I will tell what Toys Wonderland is. Wait for my post (It will be long).
01.11.2021 - I preordered Hot Toys TMS042 Echo from Toys Wonderland. At that time there were two options. One for regular price, and one for discounted price (probably later batch).
05.10.2022 - The figure was released in Hong Kong.
From this point, I'll be mostly copying the mails I exchanged with TW. Green text is e-mail sent by me, red text is e-mail sent by customer support. Black is either info or my comments.
02.03.2023 - Me: "
Do you have an estimated time of arrival?"
??.03.2023 - Toys Wonderland responded with an e-mail (I lost it) saying the item will arrive in April 2023.
05.06.2023 - Me: "
I've contacted you in March for the order #blinded (You can see the original message below). I couldn't find your response mail, but you've told that the item will arrive in April and will be sent. It's June now and it is still not shipped. What is the current situation?"
07.06.2023 - CS: "
We regret to inform you that the Hot Toys Star Wars: The Bad Batch™ - 1/6th scale Echo™ Collectible Figure TMS042 - 3rd Batch is delayed and is now estimated to arrive at our warehouse by the Middle of July 2023! After you have received the tracking number showing a pending pickup status, your order will be processed and shipped within approximately 14 business days."
09.06.2023 - I received a newsletter kind e-mail saying that the third batch will arrive by early July.
01.08.2023 - CS:
"Our warehouse has got your tracking number ready in advanced! The item will be shipped soon and please keep an eye on the tracking update."
And they stated the order as "Shipped" status on website and "Pending pickup" status on tracking page (Yes, they provided a tracking number).
05.09.2023 - Me: "
It's been more than a month and yet, it still appears as "Sender is preparing item for posting". Why is it taking more than a month to prepare the item?"
09.09.2023 - CS: "
We would like to inform you that there has been a delay in the logistics for the product you ordered. However, we are pleased to inform you that this Hot Toys product is expected to arrive at our warehouse by next week. After you have received the tracking number showing a pending pickup status, your order will be processed and shipped within approximately 20 business days."
20.09.2023 - Me: "
I've contacted you first in March, you've told that the item will arrive in April and will be sent.
In June I contacted you again and you replied that estimated arrival to warehouse was delayed to mid-July. And you added that “After you have received the tracking number showing a pending pickup status, your order will be processed and shipped within approximately 14 business days.”
At the end of July, I again contacted you and told that “When I click on the item in my pre-order page, it directs me to the item page which is in stock (Previously it was directing me to a page that shows pre-order)” and added that I’d considercancelling the order if it would not ship. You responded that the item would arrive next week. And again, there was the same note “After you have received the tracking number showing a pending pickup status, your order will be processed and shipped within approximately 14 business days.”
A few days later, I received an e-mail with tracking code. Now, in previous two e-mails, you wrote that the item will ship within 14 business days. And after 30 business days, I contacted you again and you responded that the item will arrive next week and added the similar “After you have received the tracking number showing a pending pickup status, your order will be processed and shipped within approximately 20 business days.” text. It’s been already 30 days and you told me that the item has not arrived yet. Then, why did you get tracking code and tell that it will be shipped within 14 days. After the notice of tracking code, 30 business days passed, you still asked one more week. Upon your mail, I waited not a week but a week and a half and nope, still no shipment.
So, let’s be clear. Is the item in your Warehouse. If not, why your site sends me to in-stock item page when I click on my pre-order (It previously sended me top re-order item page). And if it is not in your Warehouse, why the hell you get a tracking code.
So give me a set time for shipping (Exact shipping, not tracking code which I have to wait for 14 business days). If it is not within 10 days, well, cancel my order and refund the money. If you give me a date within 10 days, I’ll wait. But if the item does not ship that day, I won’t wait any further and ask for a refund.
I am a very patience man. But this is beyond my patience. If my previous purchase didn’t go smoothly, I would have already cancelled the order and ask for a refund, but I opted to wait.
So, this is my last mail about the status. I am waiting an exact shipping date. If the rest goes smoothly, I’ll give your store more chance. Otherwise, my next mail will be -if it comes to that- to cancel the order and ask for a refund, and will never use your store again.
In short,
1-Is the item in your warehouse? Yes or no.
2-If it is, then when will it be shipped? I want exact date. Otherwise cancel it.
3-If it is not, when will it arrive? If not within 10 days (not business days, regular days), then cancel it. If it is within 10 days, I'll ask questions 1 and 2 at that day. Response "No" to question 1 will cause order cancellation. Response "Yes" will take us to question 2 and its rules.
I hope I am clear enough."
26.09.2023 - CS:"
Thank you for your email. We apologize for the late reply and any inconvenience caused by the situation.
We understand how important it is for you to receive your items promptly, and we appreciate your patience.
We want to assure you that your order has been placed on our urgent list.
Our customer service team is working diligently to process and fulfill orders as quickly as possible. Please be assured that we are doing everything we can to expedite the process.
Our warehouse team is currently experiencing a high volume of orders, which has caused some delays. However, we are actively working to ship it as soon as possible."
04.10.2023 - Me:"
You did not answer my questions. Instead, you said that warehouse team is experiencing a high volume of orders. With all due respects, even in that case my order should be among the first-to-serve considering the timing of my order. If you say there are lots of people waiting who ordered before me and so, I'm still waiting my queue , then it's a bigger disaster.
Also, I want to remind you that on 9th September, your customer service told me that the item would arrive the following week.
In short, either ship my order by Friday or cancel the order and refund the payment."
09.10.2023 - CS:"
We apologize for the delay in processing your order due to high order volumes at the warehouse. We are actively following up on your order, and if there are any updates, we will notify you promptly."
10.10.2023 - Me:"
Cancel my order. I am bored of excuses and I have very reasonable counter questions to your excuses (You can read them below). So, send it immediately or cancel it."
13.10.2023 - CS:"
We have received your email regarding the cancellation of your order. We will refund you in full in the form of store credit, which holds equal value to your payment. No service fees will be deducted, and the store credit can be used at checkout.
If you confirm the cancellation, please reply to this email and we will arrange for our sales colleagues to process your cancellation request."
15.10.2023 - Me:"
No, I don't accept refund in store credit. After all, it's not the case I don't want the figure anymore. The case is I want to cancel, because I don't believe you will send the item. So, it's your fault that you were unable to send the item in months. More than 2 full months have passed over you sent me the tracking code. But you still didn't hand the item to courier. And you still say the warehouse is busy. Now tell me, if you can't fulfil my order (which was made last year) in 2 months, that's mean there are more customers waiting ahead me. Otherwise, even though the warehouse was busy you'd handle my order immediately since I would have my order far earlier than other customers. Now, why should I buy from you again? If I make a new order with your store credit, I think you'll send the item after 4 years.
So no, it's your incompetency which made me want to cancel my order. Either send my item as soon as possible (I still want it) or make a full refund to my credit card. Any action other than those above will result in legal action and sharing my experience in collector communities."
19.10.2023 - CS:"
Please kindly note that any order cancellation requested after the 30-day grace period has elapsed will only be eligible for a refund in the form of store credit. This means that instead of receiving a monetary refund, the refunded amount will be credited to your store account, which you can use for future purchases."
19.10.2023 - Me:"
Do you have an understanding problem or acting in that way?
First, let's make a calculation (Look at the yellow-marked texts in the attached screenshots).
The notification of order shipment arrived on 1st August 2023 with a tracking code.
On 19th September 2023 your response included this phrase: "After you have received the tracking number showing a pending pickup status, your order will be processed and shipped within approximately 20 business days"
Now, considering that I received the tracking number on 1st August 2023, 20th business day corresponds to 28th August 2023. Let's double the time due to warehouse being busy. It corresponds to 25th September 2023. And what day is today? 19th October 2023. And tracking page still shows "Sender is prepraring item for posting". Does this look like a reasonable thing to you?
Moreover, you don't say the item is not in stock. You say that the warehouse is busy. I wrote you 3 or 4 times and instead of calling the warehouse and saying "Look, we have a customer whose shipment is delayed for more than a month, please give him the priority and speed up the process" you keep telling me that the warehouse is busy. If the warehouse is busy, I really wonder when my que will come. It looks like you're still busy with customers before me, like orders from 2019 or 2020. With this speed, I'll die before my item arrives.
And when finally I set my mind on cancellation, you say that -as it was me who is the faulty one- you'll refund in store credits IF I APPROVE. Then, although I EXPLICITLY stated that I DON'T want store credit refund and asked either SEND MY ORDER ASAP or REFUND IN FULL, you still say you'll refund in store credit. (By the way, tell me why I will consider buying from a shop again that delayed my order more than 3 months? I know I will have the same experience with the next order? So, why should I use the code?
Look, you said you'll refund in store credits IF I APPROVE. And I DON'T APPROVE. Send me my item.
If not, I'll both take legal action and share my experiences in social platforms (including posting messages under Justin's YT videos) and collectors forums (I am highly active with more than 2000+ posts in one of those forums (namely collectorfreaks.com, previously known as sideshowcollectors.com). I didn't say any negative thing in behalf of you in the forum, but I won't hesitate to share my experiences from now on. My deadline is Monday.
In summary, it is your fault that the real shipment is delayed for more than 3 months after I received my tracking code. So, either send me the item (I still want it and this is my preferred solution) or refund my money to my credit card."
26.10.2023 - CS:"
Thank you for your patience regarding the order we are currently processing. Due to the peak period, we need a little more time to manage your order. Your purchase will be shipped within 14 days from the date of this email."
11.11.2023 - Me:"
So, it's been 16 days after this mail. Still no shipment. How long will this game go on?
My next move is sharing my experience on social platform and collector forums.
It's you that failed to accomplish your part. It's me who repeatedly say over and over again that receiving the figure is my top priority. It's you that gave shipment time over and over and failed in every one of them. And it's still you that refuse to refund to my credit card. Instead, you offer to refund in store credit as it is my fault.
Look, I am sharing my experiences on collectors communities, no return from that move. And if you send the item or refund to my credit card, I'll update it accordingly. You get it? Perfect."
20.11.2023 - Me:"
So? Still waiting."
21.11.2023 - CS:"
Thank you for your inquiry. Please provide the following order information and we will respond to you as soon as possible:
- Name of Product
- Order Number
_status of order : In-Stock / Pre-Order"
At this point, they must have switched to
full joking mode. Because the order number was in the subject of my e-mail and all previous mails was attached below in my mail.
21.11.2023 - Me:"
Are you joking? Read the rest of this mail where previous mails are attached (including the subject of the mails). What you ask iş already there."
04.12.2023 - CS:"
Thank you for your inquiry. Here are the arrangements for your pre-ordered item that we will be shipping:
1) The arrival time of the product is to end of December 2023 to EARLY January. As soon as the goods are dispatched, we will promptly send them from our warehouse to your address.
2) You can choose to receive a full refund in the form of STORE CREDIT. You can use this to purchase items of the same value on our website or for pre-orders."
04.12.2023 - Me"
Here is your link where I shared my experiences with the collector community: Hot Toys Anakin Skywalker DX "Artisan Edition" 1/6 Figure Revenge of the Sith
More is coming.
Summary:
09.06.2023 - 3rd batch would be arriving early July (See the attached picture below)
01.08.2023 - Our warehouse has got your tracking number ready in advanced! The item will be shipped soon and please keep an eye on the tracking update. Tracking code: Hong Kong Post RL004959915HK
26.09.2023 - We want to assure you that your order has been placed on our urgent list. Our customer service team is working diligently to process and fulfill orders as quickly as possible. Please be assured that we are doing everything we can to expedite the process. Doris
26.10.2023 - Your purchase will be shipped within 14 days from the date of this email. Ian
04.12.2023 - The arrival time of the product is to end of December 2023 to EARLY January. Anna
Are you ashamed? I don't think so."
It's worrisome that they're displayed in such a hot mess manner with the prototype. God knows how well they're going to do once production rolls around.
