Statue ARH Conan W/Slave Girl and 8FT Snake

[Hemooo]

I bought direct from ARH. If you bought it through Sideshow and there's an issue, contact Sideshow about a replacement.

just what i thought, they lied to me again, even if you bought it from ARH direct u will have to cover the shipping. What really irritate me that they are shamelessly brag about their customer service everywhere.
As I said in my OP, Sideshow don't have any replacement, either full or partial refund. & ARH told me they support all their products even if it's from Sideshow.

 

[yeek]

Yeah I bought my Ares from SS. SS had no replacements for my broken head and would only offer me $30 credit towards a future purchase.

 

[mutant-man]

Look, I think the best thing would be to email Alex, explain everything clearly, and ask for a solution. He's not an unreasonable person, and certainly all the negativity here isn't going to fix your problem. You're in a tough spot, but just be patient and persistent.

 

[mutant-man]

Yeah I bought my Ares from SS. SS had no replacements for my broken head and would only offer me $30 credit towards a future purchase.

Well, that $30 will more than cover the shipping you had to pay to send the head to ARH. Unfortunate as it is, it's not altogether too bad of a situation.

 

[Hemooo]

Look, I think the best thing would be to email Alex, explain everything clearly, and ask for a solution. He's not an unreasonable person, and certainly all the negativity here isn't going to fix your problem. You're in a tough spot, but just be patient and persistent.

most of the communication was through Alex, I'm not expecting much anymore and only post here to share my experience and warn collectors of what they might have to deal with,,, or we only suppose to post positive stuff?

 

[Orko'sRevenge]

Yes... all my communication has been through Alex/Payman Aflatooni/Averone. I bought direct from ARH as well. Im shipping it back for repairs, bad paint app areas and blemishes. And have to pay shipping out of my own pocket. I like this piece a lot, so I dont plan on returning it. But it would have been much more convenient getting sent replacements rather than me having to ship it back and pay my own money. What company doesnt produce an alotment of replacements, knowing full well, there will be some pieces damaged?

 

[averone]

are all of you guys who payed for the return/fix shipping bought it originally from Sideshow?
they are telling me I have to pay for the shipping because I bought it from Sideshow, not sure to believe them or this is just another "excuse"!

Hello Hemoo
Let me try to explain this a bit.
Sideshow buys our products and they take a big chunk of money for profits as they do and should for selling our products world wide. They also use their shipping so when there is an issue they get the shipping taken care of on their end and I assume some sort of refund is made to them for asking and showing pics of the damaged item. Hence they pics you send them to show the issues.
Now they buy extras for replacements as in this case extra few sculpts to part out etc, and if they dont then its not entirely ARH Studios fault is it?

Secondly, it would make no sense that we pay shipping when our product was not purchased from us for reasons explained above. This would mean we have to dip in our pockets and even further into any little profits we had gained from SSC distribution. We are after all here to make a little something so we can make more great sculpts for you guys in the future.
What we do offer as support is our valuable time and expertise to fix the issue - or replace it with our own parts in house for those who need help. This is no charge to you and we even do this years later if need be in case our customers need help. Now this is something new isn't it
Just today I got a guy here PM ing me that he needed his Medusa top touched up and he got it from someone else. I told him yes as long as he sends it secure and pays shipping we will fix it form him at no charge.

For those who buy internationally and from us direct yes there is a charge as it would be too outrageous of a fee to go pay for the shipping back and forth and most of these issues are not our fault as the carrier USPS/Fedex goes hand in hand from country to country to get to you, after all this they go through customs and things happen. Some of these statues cost more than $150 to ship outside of USA, its best we take only the parts necessary back and have them repaired. I can also ask factory to send any parts but it takes time and again we can't cover the Express shipping they offer. I really would not ship any other way outside of China as it take months and is prone to damage along the way by boat.

So as a company we do things differently but not badly or sub par in any way.
Look at it this way, the ES of Conan EX is 70, once fixed very likely be valued much higher once taken care of.
I am not saying we will not take care of the issues, and I have been working with people to issue credit for next purchases etc. However, sometime the questions that come in are for just small touch ups and things that the individual tends to dislike because they are not used to having dirt or grime on their statues as it was intended. What we do is try to accommodate and make people happy but we also expect a bit of understanding.

Just to make sure I am not saying you are the mentioned above folks and you have every right to be mad if the statue arrives damaged. I like to see if we can work this out for you some way, but please understand if you want to own this statue we have to work together to make it work.

 

[averone]

Yes... all my communication has been through Alex/Payman Aflatooni/Averone. I bought direct from ARH as well. Im shipping it back for repairs, bad paint app areas and blemishes. And have to pay shipping out of my own pocket. I like this piece a lot, so I dont plan on returning it. But it would have been much more convenient getting sent replacements rather than me having to ship it back and pay my own money. What company doesnt produce an alotment of replacements, knowing full well, there will be some pieces damaged?

We did have replacements, now mostly out of them, and as I said I can order them from China. But you have to understand some of the parts do not match or line up proper, this then will become a major headache. This is a big reason Sideshow tells you to get the hammer out. Its just not worth the time. And now these days I hear there are no replacements even from SSC once your out you out. For ARH Studios we like to keep the production number low so as to add value for you as a collector.

I am working with factory to have more replacement parts but with such a huge dio it was really hard to predict what would arrive broken. I am at fault in that I didnt order the right parts to be replaced, yet it is almost next to impossible to try to predict what part is more prone to brake in transit. I am pleased that less than %5 are damaged and there are plenty of guys who are happy about this order.

There are 2 Alex's btw who work for ARH Studios Inc. and sometimes this even gets more confusing as we have Alex P who does our sculpts (He did Medusa, Ares and more)

 

[averone]

 

[averone]

One more nice info that I like to share with you. We are almost completely sold out of this entire dio!
Yes we still have some Conan left but less then expected, and then once gone they are gone for good. We will not be reproducing these.

So if you missed this one, it will soon will not be available to buy. Barbarian - Frazetta style Conan will be shown soon!!

 

[Hemooo]

Hi Alex, there are two parts of this issue:
1- The unprofessional way to deal with customers: it looks that you guys don't care about your image, I can list how many times I got conflicting messages from you guys, just excuses, one after the other. (i.e. we fully supports all our products even from Sideshow. uh ok, you need a replacement u said, we don't have any and you have to pay for shipping if it's not from us. And I just found out that even if I bought it from you I'll have to pay for the shipping!!) and this is one example, it's just disrespectful. I wish ARH are clear and direct instead of making excuses. I talked to 3 of my friends who own your pieces (including Medusa) and they more or less have the same experience and not satisfied at all about the level of support.

2- The lack of replacements: am not going to dwell on this much because you are a collector, and you know what almost all the companies do when the customer have an issue. telling them to pay for shipping again to fix something wrong is strange even for the US customers. even the private commissions and customs don't do it that way.

I like to see if we can work this out for you some way, but please understand if you want to own this statue we have to work together to make it work.

I did my part, tried to communicate with you but you directed me to Dawna which simply said the only way to fix this is sending it to us (as I told you earlier). This is not working together, this is me paying at least 200$ more (which bring the total to 900$ shipping and fees for 1200$ piece)

 

[averone]

Hi Alex, there are two parts of this issue:
1- The unprofessional way to deal with customers: it looks that you guys don't care about your image, I can list how many times I got conflicting messages from you guys, just excuses, one after the other. (i.e. we fully supports all our products even from Sideshow. uh ok, you need a replacement u said, we don't have any and you have to pay for shipping if it's not from us. And I just found out that even if I bought it from you I'll have to pay for the shipping!!) and this is one example, it's just disrespectful. I wish ARH are clear and direct instead of making excuses. I talked to 3 of my friends who own your pieces (including Medusa) and they more or less have the same experience and not satisfied at all about the level of support.

2- The lack of replacements: am not going to dwell on this much because you are a collector, and you know what almost all the companies do when the customer have an issue. telling them to pay for shipping again to fix something wrong is strange even for the US customers. even the private commissions and customs don't do it that way.



I did my part, tried to communicate with you but you directed me to Dawna which simply said the only way to fix this is sending it to us (as I told you earlier). This is not working together, this is me paying at least 200$ more (which bring the total to 900$ shipping and fees for 1200$ piece)

Dear Hemoo - yes I understand the frustration you are having yet I almost get the feeling that you are blaming us that SSC charged you more than $500 to ship your products alone! Like I had said many times before here, this was a real shock to us when we found out that SSC is charging more than we did! Normally SSC shipping rates are much better than any other company.
The other blame I feel that is misdirected towards ARH Studios is that people blame us for the high Vat and customs fees outside of USA, and more so when they make an order for a 1:4 dio, one that is huge as you know now. I feel for our international buyers as I would not want to pay more than I should, but you can't go around this, everyone has to pay it who lives outside of the country. I know you are are a mature and seasoned collector and you know this.

Im sorry if we had some sort of misunderstanding. Support of our products means support and not replacement in full if bought from retailer. For reasons explained above it would make no business sense to give a refund if SSC has delivered the product. I dont know of any company that does what we do, in fact who out here supports their products years after production is done? I have to say I know, no one!
Hemoo, you are a big time collector. Lets say your Prime 1 Transformer falls down and you brake it would you contact Prime one or SSC? Lets say it happened years later would they even bother to say hello!
Let me tell you SSC is a great company, and this is why we do business with them but support ends when you ask for a refund. Not for ARH Studios, we support our product till we are out of parts or just can't fix it because its too damaged.

ARH Studios, Arahom now is in charge of determining the best course of action to replace or repair and each case is looked upon and based on what factors are involved the company decides how to handle it. This is why you are contacting two to three departments. I do my best to help my fellow collectors, as I always do but sometimes this is not my decision at the end. I do not wish to be disrespecting you or any other person, but we must meet in the middle sometimes and Im on your side to make the entire transaction as pleasant as possible.

Anyhow, maybe this is not the best place to chat but I am not afraid to share of the reasoning of these issues in public as I think people will read this and judge for themselves. Remember it is because of you guys we have grown. We are grateful to you.

 

[Hemooo]

I don't blame ARH for the shipping and customs, I blame them for not being direct with me,,,buying this from you direct or from Sideshow doesn't make any difference since I'm international collector (which is a weird practice to say the least). FYI, prime 1 studios did help a fellow collector with his megatron that he bough form a dealer, they worked with the dealer and provided the needed replacement, and guess what, it was free of charge with no hassle.

I agree, I won't highjack this this thread any longer and make it "Hemoo's case".

 

[mutant-man]

most of the communication was through Alex, I'm not expecting much anymore and only post here to share my experience and warn collectors of what they might have to deal with,,, or we only suppose to post positive stuff?

Didn't say that at all. Just said that ranting here won't change it, or is not the most effective way to get a solution. It's important that everyone, consumer and producer alike, knows about these sorts of situations, but ultimately you have to talk directly to the seller/producer to get a solution.

 

[j97e1]

Actually, ranting in HERE might change it. Might.
And even if it doesn't - It's human nature, to complain and seek support amongst their peers, so at least that if nothing else.
I for one, totally understand and sympathize with you, Hemooo. Hope you will get your fair resolution.

 

[ambasah]

just for clarity, if I buy a statue directly from ARH, and it arrives damaged or with significant paint flaws, am I entitled to a full refund? And if so, does ARH pay for the item to be shipped back to them, regardless of destination, or is it destroyed like SS does? Or, am I expected to pay for the return shipping?

 

[MagnumOpus]

My Conan has arrived! I am excited...

 

[Adolfo]

just for clarity, if I buy a statue directly from ARH, and it arrives damaged or with significant paint flaws, am I entitled to a full refund? And if so, does ARH pay for the item to be shipped back to them, regardless of destination, or is it destroyed like SS does? Or, am I expected to pay for the return shipping?

Good question

 

[a2themonster]

Good question

I second that!!

 

[El Mule]

Lol. Good old ARH and their bulls**t. I'm sorry for those who are having issues.