Did you end up contacting Sideshow? If so, what was their response? I've emailed them about the same problem on my own piece and am waiting on a reply.
I wanted to wait and think about whether I was okay with the paint on my masked head, I was eventually going to contact them about the arm issue though since it can't hold a pose for too long without drooping. I came to the conclusion that I'd like a replacement arm and head since I mainly want to display him with the masked head and I always notice the missing paint. Though my Wolverine doesn't look nearly as bad as Jye4ever's or WhoaItsJBot's figures, Yikes!
I contacted them late last Thursday so it's too early for them to get back to me. I'll expect to hear back from them by the end of the week, they might be very busy at the moment so give them time, I've personally never had a problem with SSC customer service.
My figure has the small paint defect on the cowl, as a few others have had here. What does Sideshow do in these cases? It would be a pain to send the whole figure back.
That will depend. Sometimes SSC will send out replacement parts free of charge, you'll receive an email with their decision and instructions and then an order notice for the parts when they ship, but you are not charged anything in the notice.
Sometimes they will ask you to destroy the flawed or broken pieces and send them pictures of the destroyed pieces to prove that they're destroyed, otherwise they will charge your card on file for the issued replacements after 5 business days from receipt of your replacement parts.
That isn't always the case though, when I received my R2-D2 with a broken and scratched dome, they sent me a replacement and didn't ask me to destroy the old dome and send pictures and I wasn't charged.
This is the email I received from SSC about my R2-D2 replacement:
Hello ********,
Thanks again for taking the time to provide me with these pictures of the issues you have reported regarding your Artoo.
I have booked replacement order, #*********, to replace the damaged R2-D2 Deluxe- dome. This new order will be shipped once it has been inspected within the next 1-2 business days.
I appreciate your patience and cooperation while we worked together to help get your lovable droid back on his feet! Please feel free to reply if you need any additional help!
********* (Sideshow Customer Service representative)
And this was from SSC for my Harley Quinn replacement because the lower torso was completely broken to bits on the figure I received:
Dear *********,
Thank you very much for the pictures you sent. We wanted to follow up with you today to confirm that a replacement order, #********, has been booked for the Harley Quinn body replacement only. Please allow 7 to 10 business days for your replacement order to ship at no cost to you.
Please make sure your replacement part is undamaged upon receipt. If your replacement is acceptable, please destroy your damaged part only per the instructions below and provide photos within 5 business days of receipt of your replacement. If we do not receive your photos in this time, you will be charged for the extra piece.
** Please use care and precaution when destroying this piece. We ask that you use a rather blunt instrument to crush your piece only. We would advise placing the piece in a cloth bag, pillow case, or heavy duty trash bag to contain any flying debris as well as any small pieces that result from destroying your piece. DO NOT set fire to your collectible or drop it from a high altitude as this may cause bodily harm to yourself, bystanders, private or public property. We also ask that you protect yourself from flying pieces or shards by wearing eye protection, if possible, as well as proper footwear.
Sideshow Collectibles will not be responsible for any injuries caused by destroying your item. So please make sure you destroy the item in a safe fashion.
We thank you for your cooperation during our returns process. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any further questions or concerns.
Best regards,
********* (Sideshow Customer Service representative)
I followed their instructions and wasn't charged for the replacement, it wasn't a big deal and easy enough to do, I used an old towel to prevent the pieces from flying everywhere and crushed it with a hammer, then I took pics and sent them away.
Sideshow has at times issued a small refund amount (not a full refund) instead of replacing the damaged items. This has never happened to me but I have read about it here on SS Freaks.
