Sideshow now interfering with Custom Work on Facebook
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slikkerias
Super Freak
I don’t think that BBTS is selling unlicensed products. Do they? I thought they didn’t for that exact reason.
slikkerias
Super Freak
[emoji848] ...I see! Didn’t think they would.
Well, I’m a hypocrite like most people. I buy unlicensed figures when it’s the only way to get figures from a license. Like Mad Max or Blade Runner, and I would really miss discussing those in this forum. But on the other hand I still think that Sideshow or Hot Toys or whomever has every right to protect their legal business when it comes to mass produced figures and copies - and not economically support those who undermine it.
Although there’s an irony in the fact that both companies (HT & SS) started out by selling unlicensed figures...
slikkerias
Super Freak
Ironic maybe, but doesn’t really change anything. Now they’re legit and pay for their licenses. They need to protect their business and their employees.
They also sold XM too
Pay for licenses and miss manage products. It's why we fans get s*** on, SSC had Jurassic Park license (Hasbro lease) and they come out with 1 product... HT has canceled how many figures showed at Comic-Con? Chronicle cancels 1/6 line and thinks people will pay for 1/4 Alan Grant vs 1/6 version displayed... Qmx Firefly line slow as hell... Molecule8 dumpster fire on John Lennon figure...
Don't even get me started on quality... that Uncharted thread on SSC still pisses me off to this day.
Chicky
SSC VIP Goddess
Are they doing it for free?
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Chicky
SSC VIP Goddess
The correspondence was as sent to affiliates, some of which are facebook groups.
Chicky
SSC VIP Goddess
Thank you! We will look into this.
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There's just so much about this that doesn't really matter at all.
Sideshow is telling people that are sending them traffic and revenue, "Hey don't talk about stuff that competes with ours". That affiliate should just say "I don't appreciate you trying to control our content, consider our relationship severed" And that's that. It's the perfect example of cutting off your nose to spite your face.
At the same time, people shouldn't be buying from Sideshow anyways, their shipping prices are absolutely outrageous. I can't understand why anyone thinks they're actually saving money on Reward Points, you're overpaying by 10% to get 2% back in store credit. When every other online business in the world is offering free shipping or baking it into their selling price, Sideshow is not only NOT doing that, they're charging MORE than the posted rates on the carrier's own website, despite their bulk shipping discounts.
In my view, there are no good guys on either side. as shown I'm no fan of SSC's business practices, and affiliates shouldn't be taking their money and pushing their readers to buy from Sideshow. I feel sorry for no one. I don't mind Sideshow enforcing their rights as licensees, they have to do that to defend the IP.
I'd rather see these blogs and such turn against Sideshow and start telling everyone not to buy from them. Maybe Bluefin can step in and distribute Hot Toys as well. SSC needs some competition in the distributor space.
Affiliates need to grow some backbone and not let their advertisers dictate content.
Though I doubt the affiliates SSC sent this letter to matter at all, when SSC is still getting press from huge blogs like comicbook.com, IGN and the other top-tier affiliates. That's where they make their money, not the hobbyist Facebook groups.
Sideshow is telling people that are sending them traffic and revenue, "Hey don't talk about stuff that competes with ours". That affiliate should just say "I don't appreciate you trying to control our content, consider our relationship severed" And that's that. It's the perfect example of cutting off your nose to spite your face.
At the same time, people shouldn't be buying from Sideshow anyways, their shipping prices are absolutely outrageous. I can't understand why anyone thinks they're actually saving money on Reward Points, you're overpaying by 10% to get 2% back in store credit. When every other online business in the world is offering free shipping or baking it into their selling price, Sideshow is not only NOT doing that, they're charging MORE than the posted rates on the carrier's own website, despite their bulk shipping discounts.
In my view, there are no good guys on either side. as shown I'm no fan of SSC's business practices, and affiliates shouldn't be taking their money and pushing their readers to buy from Sideshow. I feel sorry for no one. I don't mind Sideshow enforcing their rights as licensees, they have to do that to defend the IP.
I'd rather see these blogs and such turn against Sideshow and start telling everyone not to buy from them. Maybe Bluefin can step in and distribute Hot Toys as well. SSC needs some competition in the distributor space.
Affiliates need to grow some backbone and not let their advertisers dictate content.
Though I doubt the affiliates SSC sent this letter to matter at all, when SSC is still getting press from huge blogs like comicbook.com, IGN and the other top-tier affiliates. That's where they make their money, not the hobbyist Facebook groups.
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For the record, I don't advocate for hurting small businesses. I feel that BBTS, Timewalker, Cotswold, Monkey Depot, Toy Anxiety, etc, provide a valuable service to the hobby by bringing in these unlicensed figures. If you prevent them from doing so, collectors will simply stop spending money in domestic small business and send those dollars overseas, which is definitely not ideal.
I would hope that SSC is only particular about products that offend against their own licenses, like the Crazy Toys knock-offs of SSC product. I can understand about SSC being upset about buying a knock-off Deadpool rather than their own licensed Deadpool figure. But again, in those cases it seems like SSC's own production facilities are 'leaking', so perhaps further investigation is needed.
But to tread further down the murky waters, I wonder if SSC has done any lobbying to see if anything can be done about USPS making deals withe the Chinese gov't with this e-packet service? Clearly shipping costs affect all industries, but in this hobby it seems to have special influence as I can buy something from China and have it shipped to me for less than it would to buy it domestic. If this e-packet service were to go away, it seems reasonable to expect that unlicensed product from China would become prohibitively expensive to acquire, and would affect the problem at it source, rather than hurting Sideshow's retail or affiliate partners in this hobby.
It shouldn't cost me $0 in shipping from China to California for one headsculpt, but $2.95 to ship that same headsculpt from Arizona to California.
Chicky
SSC VIP Goddess
I would love to have detailed offline discussion with you about these items that you outline above. It would be great to get details of the specific category/ size of item and shipping destination you’ve personally experienced to compare posted carriers rates vs our rates. That’s always worthy of a double look. Are you talking free US shipping or International as well, where a Premium Format could cost rack rate $175 and upwards, depending on dims, to EU? Are you suggesting to increase SRP to cover that expense?
(To be specific Rewards are 5% back on your purchaes not 2%.)
I look forward to your DM!
Chicky
SSC VIP Goddess
Our original Universal Monsters line was licensed as were our Bernie Wrightson kits.
Chicky i have a question, can we still have pictures of unlicensed figures as our avatars and signatures? Like,not links or anything but just avatar pics
I enjoy having a Sideshow rep back on the board to help clarify their stance on issues like this.
Hopefully we are able to continue a civilized dialogue going forward about all things Sideshow like we used to.
Darklord Dave
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Sorry it's taken so long for me to weigh in on this. I appreciate Chicky addressing the question here and engaging directly with our members.
This email was directed to affiliates and should never have been made public. There are some poor interpretations and accusations being slung around and it's unfair to Sideshow for anyone to accuse them of being anti-artist or just about the money. Sideshow has always been about the art and community and have been incredibly supportive to this forum and fandom in general.
There is nothing new in this policy - it has always been Sideshow's policy to not allow their affiliates to promote unlicensed items for sale. It is unfortunate that they are using the term "custom" now to refer to what I consider a "bootleg" and I think that has generated a lot of misinformation and bad feelings.
I've been having the "push/pull" on this subject for many years and Sideshow has been pretty lenient about enforcement. I've always felt that mass produced bootlegs hurt the hobby and I've done my best to police the forum to prevent the rise of such bad operators as Crazy Toys and Redman.
Truth is, this forum could not exist without the affiliate sales. We now have over 45K members and consistently have over 1000 connections at any one time. This kind of traffic costs money and server costs often exceed the monthly income from affiliate sales (Viglink and Sideshow combined). That is why Premium Membership was created.
Now this forum will have to evolve - I hope you all will stick with us as we make the transition.
This email was directed to affiliates and should never have been made public. There are some poor interpretations and accusations being slung around and it's unfair to Sideshow for anyone to accuse them of being anti-artist or just about the money. Sideshow has always been about the art and community and have been incredibly supportive to this forum and fandom in general.
There is nothing new in this policy - it has always been Sideshow's policy to not allow their affiliates to promote unlicensed items for sale. It is unfortunate that they are using the term "custom" now to refer to what I consider a "bootleg" and I think that has generated a lot of misinformation and bad feelings.
I've been having the "push/pull" on this subject for many years and Sideshow has been pretty lenient about enforcement. I've always felt that mass produced bootlegs hurt the hobby and I've done my best to police the forum to prevent the rise of such bad operators as Crazy Toys and Redman.
Truth is, this forum could not exist without the affiliate sales. We now have over 45K members and consistently have over 1000 connections at any one time. This kind of traffic costs money and server costs often exceed the monthly income from affiliate sales (Viglink and Sideshow combined). That is why Premium Membership was created.
Now this forum will have to evolve - I hope you all will stick with us as we make the transition.
RiggsMcClane
Super Freak
I remember some changes taking effect last year. As in no completed figures of already licensed items. That seemed fair enough. What shideshow seems to be pushing for here is the death of the custom section altogether. Will that be the case for ssf?
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