"Dear Sideshow Collectibles,
my name’s Matteo and I’m writing from Italy.
I’ve preferred to send you an International letter instead an email because a letter expressing a higher regard to you and a commitment on my part.
Straight to the point, I’m the “ambassador” of, maybe, the great italian forum of collectibles (statues, dolls and memorabilia) and we were discussing about the last Sideshow Collectibles projects and releases of these last times and, to be honest, we are not totally satisfied.
The reason is not hard to understand : first of all you should think that we pay in €uro and not in dollar$ and we have many steps that cause a significant price increase to us.
This is our process :
Sideshow Collectibles price (100$)+ shipping costs ($35) = $135
$135 = € 110 (at this time)
€ 110 + 4,5% (duties) = €115
€ 115 + 23% (italian taxes called IVA will increase from 21% to 23% on 2012 Sept.) = € 142
€ 142 + € 10 (Fedex cost) = Our Total amount € 152.
Then we have to pay a lot more money than the starting price; to be clear, this is not your fault, but it’s a consideration only for what’s next.
Now : what’s wrong with Sideshow collectibles? Please read this short story :
Imagine that you see an amazing prototype car and you can’t resist cuz you want it absolutely! You know that the production will be completed in a year more or less…this car has wonderful metallic colors with beautiful shades with the sunlight, great and chromed wheels, leather seats…how much it costs? Wow…it’s around € 30.000…but…see it!!! It’s sick! It’s a bad ass!! Ok…they’re asking € 1000 non refundable deposit…mmm…what you’ve to do? OK! You trust this company…they will surely do a great job!
A year has flown away and you just found the first pictures of your car from other guys have received it before you..but…what the hell..there’s something different from the prototype…and you don’t like cuz…everything got worse! You’re seeing that the shades you saw before, don’t exist now…and…those seats…were supposed to be leather but..they are made by leatherette…no…no…this is not what you paied for…
You call the car dealer and you hear that if you want they can give you €250 of petrol vouchers, or you can have a total refund…but you’ll be without that car forever…and what’s worst? That you feel that the car dealer doesn’t matters if you have the car or not, because if you do not buy it now, sooner or later someone else will buy it ..
Now : how do you feel?
This little story represents our situation with Sideshow Collectibles.
It’s a common opinion that Sideshow had a great past, made of amazing sculptures, great quality, more attention to details and particulars…all the sculptures were painted from people who had “the painting” in blood…
Thanx to these works, Sideshow has a name today..everyone waits for a sneak peek, to see what’s new in the production line with their hurt go boom! Which hero will be sculpted? No one can wait!
I’m sorry but..today something’s changed.
We don’t want to offend you but we think that a serious company has to accept compliments like critics
We noticed and discussed many many times about the quality of Sideshow products of today: that’s not like golden times. The production has become a sort of “expensive hobby” and nothing more…why?
1. Sideshow launched a preorder of Darth Vader Life Size Bust. Regular and Exclusive editions as usual. After people have ordered and paied the not refundable deposit, Sideshow decides to comunicate that the excl will be limited (and numbered) to 300 pcs and the regular will be simply “limited edition” (also 23'000 pcs are “limited”) and not numbered. How much have we paid? € 1220,00 Same speech for the Dark Rider of Mordor PF Regular.. according to you…is it right? Does it means “collecting?”
2. Sideshow launched the Predator Berserker Life Size bust….painted like a toy, completely different from the promotional pics : € 1250.
Below the Sideshow Berserker 1:1 life size bust painted without shades and in an approximate painting
and the difference with the same bust re-painted from a member of our forum
But the most important point is that we preorder and we pay not refundable deposits to Sideshow or Italian distributors, after have viewed promotional pics or better, prototypes at the comic con…we don’t pretend to have the same statue, but we’d pretend to have a perfect statue with same dresses (if pf) and the same “look”…we understand that every hand is different and all the shades are different cuz we’re human…but they must be different and not bad or nonexistent….
How technical needs an artist to paint two eyes looking in the same direction?
And where is the Quality Control of Sideshow Collectibles?
First example..you know….the head of Rogue pf : promotional pics on the right, what we received on the left.
Everybody asks for a head replacement obviously..and what Sideshow did? Sideshow has changed promotional pics, tryin’ to kiddin’ us…and btw the replaced pics were better than what we received!
Could it be the right way? € 300
Now Sideshow got the DC License finally…it’s a common opinion to think that…Sideshow mustn’t fail this line cuz it has been waiting for a long time. First character…THE JOKER!!! WOW!!!! Everybody’s excited!!
Sideshow introduced the prototype on SDCC 2011 and it’s a success! Sold out the exclusive and the regular hasn’t wait for long time…
Amazing sculpure, great painting and shades, beautiful clothes..many details…and now? What’s the JOKER PF you took to SDCC 2012?!?
On the left SDCC 2011, on the right SDCC 2012
comparisons between sdcc 2011 and 2012 editions :
- lower quality clothes (please see the jacket, the gilet is not embroidered)
- less details on face and…shades?
We don’t think that the painting have to be the same as the prototype, cuz every hand is different..but we’re expected to see, for example, different shades..but shades must be there.
We’re used to know that Sideshow take preorders with pics of statues that look so much better than the final product…and we don’t think it’s correct : the final product should be as the prototype or better…not worst : low quality of clothes, not good paint job (when the proto was amazing).
We agree that you have to earn much money you can with less expense, but we can’t pay a full price for what we saw amazing and then we get something made of poor quality (and this includes : painting cracks, empty and fragile polystone)
How can the “quality control” staff pass articles in these conditions?
We’d like to return collecting, as I told you at the beginning of this letter, and not to continue to buy items for a “cheapish and expensive hobby”..
I’m not sure you can understand, or better, if you can feel what I’m trying to convey to you..
We’re happy to spend money (even if this global economic crisis causes big problems to all) for our passions, our heroes...but we’re asking you to back to your roots, to the real Sideshow Collectibles quality.
If you think that you’re earning money despite your products have many problems, you are right...there is many people that buy statues cuz...that item looks “like” Hulk (for example)... but we spend more than U.S. people...and for the good and happiness of every collector we’re are asking you to ponder on what we’re writing you.
You have to know that every new piece Sideshow presents (as prototype), is a big doubt for us...Poison Ivy for example...will she has eyes in the same direction or one eye will look to NYC and the other one to Rome? The question we’re used to ask is : “guys...do you trust sideshow?”
We were discussing about the batman pf...”ok they can’t fail the eyes...cuz eyes’re white. But the costume? If the Joker PF’s one is changed with that bad quality, what kind of surprise Sideshow will give us?”
Now we’re worried about Dutch PF...look at the eyes...one is looking a predator and the other is looking a flying elephant:
The worse thing is that Sideshow has replaced the Dutch pics on the website…again! Same “dirty game” of Rogue pf! Now that people have preordered. In the new pics Sideshow has posted, the Dutch’s head is in the dark, and people can’t see the eyes and the expression in this way…maybe the reason is the pic above..isn’t it?
Pics Sideshow has hidden :
Below the pics on your website….you will agree that there’s something wrong with your customers (according to us) :
We’re also asking to ourselves how it’s possible that some lines (as the LOTR premium format line) are always amazing, incredible, perfect (look at the Black Orc of Mordor...he’s alive!) and big mistakes on something else..
We’d like to underline that the things we just told you, aren’t a Sideshow exclusive : we’ve the same idea on
• Bowen Designs (several painting job problems)
• Hot Toys (low quality of bodies parts)
• Pop Culture & ARH (poor quality of polystyrene that causes serious damages to statues...and we pay many money for our collectibles)
It seems that companies save as much as possible, and the cost of the product is always high .. the customer always pays so much money, even when the quality is not the one for which he paid for.
I remember you that this letter would like to be a peaceful conversation, in a seller/customer reference...this letter is a sort of feedback we’d like to give you, bypassing the customer care that give us always standard answers, and it’s unauthorized to give us explanations we need..
We’re asking you a little bit of consideration, answering to this letter..
Please back to respect your collectors.
As I told you before, I’m writing as an ambassador; here below some people from all Italy, members of our forum, who have wanted to sign this letter to say “I’m here!”
Someone has a Sideshow account, someone not yet.
I hope to hear from you soon.
. by the way.. One eye at NYC and the other at Rome 
