Dear Sideshow! A rant on your shipping.

[Matt S]

I cancelled all orders with Sideshow today, except one - exclusive Emperor.

My beef: your shipping (signature) requirements are not convenient - I have to be home to sign 'Live' - not cool

On top of that, your shipping is double your estimates - did you negotiate new rates with UPS and lose?

Your items arrive damage - and yes, you guys rock with replacements - when you have them. I am stuck with a super awesome T800 with damaged box that is not mint - for $165 plus - I should have a collector friendly set

The camel that broke my back: I get an email from BigBadToystore.com telling me they dont have any collector grade Corporal Sandtroopers = I waited months to be told I get a NON MINT FIGURE!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Getting points is no longer worth the headache - I actually hope my Sarah Connor figure arrives damaged (as usual) so I can legitimately send it back to you....but I gotta wait till Thur to sign for it in person....not that I have a job or anything

I just cant take it anymore - it shouldnt be this hard to collect toys!

Rant over

Matt

 

[EVILFACE]

You can fax in a form to SS to avoid the signature.

UPS, Fedx, USPS, that yellow van whatever. Stuff damages with all of them. None are better than the other. And they each charge out the ass.

 

[Batty]

Sideshow should give us free shipping by raising the price on figures.

 

[Matt S]

You can fax in a form to SS to avoid the signature.

UPS, Fedx, USPS, that yellow van whatever. Stuff damages with all of them. None are better than the other. And they each charge out the ass.

I didnt know that...thanks......I am gonna order SS items, just thru their retailers.....I love how those stores pack their shipping boxes way, way better. I know SS plays the 'numbers' with shipping, but I seemed to have zero luck

I'll be honest, before I cancelled most orders, i did check wtih the retailers I order from to make sure they are still available....and while I'll get no points, I rather get non exclusive Clones for 9 bucks cheaper that arrive to me in good shape the first time.

I guess the T800 situation really, really, really bent me out of shape

2nd rant (now) over! LOL

 

[Silent December]

I have to agree AmanaMatt.

I work from 6am to 6pm and I'm never home to sign for stuff. A couple of weeks ago I got a missed delivery notice for the Joe Duke. Long story short, I had to drive 2 cities over to pick up the figure from a UPS distribution center. I was told to be there at 8pm because the driver was scheduled to return then. Well, guess what? the driver didn't show up till 9pm! I ended up leaving there at 9:30pm. The worst part is that I had my kids with me and they sat there in the car with me for almost 2 hours for a stupid figure. I felt like a total jerk for putting my kids through that.

 

[Mesa]

Just picked up an extra T-800 from my neighbor tonight. I have a cool neighbor and a cool UPS guy.

 

[ashkanls]

What the fuq? You spend 20 bucks you get a dollar back in points! You buy a $200 sideshow figure from sideshow you end up paying $230 out the door. You buy it from a retailer you pay $200 out the door. Cant believe people are idiots over points. You save $30 bucks that way!!! Ill do the math for you too $30 sideshow points is equal to $600! You buy 3 statues for 200 each and it costs you $700 out the door. From a retailer you end up paying 600. You just came up 60 dollars that way. Also you can always offer a high rated seller to buy it outside ebay and split the fee for a discount. I have bought 3 things in the last 1.5 months outside and saved an additional $50.00. Dont cry to me about ebay and its policies, those *******s rack in millions every hour.

 

[EVILFACE]

Some like paying a little more for unequaled service. If there is a problem, SS takes care of it.

 

[Darth Snoopy]

If can't be home then use SSC's Signature Waiver Form or call you local UPS/FedEx and have them deliver it at your place of work or wherever you'll be that day. That's what I do.

Also knowing and being friendly with your UPS/FedEx guys is helpful.

 

[Maglor]

I thought UPS always required a signature.

I live in an apartment building and I am often not home when a package comes. i just leave a note on the door giving UPS permission to have someone else in the the building sign for it. I live in a small 8 family building and I trust everybody here to sign for the package and leave it undisturbed in front of my door.

I can see how it would be a pain if you lived in a house though.

 

[Matt S]

They require it if the shipper requests it - I believe that is correct - feel free to correct me

I guess my last UPS driver was 'cool.' He'd leave the note, Id sign it and have it the next day. This guy is a little Nazi.....he requires a live human being

My question: when did a signed, dated note not become recognized as legal?

Luckily my day off is tomorrow - which will be the final notice day, but I gotta be home from 2pm - 5pm

I agree on the points - they are not worth it any longer...other retailers just make it soo much easier on you......that convenience trumps all in my book

 

[Maglor]

They require it if the shipper requests it - I believe that is correct - feel free to correct me

Actually, I'm not sure who requires it. The shipper of UPS...

 

[Matt S]

Its sideshow....they dont want to run any risks, liability wise, which is cool if a signed signature would suffice

 

[Remy]

K, here's what I did. Usually when Sideshow ships something, they send you tracking. Mine was UPS.

So, when my PF Luke was arriving, I left a note on my door telling the UPS guy that I wont be home. I ask if he could put it in between the 2 big flower pots in front of my door so it wont be too visible. I wrote that I dont hold Sideshow nor UPS responsible if item is lost. I dated and signed it.

Sure enough, the ups left it on my door.

 

[The Craw]

the signature thing doesn't bother me cuz i just go and pick my stuff up from UPS. in fact, i wouldn't mind if they just left it there to begin with and notify me so i can pick it up. but i agree that Sideshow should find a better way to get stuff to you undamaged. i know they use those styrofoam caps on a lot of their stuff and it works wonders. but a lot of stuff is just shipped in a tight shipper with very thin bubble wrap or just a plastic bag. any damage done to the brown shipper is also present on the collector box. i started buying my stuff from retailers cuz of this very reason. i guess retailers buy bulk from SS and they ship to them in a larger box cuz i haven't gotten anything but mint boxes when i buy from retailers.

 

[thenammagazine]

I often wonder what would happen if a package was delivered, after filling out the signature waiver, and gets stolen by some ********* before you get home. Sideshow's not at fault because you ranted about them and then waved their responsibility requiring a signature. It's not UPS's fault either since they're just dropping it off and following Sideshow's instructions per your request. Who would you hold responsible? Because with all this ranting, I highly doubt you guys'd say it's your own fault, let alone take responsibility for it.

 

[Matt S]

K, here's what I did. Usually when Sideshow ships something, they send you tracking. Mine was UPS.

So, when my PF Luke was arriving, I left a note on my door telling the UPS guy that I wont be home. I ask if he could put it in between the 2 big flower pots in front of my door so it wont be too visible. I wrote that I dont hold Sideshow nor UPS responsible if item is lost. I dated and signed it.

Sure enough, the ups left it on my door.

I used to be able to do that too - my current driver has personally told me that I have to sign for it in person - that a note is not sufficient............

I called UPS last night to see if this is accurate, and the phone rep backed up the driver info

 

[Dusty]

If UPS is buckling down a lot harder, I'd probably guess that they are experiencing a higher volume of theft and are attempting to do something about that. Personally, I request all items that I buy via mail-order to be signature required; in fact, I pay extra for it from most retailers. I also ship all items to eBay buyers, or gifts for relatives, etc, with the signature required option as well. It just makes it so much safer, and I don't mind the extra hassle if I'm not home when they come by.

But, not everyone is like me - so, like it has been pointed out, you can fill out a form that waives the sig required and fax it in! More info on how to do it can be found here: https://www.sideshowtoy.com/helpdesk/?p=66

 

[Matt S]

Thanks, Dusty...my loss as I work and cant sit at home all day. Wish I knew about this form earlier, but my bad for not looking

Well, I didnt realize today was the final delivery attempt, so my HT sarah connor is going back to Sideshow....

I placed a cancel request on the item - love SS, but just cant deal with this right now......

Well, nuff said....night all -

 

[jonny88]

the reason l never have ordered through sideshow and never will is because they do not ship to Canada through USPS. there are very little fees through them. they only ship fed ex, and they have some mean fees when the package gets to your door here in Canada.