Hot Toys 1/6 Hoth Leia

[Mad Old Lu]

Kara, I think what you’re describing are very legitimate and level headed reasons as to why someone would want to drop a pre-order. However, the sad fact is that there are still plenty of people out there who are much more cavalier about what they order without much thought.

The people who may change their mind and cancel a pre-order when it’s close to shipping are simply taking a hard look at what they have on order and thoroughly thinking through their choice. The NRD simply makes people go through this stage of evaluation BEFORE they order in the first place.

Unexpected expenses at the time of shipping is the hard one. You simply never know how things are going to be one year in the future. Literally anything can happen, from a serious medical emergency, to unemployment to unexpected repairs to a house or car.

I personally do think it’s..well, not A LOT, but at least a little bit..to ask of someone to commit to several hundred dollars (or more) for a full year. I would think the hobby has evolved to the point where pre-orders aren’t necessary as a gauge to know how many units should be produced. They should now have the sales data after a decade in business that x amount of Luke Skywalkers are going to sell easily, whereas maybe they should only make y amount for Johnny Depp as Tonto. If they simply made the quantities in advance and just release them, it would be easier for us as consumers to know what we can afford right there and then.

That probably works out better for them because you will get abundant amounts of people making impulse purchases. Whereas now someone might impulse pre-order and then later change their mind and cancel, even despite having to pay NRD. Sure, they get the NRD, but they don’t get a full sale.

 

[Star-Crunch]

I for one am grateful for nrds. They prevent me from impulse ordering and make me really consider what I should and shouldn't buy.

 

[davidgray1974]

 

[Star-Crunch]

 

[FlyAndFight]

... But it's a bit simplistic to say that buyers shouldn't pre-order unless they are committed to buying IMO. Who among us hasn't at some point in the past changed our mind about a pre-order, for one reason or another? ...

Valid points, Karamazov80, especially when the time between pre-ordering and shipping is now taking over a year. As I wrote before, no one knows what emergencies may arise that would cause hesitation in completing the purchase of a figure(s).

I have to admit that the only times I have pre-ordered a figure have been when I have been committed to buying. If I have any hesitations, I either simply wait until it's closer to shipping or the first figures start arriving and pics are shared or even when discount codes are available. I know I'm not the norm, though.

I'm sure that before the introduction of NRDs, a large number of people would place pre-orders of just about every announced figure that they were even remotely interested in. Then when billing/shipping announcements would arrive, cancellations were hitting Sideshow like a tidal wave.

My pending pre-orders through SS at the moment are K2S0, Jyn in Disguise, Yoda and Ripley. To be honest, the NRD has been irrelevant to me so far. Hopefully nothing comes up that jeopardizes any of these figures.

 

[Aliaz]

SS are usually very helpful if you talk to them about payment. For example the 4-LOM figure is charging 4 days after our wedding, and while I could pay it off if I Absolutely had to, I felt I had enough expenses to cover that week .I emailed them asking if I they could move it to payment plan (couldn't change it myself since it was close to shipping). Got a email the day after that they put it on flex pay, first charge a month later in June. It pays to ask nicely.

 

[Mad Old Lu]

A few years ago when the prices started to skyrocket I made the decision to only pre-order what I absolutely without a doubt would want and keep. And for the most part I have stuck to that. There are a couple of things here and there that I will get that I wasn’t planning if there’s a good sale, and for anything that I’m like 60-75% sure I want, I’ll try and wait till they’re out and I can see in-hand pics or wait for a coupon or a sale. The NRD rule has helped me stick to that plan too by discouraging me from anything I’m not sure about. I think I would have placed a pre-order for Jyn and K2 if it wasn’t for the NRD.

But yeah, early on when I first started collecting and there were no NRDs, I would pre-order lots of stuff that I ended up cancelling because I wasn’t 100% on them.

 

[karamazov80]

That probably works out better for them because you will get abundant amounts of people making impulse purchases. Whereas now someone might impulse pre-order and then later change their mind and cancel, even despite having to pay NRD. Sure, they get the NRD, but they don’t get a full sale.

Yeah, there are pros and cons from the businesses perspective. But I do think they make out better with than without them. They should have the data to back it up!

If I were a business, I would certainly not want folks flippantly pre-ordering with no concern for my bottom line. And NRDs may help folks who don't have a lot of money to better budget. If so, that's great. I can afford to buy more, but don't because of NRDs, and that's also helped me! So, I'm not necessarily against it, though of course, consumers generally would prefer having freedom to have their cake and eat it, too.

 

[SilverStar17]

I totally get that and these things aren't cheap.
But i see a LOT of complaining from people who want no NRD to they can "safely" cancel without it costing them anything.
If they want to order everything but buy nothing, they shouldn't be Preordering in the first place.

I'm personally on this side of the token as well.

The business does have to look out for themselves also. I consider an NRD just a small fee of good faith that shows you are committed to buying the figure. If you are fully committed to buying the figure, then an NRD shouldn't be a problem. To me, the only ones where an NRD would be a problem would be the ones who want the luxury of knowing they can back out without anything lost on their end; the ones who just click "PO" on impulse to at least reserve themselves a spot in line for the figure, not even fully knowing if they actually want it. Meanwhile, you're taking up a spot of someone who actually is going to be a committed buyer of the figure. That's precisely why the business implements an NRD.

Now I can understand of course something unexpected may come up where you're unable to afford the figure anymore and you have to cancel, but at least you don't go into the PO thinking you might cancel because you're not even sure if you're going to ultimately end up even wanting the figure. Then again also, if something unexpected comes up for you, that isn't the problem of the business.

 

[nexus]

POed today. Was going to try to wait out a code, but don't want to miss out trying to save $20. I need to pick up a Hoth Han at some point and just do a head swap. Fortunately I have a TaunTaun.

 

[Deeznutz6]

I'm personally on this side of the token as well.

The business does have to look out for themselves also. I consider an NRD just a small fee of good faith that shows you are committed to buying the figure. If you are fully committed to buying the figure, then an NRD shouldn't be a problem. To me, the only ones where an NRD would be a problem would be the ones who want the luxury of knowing they can back out without anything lost on their end; the ones who just click "PO" on impulse to at least reserve themselves a spot in line for the figure, not even fully knowing if they actually want it. Meanwhile, you're taking up a spot of someone who actually is going to be a committed buyer of the figure. That's precisely why the business implements an NRD.

Now I can understand of course something unexpected may come up where you're unable to afford the figure anymore and you have to cancel, but at least you don't go into the PO thinking you might cancel because you're not even sure if you're going to ultimately end up even wanting the figure. Then again also, if something unexpected comes up for you, that isn't the problem of the business.

Sorry but if you finances are that tight you shouldn't be in he hobby of buying multiple hundred dollar actioon figures, regardless if something unexpected comes up.

Car breaks down and need 5k? Does 250$ more make you miss a mortgage pAyment? If so stick to funko pops

Business need to protect themselves and nothing else in life lets you bail on a preorder without some penalty

 

[SilverStar17]

Sorry but if you finances are that tight you shouldn't be in he hobby of buying multiple hundred dollar actioon figures, regardless if something unexpected comes up.

Car breaks down and need 5k? Does 250$ more make you miss a mortgage pAyment? If so stick to funko pops

Business need to protect themselves and nothing else in life lets you bail on a preorder without some penalty

That's essentially what I said. It isn't the problem of the business if you unexpectedly can't afford the figure. They need to look out for themselves also. NRDs aren't a problem if you PO fully intending to acquire the figure. It's only a problem to those who want the luxury of knowing they're not committed to buying the figure and not being affected on their end if they cancel. They usually click PO on impulse just to at least guarantee themselves a figure should they decide they ultimately want to get it. Meanwhile, someone else who actually wants and is committed to purchasing the figure, has to settle for the WL because you're taking up a reservation that you're not even sure you want yet.

 

[Deeznutz6]

That's essentially what I said. It isn't the problem of the business if you unexpectedly can't afford the figure. They need to look out for themselves also. NRDs aren't a problem if you PO fully intending to acquire the figure. It's only a problem to those who want the luxury of knowing they're not committed to buying the figure and not being affected on their end if they cancel. They usually click PO on impulse just to at least guarantee themselves a figure should they decide they ultimately want to get it. Meanwhile, someone else who actually wants and is committed to purchasing the figure, has to settle for the WL because you're taking up a reservation that you're not even sure you want yet.

Ya I just quoted but like you said, essentially agrreing with the position

 

[SilverStar17]

Ya I just quoted but like you said, essentially agrreing with the position

No worries. I couldn't tell if you were agreeing with what I said, or read my post incorrectly and were disagreeing with something.

 

[dukefett]

I have no problem with NRD and use it most of the time if it's available. Why pay now instead of later?

And I don't think it hurts businesses or else BBTS, pretty much the biggest toy web store I know of, would change their practice. They do it with the vast majority of their items except really high dollar, low production items.

I can only assume they are paying for the items when they get them too. Most Japanese import shops like HLJ and Amiami also do NRD. You can order 20 of something from HLJ and not have to pay until it comes in.

 

[momaw]

Amiami don't need NRD's because they don't allow cancellations full stop. They also ban people who attempt to cancel more than once. They only let me (begrudgingly) cancel an item once and only because it was marked "provisional"(meaning they don't guarantee they will get stock and could cancel themselves), it was 2 years overdue, and had been out in other territories for 6 months yet still no sign they would actually receive it.

 

[Jme_c]

Personally I don't see the need for the non refundable deposit that Sideshow charges! Let's face it, it's not like the figure isn't going to sell, someone else will snap that up.

I get small independent business charging it as they won't acquire a massive shipment of stock like Sideshow, so they need to secure the stock they order. For example my Han and Chewie set wouldn't be released from the supplier until I had paid my retail outlet in full.

But sideshow are official distributors of Hot Toys so I think they could at least make the deposit refundable within a certain timeframe.

 

[zavira]

I came back here to tell you guys that the first 12-18 pages convinced me to preorder HOTH Leia. After reading the last few pages, I have no issues with NRDs. It's a commitment. I clicked that preorder button with the intent of buying whatever I'm buying by clicking that button. They, the seller, are reserving the item for me with the understanding that I'm going to follow through and pay the rest of the owed amount.

 

[Mike86]

I think to me the NRD is just more of an annoyance because it feels like another cash grab by Sideshow (on top of their markups and ridiculous shipping fees). Like has been mentioned they're likely to sell through their stock regardless of cancellations at some point and also with the time span it takes between pre-ordering and actually getting a figure taking so long there are a lot of factors that could cause a person want or need to cancel. Personally I'm pretty careful about only ordering stuff I know that I'll want but I can see instances where others may have issues. I really think if figures could release somewhat sooner than they do even if it was like three to six months between pre-order and delivery rather than a year or more it would be beneficial.

 

[CollectorGuy]

I think to me the NRD is just more of an annoyance because it feels like another cash grab by Sideshow (on top of their markups and ridiculous shipping fees). Like has been mentioned they're likely to sell through their stock regardless of cancellations at some point and also with the time span it takes between pre-ordering and actually getting a figure taking so long there are a lot of factors that could cause a person want or need to cancel. Personally I'm pretty careful about only ordering stuff I know that I'll want but I can see instances where others may have issues. I really think if figures could release somewhat sooner than they do even if it was like three to six months between pre-order and delivery rather than a year or more it would be beneficial.

this is the reason i haven't bought from ssc as much over the past year or so. I only buy from them because of the rp i can use or if it's an ex i can't get anywhere else. BBTS lately has been the better choice and they are good people to deal with when there is a problem. I liked it better when ssc was doing their monthly coupons too, more reason i ordered through them.