Sideshow 1/6 R2-D2

[Anthrapoid]

Geez, now I feel guilty for living just six hours North of SS...
Rory, I can't lie to you about your chances, but you have my sympathies.

 

[matrix69]

Added a little more weathering to r2,especially around the projector lens.Pretty happy how it looks now
View attachment 169105View attachment 169106View attachment 169107

 

[inked]

So my Fedex bill arrived this morning for R2.

$70 dollars. That's on top of $40 shipping. The whole thing cost me $260.
Sideshow need to fix their international sales system if they want people to keep ordering from them outside US.

I'm out. That's half of the cost of the figure on top of shipping.
I'm an idiot. I've learnt my lesson and I am now cancelling all my Sideshow orders. Hong Kong only from here on in.

Where are you based? I signed up for a fedex account so my import bill was £25 for R2 (saved the £12 Fedex handling charge)

 

[Pixelpiper]

What is the service standard of the shipment? In other words, what does FedEx call/brand the level of delivery used for these packages where they're charging for clearance/brokerage?

I think Sideshow would prefer that such purchases are made through local dealers rather than from them directly. The extra FedEx charges however, are entirely a FedEx issue and not really anything to do with Sideshow. It's possible they can do customs charges up front, but that's a hassle and why a lot of companies don't ship out of the US at all. They can also ship via different carrier, such as the post office, but chances are their volume discounts make FedEx the lowest cost and fastest option for the customer.

 

[Asta]

What is the service standard of the shipment? In other words, what does FedEx call/brand the level of delivery used for these packages where they're charging for clearance/brokerage?

It's 'FedEx International Economy'.

And, as inked wrote, if you have an account with FedEx there are no charges apart from the customs fee.

 

[Captain Britain]

So my Fedex bill arrived this morning for R2.

$70 dollars. That's on top of $40 shipping. The whole thing cost me $260.
Sideshow need to fix their international sales system if they want people to keep ordering from them outside US.

I'm out. That's half of the cost of the figure on top of shipping.
I'm an idiot. I've learnt my lesson and I am now cancelling all my Sideshow orders. Hong Kong only from here on in.

Yeah, customs takes all the fun out of it. I feel your pain.

 

[King Darkness]

$260 for R2?!? Fawk that noise!

 

[Rorywan]

I have an online FedEx account. I only ever have this problem with SSC orders. Even items from the US which are proper customs declared never cost this much.
It's ****ing ridiculous. I don't know what kind of set-up SSC have with FedEx, but I'm FedUp with it.

Where are you based? I signed up for a fedex account so my import bill was £25 for R2 (saved the £12 Fedex handling charge)

Ireland at the moment. And what the **** are FedEx handling charges anyway. They are getting paid to handle the goods already. It's their customs set-up with Sideshow that I have a problem with. I receive many other FedEx packages with zero custom problems. I'm gonna chase this one up i think. Sideshow should stop using them.

 

[ZE_501]

Well, you know, I was happy to support SS by ordering directly from them, but not any more.
If they don't care about international sales then I won't either.

Hilarious that they are trying to stop Hong Kong 3rd party sales, while at the same time are doing nothing to promote their direct service. I would love to know how Fedex come up with these figures. They seem completely inconsistent.

[...]

Wait ... what? How, why...?

"Over-paying" from a Hong Kong dealer results in a better price than if I order direct from SSC.

Pixelpiper suggested I get a US mailbox but I do have people I visit in Michigan a fair bit now...could probably just have stuff shipped there but so far HK is the most painless, although there's a Canadian retailer up here that's also been pretty good to deal with...my only real concern is getting QC issues addressed fast, which near as I can tell is something SSC does well.

 

[Rorywan]

Wait ... what? How, why...?

"Over-paying" from a Hong Kong dealer results in a better price than if I order direct from SSC.

Pixelpiper suggested I get a US mailbox but I do have people I visit in Michigan a fair bit now...could probably just have stuff shipped there but so far HK is the most painless, although there's a Canadian retailer up here that's also been pretty good to deal with...my only real concern is getting QC issues addressed fast, which near as I can tell is something SSC does well.

*allegedly* as in several other members have posted about it. SSC have been clamping down, dropping reviewers if they feature items from HK. Budget Stark was also told he could no longer film his video reviews in Toy Hunters. They mentioned that SSC & HT are trying to minimise collectors buying from unofficial sources.

 

[EVILFACE]

$260 for R2?!? Fawk that noise!

Dat's Hot Toys monies.

 

[King Darkness]

Dat's Hot Toys monies.

* beep boop beep cha ching *

 

[Rorywan]

Dat's Hot Toys monies.

And well, you all know how I feel about R2 anyway. Talk about rubbing salt into the wound.

 

[ZE_501]

[...]They mentioned that SSC & HT are trying to minimise collectors buying from unofficial sources.

Weird in that I can't imagine what constitutes "official" as retail is retail, unless they're worried about "official" release dates and some kind of... market segregation, the way some products are licensed for distribution in Japan but not North America or what-have-you...?

But I thought Sideshow loved Freedom.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[inked]

I have an online FedEx account. I only ever have this problem with SSC orders. Even items from the US which are proper customs declared never cost this much.
It's ****ing ridiculous. I don't know what kind of set-up SSC have with FedEx, but I'm FedUp with it.

Ireland at the moment. And what the **** are FedEx handling charges anyway. They are getting paid to handle the goods already. It's their customs set-up with Sideshow that I have a problem with. I receive many other FedEx packages with zero custom problems. I'm gonna chase this one up i think. Sideshow should stop using them.

Ouch. I wonder if they used the wrong item classification for it.

Mine cost me £140 all in (I did use some reward points though)

 

[Tee-Kay]

I have an online FedEx account. I only ever have this problem with SSC orders. Even items from the US which are proper customs declared never cost this much.
It's ****ing ridiculous. I don't know what kind of set-up SSC have with FedEx, but I'm FedUp with it.

Ireland at the moment. And what the **** are FedEx handling charges anyway. They are getting paid to handle the goods already. It's their customs set-up with Sideshow that I have a problem with. I receive many other FedEx packages with zero custom problems. I'm gonna chase this one up i think. Sideshow should stop using them.

Those handling charges are just ridiculous. With €/$ current exchange rate, bank margin on that rate, VAT and Fedex fees over that here is my detailed invoice:

$ 149.99 for R2
$ 40.00 S&H
$ 37.00 VAT (20%)
$ 13.50 Fedex fees
$ 2.50 Fededx fees taxes

Grand total of $242.99 for R2. You gotta be a Star Wars nut like me to keep ordering direct from Sideshow for the occasional worthy ex

 

[Natedog]

So my Fedex bill arrived this morning for R2.

$70 dollars. That's on top of $40 shipping. The whole thing cost me $260.
Sideshow need to fix their international sales system if they want people to keep ordering from them outside US.

I'm out. That's half of the cost of the figure on top of shipping.
I'm an idiot. I've learnt my lesson and I am now cancelling all my Sideshow orders. Hong Kong only from here on in.

Its not SSC its your/our government and the greedy 3rd parties to thank. Look at the bill and who it is you have to pay. Its not fedex. I had to pay those UPS bastards when it was FEDEX who did the delivery.

I know exactly what you're talking about. I went through the exact same thing back when Greivous came out. FedEx dropped off my package and I was all happy. Then 2 weeks later I received the bill. I was half expecting it, and expecting it to be for taxes only. The total was over $120. The taxes were there (about $35) and the rest was brokerage fees. I almost sh|t my pants.

easy fix for next time remember:
IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BE AVAILABLE FOR DELIVERY, THEN CALL FEDEX BEFOREHAND AND PAY THE AMOUNT OWED (taxes) OVER THE PHONE.

You then will not get dinged weeks later!

 

[Pixelpiper]

You can also do the customs clearance yourself if you call them and put a note on your account or for that specific delivery - before they get a chance to clear it obviously. Doing it yourself may or may not be convenient, depending on the proximity of the office/entry point you have to visit. Third party brokerage is also an option, but unless you already have a broker that you do regular business with, probably not cost-effective. Then there's the option that some retailers are offering, of paying the tax up front so everything gets cleared in the US before it ever arrives. This can save a bunch of money too. Priority services from FedEx already include all brokerage fees and charges (but then you're paying $60-$100+ for shipping in 1-2 days).

Because of all these hassles, all my US-sourced orders go to my US mailbox and I import and clear everything myself in batches whenever I want to take a trip down for a pick-up. There are also holding/re-mail services that can batch process purchases if you're not close to a border yourself. Might be cost effective for some people - some of my customers use services like this.

 

[Captain Britain]

I would never pay a customs charge that arrived after I'd received my item. Why can't you just tell them to **** off? That's what I did the one time it happened and I never heard from them again. What are they going to do?

 

[Rorywan]

Ouch. I wonder if they used the wrong item classification for it.

Mine cost me £140 all in (I did use some reward points though)

yeah, this seems abnormally high to me. I'm gonna check it with them.