ANOVOS issues (ANOVOS ONLY discussion)

[Krieger]

Requested a refund for my FO kit ordered 11/2016. I love how I IMMEDIATELY got a canned auto-reply with all the excuses about how it will take some time to respond. I know I'll probably never see the refund, but you have to start somewhere.

Good luck. Yes I also received a canned email response after Anovos took my money and stated product was being delivered in small groups - and I would get mine in the order received (as if we don’t know how many were actually delivered)...

I expect my Anovos reply will be grade A, expertly crafted, polished, poo, with no professional delivery of product.

Meanwhile, I round file all other emails from them trying to gin up sales on their email list - and anyone reading this forum, and several other sites for anyone that researches their practices, knows their game by now.

I use their ‘interest list’ emails to count the money they will never get from me ever again, which I consider a cost save.

Go to reputable makers - Hollywood Collectibles Group, Sideshow Collectibles, Midwick Armory, Alchemy Arms and many of the other makers that have delivered time and again to me will always see me as a return customer.

Any one who reads these threads, hide your wallet and think many times before selecting Anovos.

 

[darthjones]

Good luck. Yes I also received a canned email response after Anovos took my money and stated product was being delivered in small groups - and I would get mine in the order received (as if we don’t know how many were actually delivered)...

I expect my Anovos reply will be grade A, expertly crafted, polished, poo, with no professional delivery of product.

Meanwhile, I round file all other emails from them trying to gin up sales on their email list - and anyone reading this forum, and several other sites for anyone that researches their practices, knows their game by now.

I use their ‘interest list’ emails to count the money they will never get from me ever again, which I consider a cost save.

Go to reputable makers - Hollywood Collectibles Group, Sideshow Collectibles, Midwick Armory, Alchemy Arms and many of the other makers that have delivered time and again to me will always see me as a return customer.

Any one who reads these threads, hide your wallet and think many times before selecting Anovos.

RS Prop Masters is still in good standing with fans, no?

 

[Krieger]

RS Prop Masters is still in good standing with fans, no?

I don't know the company, but I took a look at the site today - would be good to know how they are doing with kit; I will ping them on FOTK gear just out of curiosity

 

[masterX244]

I don't know the company, but I took a look at the site today - would be good to know how they are doing with kit; I will ping them on FOTK gear just out of curiosity

RS only does OT stuff since they use a copyright loophole in the UK to stay safe from the mouse. Lucasfilm goofed up on registering the OT stormtroopers at the copyright office and due to that they were only protected for 15 years. Some other suit maker got sued by Lucasfilm and fought up to the supreme court. Lucasfilm lost that case.

 

[darthjones]

I cannot believe how much I love seeing RS make money through that loophole now.

Amazing how Lucasfilm will pursue such a matter to the Supreme Court and yet be far less attentive to the fans who put them there.

I don't blame George L at all. He has always loved seeing fans make costumes and really dive in to Star Wars - like at the Rose Parade years ago.

But who the heck is hiring and vetting at Disney and LFL?!!! Apparently no one fully qualified in my opinion.

 

[ggriffaw]

RS only does OT stuff since they use a copyright loophole in the UK to stay safe from the mouse. Lucasfilm goofed up on registering the OT stormtroopers at the copyright office and due to that they were only protected for 15 years. Some other suit maker got sued by Lucasfilm and fought up to the supreme court. Lucasfilm lost that case.

Did that case apply to all designs from ANH, ESB, and ROTJ?

Requested a refund for my FO kit ordered 11/2016. I love how I IMMEDIATELY got a canned auto-reply with all the excuses about how it will take some time to respond. I know I'll probably never see the refund, but you have to start somewhere.

An automated response saying they received the request is fine. Not actually responding, providing updates on the website, or delivering products is not fine.

The last response I received from Anovos was Dec 8th 2020. I have sent several questions since then with no reply other than the automated response. It makes me wonder if they are even looking at the emails now.

 

[GotWookiee]

It wasn't always this way. Just look at the beginning of this thread when they first got the license. They were already several years in the business with various licenses from BSG, Star Trek, etc. They were doing fine at one point. What happened?

Museum Replicas before them has a long history of delivering products aside from Star Wars, but they, too, were a disappointment, apparently. At least they are still in business.

I never bought anything from Master Replicas but I seem to remember mixed opinions about them, although that may have been accuracy issues. Of course they eventually went bust.

EFX also appears to be in the same boat.

I also remember around 2015 one of the companies that made props for The Force Awakens was offering some licensed prop replicas including the sequel trilogy bowcaster and they went bust soon after.

Of course Gentle Giant, Sideshow, and Regal Robot have delivered some solid replicas on occasion but that isn't their main business, really.

What's the deal? If it was just Anovos I would chalk it up to their own mistakes, but this seems to be recurring problem no matter who tries it.

Are prop replica folks just really bad at business? Is producing licensed prop and costume replicas something that doesn't work as a business? Is this something that is specific to Star Wars replica prop licensees?

Of course those who know can't say, but still.

 

[Sean Hebein]

It wasn't always this way. Just look at the beginning of this thread when they first got the license. They were already several years in the business with various licenses from BSG, Star Trek, etc. They were doing fine at one point. What happened?

Museum Replicas before them has a long history of delivering products aside from Star Wars, but they, too, were a disappointment, apparently. At least they are still in business.

I never bought anything from Master Replicas but I seem to remember mixed opinions about them, although that may have been accuracy issues. Of course they eventually went bust.

EFX also appears to be in the same boat.

I also remember around 2015 one of the companies that made props for The Force Awakens was offering some licensed prop replicas including the sequel trilogy bowcaster and they went bust soon after.

Of course Gentle Giant, Sideshow, and Regal Robot have delivered some solid replicas on occasion but that isn't their main business, really.

What's the deal? If it was just Anovos I would chalk it up to their own mistakes, but this seems to be recurring problem no matter who tries it.

Are prop replica folks just really bad at business? Is producing licensed prop and costume replicas something that doesn't work as a business? Is this something that is specific to Star Wars replica prop licensees?

Of course those who know can't say, but still.

I think it has something to do with the complexity of the props and the customer that they are marketing to.

Someone that can afford a $700 Kylo helmet is probably also not going to accept Black Series level of detail. SW collectors want\expect meticulous workmanship and attention to detail.

Because of that, it makes mass production of these items to be very expensive and very averse to mass production processes.

Star Trek is a clean universe. When you buy a Captain Picard uniform, you expect that it will look like it came right off of the replicator which means they don't have to figure out how to mass produce weathering\paint texture\damage etc. Definitely not the same challenges that the Star Wars universe brings to the table.

 

[Krieger]

It wasn't always this way. Just look at the beginning of this thread when they first got the license. They were already several years in the business with various licenses from BSG, Star Trek, etc. They were doing fine at one point. What happened?

Museum Replicas before them has a long history of delivering products aside from Star Wars, but they, too, were a disappointment.

I never bought anything from Master Replicas but I seem to remember mixed opinions about them, although that may have been accuracy issues. Of course they eventually went bust.

EFX also appears to be in the same boat.

I also remember around 2015 one of the companies that made props for The Force Awakens was offering some licensed prop replicas including the sequel trilogy bowcaster and they went bust soon after.

Of course Gentle Giant, Sideshow, and Regal Robot have delivered some solid replicas on occasion but they isn't their main business, really.

What's the deal? If it was just Anovos I would chalk it up to their own mistakes, but this seems to be recurring problem no matter who tries it.

Are prop replica folks just really bad at business? Is producing licensed prop and costume replicas something that doesn't work as a business? Is this something that is specific to Star Wars replica prop licensees?

Of course those who know can't say, but still.

Not all prop replica prop or costume companies are the same, I know a few makers that deliver for other franchises.

 

[darthjones]

I think it has something to do with the complexity of the props and the customer that they are marketing to.

Someone that can afford a $700 Kylo helmet is probably also not going to accept Black Series level of detail. SW collectors want\expect meticulous workmanship and attention to detail.

Because of that, it makes mass production of these items to be very expensive and very averse to mass production processes.

Star Trek is a clean universe. When you buy a Captain Picard uniform, you expect that it will look like it came right off of the replicator which means they don't have to figure out how to mass produce weathering\paint texture\damage etc. Definitely not the same challenges that the Star Wars universe brings to the table.

Agreed. But all of what you bring up here made it obvious that they had to adjust and put on the breaks early. It was obvious to many of us early on that they had bitten off more than they could chew and by a very long shot. We said so and got blow back from folk who took a more "supportive" tone.

The more successful manufacturers on this forum and others open up limited runs at a time, regardless of how long the waitlist is. And they do not accept money for anything other than what is to be executed within a given run from that waitlist.

No one can argue that this approach is not a viable market model in light of how the "realistic" market model has totally collapsed for all of the higher end licensees of Star Wars costumes.

And the folk at LFL and Disney need some serious schooling in that I suspect their marketing degree education did not inform them of what a unique market this is.

Regardless of what the court case said, they are complicit and don't care about us all that much.

 

[masterjedi322]

It wasn't always this way. Just look at the beginning of this thread when they first got the license. They were already several years in the business with various licenses from BSG, Star Trek, etc. They were doing fine at one point. What happened?

I dunno... I ordered one of their first waves of the Star Trek: TNG premiere tunics, and it was delayed several times. When they finally got them delivered, the fitting of the waist way off, and it took awhile to get it addressed.

Sean

 

[ggriffaw]

I dunno... I ordered one of their first waves of the Star Trek: TNG premiere tunics, and it was delayed several times. When they finally got them delivered, the fitting of the waist way off, and it took awhile to get it addressed.

Sean

The quality of the Anovos products varied from product to product. Many different factories were involved in producing the items. Of course Anovos was still responsible for approving the prototypes for each product.

 

[masterjedi322]

The quality of the Anovos products varied from product to product. Many different factories were involved in producing the items. Of course Anovos was still responsible for approving the prototypes for each product.

No argument there.

My point was, I don't know that Anovos has ever had a "good" track record. Even their early products suffered from delays and quality control issues.

Sean

 

[ggriffaw]

No argument there.

My point was, I don't know that Anovos has ever had a "good" track record. Even their early products suffered from delays and quality control issues.

Sean

I'm not as familiar with the soft goods. I have seen complaints about sizing for multiple Anovos soft good products.

I mostly have Anovos Star Wars helmets. I would say most were very good. Some were disappointing like the Shoretrooper. The Phasma has issues with cracking in the finish. I'm very happy with the TFA TK, FO TIE Pilot, Kylon Ren, Deathtrooper, and Tank Trooper helmets. The Poe X Wing helmet was well made, but should have been weathered. Weathering was not a strength for Anovos so it may be best that it was clean.

Delays were pretty much always a problem, but up to 2018 they delivered quite a few products. Sometimes it took several years. For some reason starting in 2018 deliveries really slowed down. Unfortunately they kept adding more preorders at a much faster rate than they were delivering products.

 

[darthjones]

We - none of us - paid full price to meet them half way. Anovos = complete failure. Not C - or D or whatever.

F.

 

[Krieger]

I dunno... I ordered one of their first waves of the Star Trek: TNG premiere tunics, and it was delayed several times. When they finally got them delivered, the fitting of the waist way off, and it took awhile to get it addressed.

Sean

Yes sounds familiar. Its the same as the TOS and Trek Beyond soft goods from years ago - one product you need an XXL, the other an XL. That must have been the harbinger of The Complex Burden of Accuracy...

 

[masterjedi322]

I'm not as familiar with the soft goods. I have seen complaints about sizing for multiple Anovos soft good products.

I have several of their soft good pieces, and yes, sizing is a real problem. They are totally inconsistent. Some items I needed a medium. Others, I needed a large.

Pieces weren't even consistent within an ensemble. For example - the Skywalker Bespin fatigues - I needed a medium jacket, large pants, and an XL belt.

Sean

 

[Kal Argos]

I'll echo the above 2 comments, with the following... I really wonder if in some cases when they have standard and premiere or whatever levels they send the wrong one to people... the trek stuff has these different cuts and sizes per the "levels"... im not sure how it works with the SW soft goods... i got a standard line tunic when i ordered a premiere line... i lost money and I cant wear it... still waiting for my right item to ship.

 

[cboath]

FFS, i think they spend all their time now on writing damn Star Trek blogs. I swear i've got about 14 emails on those things in the last week and I never bought anything trek.

But i'm sorry, it's border criminal to say 'only 10 left in stock' and then not bother to send the damn things out. Sounds like blatant fraud to me, you don't actually have the items in stock to sell....

 

[Krieger]

I'll echo the above 2 comments, with the following... I really wonder if in some cases when they have standard and premiere or whatever levels they send the wrong one to people... the trek stuff has these different cuts and sizes per the "levels"... im not sure how it works with the SW soft goods... i got a standard line tunic when i ordered a premiere line... i lost money and I cant wear it... still waiting for my right item to ship.

You’re right I forgot about the levels...that must have been midpoint of their ‘delivery arc’...

And on a semi-related note - Droid Callers and BSG tags from Galron MFG, always deliver, no “levels”, just nice product