ANOVOS issues (ANOVOS ONLY discussion)

[Emperor Fett]

If you’re going to try to get a refund now, you should work directly with Anovos first, but don’t wait too long to talk to your CC company.

If you want your money back skip trying to work with Anovos and call your CC company immediately.

That would be really interesting... It will take them years to finish off the backlog of products they have, so how does that work?

Sean

It works how its been working, they'll keep the money without delivering a product.

 

[cboath]

Well, my order was 4 years ago. Little late to call the CC company now i'd think.

Sadly, a week ago i called to try and switch to things currently shipping. Got two quick responses and when it came time to get going....silence

 

[Pepperbone]

Aaaand they just moved everything from Q3 to Q4 sooooo.......

 

[ggriffaw]

I asked Anovos about the license rumors.

"Thank you for your inquiry. We are not aware of such rumored comments, but thank you for bringing this to our attention. We continue to operate as usual.

For your convenience updates have been provided on the Product Availability and Announcements pages. Also read over our FAQ article "What does Pre-Order mean?" "

However, I'm not sure I would expect a different response if the rumors are accurate.

Not everything has been moved to 4th quarter (yet).

Available Now
STAR WARS™: THE FORCE AWAKENS: Rey Salvaged X-wing Helmet Accessory
ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS™ STORY Imperial Officer Hat Accessory
STAR WARS™ The Mandalorian™ Helmet
STAR WARS™: THE FORCE AWAKENS: Han Solo Jacket
STAR WARS™: THE FORCE AWAKENS: Kylo Ren Helmet Premier Line

In Production (limited)
ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS™ STORY Cassian Andor Field Jacket
STAR WARS™: Imperial Royal Guard™ Helmet Accessory

Q3 2020
STAR WARS™: THE LAST JEDI: Elite Praetorian Guard Helmet Accessory
ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS™ STORY General Merrick Blue Squadron Helmet
STAR WARS™: First Order Rank Pauldrons
STAR WARS™: Classic Trilogy - Snowtrooper Helmet Accessory - Standard Line
STAR WARS™: THE FORCE AWAKENS: Kylo Ren Standard Line Costume Ensemble
STAR WARS™: THE FORCE AWAKENS: Kylo Ren Premier Costume Ensemble with Helmet

 

[Kroenen77]

The Mandohelmet and the Kylo are on "Interest List" when I´m on the Anovos website.

 

[Pepperbone]

I asked Anovos about the license rumors.

"Thank you for your inquiry. We are not aware of such rumored comments, but thank you for bringing this to our attention. We continue to operate as usual.

For your convenience updates have been provided on the Product Availability and Announcements pages. Also read over our FAQ article "What does Pre-Order mean?" "

However, I'm not sure I would expect a different response if the rumors are accurate.

Q. There's a rumor that Anovos has lost the license to SW, can you confirm?
A. Thank you for your inquiry. We are not aware of such rumored comments, but thank you for bringing this to our attention. We continue to operate as usual.

Q. Did Anovos lose the SW license?
A. Thank you for your inquiry. We continue to operate as usual.

The point is, if the question is about the rumor, the answer will be about the rumor, not about the fact.
ggriffaw this is not at all criticism, by the way. I'm glad you asked.

I still hope they'll get back on track and back to the days when they were delivering good stuff. But I can't imagine D wanting to continue this agreement with a company like Anovos, even if this market is just a tiny drop in the Disney ocean.

 

[ggriffaw]

The Mandohelmet and the Kylo are on "Interest List" when I´m on the Anovos website.

So is the Royal Guard and Han Solo Jacket. I don't know if they are still making the Mando helmet or not. It appears the Royal Guard and Han jacket are made in batches.

From the product pages.
"This is an in production item that will be available for sale in the future.

For future updates on this item, please sign up for our Interest List by clicking the button below."

These are being handled differently than getting large batches shipped from overseas.

I don't remember if the Kylo helmet was available recently or not.

 

[ggriffaw]

Q. There's a rumor that Anovos has lost the license to SW, can you confirm?
A. Thank you for your inquiry. We are not aware of such rumored comments, but thank you for bringing this to our attention. We continue to operate as usual.

Q. Did Anovos lose the SW license?
A. Thank you for your inquiry. We continue to operate as usual.

The point is, if the question is about the rumor, the answer will be about the rumor, not about the fact.
ggriffaw this is not at all criticism, by the way. I'm glad you asked.

I still hope they'll get back on track and back to the days when they were delivering good stuff. But I can't imagine D wanting to continue this agreement with a company like Anovos, even if this market is just a tiny drop in the Disney ocean.

I would have been surprised if they would have said they lost the license in response to a customer service question before making an official announcement.

Without more evidence, I wouldn't believe rumors posted on web forums. If you search you can find similar rumors about Anovos and efx from previous years. Those rumors weren't accurate.

Anovos is delivering products again (Mando helmet, Royal Guard helmet, TFA Han jacket, R1 Imperial Officer hat, TLJ TK helmet). The problem is they created such a huge backlog of orders. If they actually fill all of those orders, it will take quite a while. I don't expect them to suddenly have that much of an increase in products being delivered in a short period of time.

 

[Mara Jade's Father]

For the sake of discussion. Let's say they did lose the Star Wars license. This may mean that they were notified that once the date of their current license has come to and end, it will not be renewed or extended. So the question would be, when does their current Star Wars license end. It could be several months or even close to a year from now. Which means that they would continue to operate as usual. It would not benefit them from publicizing original trilogy because 1. They don't want even more people getting nervous and asking for a refund and 2. The probably have more stock coming in or may even try to release and deliver new offering prior to the deadline.

The other big question would then be, what happens to outstanding orders? they are only losing the Star Wars license, they have other active licenses so the company would continue. They would have to refund. Or maybe a successor is planned and there is a an agreement to transfer the open sales to the new company and they would be responsible for filling the orders.

Like I said, this is just discussion. I have not knowledge of that is going on nor do I know what legal avenues are available in a situation like this.

 

[JOATRASH FX]

There's also the question, sadly, as to whether the Star Wars license is even worth renewing at the moment. With all the talk of a "civil war" within Lucasfilm about the future, maybe stuff isn't selling enough to justify the license fees. I'm guessing the OT stuff like Royal Guard buckets sell like sliced bread- that thing was GORGEOUS and if I collected helmets, I would have been happy to have one.

The same goes with Star Trek I'd imagine, though maybe the "old" fanbase there is still buying old uniforms and things judging by how much product Anovos has going on.

All they owe me at the moment are the TWOK field jacket and the Star Lord jacket. I'm fairly confident they'll ship out the field jacket in the not-too-distant future. The Star Lord might be trickier, but... now that the leather factory they are working with in (Pakistan?) has proven reliable, maybe that one will actually happen too. Looks like they're about to ship the Disco uniforms soon, so maybe the Trek stuff is still going OK despite the state of that franchise too.

 

[Mara Jade's Father]

I think Disney should just do it under their own brand. They need to take the type of prop and costume replicas they do for sale at the Galaxy’s Edge and go mass market or at least sell through their website. I’m not saying the same items. Having unique offerings in the shops at the parks makes the visit that much more special even if it can be frustrating for us. I am talking about offering other costumes like what Anovos was offering and similar future items.

 

[darthjones]

That is an interesting question - given that they have other licenses, would they be allowed to file Chapter 7 since they have so much Star Trek going on, etc.

And again with what they are delivering - it is not an improvement. We've seen enough masks. Where are all of the stormtrooper costumes, they Kylo costumes, the Han Solo "Signature" ensemble....these are of much greater significance at this point, cost more, delayed the longest, carry the most weight with regard to optics and public relations and seeing an ad (like today) for their stupid patches is them actively attacking us with desperate laughter.

Icons, Master Replicas, Anovos, Efx - is it the ignorance of the people starting these four companies that they all end up stealing money in the end?*

I'm going to say yes. Hate me, but yes. There is a shared trait of blinding euphoria upon being selected as "the one" with the HUGE "I have a cast from the original mold" HEAD. For these people, getting a license is, more than anything, a chance at not being invisible - especially when they have anointed themselves the ultimate authority on what $^^% button goes #$^ where.

*it is my understanding that Master Replicas was less of a disaster to some degree.

 

[JOATRASH FX]

I think Disney should just do it under their own brand...

I don't think that's likely. The Mouse seems happier licensing out to others. I mean, the first thing they did after buying Lucasfilm was kill Lucasarts- one of THE best game development houses of all time. (As someone who works in the Industry... that still kinda hurts.)

Icons, Master Replicas, Anovos, Efx - is it the ignorance of the people starting these four companies...

Maybe it's just a form of blind optimism and hope around a market that just isn't big enough to sustain a company like that. The cost-speed-quality triangle just collapses in on itself when it comes to the stuff we demand.

 

[Mara Jade's Father]

I don't think that's likely. The Mouse seems happier licensing out to others.

Not true. They seem to have a balance. Most of the stuff they sell in the parks and disney stores are their own brand. Now they might and probably do have 3rd party manufactures involved but it’s still sold under their own brand and no one other company.

Icons, Master Replicas, Anovos, Efx - is it the ignorance of the people starting these four companies that they all end up stealing money in the end?*

To be fair, MR did just fine. It wasn’t till Corgi bought them out and had no real Interest in the SW license and let it lapse.

 

[JOATRASH FX]

Perhaps, but I kind of doubt something like high-end prop replicas are profitable enough for them to bother. All replica houses to date have sprung out of passionate fans wanting to do something bigger, whereas a company like the Mouse is more about hoovering in mounds of cash as quickly and cheaply as possible.

 

[Mara Jade's Father]

Perhaps, but I kind of doubt something like high-end prop replicas are profitable enough for them to bother. All replica houses to date have sprung out of passionate fans wanting to do something bigger, whereas a company like the Mouse is more about hoovering in mounds of cash as quickly and cheaply as possible.

Are we talking about the same Disney? I am talking about the one with the mouse. The ones that own, Parks, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, ABC, ESPN, part of a Hulu, etc, etc, etc... I think they can handle a little bit more than selling low price trinkets? Yes In fact, currently do.

Now, do I think that is what is going to happen? No clue. But the thing I believe is that if Disney took the lead in the Star Wars prop and costume merchandising and said they are going to deliver a new helmet by next April, then I trust that to be true because they know their poodoo.

 

[darthjones]

Not true. They seem to have a balance. Most of the stuff they sell in the parks and disney stores are their own brand. Now they might and probably do have 3rd party manufactures involved but it’s still sold under their own brand and no one other company.



To be fair, MR did just fine. It wasn’t till Corgi bought them out and had no real Interest in the SW license and let it lapse.

Thanks for pointing this out. That is very important to say and glad to hear it.

 

[JOATRASH FX]

... But the thing I believe is that if Disney took the lead in the Star Wars prop and costume merchandising and said they are going to deliver a new helmet by next April, then I trust that to be true because they know their poodoo.

I think they would too, but I just meant that the prop/costume replica market is too small for them to take notice or be interested in driving it. Niche markets like that are not worth it, for the same reason you don't see big video games publishers making smaller, niche game titles, even if there's money to be made. And even if they did start having an interest in it, their lawyers are going to look at MR, EFX, ICONS, Anovos and the others as examples and think "not worth the effort". Maybe it would have been different back when MR was at its peak- back when the prequels were going, it seems like it was a bigger business, but today all that has mostly gone away. And now with most of the big franchises on a "hiatus" of sorts, trying to figure things out, it just adds to the risk if you want to start something up.

 

[ggriffaw]

I think Disney should just do it under their own brand. They need to take the type of prop and costume replicas they do for sale at the Galaxy’s Edge and go mass market or at least sell through their website. I’m not saying the same items. Having unique offerings in the shops at the parks makes the visit that much more special even if it can be frustrating for us. I am talking about offering other costumes like what Anovos was offering and similar future items.

Are any Disney branded items sold outside of their stores at the parks? I'm not sure if they sell the same items at their stores in malls or on their website or not. I always thought they wanted at least certain items to only be available at the parks. The replica lightsabers are an example of this.

 

[Kroenen77]

After all this problems with Anovos and EFX its the best way Disney makes the high end props under their own flag in the future.
So people must not have fear that the company goes bankrupt with all their money when they preorder something.

But with international shipping and not only for the parks.