SS v. BBTS (pros and cons - shipping, etc)

[Machinemess]

While I agree Sideshow charges more on shipping then others..it’s not that different then current rates from ups or USPS. I just shipped a watch in its little watch box to Cali from Michigan and it’s was 18 bucks with a few hundred insurance through ups. I shipped a load of figures to Florida through USPS and it was 70 bucks for essentially three hot toys sizes. Bbts is eating that extra cost. Makes sense to compete with Sideshow. But it’s not gonna last forever. At some point that will change.

I think you must’ve shipped your watch through the UPS store? If so, yes, they charge more because that’s how they make profit.

I think it’s just different way of thinking and doing business between SS and BBTS. BBTS gets my respect because while they do eat the shipping, they still make profit for each figure, just less.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Living in CA, BBTS is the easy choice for me:
•I don't have to pay sales tax
•$4 shipping instead of $20+
•free double boxing

Those 3 variables alone add up to more savings than the SS rewards I get per purchase.

Unless it's a SS Exclusive, I'm going with BBTS.

I do this. $4 ship -- come on.

^^^What SoGS said:

Living in CA, Alterego is the easy choice for me:
•I don't have to pay sales tax
•AE gives rewards
•free double boxing
Those 3 variables alone add up to more savings than the SS rewards I get per purchase.
Unless it's a SS Exclusive, I'm going with Alter Ego.

Might have to start looking at AE. Problem is their shipping cost cuts into their rewards.

 

[subzro]

SSC for 90% of the time for me. Shipping is cheaper for where i live than anyone else (BBTS is usually $20+ and SSC $10 -$13). I use BBTS for stuff i missed or cannot get at SSC and also Timewalker for occasional things.

But that's just me. BBTS, Timewalker, etc works better for others

 

[Motuxmen]

I think you must’ve shipped your watch through the UPS store? If so, yes, they charge more because that’s how they make profit.

I think it’s just different way of thinking and doing business between SS and BBTS. BBTS gets my respect because while they do eat the shipping, they still make profit for each figure, just less.

Sideshow does a significantly large volume as well, so it would have to eat a lot more cost. They also do a lot more large scale items. Bbts sells a lot of merchandise and 6inch figures where Sideshow does almost exclusively large scale items. The way it works for distribution for say hot toys Sideshow takes all the risk up front as they have to to pay for their entire contracted amount per figure upfront no matter how it sells, and have to carry everything hot toys sends. It’s part of the official distributor deal. Bbts can place an order for a small or large amount based on presages in the first 30-60 Days and have an idea how a figure will sell. So it’s easier to take that 10-15 dollar shipping hit when you don’t have to worry about 100 hot toys not selling or being sold for a loss. A lot of it is just the size and scope of the companies.

 

[Grimlock]

One small downside to BBTS vs SS is that BBTS will deliver slightly slower than through SS direct. I still think BBTS is the better choice, especially if you live in CA.


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[Machinemess]

Sideshow does a significantly large volume as well, so it would have to eat a lot more cost. They also do a lot more large scale items. Bbts sells a lot of merchandise and 6inch figures where Sideshow does almost exclusively large scale items. The way it works for distribution for say hot toys Sideshow takes all the risk up front as they have to to pay for their entire contracted amount per figure upfront no matter how it sells, and have to carry everything hot toys sends. It’s part of the official distributor deal. Bbts can place an order for a small or large amount based on presages in the first 30-60 Days and have an idea how a figure will sell. So it’s easier to take that 10-15 dollar shipping hit when you don’t have to worry about 100 hot toys not selling or being sold for a loss. A lot of it is just the size and scope of the companies.

The thing is, SS is not eating the cost of shipping. They are profiting off it, and this is not a problem if people are willing to pay for it. I just prefer not to deal with them if I don’t have to. I understand SS does large scale items, and I can tell you that the cost is lower per pound as the weight goes up, if that makes any sense.

I don’t think anyone knows about the detail of the deal between Hot Toys and SS except the people who were directly involved with the negotiation. I’d imagine they have some sort of terms, which says SS has to pay for the shipment 15 or 30 days after shipment. Unless it’s a new or beginning of a partnership, there’s usually terms involved. And speaking of volume, the actual price for the figures should be significantly less than what they are being listed for. Don’t forget that other vendors who buys/deals with SS also have a purchasing quota to meet. So the risk is not as high as you’d think.

 

[Grimlock]

Sideshow does a significantly large volume as well, so it would have to eat a lot more cost. They also do a lot more large scale items. Bbts sells a lot of merchandise and 6inch figures where Sideshow does almost exclusively large scale items. The way it works for distribution for say hot toys Sideshow takes all the risk up front as they have to to pay for their entire contracted amount per figure upfront no matter how it sells, and have to carry everything hot toys sends. It’s part of the official distributor deal. Bbts can place an order for a small or large amount based on presages in the first 30-60 Days and have an idea how a figure will sell. So it’s easier to take that 10-15 dollar shipping hit when you don’t have to worry about 100 hot toys not selling or being sold for a loss. A lot of it is just the size and scope of the companies.

Sideshow charges resellers a fraction of the shipping charges they charge direct buyers. This is a HUGE turnoff for me. They are purposely profiting off shipping to the direct buyers. This is especially evident to those of us who live close to SS.


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[kanine]

I've switched to bbts too for all the reasons people have stated already. I was only buying Hot Toys from SS anyway. Only exclusives I get from SS now, I can wait an extra few weeks for bbts to get their stock.

I live on the east coast, $20+ for snail mail negates the rewards. Plus, extra for box out is ridiculous.

If I get codes or rewards to use from SS, I'll use them to buy stuff, but bbts is my main go to now.

 

[Motuxmen]

The thing is, SS is not eating the cost of shipping. They are profiting off it, and this is not a problem if people are willing to pay for it. I just prefer not to deal with them if I don’t have to. I understand SS does large scale items, and I can tell you that the cost is lower per pound as the weight goes up, if that makes any sense.

I don’t think anyone knows about the detail of the deal between Hot Toys and SS except the people who were directly involved with the negotiation. I’d imagine they have some sort of terms, which says SS has to pay for the shipment 15 or 30 days after shipment. Unless it’s a new or beginning of a partnership, there’s usually terms involved. And speaking of volume, the actual price for the figures should be significantly less than what they are being listed for. Don’t forget that other vendors who buys/deals with SS also have a purchasing quota to meet. So the risk is not as high as you’d think.

The people who buy/deal with Sideshow buy from Sideshow. Sideshow buys from hot toys. There’s a large difference. Every figure Bbts sells comes from Sideshow. As do the vast majority of figures sold in Europe and North America. One is a retailer and one is a distributor who happens to sell retail.

No matter if you know the details of the contract or not you can easily pick up on aspects of the way it works if you look at the patterns that are there. Like how retailers can adjust the amount of figures they have for the first few weeks or months of a PO. Watch, this will go back up for PO with BBTS at least once more in the next weeks. Some of these companies have also disclosed some of this information over the years. Action City is an Asian distributor for hot toys and has publicly discussed the ups and downs of being and official distributor(like having to take all product sent and having to commit to a certain number of figures per release they carry to maint that right).

As for them profiting off the shipping...maybe. But there’s a lot of built in extra costs in hot toys that they also cover that Bbts and others don’t. All the replacements come from Sideshow. All the stuff Bbts gets comes from them as well. Secret base doesn’t ship replacement parts to anyone. So that’s not somthing hot toys mandates. The import cost is covered by Sideshow. It’s not a massive amount given the volume of each release, but it is an added cost. There’s all kinds of little costs and risks that Sideshow takes that Bbts and other retailers do not.

The risk is much higher then you think it seems.

 

[Grimlock]

The people who buy/deal with Sideshow buy from Sideshow. Sideshow buys from hot toys. There’s a large difference. Every figure Bbts sells comes from Sideshow. As do the vast majority of figures sold in Europe and North America. One is a retailer and one is a distributor who happens to sell retail.

No matter if you know the details of the contract or not you can easily pick up on aspects of the way it works if you look at the patterns that are there. Like how retailers can adjust the amount of figures they have for the first few weeks or months of a PO. Watch, this will go back up for PO with BBTS at least once more in the next weeks. Some of these companies have also disclosed some of this information over the years. Action City is an Asian distributor for hot toys and has publicly discussed the ups and downs of being and official distributor(like having to take all product sent and having to commit to a certain number of figures per release they carry to maint that right).

As for them profiting off the shipping...maybe. But there’s a lot of built in extra costs in hot toys that they also cover that Bbts and others don’t. All the replacements come from Sideshow. All the stuff Bbts gets comes from them as well. Secret base doesn’t ship replacement parts to anyone. So that’s not somthing hot toys mandates. The import cost is covered by Sideshow. It’s not a massive amount given the volume of each release, but it is an added cost. There’s all kinds of little costs and risks that Sideshow takes that Bbts and other retailers do not.

The risk is much higher then you think it seems.

All of those extra costs should be built into their MSRP price, not shipping. Profiting off shipping is a bad policy, if you ask me (which you didn’t [emoji848])


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[Machinemess]

Motuxmen, you can think of it anyway you want. I’m just providing some information to others based on what I have experienced. I’m not trying to sound like I know everything, but aside from shipping information from work I used to work as a buyer, and have some experience in this kind of stuff. We are a distributor in North America and i am aware of the importing costs. Yes, SS pays for the import cost, but consumers are the ones really paying for it.

 

[nexus]

I generally use SS for pre-orders because I flex everything. RPs are pretty much offset by SS shipping (one would think SS should be able to work out competitive shipping program). Codes are good, but they're usually for peg warmers, although I just decided to use the $50 coupon on the 1:6 Terminator, so that's good. SS customer service has always been great.


I mostly use BBTS for in-stock pieces. Prices are usually a little lower and shipping is cheaper.

 

[The Buffinator]

AE used to be my primary backup for SS because, in addition to lower shipping costs and free double boxing, their prices were usually 5-10% lower on HT figures. Now their prices are the same, so I use them less frequently as (a) they don't have a flex pay option yet and (b) their reward system is not quite as good. I usually look at them @ my birthday, as they do give you bonus points then ($25 worth). If their shipping is going to be free from now on (as is the case for HT Iron Spider) AND they add flex pay as they've recently hinted, then they'd probably be my go-to seller.

Like others, I find that most of my SS reward points are burned just to offset shipping costs (you basically need rewards from 2 regular HT figures to pay the shipping for a 3rd). My biggest reason for sticking with SS for most of my orders is their flex pay system and Spooktacular, and recently the latter is more for the entertainment value on this forum than it is for the reward point benefits.

 

[zavira]

I order from both and at the moment I'm also trying to figure out which one is better for me.

Item marked as delivered vs item actually in my hand:

SSC items above $150(?) requires a signature when shipped, this is good for me as I may not be home at that time and it will get dropped off at local access point. I'll have to go pick it up later, however it's still not delivered. I also know exactly which day they are coming. I can check on SSC and the UPS website.

BBTS might have a signature feature in another form of their shipping, however that will not be the standard $4. So far all of the packages I've bought, have been left at my door whether I'm home or not. The times that I am home, the delivery person drops off the package, ring the doorbell and are 1/2 way back to their vehicle when I get to the door. The $4 shipping option, I have not figured out a way to see which day the item is coming. If anyone is able to, please let me know how.


Sales tax:

SSC - Charged

BBTS - Up to you to report purchases from out of state vendor, doesn't mean you don't have to pay sales tax,


Customer service:

No clue who is better,

SSC - the only time I had to contact them is for a piece in Jean's PFF. Sent in pictures, approved, replacement received all within a week.

BBTS - haven't had the pleasure.


Double boxing:

SSC - Costs extra. If not, mailing lable right on the Hot Toys shipper. For added bonus, the guy at my local access point writes my name on the HT shipping for easy identification when I go pick up the item. Hate that part, however I understand why. It's a lot easier to see who the packages belong to then checking each shipping label when there are boxes stacked up waiting for pick up.

BBTS - No extra cost.

 

[kanine]

All of those extra costs should be built into their MSRP price, not shipping. Profiting off shipping is a bad policy, if you ask me (which you didn’t [emoji848])


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Exactly, other expenses should go into the price of the figure, or they can just be straight up and list import fees, not charging more for shipping. And what's the justification that a box out costs an extra $10, everything about this just makes SS looks greedy and bad.

 

[dukefett]

Well... I just looked at the Nightmare Joker at BBTS and it requires a $104 NRD... double what Sideshow is asking.

I'm in California and always order from BBTS for the reasons mentioned above, but as you point out, BBTS does 20% NRD when they do them. So that's kind of annoying; even smaller shops like Monkey Depot or Timewalker require less NRDs.

 

[Chronos1919]

For me:

Sideshow
+ Get item earlier than other retailers
+ Reward points
+/- Decent customer service
- Expensive shipping costs

BBTS
+ Better packaging
+ Cheaper shipping
+ Great customer service
- No rewards points
- Jack up prices on items as they become harder to find
- 20% NRDs when they charge them

If you're not going to go with SS I think there are better retailers out there for Hot Toys, like Timewalker. One thing that bugs me about BBTS is that it seems 50/50 on whether they notify you that an item you pre-ordered is arriving soon. Sometimes I get an e-mail ahead of time, sometimes I suddenly get a charge on my card without warning. Not a big deal because I've already budgeted for the item but it's still nice to get a notice.

 

[ArtDamage]

This thread has been a good read. I do like getting the figures a bit sooner, but tax and expensive shipping is getting too be a bit much. Especially, as my little habit hasn't slowed at all

I've had an easy time with the few replacement parts I have needed so that's been nice and I do worry about dealing with other vendors on that if need be.

 

[dukefett]

I didn't see anyone mention this; does SS ever combine shipping on preorder items?

 

[Chronos1919]

I didn't see anyone mention this; does SS ever combine shipping on preorder items?

I've ordered many items through SS and have never had them released close enough together to even consider the option.