Are Forbidden Planet(.com)'s No deposit Pre-orders losing their sparkle?

[Collectorcol]

Re: Are Forbidden Planet(.com)'s No deposit Pre-orders loosing their sparkle?

Keep on slagging me off Col, as long as it makes you feel better I don't mind. Every time I try and help someone out you turn up to have a pop at me. I've told the guy how it works and after all that he comes back and says that I appear to be very wrong. And I'm the argumentative one?

I have a pop at you every time you try and help someone? I have encountered you on the Mothers Basement thread where you schooled me in the art of advertising and accused me of arguing for the sake of it. I've also seen you on the 'Show Your Shelves' thread.
Beyond that I've never interacted with you on this board so please don't accuse me of something I clearly haven't done.

As for your other accusation I simply pointed out that you seem to value your own opinion over everyone elses.
Hardy a 'slagging off'.

 

[Taibhse]

Re: Are Forbidden Planet(.com)'s No deposit Pre-orders loosing their sparkle?

Picked up my Sideshow Clone Trooper Deluxe:501st figure today!.. Awesomeness!

.. ordered direct from Sideshow 4th April (after cancelling my old FP Pre-Order).. first attempted delivery by courier 8th April.. Door to door, USA to UK in 4 days (two of which were a weekend).. now that is what I call Customer Service.. Forbidden Planet(.com) please take note.

 

[The-Dark-Knight]

Re: Are Forbidden Planet(.com)'s No deposit Pre-orders loosing their sparkle?

Picked up my Sideshow Clone Trooper Deluxe:501st figure today!.. Awesomeness!

.. ordered direct from Sideshow 4th April (after cancelling my old FP Pre-Order).. first attempted delivery by courier 8th April.. Door to door, USA to UK in 4 days (two of which were a weekend).. now that is what I call Customer Service.. Forbidden Planet(.com) please take note.

How much was customs though?

 

[Taibhse]

Re: Are Forbidden Planet(.com)'s No deposit Pre-orders loosing their sparkle?

How much was customs though?

Waiting for the bill.. FedEx send it separately by mail.. I will post the costings for the figure here, when I receive that invoice.

 

[Collectorcol]

Re: Are Forbidden Planet(.com)'s No deposit Pre-orders loosing their sparkle?

How much was customs though?

Item price plus shipping, convert to pounds, add 20% then add £10-15 handling fee.
Why we pay V.A.T on shipping is beyond me.

 

[Taibhse]

Re: Are Forbidden Planet(.com)'s No deposit Pre-orders loosing their sparkle?

Item price plus shipping, convert to pounds, add 20% then add £10-15 handling fee.
Why we pay V.A.T on shipping is beyond me.

To be fair, the VAT on International shipping (although extremely annoying) is in all probability, there to plug what would otherwise be a tax loophole.. allowing 'astute' individuals .. and corporations.. to list the entire value of the transaction under 'shipping'.

I am expecting the total to be £144.60.. against Forbidden Planet(.com)'s price of £135.49 inc shipping.. but FP have no stock and dubious claims of a further delivery, have not turned into a re-opening of Pre-orders on FP's website, in the way it did with War Machine Mark 2.
I will know for sure, when the FedEx invoice arrives in the mail.

 

[Collectorcol]

Re: Are Forbidden Planet(.com)'s No deposit Pre-orders loosing their sparkle?

To be fair, the VAT on International shipping (although extremely annoying) is in all probability, there to plug what would otherwise be a tax loophole.. allowing 'astute' individuals .. and corporations.. to list the entire value of the transaction under 'shipping'.

The same reason eBay now charge 10% on postage as well as final valuation.

 

[Taibhse]

Re: Are Forbidden Planet(.com)'s No deposit Pre-orders loosing their sparkle?

The same reason eBay now charge 10% on postage as well as final valuation.

 

[Taibhse]

Re: Are Forbidden Planet(.com)'s No deposit Pre-orders loosing their sparkle?

I have had a bit more of a think about Captain Hindsight's defense of the commercial status quo.. and I believe I may have identified a commercial solution, to accommodate both an enterprising UK dealer and those customers with a requirement for heightened customer service.

The Master Futzing Club!




(dealer may prefer 'Platinum' Club .. 'Gold Card' Club.. or similar aspirational labeling)

Annual membership fee for the dealer's Master Futzing Club, entitles customers to -

1. 'Free' Shipping.
2. 'Collectors' grade pre-shipping product check.
3. Guaranteed Pre-order fulfillment, in the event of the dealer's Distributor short shipping.
4. Marvel / DC / Lolcat themed email at Xmas and Birthday.. plus 'Anniversary with Significant Other' reminder alert transmitted direct to mobile communication device of choice, at 9am.. again at 1pm.. finally at 5pm on weekdays and at 7am.. 7.30 am.. and 8am until physically cancelled, on weekends (optional).


.. just brainstorming.

 

[Y4NK33 PL4N3T]

Fee up front?

Kidding aside, the only way I'd consider that personally is if an already well established & reliable collectibles company offered it.

Even then, I'm prone to shop elsewhere b/c there's no guarantee I'll be purchasing product in that year so why pay for the membership.

What about NRD's?

I know you're spit balling but there's a devil's advocate point of view for you.

 

[Taibhse]

Fee up front?

Kidding aside, the only way I'd consider that personally is if an already well established & reliable collectibles company offered it.

Even then, I'm prone to shop elsewhere b/c there's no guarantee I'll be purchasing product in that year so why pay for the membership.

What about NRD's?

I know you're spit balling but there's a devil's advocate point of view for you.

Ya tightwad!

Agreed, this sort of service would be more attractive when offered by a relatively large dealer, with an established track record.

I based the idea loosely around a range of existing schemes, like the Amazon Prime service.. BBTS' 'Collectors Grade' pre-shipping check for a fee.. quite a few suppliers offer a discount / reward scheme of some description, eg. Sideshow.. and annual membership clubs, eg. ThreeA or La Cité des Nuages.

The Master Futzing Club was designed to make NRD's unnecessary for membership holders.. since the dealer is generating a revenue stream regardless of the individual products pre-ordered by a club member (the annual membership fee would be non-refundable).. the idea was to create a group of benefits that generated customer loyalty, without requiring an NRD on individual products.. although there might still be a requirement from the dealer for an NRD, above a certain price threshold for premium collectibles.

I take your point that if someone only collects one or two, very high value items each year, this service would probably be less cost effective (although the free shipping might still be attractive, depending on the membership fee).
It is aimed more at the sort of collector who has quite a broad taste in collectibles, from less expensive up to premium.. and who typically will order quite a few collectibles over the twelve months of membership (the Club benefits would apply at the time of order, to take into account delays in product releases) ..since this makes the Club membership benefits much more attractive for both the collector and the dealer.

 

[Taibhse]

OK, got my FedEx customs bill today.. so, the costings for buying direct from Sideshow, after Forbidden Planet(.com)'s heinous failure to honour my Pre-order for a Star Wars Clone Trooper Deluxe: 501s figure, were as follows -

Forbidden Planet(.com) £135.49 incl shipping.. except Sold Out
Sideshow Collectibles £139.50 incl shipping and customs duties (£111.92 + £27.58).

I may have paid an extra £4.01 but at least I have received the figure I wanted (in 4 days from USA to UK).. FP pull your socks up!
UK buyers will experience fluctuating exchange rates, your mileage may vary.

 

[Taibhse]

Re: Are Forbidden Planet(.com)'s No deposit Pre-orders loosing their sparkle?

..interestingly, Forbidden Planet(.com) have now changed the Status on War Machine Mark 2 back to Pre-Order!.. with a date for stock of 15th May.. so I have decided to give them a chance to redeem themselves.

UPDATE -

Just discovered that Forbidden Planet have moved their post-Selling Out, Pre-order ETA date, from 15th May to 30th June.. I am starting to have a very bad feeling about this...


This Hot Toys War Machine Mark 2 is still my benchmark.. if FP(.com) fail to deliver again, after resurrecting the Pre-order, its going to cost them all my existing and future Pre-orders.
I'm not going to waste my time gambling on pre-orders from FP, if I have no guarantee they will honour those orders (I do not give a rat's posterior what the logistics are with Amerang as UK distributor.. because that is not my problem).. I will simply order direct from Sideshow.

 

[DeadbeatPad]

Re: Are Forbidden Planet(.com)'s No deposit Pre-orders loosing their sparkle?

Not all figure or pre-order related, but I've also felt disappointed/mislead by ForbiddenPlanet.com on a couple of orders.

One was with my HT Nicholson Joker a little while back, which they received and shipped so late compared to the dates other UK vendors sent theirs out that I could have just walked into my local comic shop, bought it for the same price and had it home a full 2 weeks before FP sent my supposed "PRE-order" to me. As a side note and by contrast, my Bane from Modelzone arrived right around expected time. "Hooray, new reliable vendor of choice!", I thought. Then they went bankrupt. I then moved on to Mother's Basement who got me a Loki in great time before going bankrupt as well. Hopefully I won't take my curse with me to ToyHQ (who get a little delayed with shipping sometimes, but are at least easily contactable and polite about it).

Returning to FP, though - recently they let me place an order for the Roger Stern Spider-Man Omnibus with DM variant cover. I went through the entire process with all indications suggesting the item would be with me by the end of the week. Two weeks later I check my account and discover I apparently placed an order on an item that they had no stock for. Sure, I've not been charged, but there was zero warning on the item page or during my order that this was the case. It wasted my time and now that print of the Omnibus is sold out everywhere and I can't find one. Not a happy camper and it's really put me off trusting them.

 

[Taibhse]

Re: Are Forbidden Planet(.com)'s No deposit Pre-orders loosing their sparkle?

Agreed.. its a great shame because I like quite a lot of what FP(.com) do and they have been around a long time.. but I have wised up to the fact that Pre-orders on Hot Toys and Sideshow figures, while not requiring a deposit, carry a risk that the UK distributor Amerang will short ship FP, who will then short ship their customer base.
Basically its a business model that says its better to have disappointed customers than shelf-warming stock.. that obviously works for FP but it doesn't endear them to customers.

I'm in the process of working through my Pre-orders, to decide what stays in place until I have an alternative.. either direct Pre-order with Sideshow or (if the Pre-order is closed) then when its released in the US. I have lost faith in the rolling postponement of 'Second Shipment' dates from FP.. I simply don't believe those figures, after the first 'Sold Out' phase, are ever doing to materialise.
Problem is that also means I don't see the point in gambling on Amerang's logistics as UK distributor to FP in the first place.. when I can Pre-order and receive the figure much earlier from Sideshow and earn discounts as well.

 

[Taibhse]

Re: Are Forbidden Planet(.com)'s No deposit Pre-orders loosing their sparkle?

FP(.com) have now officially lost my repeatedly, 'postponed' Pre-order for a Hot Toys War Machine Mark 2.. got lucky on eBay and paid slightly less than retail.


I'm going to keep a running total of FP's lost sales by not fulfilling my Sideshow and Hot Toys Pre-orders -
Sideshow Clone Trooper Deluxe: 501st - £129.99
Hot Toys War Machine Mark 2 - £225.99

Total (so far) - £355.98 / $599

 

[Taibhse]

Re: Are Forbidden Planet(.com)'s No deposit Pre-orders loosing their sparkle?

FP(.com) have now officially lost my repeatedly, 'postponed' Pre-order for a Hot Toys War Machine Mark 2.. got lucky on eBay and paid slightly less than retail.


I'm going to keep a running total of FP's lost sales by not fulfilling my Sideshow and Hot Toys Pre-orders -
Sideshow Clone Trooper Deluxe: 501st - £129.99
Hot Toys War Machine Mark 2 - £225.99

Total (so far) - £355.98 / $599

FP(.com) are at it again.


Running total of FP's lost sales by not fulfilling my Sideshow and Hot Toys Pre-orders -
Sideshow Clone Trooper Deluxe: 501st - £129.99
Hot Toys War Machine Mark 2 - £225.99
Sideshow Wolfpack Clone Trooper, 104th Battalion - £119.99

Total (so far) - £475.97 / $779

 

[a-dev]

How does this happen. Never before had I heard of this Schroedinger's cat thing until my brother used it as an analogy for something last night. And today I find it here.

 

[Taibhse]

How does this happen. Never before had I heard of this Schroedinger's cat thing until my brother used it as an analogy for something last night. And today I find it here.

Quantum Mechanics.. and the Chaos Butterfly.. it's awesome.

 

[Taibhse]

Re: Are Forbidden Planet(.com)'s No deposit Pre-orders loosing their sparkle?

FP(.com) are at it again.


Running total of FP's lost sales by not fulfilling my Sideshow and Hot Toys Pre-orders -
Sideshow Clone Trooper Deluxe: 501st - £129.99
Hot Toys War Machine Mark 2 - £225.99
Sideshow Wolfpack Clone Trooper, 104th Battalion - £119.99

Total (so far) - £475.97 / $779

Slightly boggles the mind, a year after my Pre-order, and only a coupe of weeks after failing to supply my Wolfpack Clone Trooper, FP have boarded the Failboat for another trip round the harbor..Hot Toys Starboost has moved to sold-out on the FP(.com) website.. yet my PO is still listed as 'processing' by FP (fortunately I have had a waitlist conversion direct from Sideshow) -

Running total of FP's lost sales by not fulfilling my Sideshow and Hot Toys Pre-orders -
Sideshow Clone Trooper Deluxe: 501st - £129.99
Hot Toys War Machine Mark 2 - £225.99
Sideshow Wolfpack Clone Trooper, 104th Battalion - £119.99
Hot Toys Starboost - £219.99

Total (so far) - £695.96 / $1,047.94[/QUOTE]