ashkanls
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Deposits on Exclusive Pre-Orders: Sideshow's New Policy?
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King Darkness
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Just cancel all his orders. All he does is complain anyway. You'd be doing him, and us, a favor.
Thnx for the info by the way.
kl241
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King Darkness
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jinxx
Super Freak
Chicky, where's my Selene Comiquette to go with my awesome EX X-Force dio!? Sneak peek, pretty please!?.....
It doesn't ensure that at all.
it will for a $1200 piece
. ____ flippers...........all of em
I am not sure if deposit will help at all with flippers. For example: after thinking hard about the Optimus Prime ex Maquette, I decided I want one for sure and joined the waiting list. Now they are closing waiting list and there is one up on eBay for $3750. So a flipper got one and I didn't. There was a $240 NRD for this pre-order.
Maybe 3 days, after full product detail and pictures are up, is enough for some people to decide before the pre-order date, but I guess not for me. Product prices ranging from $250 to $1200, that ain't cheap. It is difficult to decide and so many things to consider when you are a serious collector
Maybe 3 days, after full product detail and pictures are up, is enough for some people to decide before the pre-order date, but I guess not for me. Product prices ranging from $250 to $1200, that ain't cheap. It is difficult to decide and so many things to consider when you are a serious collector
spazzy
Super Freak
I order LOTS of stuff, but when things come out in groups I have no choice but to cancel, I had 7 flexpays within the last 3-4 months, still have 5 this month with 2 ending, I can't swing that all the time if I have to start paying NRD's, will definitely limit my pre-ordering.
It should only be required for customers that don't order much and have a high rate of cancelling, graded by ranks (the premier collector, the occasional shopper, and the newbie with no $$), and while we are on it, higher reward points for the more frequent customer.
It should only be required for customers that don't order much and have a high rate of cancelling, graded by ranks (the premier collector, the occasional shopper, and the newbie with no $$), and while we are on it, higher reward points for the more frequent customer.
quadcent
Super Freak
great response chicky, but i'd go one step further and have a NRD on all Ex. featured statues.
Hulksmashed
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So I kinda feel two ways about this new fee. First, its just good business sense. Sideshow limits itself to selling Exclusives specifically through thier own website. So, lots of cancellations means lots of stock stuck on thier shelves. This new fee will both limit the number of people that order the exclusive and thus drop edition sizes somewhat, AND limit the number of cancellations come ship time. With the regulars they can always just up the number they sell to other retailers so overstock isnt that big a deal.
On the other hand, as a collector it will suck if this becomes common practice. I always/usually order with intent to buy. What it comes down to in the end is if I have the money when the statue is going to ship. It's hard to predict 6 months in the future what other expenses i might encounter. Not to mention, 8 months of statues tend to all ship unexpectedly at the SAME time.
So, my opinion is that this is a fine practice, but Sideshow needs to do thier best to space out the statues and/or literally not do the pre-orders until the statues are ready to ship. At least they preview the statues a couple days before pre-orders now so that we can figure out if it IS something we want prior to speeding through checkout to garantee an exclusive.
On the other hand, as a collector it will suck if this becomes common practice. I always/usually order with intent to buy. What it comes down to in the end is if I have the money when the statue is going to ship. It's hard to predict 6 months in the future what other expenses i might encounter. Not to mention, 8 months of statues tend to all ship unexpectedly at the SAME time.
So, my opinion is that this is a fine practice, but Sideshow needs to do thier best to space out the statues and/or literally not do the pre-orders until the statues are ready to ship. At least they preview the statues a couple days before pre-orders now so that we can figure out if it IS something we want prior to speeding through checkout to garantee an exclusive.
wolvie9
Super Freak
SolidLiquidFox
doing it...for all of us
A lot of high rollers in here asking for mandatory NRD on exclusives.
It's only a matter of time before the casual fans that have been supporting Sideshow get weeded out. May be it's time to re-evaluate how the hobby is approached as a customer. I find it hard to believe that Sideshow is the only recession proof collectible company that pumps out products full force and non stop. Somehow they believe that people can really collect like they don't give a damn (or have any other bills).
It's only a matter of time before the casual fans that have been supporting Sideshow get weeded out. May be it's time to re-evaluate how the hobby is approached as a customer. I find it hard to believe that Sideshow is the only recession proof collectible company that pumps out products full force and non stop. Somehow they believe that people can really collect like they don't give a damn (or have any other bills).
ProgMatinee
circlesendwheretheybegin
just more reason to not order i guess. i don't blame them. and not bothered by it. i pretty much stopped preordering from SSC altogether anyway. too much of their stuff is available for much less later and i have found the extra accessories have gotten less compelling anyways.
Glad this won't be heading into 1/6th items. I don't have any interest in prepaying for things that will probably drop in value.
Glad this won't be heading into 1/6th items. I don't have any interest in prepaying for things that will probably drop in value.
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thenammagazine
Super Freak
it will for a $1200 piece
Not really, no. Just the newbs who list preorder items before they come out. The pros will still pick up 3-4 exclusives via multiple accounts, and with the non-refundable deposit, you'll have collectors waiting more to see what the product looks like in hand, or those who can't float the NRD will be forced to wait. This means they'll likely miss out and have no other means but hitting up the flippers. Imagine if it's a sudden grail item like a Patient Zero PF. Those poor bastards will be paying flippers a premium! So I'm failing to see your point.
ProgMatinee
circlesendwheretheybegin
flippers that make good profits won't mind and the collectors that never worry about prices don't mind.
people that this really screws are the people that for what ever reason are already on the fence about a product. it will weed out some cheapskates, but I'm willing to bet a big part of SSC's customer base is included in that.
people that this really screws are the people that for what ever reason are already on the fence about a product. it will weed out some cheapskates, but I'm willing to bet a big part of SSC's customer base is included in that.
As I suspected and feared, more thought and effort has been put into this new NRD process than has been on Quality Control or updating the flawed production process. Sideshow, this is bass ackwards and you simply have not earned the right to require NRDs due to the inconsistent quality of your products.
Like everyone else, I thank Chicky for clearing this up and I am appreciative of her. But this is bad news and I likely will not be ordering any PFs or statues directly from Sideshow ever again. And this is coming from someone who has purchased $6k-$10k worth of products a year from them for the past several years. I'll continue to order 1/6 Figures from Sideshow... but if/when this new NRD policy covers those, I'll stop ordering them directly as well.
Like everyone else, I thank Chicky for clearing this up and I am appreciative of her. But this is bad news and I likely will not be ordering any PFs or statues directly from Sideshow ever again. And this is coming from someone who has purchased $6k-$10k worth of products a year from them for the past several years. I'll continue to order 1/6 Figures from Sideshow... but if/when this new NRD policy covers those, I'll stop ordering them directly as well.
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Personally, I generally avoid pre-ordering from places that require a deposit on their pre-orders. I understand why they do it, but from the customer point of view, it's too constricting when you've got 8-10 months of wait time to contend with.
I would think Sideshow would welcome some of their exclusives being on second chance or coming back into stock. Why do you want all of your exclusive items sold out during the pre-order process? Doesn't look good for new collectors who discover the site for the first time, yet are discouraged to order because nothing is in stock. Also, not everyone rushes to pre-order items. There have been many occasions where I've eyed pieces I was interested in, but waited until shipping. And to my pleasure found that the exclusives came back in stock and I ended up buying them: Evil Queen PF and Vlad being two recent purchases that come to mind.
Seems to me Sideshow is implementing this policy on lines they deem to be popular, like Marvel. I'm guessing SW and TMNT would fall under this category as well, while other lines would remain untouched. Doesn't seem fair to me to do that. Either implement the policy site-wide or not at all.
And I find the whole business of focusing on the "serious collector" ridiculous. Yes you have the flipper and the chronic canceller, but what do you define as a "serious collector?" Someone who pre-orders everything? Someone who spends X amount a year? Someone who values the piece for itself and not it's increased value? Someone who orders from Sideshow and no where else? I just feel it's a poor reason. They want to cut down on the volume of cancellations, plain and simple.
I would think Sideshow would welcome some of their exclusives being on second chance or coming back into stock. Why do you want all of your exclusive items sold out during the pre-order process? Doesn't look good for new collectors who discover the site for the first time, yet are discouraged to order because nothing is in stock. Also, not everyone rushes to pre-order items. There have been many occasions where I've eyed pieces I was interested in, but waited until shipping. And to my pleasure found that the exclusives came back in stock and I ended up buying them: Evil Queen PF and Vlad being two recent purchases that come to mind.
Seems to me Sideshow is implementing this policy on lines they deem to be popular, like Marvel. I'm guessing SW and TMNT would fall under this category as well, while other lines would remain untouched. Doesn't seem fair to me to do that. Either implement the policy site-wide or not at all.
And I find the whole business of focusing on the "serious collector" ridiculous. Yes you have the flipper and the chronic canceller, but what do you define as a "serious collector?" Someone who pre-orders everything? Someone who spends X amount a year? Someone who values the piece for itself and not it's increased value? Someone who orders from Sideshow and no where else? I just feel it's a poor reason. They want to cut down on the volume of cancellations, plain and simple.
The Mike
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The fact that some people in this thread still think this has to do with Flippers is baffling.
Its not a bad policy per se, just premature. I love Sideshow, as a company they are better than most other collectible companies and they have fantastic employees but the product in recent times hasn't earn me the confidence to just go willy-nilly into the NRD with hope in one hand and a blind eye. Their QC has been getting significantly worse, I've seen 1/6 figures with yellow eyes, flat paint, googly irises and this is all on one figure and seeing such ballpark knockouts like Obi-Wan or Palpatine for example I know that they can do better. They have the current means to do better, it isn't like they need to go get another factory or go and adopt another company's styling, OWK and Palps came from their current factories. They just need to shore up the folks on that end to make sure there is a quality product is out.
Saying "From a distance you can't really tell" isn't okay with me. I don't want apologists driving it, we should be getting the quality simply because we are paying customers. Sideshow can do it, they've shown it and until they do it again I'll be sitting out direct pre-orders on anything with an NRD because I just don't trust the end result to be worth it, especially considering that the run times are anywhere from 5 months to a year.
Its not a bad policy per se, just premature. I love Sideshow, as a company they are better than most other collectible companies and they have fantastic employees but the product in recent times hasn't earn me the confidence to just go willy-nilly into the NRD with hope in one hand and a blind eye. Their QC has been getting significantly worse, I've seen 1/6 figures with yellow eyes, flat paint, googly irises and this is all on one figure and seeing such ballpark knockouts like Obi-Wan or Palpatine for example I know that they can do better. They have the current means to do better, it isn't like they need to go get another factory or go and adopt another company's styling, OWK and Palps came from their current factories. They just need to shore up the folks on that end to make sure there is a quality product is out.
Saying "From a distance you can't really tell" isn't okay with me. I don't want apologists driving it, we should be getting the quality simply because we are paying customers. Sideshow can do it, they've shown it and until they do it again I'll be sitting out direct pre-orders on anything with an NRD because I just don't trust the end result to be worth it, especially considering that the run times are anywhere from 5 months to a year.
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