beatsing

3 hours ago, Tober said:

I believe the magic words are 'delayed delivery goods'. You must make it clear to your credit card company that the order was not for an in-stock items.  This is from a post on an Aussie Transformers Forum, but should still largely apply :

http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php/24252-Premium-Collectables-(PC)-not-refunding-help-is-here-for-doing-charge-backs?highlight=premium+collectables

Thanks this is really helpful @Tober

2 hours ago, Slave IV said:

@beatsing I don’t want to go into this much more here but just to clarify, I never heard one report of NY not delivering the 31A or anything else. Do you have a link or reference to someone claiming this was the case for them?

Back to the main concern at hand, I’m glad to hear some people are getting shipments or even have the 1S in hand already. I hope I’m one of them soon and I want to get on to seeing the pics of this thing in people’s collections. 

@Slave IV I don't have a link, it was from scanning the posts.  Someone else didn't get one and posted about it.  I didn't order a 31a, but I did order different products from them.

2 hours ago, neoexcaliber said:

I didn't get the VF-31A I ordered from NY too. I ordered a few units for myself and friends back in 2017, the day after pre-order opened. The toy came out in March 2018. I waited till January 2019 for NY to fulfill my orders but they couldn't commit to it. I cancelled a part of it in November 2018 and the rest in January 2019. Routine followups also resulted in the same scripted response and they kept offering refunds. so I caved in. I had to accept store credit since it was more than a year since the payment was made. The worst part was, as I recall, how the VF-31A was in stock at a mark up weeks after I cancelled mine. Maybe a coincidence?

I don't give them as much business as I used to because of that incident due to financial decisions but there are other alternatives. My experience contradicts some of the statements made here but that VF-31A debacle was the one time NY couldn't deliver.

yup.  I had a similar experience where my order was not fulfilled and then within minutes it was up at a mark up.  Reputable businesses don't do this.  I read that some companies are offering a buyback (I haven't seen this first hand) and that's better than cancelling your order to sell it at markup.

2 hours ago, Valkyrie23 said:

Just received a payment request from Hobby Search. My order was from the night before release date.

Hobbysearch goes from preorder to closed before I can even press the add to cart, haha

2 hours ago, crackpot said:

Exactly. Just because they were able to deliver the 31A it doesn't mean they're to be excused of their other shitty practices like some tout them as if they're that awesome and reliable. They're in the retail business and there are expectations which most of them aren't really absurd or too demanding. Expectations that are just the norm like delivering in a timely manner. Sure it's above and beyond they filled the 31A orders which it wasn't their fault since Bandai shorted everybody. But what about not shipping products on time that don't have shortages? Case in point the Dairugger XV. There are customers that haven't received them from NY even though the US has shipped out theirs. It's not just on this one occasion also. What about them buying other stores's pre-order stock just to sell them at a higher price? These people could have gotten them from those stores at the PO or retail price but NY bought them to price gouge. 

But hey, they delivered the 31A and will deliver even if that's slow so they're good, right?

Agreed. 

For those who are patient and "chill" they have apparently agreed to different terms of contract: to wait indefinitely as long as they deliver.  

If NY improved their business practices, I'd reconsider doing business with them.  It's not like I don't read all the nice things peeps have said about them.  

Sorry for the off topic, but NY seems to come up with DX orders a lot.

35 minutes ago, Slave IV said:

The thing is any vender using PayPal must not take any payment unless they can deliver within 120 days or less (I don’t remember the exact timing but I think @sqidd mentioned it was less). This policy is somewhere in the PayPal terms and conditions but difficult to find. If you find it, just refer them to it for any issue you have past the time limit and they have to pay you because they allowed a vendor to break their rules. I haven’t tried myself but I went through an issue where a shop shut down with a ton of preorders from a lot of people and someone pointed out they got their money that way. I got my money by contacting my credit card company. I’m not sure what the time limit for cc companies are but I think that time starts after you get an item. If you paid for an item that was never delivered, I’m pretty sure any credit card company with reimburse you. 

I know these methods work and have seen the PayPal policy but haven’t tried looking for it again because I haven’t put myself in a position to need to since that one time. 

Thanks, that's good to know.  

25 minutes ago, Tober said:

I didn't mention it, but a credit card should protect you for about 18 months for 'pre-orders' which are called 'delayed delivery goods' in their terms and conditions. This is using a credit card for PayPal, linking with a bank account doesn't protect you beyond PayPal. This is for Australia, but I think it applies everywhere...  

Thanks, I'll check with my credit card.  When I spoke with them last time, they said 2 months from the time there was a problem.

2 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

I had that experience exactly, and I will never do it again.  NY's "store credit" is about the most bonkers and restrictive policy I've ever heard of.

Basically, the breakdown:

1. You cannot spend it on anything less than the full amount, it is not like a gift card balance that you can spend on multiple orders.
2. You cannot apply the credit to shipping, whether or not your original refund included shipping payment for the cancelled item.

I wound up cancelling one of my 31A orders when I lost confidence in NY's ability to fill the order.  In the end, I was able to apply the refund to get a 31E, but here's what I had to do:

- I had to wait for the VF-31E to be marked up enough so that it cost the equivalent of a 31A plus shipping
- I had to order a candy bar along with it, because the total was like 500 yen under my credit balance.. which by the time the order was fulfilled, they didn't even have in stock, so they cancelled the candy bar, and I lost out on whatever it cost.  Frankly I didn't care at that point, but it was stupid.

Just don't accept store credit.

The only other option, sadly, is to do a credit card chargeback, which they will ban your account for, and cancel any orders you have unfulfilled.

Bottom line.. NY will deliver eventually, but once you've placed an order there, you're basically in for a wild ride, because they're going to hold your money hostage until they get around to shipping out your order.

 

 

Similar bad experience with NY.  They ignored my emails for a long time.  When they replied, it was a blow off response.  I thought they ripped me off.  I don't buy much from NY, so store credit on such limited terms was unacceptable for me and I opened a Paypal case.  They didn't bother responding to Paypal to communicate, and banned me.  So it's their fault, it's my right to complain, they don't listen, I complain to Paypal and they ban me.  That is not proper business behavior.  

Although others have reported that NY *eventually* delivered many months after the preorder issue, during the time that there is a delay, the customers run the risk 100% of losing their money or the product.  It's not about being chill, but poor stewardship.  This isn't reputable running a business behavior.  This is a contract.  There are terms you agreed on.  When you don't deliver on time, your reputation is at stake when you then change the terms, and you can't just make your terms in a bubble without looking at the rest of the market.  It's nice that they eventually delivered some (not all, as some have reported) product many months later, but that isn't how most businesses build their reputations on.  We as customers will talk with each other about our experiences, not just the good experiences.  Other companies rarely have to cancel, and when they do, they refund you money.  

Another member complained about cancelling at the last minute.  This is called replacement cost.  In business, if the supplier failed to deliver, the customer stands to lose his business because then the customer fails to deliver to his customers.  He can penalize the supplier a fee or sue because he has to pay extra to another supplier *at the last minute* and the replacement cost is much higher than the cost that was planned months ago.

I think the new practice of some stores offering a buyback at a higher price is better than arbitrarily cancelling a customer's order just to sell to another or even the same customer at a new price.  This collectible is starting to look like commodity trading on futures and forwards where people profit/gamble on the future expected/predicted price of commodities and people enter contracts to deliver in the future, except here in Macross there's no rules here.    

It's nice to hear NY delivered eventually and didn't jack up the price on the price that the customer paid, but we shouldn't gloss over the rest of the behavior.

5 hours ago, Slave IV said:

@sqidd, Remember there is another technicality with Paypal. Any vendor that is charging for items they can't deliver within that time period is violating their policy and if you point out to Paypal that they allowed a vendor to violate their policy, Paypal has to reimburse you. 

@Slave IV "Within that time period".  What if it's past the six months?  Paypal is responsible for the six months for you to file your complaint.  NY may have a nice rep for delivering 31a after six months, but what if they can't?  

I've had problems with ebay and complained for non delivery within six months, and Paypal says "good, you're within six months".  so they process a refund within six months.  But not after, i don't think.  Have you tried after six months?

Whoever mentioned that buying with a credit card, does it cover you a charge back after six months?  My card only does 2 months.  Anyone know?  

7 hours ago, F360 said:

https://www.tenso.com/en/

Thanks, if I knew about this, I could have had an AJ order in on preorder night.  I'll have to try this out.

6 hours ago, Sanity is Optional said:

Pretty much. You get a specific personal address (like having a unit number for an apt building) that anything which shows up there will be held for you to cross-ship overseas. They charge a service fee per received parcel, plus a fee to combine packages for international shipping.

Essentially I have my tenso address registered as my address for places like Amazon Japan (along with my US address) and my Arcadia web store account.

Thanks, if I knew about this, I could have had an AJ order in on preorder night.  I'll have to try this out.  Do you have to pay Japan tax?  How long do they hold inventory for?

4 hours ago, Lolicon said:

Was busy last night so I couldn't get to Bic after Saitousad's report. Dropped by today but they're all sold out now. 

They should ship it with this original box.  My Max didn't come with this box.

pinoy78 is a youtuber IIRC?

Just got an update from AJ that the yellow blowsperior will be released earlier than their december date.

@peter nice pics.  The open cockpit up close photos are nice.

From the toy show, looks like the next few releases are all DYRL squad.  So all 1A in different colors for those who missed out on 1a Max.  

6 hours ago, DYRL VF-1S said:

The same thing happened with Max. My guess is that they have stock from Bandai - this is likely the below MSRP they offer on PO night. Then there is the stock that the N-Y mob finds by God knows what methods to fulfill the scalper price orders. They may get their scalper stock in waves and even before the actual Bandai allocated stock. Hence, some of us got prep notices already. And my guess is that none of you with normal POs have notices yet. This is what happened to me with Max. 
 

Of course, I’m speculating and no expert so who knows... HA. But makes sense to me.

Yup.  NY going to all the stores in Japan like the crowds.

5 hours ago, Sanity is Optional said:

No shipping notice yet from either Amazon Japan or Hobby Search. Got charged for both though, so probably going out Monday.

I had AJ in cart on preorder night, but they don't ship to North America.

5 hours ago, DYRL VF-1S said:

Good heads up. I haven’t been charged by Hobby Search yet. Did you get one through AJ direct with Global Ship? Just wondering if that ever opened up.

same question here

4 hours ago, Sanity is Optional said:

Direct from AJ, but shipped to my Tenso proxy address. It's the only pre-order I managed to get. The hobby search order was on release.

What's a Tenso proxy address?  Is it a business that receives orders in Japan and forwards the package to your US address?

3 hours ago, DYRL VF-1S said:

 

For what it’s worth...

So now we don't feel like we're alone.

2 hours ago, Tober said:

Hikaru's VF-1S is an iconic enough Valk for a reissue. Only questions are when and weather it will include Strike Packs. 

Bandai reissue more please!

1 hour ago, Lolicon said:

It's goddamn pathetic when even people living in Japan can't get their hands on a 1S because of Bandai's "produce the absolute minimum so that nothing stays on the shelves for more than 5 minutes" policy, nevermind people abroad and the hordes of Chinese tourists here.

Japanese fans should complain like the Evangelion release.  It's a scalper problem, but at the end of the day, if Bandai produced sufficient quantities, the scalpers wouldn't sell for much over msrp.

thanks for update @Guyffon.  I'll check tomorrow.

Maybe some scalpers cancelled their orders after getting low prices on Max, or did HLJ get more stock?  I thought this was releasing next week?

dozed off HLJ was open and gone again?

nice @sqidd.  What display stand are you using?

more preorder madness, button mashing like it's street fighter.

So nice to have a PO still open a day later, easy peasy.  No DX scalping madness.  This is the best feature of this order.  

That pilot on top of the battroid is so Titanfall pose.  Long time fan of Sentinel, good quality products with lots of detail, but expensive.

The pilot and ride armor are so cool.  

Whoever asked about Hobbysearch, I've bought stuff from them and the packaging is better than amiami, hlj, anime export and nippon yassan.  Shipping charges are reasonable.  I like their website more too; they usually post preorders up before others so you can look at the preorder, and also they post more photos (including inside the box, the parts in tray, etc) and a machine translation of the product.  Prices typically cheaper than some of the others, but not cheapest.  

I'm probably weird about the missiles.  I only had one 1/48 yammie, and only put the missiles on once.  I just display them on the tarmac under the wings because it's a hassle to take them on and off when transforming; it's like a partsformer, which I don't like.  

I have multiples of the v2 yammies, one plain, one strike, one GBP, but I don't install the missiles.  The strike parts (other than the missiles) transforms without partsforming.  The GBP doesn't transform so whatever.  

So I don't think the missiles are worth the price.  Unless Bandai does the HMR missile special effects parts for DX.  The HMR are so nice they are an exception.

Those who regularly install and uninstall the missiles, do they ever crack on the connector?  does the weight make the wings droop over time?

16 hours ago, peter said:

As a gun guy, I just wanted to pose the toy into positions I'm used to seeing.  I understand that the tech involved in a Valk more than likely does not require it to have a cheek weld, to have a forward c-clamp grip, or to pull the rifle in to its shoulder.

For me, it's just something different than what we're used to seeing (shooting from the hip a la *name your 80's action movie*).

I shot a few more poses with my other camera, just some fun stuff, will upload when I get back from Japan

it's cool, I like military accurate poses too. keep those photos coming

12 hours ago, Lolicon said:

Not you too, Robocop!

"You can't just shoot a guy in the dick! that's not cool, Butters" - Cartman from Southpark

44 minutes ago, peter said:

Lol, rocking the duellies before I knew any better:

hilarious

On 11/7/2019 at 5:53 PM, sh9000 said:

I had that idea a while back but never set it up.  I could try to put something together this weekend.

2 Glaugs for Rooks.

2 Heavy Missile Regults for Knights.

2 Light Missile Regults for Bishops.

2 Matchbox Nousjadeul-Gers in different colors for King and Queen.

8 Regults for Pawns.

 

2 Armored Valkyries for Rooks.

2 Spartans for Knights.

2 Defenders for Bishops.

VF-1J Max and Milia for King and Queen.

8 VF-1A CFs for Pawns.

Just a suggestion: Qrau for queen?

On 11/7/2019 at 6:54 PM, sqidd said:

I will with the 1S.

I only got singles of the 1J and 1A.

Cool, share the pics with us.  That display @peter took pics of is so cool.

I suppose my assumption about robots not needing to aim down sight is from cartoons like Macross, and video games where the mecha piloted is in first person and the gun isn't held to the camera.  In Macross IIRC, the targeting screen just has lock on squares or brackets and the pilot's view doesn't show the gunpod aimed down sight.  Some battletech inspired games have similar displays and the guns are to the periphery of the screen.

@jenius point taken, transforming mecha doing things humans do is cool.  I'd point out that certain anime where the mecha respond to the pilot's nerves or mind (a la Macross plus or Psychozaku), so that the mecha is an extension of the pilot, I'd expect soldiers to aim down sight like they do when they aren't piloting.  In this type of mecha interface, the pilot is expected to be physically fit, since their physical prowess affects the robot suit's performance; if they had scrawny puny arms like Max they'd probably get tired of lifting the gun altogether.  The other type of mecha is the valk or mobile suit Gundam where scrawny pilots like Max can mow down squadrons because he's good at video games.  The mecha are controlled by "classic" cockpit or video game style joysticks and thrust and the pilot peers at a screen.  Since aim down sight in this type of mecha would just block his view and not improve his aim as the technology seems to process that.  It's still a nice fantasy either way.  It can look cool to pose guns on valks like a human would, but there's also the Rambo fantasy of hipfiring full auto spray from left to right with accuracy - that's something robots might do in sci fi.

Ha ha ha easy to get off topic with these nice photos everyone is posting.  DX is a love hate line - love the toys, hate the scalping.

@Saburo nice photo.  Maybe try a human like aim down sight for the fans of that?

@peter I like to pose my figures in realistic military poses too, but not my robots.  I assumed that the  roboto's gun has a sensor to assist the aim so that the valk doesn't have to aim down the sight etc from the robot's head.

@Saburo love that gerwalk pose in your custom background and nice lighting.  

Do any of the collectors have enough multiples to do the display with the fighter to gerwalk to battroid? 

If future releases are as easy to get as Max and not like 1S, we might get a fleet to reproduce that display.

@peter nice pics

@sh9000 nice work!  

@sh9000 looks nice.  When the Qrau comes out, you can make a huge burst of missiles!

@sh9000 dramatic shot.  Second that suggestion of photoshopping the thrusters with the afterburner glow and photoshopping out the stand.  

1 hour ago, sh9000 said:

Thanks.

I’m going to try to finish the effects by the end of this week.

looks good