1/6 Hot Toys - Infinity War - Iron Man

[crazygmpoker]

I'm no expert but I think as long as they aren't advertising the prices, they can charge whatever they want. That's why you always see those sales on websites where you have to add to cart to see the price because they aren't allowed to just list it at those prices. I'm all for people steering business to other stores, especially after SSC pulled their sponsorship of this forum.

 

[LipSmack]

Yes they signed an agreement with Sideshow, that is legally binding, they have the right to cancel that shops account for violating that agreement, it is legal and has happened. Reccomend people all you want, but stating they give you deals is something sideshow would take issue with

 

[Motuxmen]

Depends on what their SSC contract says. Yes it’s legal to mandate a minimum price for a certain period of time if the retailer wants to be an authorized seller. If they just buy a figure and sell it like anyone else they can charge whatever they like. But to maintain that authorized status they have to conform to the rules laid out in the contract.

 

[LipSmack]

Depends on what their SSC contract says. Yes it’s legal to mandate a minimum price for a certain period of time if the retailer wants to be an authorized seller. If they just buy a figure and sell it like anyone else they can charge whatever they like. But to maintain that authorized status they have to conform to the rules laid out in the contract.

Yes, my shops do this stuff too but I dont name em, just think its unfair that a shop helps you out and you broadcast their name, Grinlock should text the owner and ask if thats ok

 

[Grimlock]

M’kay, then don’t contact my local shop as they most definitely don’t provide discounts and have horrible customer service. [emoji6]


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[crazygmpoker]

 

[Red Wolf]

M’kay, then don’t contact my local shop as they most definitely don’t provide discounts and have horrible customer service. [emoji6]


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Didn't mean to cause a ruckus. I appreciate your ommendation.

 

[Bleah]

For those in the US who don't like ordering through SS, where would you recommend ordering that's better (lower shipping cost, etc.) other than BBTS? I've never tried or inquired through my local comic bookstore as I've ordered through SS. Heck, I have a lot preorders there right now :/

 

[Motuxmen]

I still use Sideshow. Any discount you get in cost or shipping elsewhere is offset by rewards points and direct customer service with Sideshow.

 

[Grimlock]

I still use Sideshow. Any discount you get in cost or shipping elsewhere is offset by rewards points and direct customer service with Sideshow.

Not in my experience. My LCS takes better care of me...wait, I mean they don’t. [emoji6]


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[DasMuse]

I still use Sideshow. Any discount you get in cost or shipping elsewhere is offset by rewards points and direct customer service with Sideshow.

Pretty much my sentiments as well. I personally know my local comic shop owner and a couple years ago he said he could get these for me if I wanted, but he also said he'd probably order them from sideshow and i'd end up getting charged just as much as if I ordered them myself, so I felt it made more sense for me to continue to order them myself for the RPs. Are other shops that sell them cheaper taking a loss, or do they order from somewhere else? Or is it that they get shipping discounts for ordering a lot?

 

[Grimlock]

Pretty much my sentiments as well. I personally know my local comic shop owner and a couple years ago he said he could get these for me if I wanted, but he also said he'd probably order them from sideshow and i'd end up getting charged just as much as if I ordered them myself, so I felt it made more sense for me to continue to order them myself for the RPs. Are other shops that sell them cheaper taking a loss, or do they order from somewhere else? Or is it that they get shipping discounts for ordering a lot?

They become a reseller and get discounts from SS. That’s what my LCS does. SS and my LCS both profit from the sales.


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[Motuxmen]

They become a reseller and get discounts from SS. That’s what my LCS does. SS and my LCS both profit from the sales.


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Not everyone gets approved to become authorized sellers and there’s min orders per year and so on to maintain it.

If your local shop takes care of you, that’s great. But the customer service they provide is just Sideshow customer service with a middleman. Price may be lower a bit. But how many free figures do you get? How many 25 or 50 dollar off coupons? Just doing a quick look at my Sideshow order history I already have four free figures coming from orders this year, plus two I got in January. Had at least that many last year. And several hundred in free rewards points and coupons. Probably several thousand a year in free stuff. My local comic shop can’t come close to that.

 

[kiwiatlarge]

Coming from an overseas perspective (a long way overseas), I'd love to support the local sellers. I have used three. One is a business (which in their own words) is trying to be like a (much smaller) NZ version of Amazon, which started many years ago as a games and movie store. Their service is second to none, and I've made hundreds of online orders from them over the years. There is also a fairly well known collectibles store that ships that I have heard nothing but good things about. And thirdly I stumbled across a T-2 Arnie DX13 a couple of years after he'd stopped selling at another collectible store that sells online..

But.. they just sadly can't compete pricewise with Sideshow and Popcultcha for cost, and that's why I continue to use those two, just for Hot Toys. (Although PC sometimes get something gaming memorabilia wise that I have to have)

The exception will be Iron Man or any expensive statues. I'm sick of dealing with customs for those, so will probably in future just cut my losses financially and go local..

 

[Grimlock]

Not everyone gets approved to become authorized sellers and there’s min orders per year and so on to maintain it.

If your local shop takes care of you, that’s great. But the customer service they provide is just Sideshow customer service with a middleman. Price may be lower a bit. But how many free figures do you get? How many 25 or 50 dollar off coupons? Just doing a quick look at my Sideshow order history I already have four free figures coming from orders this year, plus two I got in January. Had at least that many last year. And several hundred in free rewards points and coupons. Probably several thousand a year in free stuff. My local comic shop can’t come close to that.

I’ll just say that I save enough that going through my LCS makes far more sense than going direct. I don’t get much free stuff other than a SS coffee table book, or whatever.

Sideshow has sent you four free figures? Or are you talking about points?


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[ksteezy]

From where? Bbts went from plenty to sold out. What happened?!

From SS...

 

[Motuxmen]

Yeah rewards points. I got one free a few years ago for some reason I can’t recall but that’s not what I meant. Lol I usually get a couple 50 or 25 dollar off coupons a month and then the rewards points. Get a bunch of those free a year as well. I get enough rewards points that I ordered Ant-man, wasp, 10th Cap and Tchaka for free a week or two ago. It more then offsets any lower price.

Add to that my local shop is also not an authorized seller and I’ve asked them about it and they say they tried and it didn’t work. Not sure if that’s true or they just never bothered. They don’t sell large volumes of statues or figures so it’s not somthing they would deal with much except with me really. I’m sure I would order enough to justify them getting it but I’ve never really discussed it with them at length.

So outside of them I’d have to drive 130 miles either to Detroit or chicago(I live like exactly half way between them) and that would negate any savings. Plus I like just having them show up at my house and me not have to go pick them up. That’s a hundred or more trips I save a year. Lol

 

[SmokeUpJohnny]

I still use Sideshow. Any discount you get in cost or shipping elsewhere is offset by rewards points and direct customer service with Sideshow.

I'd add the caveat that it depends on where you live. I'm in California, so the high shipping cost + sales tax makes BBTS the winner for me. Even if BBTS starts charging sales tax in the future, their pile of loot feature combined with lower shipping costs still puts it ahead of SS (even with rewards points). For me, that is.

 

[Bleah]

Yeah rewards points. I got one free a few years ago for some reason I can’t recall but that’s not what I meant. Lol I usually get a couple 50 or 25 dollar off coupons a month and then the rewards points. Get a bunch of those free a year as well. I get enough rewards points that I ordered Ant-man, wasp, 10th Cap and Tchaka for free a week or two ago. It more then offsets any lower price.

Add to that my local shop is also not an authorized seller and I’ve asked them about it and they say they tried and it didn’t work. Not sure if that’s true or they just never bothered. They don’t sell large volumes of statues or figures so it’s not somthing they would deal with much except with me really. I’m sure I would order enough to justify them getting it but I’ve never really discussed it with them at length.

So outside of them I’d have to drive 130 miles either to Detroit or chicago(I live like exactly half way between them) and that would negate any savings. Plus I like just having them show up at my house and me not have to go pick them up. That’s a hundred or more trips I save a year. Lol

You must be ordering A LOT and multiples of the same figure/ or the really expensive statues to get 4 free figures in a year. If I count my total from last year to the pending preorders to next year, the reward points I'll get is only enough for one figure. I already feel I'm ordering too much even with that (>10 HT figures). Maybe for the volume you order, it makes sense to use SS. But for those that can only order 1 or 2 HT figures per movie line, the benefits can't compare to yours. So what options would be out there? If only you can order directly from HT as I read it's cheaper buying directly from them...

 

[crazygmpoker]

Yea for me, it sucks being in WI because I’ll get hit with sales tax from BBTS, I started ordering from Timewalker, especially for something like Thanos, was already cheaper by a few bucks plus that figure alone hit the free shipping threshold


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