EU Wharehouse closing?

[Ash Housewares]

This sucks. I knew about the costs but the damage. Oh dear. Poor 1:2 iron man is not going to arrive in one piece is he?

 

[-jay-]

This sucks. I knew about the costs but the damage. Oh dear. Poor 1:2 iron man is not going to arrive in one piece is he?

Hopefully it will and congrats on getting that awesome statue man.

 

[robomorph]

This sucks. I knew about the costs but the damage. Oh dear. Poor 1:2 iron man is not going to arrive in one piece is he?

You might be ok with IM. The larger parcels simply can't be thrown about with as much abandon as the smaller ones.

I've been on several occasions to courier sorting warehouses and it's just frightening. The parcels are sorted into large skips standing by the wall and the sorters simply throw the parcel so that it bounces off the wall into the skip. Bear in mind this happens several times during a parcel's journey.

Frankly, for Sideshow to stick a few bits of styrofoam in as corner protectors is just not enough. They should take a lesson from companies like Product Enterprise in the UK, whose packaging was exemplory - and bulletproof!

 

[-Super Hans-]

"Sideshow Collectibles is now directly shipping to the European Union from our U.S. warehouse. We have negotiated with our carriers to give you faster shipping, better package tracking, less damaged boxes and competitive pricing."

3/4 for me on that one. I got my item within 6 days of it leaving sideshow and got the tracking number straight away instead of getting it a few days after the item arrived like I used to . My box was fine its just the dreaded fed ex bill you get in the post afterwards. Lame ass country and its stupid taxing on everything, I swear come 2012 you wont be able to take a dump without being taxed

Overall my expierience of the new system was fine, if alittle pricey.

 

[IronFingaz]

3/4 for me on that one. I got my item within 6 days of it leaving sideshow and got the tracking number straight away instead of getting it a few days after the item arrived like I used to . My box was fine its just the dreaded fed ex bill you get in the post afterwards. Lame ass country and its stupid taxing on everything, I swear come 2012 you wont be able to take a dump without being taxed

Overall my expierience of the new system was fine, if alittle pricey.

Same here :emperor

 

[robomorph]

Well it's good to hear that some are having their packages arrive un-brutalised. Every single one of mine has had extensive damages so far.

 

[Alice Adrenochrome]

Guys, it's not only the taxing that makes it expensive!
Example:
Shipping 12" from EU warehouse: $37
Last month: $25 plus $13 advancement fee: $38!!!
And don't tell me the advancement fee is not part of the shipping. It is part of the service.
Besides, I payed $25 shipping for 12" figures LAST month (plus $13 fee to FedEx). THIS month SSC sent me 2 quotes for 12" figures going from $33.84 to $39.66!!!! ("*The ship/total costs do NOT include taxes, VAT, import fees or duties, which will be collected directly from international customers by the carrier. Ship/Total amount subject to change")
What is going on I wonder, when shipping for 12" figures goes up in less than one month!! Wasn't shipping supposed to be cheaper??
I sent a mail to SSC, asking what the reason for this raise is, wonder what they will answer.
So, shipping cheaper? I don't think so.

 

[kj23]

does seem a bit odd it's cheaper to get a life sized terminator bust than a 12" figure. the pricing seems pretty inconsistent and i cant quite work out what it's based on.

 

[lcummins]

...As I've said in the past, the quality of service provided by FedEx is far from adequate.

It really depends on several factors... in my area, UPS are the worst with boxes consistently showing up like the ones pictured above. I switched all my shipping to FedEx with Sideshow because the boxes arrive in great shape, the delivery guy is very nice and takes an interest in my new items and the price is usually less than UPS. We've had this discussion several times, and everyone's experience is different. It's not really the company that is bad, but it seems to be either one routing center or local destination that causes most of the problems, whether it is FedEx or UPS.

 

[robomorph]

It's not really the company that is bad, but it seems to be either one routing center or local destination that causes most of the problems, whether it is FedEx or UPS.

I'm sure that's true, which brings me back to my original point: that Sideshow should package their products better to eliminate that crapshoot of courier handling. The boxes should be tough enough to withstand whatever abuse is heaped on them. Other companies do it - by using thicker grade card, rubberised foam corner protectors (those flimsy styrene ones Sideshow use just crumble immediately), double boxing etc. It's almost as though Sideshow places no worth on their own products by issuing them in such flimsy packaging. Either that or they really don't appreciate just how much violence is committed upon their packages in transit.

 

[theguru1]

Do you international guys have to pay the FedEx advancement fee? If so, don't forget to add that to the shipping total.
According to SSC, the advancement fee "is approximately 1% - 2% of total shipment", but so, far I was always charged the same amount ($13), no matter what the sum of the total shipment was. And on top of that, the $13 is more than 1%-2%. So I recon FedEx works with a fixed price, at least up to an amount after which an effectual calculation is worth the while. Sideshow doesn't mention that on their 'everything is ok' site, do they?

I'm not expecting any FedEx fee, since they aren't doing anything other then delivering the package, which is the postage cost.

At the moment, in Australia, as long as the value of the item is under $1000AUD, there's no customs duty or anything like that. So the final SS invoice should be it. As such $47 for the postage and if all arrives A-OK, then we are sitting pretty down here.

 

[vodoun]

After seeing robomorph's boxes. You have no idea how much I hate FedEx. I think they are utter prats.

How the hell are they still in business treating parcels like that. I'm tempted to cancel my Iron Man Battle Damage exclusive order. I don't want a crapped on box. All my 1/6 boxes are in mint condition for god sake.

 

[DaveMac]

After seeing robomorph's boxes. You have no idea how much I hate FedEx. I think they are utter prats.

How the hell are they still in business treating parcels like that. I'm tempted to cancel my Iron Man Battle Damage exclusive order. I don't want a crapped on box. All my 1/6 boxes are in mint condition for god sake.

The inner, artwork box is as much a part of the collecting experience as the figure itself, so I fully agree that 'an eye' needs to be kept on how this new shipping method turns out.

Have any U.K based members noticed a reduction in costs of shipping on PF sized items?

 

[devilof76]

Lame ass country and its stupid taxing on everything, I swear come 2012 you wont be able to take a dump without being taxed

Same here :emperor

You guys are awesome.

 

[zimbo]

Well I think I have had my last two products from SS!! I got two items a fortnight ago and have been Ill since so that is why I have not posted anything since then.

Anyway my items were a 12" HT Wolverine and a Mystique Comiquette ex

1st to arrive was Wolverine then Mystique a couple of days later and I finally got the dreaded FedEx letters last week about two days apart the same as the both items were. So all in all you get your FedEx bills a week after the items are delivered.

So the figures worked out like this for me:

HT Wolverine $169.99
Freight $ 25.00
SS Total $194.99

FedEx Economy Service VAT £33.25
FedEx Advancement Fee £10.00
FedEx Total £43.25

now according to FedEx the exchange rate at the time is 1.597, so converting the FedEx bill in US $ = $69.07 so now once I worked out the exchange rate in ££ for the product itself from SS (£122.63) then add that to the FedEx bill = £165.88

So the Total in pounds and/or US Dollars are as follows:
£165.88 or $263.75


Mystique comes out at:
Mystique Comiquette $174.99
Freight $ 29.99
SS Total $204.98

FedEx Economy Service VAT £18.81
FedEx Advancment Fee £10.00
FedEx Total £28.81

this time the exchange rate was 1.627 the FedEx bill in US $ = $17.78 now working out the rates in pounds for the item itself form SS (£126.53) now add that to the FedEx bill = £155.34

So the Total in pounds and/or US Dollars are as follows:
£155.34 or $251.65

It is really very shocking to see the difference between a comiquette and a HT 12" figure prices for VAT etc I know I DEFINETLY cannot afford to keep forking out £43+/- for all my future HT figures and there are some that I want already but sadly I dont think they will be coming from SS.

 

[IronFingaz]

That's why i've canceled all my 1/6 scale figures. It's just too damn expensive.

I also wrote to SS reg. shipping on my next two figures. The Evil Queen Excl. PF will be $38.69 and Donatello Excl. Comiquette will be $63.36 They're basicly the same size (Donny might be a little smaller) yet there's a $15 difference

 

[toystales]

Well I think I have had my last two products from SS!! I got two items a fortnight ago and have been Ill since so that is why I have not posted anything since then.

Anyway my items were a 12" HT Wolverine and a Mystique Comiquette ex

1st to arrive was Wolverine then Mystique a couple of days later and I finally got the dreaded FedEx letters last week about two days apart the same as the both items were. So all in all you get your FedEx bills a week after the items are delivered.

So the figures worked out like this for me:

HT Wolverine $169.99
Freight $ 25.00
SS Total $194.99

FedEx Economy Service VAT £33.25
FedEx Advancement Fee £10.00
FedEx Total £43.25

now according to FedEx the exchange rate at the time is 1.597, so converting the FedEx bill in US $ = $69.07 so now once I worked out the exchange rate in ££ for the product itself from SS (£122.63) then add that to the FedEx bill = £165.88

So the Total in pounds and/or US Dollars are as follows:
£165.88 or $263.75


Mystique comes out at:
Mystique Comiquette $174.99
Freight $ 29.99
SS Total $204.98

FedEx Economy Service VAT £18.81
FedEx Advancment Fee £10.00
FedEx Total £28.81

this time the exchange rate was 1.627 the FedEx bill in US $ = $17.78 now working out the rates in pounds for the item itself form SS (£126.53) now add that to the FedEx bill = £155.34

So the Total in pounds and/or US Dollars are as follows:
£155.34 or $251.65

It is really very shocking to see the difference between a comiquette and a HT 12" figure prices for VAT etc I know I DEFINETLY cannot afford to keep forking out £43+/- for all my future HT figures and there are some that I want already but sadly I dont think they will be coming from SS.

Ouch! That's a lot of money to pay for a HT 12-inch figure!

Looking at the figures you posted regarding the VAT, I simply cannot comprehend how FedEx computes the VAT for the Wolverine and Mystique Comiquette. I thought the VAT is a percentage of the product cost. So why are you asked to pay more VAT for the Wolverine when its cost is evidently less than the Mystique Comiquette?

 

[vodoun]

It makes Parcelforce look a bargain! It's usually £19 - £21 to fork over to them for it to get released and delivered.

 

[IronFingaz]

You guys are awesome.

Thank you

Now, if you'll excuse me, i'm gonna go pay some taxes...

 

[Battletroll]

What is worse, I had to pay $18 in taxes on a replacement $70 figure that was sent 'free of charge'. I had of course already paid taxes on the first shipment as well.

I've been trying to get my money back from either Fed-Ex or Customs without any luck. They have the right to charge you over the value of the item, not what you paid for it. Sideshow marks everything for their true value with Fed-Ex, I assume for insurance purposes. So that's the value Fed-EX uses to determine taxes and import fees.