solid as can be.

I think Sith just got unlucky and received a defective body.

NightCreeper said:

You shouldn't have to worry, I have been posing my Batman like crazy and the body is as solid as can be.

I think Sith just got unlucky and received a defective body.

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It happens. (I'm looking at you, 1/6 hobbits)

scubasteve said:

This frightens me. I guess I won't be doing many poses with the BB.

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Check out my pics in the Photo thread. You'll see that the leg remained straight during the shoot when the break seems to have happened. I truly believe it was just a very weak point in the plastic that cracked during regular movement of the leg, and it finally gave out and broke. I'm telling ya...I never even heard a snap, and it was quiet in the room. It just fell away.

So if it's going to happen to yours, I don't think there's much you can do to stop it. Weak plastic will give out eventually. All you may be able to do is delay it.

NightCreeper hit the nail on the head though. Just unlucky here...