Should Sideshow have a Cancellation policy?

[NASEDO]

I would like to see Sideshow introduce a cancellation policy. Why? I think it will help lower the editions on pieces and help me not to worry on blowing my money on a statue that will decrese in value when it ships. Long shot, of course.

But I'm bothered by the fact that I feel I have to cancel my PF Luke/Yoda and PF Frodo because I will be able to a get a great deal elsewhere. Now I think due to no cancellation policy most people order and wait to see if the edition is low enough for profit "Flipper", and now they seen the edition and cancel.

I maybe wrong, I really don't know what happens at Sideshow, I can only speculate that the 1st week of orders help issue the edition size. And I think alot of these 1st week orders get canceled. And then months later you read the thread I canceled my....., times that by who knows how many.

Would a cancellation policy help this situation? Would it lower edtion sizes? I think it would be a great change and alot of people would have to think twice. When your spending over $300.00 on a statue you should have to think twice anyway.

 

[tomandshell]

I definitely see what you're saying.

But I think the bad is outweighed by the good. I appreciate having the chance to secure an item for sure, and then think about it after the fact. For example, I have cancelled one or two things as a result of seeing the final production pics. Sometimes things change in the months between ordering and shipping--from both our perspective and Sideshow's. It's good to have the worry-free protection of a secured preorder and the freedom to change your mind if your finances or collecting interests change in the months (sometimes up to a year) after placing your order.

 

[lcummins]

If Sideshow could guarantee ship dates, and spread out items instead of shipping a ton all at once, and if the production pieces always looked like the prototypes, and if they gave us a road-map for the year so we would know what else might be coming... then maybe... otherwise, a resounding NO!!!

 

[Fritz]

If Sideshow could guarantee ship dates, and spread out items instead of shipping a ton all at once, and if the production pieces always looked like the prototypes, and if they gave us a road-map for the year so we would know what else might be coming... then maybe... otherwise, a resounding NO!!!

I was going to say yes but those are good points.

 

[NASEDO]

I totally forgot about the production photos, that kinda kills the whole thing.

 

[King Darkness]

If they started cancellation frees, I would most likely do more shopping with other retailers, or have to wait for in stock items. I love being able to secure an order, then months later if I cant swing the cost I can cancel with out a problem.

Now if there we cancel fees, I wouldn't pre order that many items, most of which would most likely sell out before they shipped and I would be forced to buy else where.

I don't know if that makes sense, or if I just did a bad job of explaining.

But NO, I would not want to see any kind of cancellation fees.

 

[El Roranous]

I definitely see what you're saying.

But I think the bad is outweighed by the good. I appreciate having the chance to secure an item for sure, and then think about it after the fact. For example, I have cancelled one or two things as a result of seeing the final production pics. Sometimes things change in the months between ordering and shipping--from both our perspective and Sideshow's. It's good to have the worry-free protection of a secured preorder and the freedom to change your mind if your finances or collecting interests change in the months (sometimes up to a year) after placing your order.

I too enjoy being able to cancel an item without penalty if I need to.

 

[nash]

yup if sideshow implements cancelation penalty fees, there will be no reason for me to buy direct any more, and I'll take my money and business elsewhere one of the many reputable dealers.

 

[Bannister]

If Sideshow could guarantee ship dates, and spread out items instead of shipping a ton all at once, and if the production pieces always looked like the prototypes, and if they gave us a road-map for the year so we would know what else might be coming... then maybe... otherwise, a resounding NO!!!

Very good points. I voted no anyway, but your post just gives me further validation.

 

[minivader]

as a consumer and collector of pricy collectables, I really appreciates sideshow's policy. Since I want everything, but cant afford everything, a flexable policy really does give me the option to save up (or not as its the case most of the time) and make my final decision

I dont think sideshow should add cancelation fees so that the edition size would be affected. I think sideshows does enough market research to know how many they should produce, sure they have miscalculated on some, but overall, I think they got it pretty good with the amount of product they have.

 

[NASEDO]

Don't most of the other dealers have cancellation policys?

And you would miss an exclusive because of the cancellation policy?

 

[King Darkness]

And you would miss an exclusive because of the cancellation policy?

Possibly.

1: I pre-order it and can pay when shipped, no prob.

2: I pre-order it and have to cancel due to no money.

3: I pre-order it and SS ships 15 other items at the same time and I have no funds and have to cancel.

4: I pre-order it, have no funds, nor the balls to cancel, and my card declines.

I wouldn't necessarily NOT order it due to the policy, but there is a good chance I could have to cancel, then I owe money on something I didn't even get. That happens a few times and then you decide to just stop ordering direct from SS.

Its just to much of an iffy situation.

 

[carbo-fation]

I voted NO! I am still bummed at the fact that I am going to get charged a ton of money for cancelling my Luke/Yoda flex pay. Yes, I knew about the fee when I ordered it through flex pay, but some things came up today that prompted me to cancel this piece.

 

[dekadentdave]

Some retailers like Toy2 require a 10% non-refundable deposit on all pre-orders. I can certainly see this from a business POV that the seller is making a purchase of items from the distributor based on the number of pre-orders to fulfill and doesn't want to get burned by last minute cancellations and left holding the bag with merchandise that isn't sold and it commits the costumer to completing the purchase or forfeit the deposit, but because of this I have generally stayed away from pre-ordering from sellers with these policies. Just as an example, the only time I have EVER pre-ordered anything from Toy2 was for the Rocky figures and that was ONLY because they were the only online seller and no options other than ebay that has them for pre-order but if somebody like Sideshow had offered them with their no-hassle cancellation policy I probably would have ordered from them instead. Conversely, if Sideshow were to implement a similar policy then I would look elsewhere to make my pre-order selections and I would only buy from them if I couldn't buy it elsewhere.

 

[Agent0028]

In addition to the others, another reason that I think a cancellation policy would be bad is in the case of exclusives selling out and being on the waitlist. This semester I will miss the Friday PPO's so I'll have to order the regular edition and get on the exclusive waitlist and if the exclusive comes through (which it probably would...I think...I hope...) I can cencel the regular. With a new cancellation policy I would . Plus when Sideshow came out with the Yoda bust I cancelled my Luke/Yoda PF because I mainly bought it for Yoda, and I liked the bust better as a Yoda product. But I don't have money or space for both.

 

[Alice Adrenochrome]

I see your point NASEDO, for me too I love low ES as they may help to uphold the items monetary value. Since I concentrate on the exclusive versions of many SSC items, I have no choice but to order from SSC directly, knowing that the regular version will often be available for considerably less with retailers. That's pretty frustrating. But I guess we have to take a little bad with the good.

 

[DetroitSportsFan]

If Sideshow could guarantee ship dates, and spread out items instead of shipping a ton all at once, and if the production pieces always looked like the prototypes, and if they gave us a road-map for the year so we would know what else might be coming... then maybe... otherwise, a resounding NO!!!

Amen! Preach on, brother! :chew

 

[SolidLiquidFox]

The ability to cancel orders is a benefit we pay for. Just like the 100% satisfaction guarantee and the 30 day return policy. Besides the exclusives, that's the main reason to order direct from SS instead of going through a dealer for less cost.

I understand trying to have tighter control of the edition sizes. An adjustable ES should be the way to go:

Release the initial ES after about a week or two. Do this by considering the character's popularity (ex. Boba Fett PF), the cost of each unit, past history determining an ES for similar items, current ebay trends on similiar products of the same line and overall fan feedback. THEN, after about 2-3 weeks, adjust the ES accordingly if you get mass cancellations from speculators. With the Marvel line, for example, you always see the ES quietly get bumped up on some items. It's never adjusted down which would aliviate situations like the 2,000 Ex/2,000 Regular Fett PF.

I suggested before that the ES for exclusive items should be rounded down when producing them. If you get 578 orders of whatever character then round down to 550 or even 525 if the exclusive item is lame. That helps keep the ES tight and not have so many floating around on ebay. If you get a situation when all 578 people want the item (no cancels or declines? yeah right!) then give the people that ordered first (your newsletter readers on Thursday nights) the opportunity to get an AP edition (look at their accounts and see if they are good standing customers).

 

[gambit]

I agree with SLF

Sideshow should have a record and graphics showin the cancellation percentage on different items. Accordingly may be even 578 orders can be rounded down to 500.

However, I am also ordering and cancelling lots of orders and I wouldn't be happy to pay cancellation fee for cancelling an item which has low quality paint application as an example.

 

[El Roranous]

If it isn't broken, don't fix it!