I do feel bad for the CS people having to deal with irate customers all day, everyday. It's not their fault SS has no QC standards at all but at the price we're paying for these collectibles the sloppy final result is unacceptable. It must cost less to have bad QC and make people return/destroy the bad peices than tightening up their QC which only antagonizes and disillusions collectors.
Come on SS, step it up. I watched a video documentary about XM the other day and the 3 owners inspect each and every item they produce. They go to the factory every 2 weeks and look at each piece, put little post-it notes pointing out every flaw so it is fixed. When the items are shipped from China to singapore they do the paint and touch-ups and again inspect every item before it is packaged. Now that is quality control. Sideshow are a much bigger company and have the means to do the same.