3A HALO Thread

[vuuduu]

Thank you all for helping me save $200+. Lol

 

[Wah]

i really don't want to have to cancel my order. we need to hear from some more peeps who have this in hand. how widespread is the issue? is it in certain batches or throughout? i'd be bummed if i had to cancel.

 

[Glassjaw]

I'm waiting to see some more video reviews. Can't believe the entire batch was sent out in that state. Where was the quality control :s Maybe they just looked at it and agreed it looked amazing rather then tested it.

 

[Bob 121]

i really don't want to have to cancel my order. we need to hear from some more peeps who have this in hand. how widespread is the issue? is it in certain batches or throughout? i'd be bummed if i had to cancel.

How can you be this hopeful? I haven't read a single review where somehow someone received a decent one.

 

[melkorjunior]

I just cancelled my pre-order for this with BBTS. I tend to stay with museum poses and I use stands, but if he can't even hold a weapon that's where I have to draw the line.

Too bad. My favorite thing about this Master Chief was that it was actually correctly scaled. Other than this one NECA's 18" version is tempting, but it's just too short to really be 1/4 scale.

Not to mention the fact that we never did get that Cortana statue that Sideshow promised us. So far the Halo license has just been a bummer for me. Well, maybe Kotobukiya will do something cool with it.

 

[Captain Planet]

i really don't want to have to cancel my order. we need to hear from some more peeps who have this in hand. how widespread is the issue? is it in certain batches or throughout? i'd be bummed if i had to cancel.

You're in denial. Even the 1 or 2 people that like the figure acknowledge all the problems. The evidence is all over the place, the figure sucks and there's now way we all just happened to get defective figures and all the good ones are in the mail.

 

[dude527]

Very pissed and disgruntled right now. I continued to post on 3A's Facebook on posts where other people have been asking what is up with the Chief. Just got word today that I've been blocked from the page and the admins have deleted my Master Chief posts. GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE YOU ******ERS!

 

[TimespliTT]

i cant bend his legs at the hip, the armor skin gets in the way and nothing moves.. all he can do is stand and do hand poses

i want to send back but fedex/usps/ups have all charged me $80-$120 to send back.. no way.. also im not even going to sell on ebay.. im stuck with this figure...

the only way he holds the guns is if you make it look like hes trying to use a guitar

 

[Captain Planet]

i cant bend his legs at the hip, the armor skin gets in the way and nothing moves.. all he can do is stand and do hand poses

i want to send back but fedex/usps/ups have all charged me $80-$120 to send back.. no way.. also im not even going to sell on ebay.. im stuck with this figure...

the only way he holds the guns is if you make it look like hes trying to use a guitar

Customer service told me they were paying for the cost of shipping.

 

[Bob 121]

i cant bend his legs at the hip, the armor skin gets in the way and nothing moves.. all he can do is stand and do hand poses

i want to send back but fedex/usps/ups have all charged me $80-$120 to send back.. no way.. also im not even going to sell on ebay.. im stuck with this figure...

the only way he holds the guns is if you make it look like hes trying to use a guitar

They'll refund you for the shipping. Also, how can he hold his guns like a guitar when I can't get him to use both hands?

 

[Barrow Roll]

I just saw this posted in the Halo Collector's Facebook group:

"Talked to a 3A representative about the quality issues with master chief, he said they have a big meeting planed for this week to discuss options to correct it. They are looking into their options as to weather to retool the figure or do a replacement program. They understand that some collectors want to keep their current chief and the possibility of a discount. The status of Thorne and the Spartan recruit are unknown at this point but will most likely be delayed until they can correct the problems"

Crossing my fingers.

 

[dude527]

They'll refund you for the shipping. Also, how can he hold his guns like a guitar when I can't get him to use both hands?

It's a stupid policy that they won't even refund the shipping until after they receive the figure. For the rather huge shipping cost, I'm pretty much stuck with him - I just can't afford to wait a couple weeks for them to receive him for that $300. This is a tight time of the year for me, as I'm saving up for next year's tuition and textbooks for the Fall. I just can't spare another bundle of cash to ship him back, even if I'm going to be getting it back in a few weeks.

This whole thing is just stupid. Their "customer service professionals" refuse to actually respond to my lines of questioning - I keep asking them if they're going to be doing a V2 of the figure or not (again, I'm not expecting one - I just want to know for sure), if I could possibly hold onto the figure for a partial refund, if I could hold onto the figure and then exchange it for another LightRifle version of the possible V2, etc. They keep responding with their template e-mail and, "Sorry for the inconvenience caused !" It's outrageous, claiming I want to return it because I'm "unhappy with my order". Why does this company refuse to take responsibility for a rather huge screw up? Hell, why do they refuse to even acknowledge that the figure is objectively horrible? From a business perspective and from a customer service perspective, how is any of this situation okay to these people?

Being blocked on their Facebook and having my posts selectively deleted is just the icing on the cake. Can't believe they did that. I wasn't causing too much trouble - simply answering questions people had about the broken figure, because the page admin refuses to touch those posts. I was also keeping the discussion going on their post about refunds so that they wouldn't forget it's an issue. I certainly wasn't issuing death threats or even defaming 3A more than necessary to talk about the figure.

What do you do with a concerned customer who just wants a few answers? You block them. Yep. Do you guys want to bet how quickly I would be fired if I threw a customer out of the restaurant because they complained when I forgot to give them a steak with their meal? I just can't believe all of this crap is happening. I don't want anything fancy - just a few answers. I would be so much less outraged right now if they were just forthcoming.

This whole Facebook thing has made it positively clear to me they knew the figure sucked beforehand. They had to have. They knew it sucked, they didn't want to sink any more resources into it, so they're doing the one thing they're legally obligated to do in accepting returns (otherwise they could be sued for false advertising), and trying their hardest to ignore anybody with a legitimate concern.

At this point, the horrible customer service has driven this situation from bad to worse. This is a disgusting company with whom I never want to do business again. That isn't to say that I never will - but that's highly, highly questionable at this point, especially if they continue to just ignore the people rightfully complaining about being sold a $240 lemon.

 

[HotBallsJohnson]

What I'd really love is for them to announce they'll be rereleasing /retooling it and releasing as a two pack combo with Locke, or Arbiter. Bambaland orders that get sent back would be refunded the shipping and could choose a full refund or the 240 credited towards the two pack. I say two pack just because it seems like at least a CHANCE for them to make some money off of retooling. Or maybe just throw in some extra weapons if its a straight retool/re-release. Again, none of this would be worth the risk unless its well communicated exactly whats getting fixed. AND CHIEF LOOKS SO BALLER its a dang shame the joints are so weak. Hopefully Threezero's Kim can apply some magic here. Or fans at sdcc.

That really sucks about the fb but if the planned meeting is real then it sounds like you were a part of the solution so take comfort in that. They talked about an elite so the next announcement about their halo line will probably be super revealing. If they redo chief well then it'll bode well.

It's a stupid policy that they won't even refund the shipping until after they receive the figure. For the rather huge shipping cost, I'm pretty much stuck with him - I just can't afford to wait a couple weeks for them to receive him for that $300. This is a tight time of the year for me, as I'm saving up for next year's tuition and textbooks for the Fall. I just can't spare another bundle of cash to ship him back, even if I'm going to be getting it back in a few weeks.

This whole thing is just stupid. Their "customer service professionals" refuse to actually respond to my lines of questioning - I keep asking them if they're going to be doing a V2 of the figure or not (again, I'm not expecting one - I just want to know for sure), if I could possibly hold onto the figure for a partial refund, if I could hold onto the figure and then exchange it for another LightRifle version of the possible V2, etc. They keep responding with their template e-mail and, "Sorry for the inconvenience caused !" It's outrageous, claiming I want to return it because I'm "unhappy with my order". Why does this company refuse to take responsibility for a rather huge screw up? Hell, why do they refuse to even acknowledge that the figure is objectively horrible? From a business perspective and from a customer service perspective, how is any of this situation okay to these people?

Being blocked on their Facebook and having my posts selectively deleted is just the icing on the cake. Can't believe they did that. I wasn't causing too much trouble - simply answering questions people had about the broken figure, because the page admin refuses to touch those posts. I was also keeping the discussion going on their post about refunds so that they wouldn't forget it's an issue. I certainly wasn't issuing death threats or even defaming 3A more than necessary to talk about the figure.

What do you do with a concerned customer who just wants a few answers? You block them. Yep. Do you guys want to bet how quickly I would be fired if I threw a customer out of the restaurant because they complained when I forgot to give them a steak with their meal? I just can't believe all of this crap is happening. I don't want anything fancy - just a few answers. I would be so much less outraged right now if they were just forthcoming.

This whole Facebook thing has made it positively clear to me they knew the figure sucked beforehand. They had to have. They knew it sucked, they didn't want to sink any more resources into it, so they're doing the one thing they're legally obligated to do in accepting returns (otherwise they could be sued for false advertising), and trying their hardest to ignore anybody with a legitimate concern.

At this point, the horrible customer service has driven this situation from bad to worse. This is a disgusting company with whom I never want to do business again. That isn't to say that I never will - but that's highly, highly questionable at this point, especially if they continue to just ignore the people rightfully complaining about being sold a $240 lemon.

 

[Chockles]

What a cluster****!

Keep shouting everyone. Let your voice heard. We want this fixed instead of just passing the issues onto us. I hope that representative said was true and delay that recruit and thorne, because their latest update was still aiming for end of July.

They better sort this during that big meeting!!! Offer refunds for those that dont want it outright. Offer replacement plans for those that keep it for now.
They messed up, so they have to cough up the retooling costs alone. Sort this out first before releasing any new stuff. Bring back consumers confidence!

 

[dude527]

I sent them an additional e-mail with my getting banned on their Facebook taken into account:

Hi,

I appreciate your response, but I want to express my dissatisfaction with it. The language you have used to describe the situation - "Sorry for the inconvenience caused !", "customer who is unhappy with their order", etc - tells me that this company is currently trying to treat this situation as though it were a small misunderstanding that left a customer dissatisfied with the product they received. That's not what this is. Let me be clear. 3A has falsely advertised this figure for many months and got many customers very excited about it with pictures of action poses, showing off the character figure gripping and holding his weapons. The actual figure shipped to these paying customers is so diminished from those original reveals that it can't even achieve the poses shown off in the Look Book. And it's certainly not just my figure. I've got friends who have the same issues and there are certainly pictures and videos all across the internet of this figure's problems.

There are two major things on the list of the figure's features (shown off in pictures from the Look Book) that just don't work on the retail version of the figure. This is the figure's articulation and magnetically mounting weapons on the character's back. The joint articulation is not only low-quality - it is almost non-existent. The articulation featured in the figure's shoulders, fingers, hips, and thighs is not ratcheted, so they cannot hold any poses. The articulation in the figure's elbows, wrists, and ankles is all so stiff that it can barely be bent. It all coalesces into a figure that can barely stand straight up (much less hold any of the dynamic poses featured in the Look Book) and certainly can't hold any of his weapons at all. His arms are so restrictive that he can't even hold a weapon out across his chest. Hilariously, the figure's fingers are actually too thick to even fit inside the trigger guard of the exclusive LightRifle featured in this exclusive bundle. How does this crap even get past quality assurance testing? Can I ask if 3A even has quality assurance testing? I'm not asking to be cheeky - I genuinely want to know if you guys actually check this stuff before I decide to business with you again in the future. To boot, the magnetic mounting features such weak magnets that my figure's weapons can hardly even detect them and cannot magnetically attach the weapons to the figure's back at all. Some people have even reported the magnets being inserted backwards, meaning the figure actually repels the weapons. Again, where is the quality assurance testing???

So that's two major, important features that were shown off on the figure's feature list and via pictures from the Look Book that none of the retail copies currently reaching people's hands can achieve acceptably. I think we can fairly call this false advertising. You guys showed off a figure of a certain quality that you showed could do certain things and valued it at $240. I looked at these features, admired the figure in action, agreed it was worth $240, and paid that. You guys then sent me out a figure that can't actually achieve many of the poses and features you showed me to any acceptable degree. Can't you see how this is your fault? I paid a certain value for a figure of a certain quality and you instead sent me a figure of significantly diminished quality. I mean, Judas Priest, I'm not asking for you guys to kiss my feet or anything - all I'm looking for is for you to take a little bit more responsibility in this situation than "Sorry you're unhappy with the order". I would've been happy with the product if it were actually the product I paid for back in November, which was shown off in the Look Book! It's 3A's fault, not mine, that I'm outraged with the order!

I'm sorry to rant, but your company's horrible treatment of its customers has made this situation worse. I am also a fan of World of 3A on Facebook and I had spent the end of last week on there asking about why this figure was so bad, but the admin there did not comment at the time. As other people began to receive their figures, they also started to post on the World of 3A Facebook with videos and photos showcasing the deplorable quality of the figure and the admin also ignored them. I commented on every single one of these posts, affirming for the other customers that they weren't the only ones experiencing the problems and remarking how badly your company was handling the situation. I also tried asking the page admin multiple times if he or she could tell us the details about why this figure shipped in the state it did and what your company was doing to fix it. I noticed today that the World of 3A page admin has blocked me from the site and deleted my previous posts detailing the figure's flaws. First of all, I respectfully ask if there's anything you can do to unblock me and restore my comments. They were not inappropriate comments, such as death threats or defamation (beyond what is necessary to express how poor the situation surrounding this figure is). My comments were simply those of a dissatisfied customer who wanted some answers after being sold a $240 lemon.

Is this how you treat customers? You sell them something that wasn't what you described it to be at all and then you completely ignore their more-than-legitimate concerns when they ask you what went wrong? It's just disgusting that I was blocked from the Facebook page simply for connecting with other customers who are also experiencing issues with the figure. I was essentially doing your job for you in that regard - it's absolutely 3A's responsibility to connect with dissatisfied customers. It's also disgusting that your language suggests that it is my fault that I am dissatisfied with the figure, when it's been clearly illustrated that the figure was falsely advertised.

Here's what I want to know now: Is there any possibility of 3A fixing the figure? Because if there is, I want to hold onto mine until that's an available option. I paid $240 for a 1/6 scale Master Chief and I still want that Master Chief. I think this is the most horrible part of this situation - this figure looks great and people still want to keep it. Instead of recognizing that there's still the potential to turn this situation around and give these loyal customers the functional figure they paid for, 3A is content with simply offering a refund and keeping the $240 if the customer decides to hang onto the figure. That's what's disgusting to me. This is not the $240 figure you guys advertised and yet all you're offering here for customers still willing to deal with the figure's problems is a full return on the figure. Any smart business would jump on the opportunity for a partial refund in which the customers keep their figures in this situation. Then, to restore good faith in their brand, the company would make the situation right by fixing the product and offering it as originally advertised - with either an exchange or a discount offer for those customers who received the initial bad batch. 3A is instead going to take advantage of its customers and keep the money with no acknowledgement of responsibility or remorse.

Again, I'm not trying to be mean - I'm just getting fed up with looking for answers from people working for 3A and either being deflected or completely ignored. The current situation surrounding this figure is completely unacceptable, from the quality of the figure itself to your company's treatment of its customers in this situation. I would really appreciate it if you could get back to me and let me know if there's any possibility for 3A to fix the figure and do an exchange program for customers who received the faulty ones. I want this information before I begin the process of the refund, because the possibility of an exchange would be ideal to me, as I still want this figure. Please let me know directly and in a timely manner.

Sincerely and with respect,
Cory Strand

 

[SLO_MO]

Well... 'nuff said. That covers pretty much everything, very interested to see the response, if any.

 

[Chockles]

Yes sir, mr Strand.

Very well worded and please spread the work. Put this in their forums and other places thats related to Halo. FB groups or anything. They block you on 3A, but they cant block you elsewhere. Somebody take this letter and shove it in Ash's face at SDCC. Forget the representatives, go direct to the boss man!

Appreciate you guys for the efforts.

 

[Bob 121]

Nice job on the emails. We can only hope there's someone heading to their booth at SDCC who feels just as strongly.

 

[skyray24]

I just saw this posted in the Halo Collector's Facebook group:

"Talked to a 3A representative about the quality issues with master chief, he said they have a big meeting planed for this week to discuss options to correct it. They are looking into their options as to weather to retool the figure or do a replacement program. They understand that some collectors want to keep their current chief and the possibility of a discount. The status of Thorne and the Spartan recruit are unknown at this point but will most likely be delayed until they can correct the problems"

Crossing my fingers.

Thanks for posting that, Hoping that it is true and they offer some kind of alternative than straight up refunds.

 

[LoNeNg]

Mine has just been delivered. I will have to wait till I get back home before opening the box. Well, after reading all these problems I am neither in a hurry nor exited at all...