Sideshow Kong Armature delivered at last

[Spankuh]

Just got an email from Sideshow stating the the 1933 King Kong armature is now scheduled to arrive in the SS warehouse in March of '07. That puts the item at almost a year late. For the original delay, they knocked $25 off the pre-pay price. This time they are offering a $75 gift certificate applicable toward "selected" merchandise.

HH

 

[Lynn TXP 0369]

Yep...
http://www.theRPF.com/index.php?showtopic=100131

Lynn

 

[Apollo]

Hmm...gift certificate you say?

For some reason I thought we would be lucky to get this by X-Mas.

Looks like they are using the same factory in China that MR used for the Tos Trics. :unsure

 

[belloq]

The $75 certificate said it expired 12-31-06. I tried to enter the code and use it around 7:30pm EST on 12-31-06 but the site said it expired on 12-31-06. In every case of an expiration date, this means as of 11:59:59pm of the expiration date. I sent customer service an email. Did anyone else have problems using the certificate code?

 

[Lynn TXP 0369]

Well the site says March. Then last time it is was right at the end of Oct when it was supposed to ship and then they changed it to March at the last moment.

I hope they aren't going to delay it again. Last time it was delayed was because of finiding suitable material problems, I hope this will still be a go..?.. we'll see.

Lynn

 

[temponaut]

Gift certificate? :confused

I've had the armature on order since it went on sale, but don't remember receiving any gift certifcate. Can't find it in any of the e-mail I've received from Sideshow, either.

 

[ortiz34]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(temponaut @ Jan 1 2007, 12:05 PM) [snapback]1388282[/snapback]</div>

Gift certificate? :confused

I've had the armature on order since it went on sale, but don't remember receiving any gift certifcate. Can't find it in any of the e-mail I've received from Sideshow, either.
[/b]

gosh im glad i didnt jump when the kong hype was high and this was first put up for order.
I think preorders for 6 months are terrible but A year?

 

[Ghost Host]

I'm so glad I bailed after the first delay. When they offered a full refund, I took it.

 

[Apollo]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Ghost Host @ Jan 1 2007, 01:00 PM) [snapback]1388320[/snapback]</div>

I'm so glad I bailed after the first delay. When they offered a full refund, I took it.
[/b]

Thats strange, so you were charged for it? :confused

 

[Lynn TXP 0369]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Ghost Host @ Jan 1 2007, 01:00 PM) [snapback]1388320[/snapback]</div>

I'm so glad I bailed after the first delay. When they offered a full refund, I took it.
[/b]

Why were you even charged in the first place unless you went through a dealer???? Side Show has a no charge until ship policy.

I finally cancled my pre order through Side Show and got a preorder through a member here for a lot less then SS and I still didn't have to put a thing down.

Lynn

 

[belloq]

If you did the flex plan, then you were charged the first two payments, last payment when it ships. On the delays, you can back out for a full refund. To entice you to stick with them, they made offers. On their first delay, I think they offered $25 off or free delivery; on this second delay, a $75 gift code was sent. My code didn't work on the 31st though. Procrastination sucks.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Lynn TXP 0369 @ Jan 1 2007, 07:50 PM) [snapback]1388528[/snapback]</div>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Ghost Host @ Jan 1 2007, 01:00 PM) [snapback]1388320[/snapback]

I'm so glad I bailed after the first delay. When they offered a full refund, I took it.
[/b]

Why were you even charged in the first place unless you went through a dealer???? Side Show has a no charge until ship policy.

I finally cancled my pre order through Side Show and got a preorder through a member here for a lot less then SS and I still didn't have to put a thing down.

Lynn
[/b][/quote]

 

[Lynn TXP 0369]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(belloq @ Jan 1 2007, 09:22 PM) [snapback]1388592[/snapback]</div>

If you did the flex plan, then you were charged the first two payments, last payment when it ships.
[/b]

But Flex pay dosn't charge until 3 months prior to it's shipping

Place order by Dec 30th 06
Jan 5th 07 - $166.34
Feb 5th 07 - $166.33
Mar 5th 07 - $166.33

It has been this same style schedual 3 month plan since it was supposed to come last June.

So he must have paid for atleast one, two, or even three months then to get his money back.. ?..

Lynn

 

[temponaut]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(temponaut @ Jan 2 2007, 02:05 AM) [snapback]1388282[/snapback]</div>

I've had the armature on order since it went on sale, but don't remember receiving any gift certifcate. [/b]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(belloq @ Jan 2 2007, 11:22 AM) [snapback]1388592[/snapback]</div>

If you did the flex plan, then you were charged the first two payments, last payment when it ships. On the delays, you can back out for a full refund. To entice you to stick with them, they made offers. On their first delay, I think they offered $25 off or free delivery; on this second delay, a $75 gift code was sent. [/b]

If I understand this correctly, the gift certificate was given only to those who had opted for FlexPay. That would explain why I didn't get one.

 

[belloq]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Lynn TXP 0369 @ Jan 1 2007, 09:51 PM) [snapback]1388618[/snapback]</div>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(belloq @ Jan 1 2007, 09:22 PM) [snapback]1388592[/snapback]

If you did the flex plan, then you were charged the first two payments, last payment when it ships.
[/b]

But Flex pay dosn't charge until 3 months prior to it's shipping

Place order by Dec 30th 06
Jan 5th 07 - $166.34
Feb 5th 07 - $166.33
Mar 5th 07 - $166.33

It has been this same style schedual 3 month plan since it was supposed to come last June.

So he must have paid for atleast one, two, or even three months then to get his money back.. ?..

Lynn
[/b][/quote]

Those flex payments flow depending on which month you place the order and if the item is still able to be preordered, ie if you order in december, payments are jan, feb, mar; if you order in june, payments are july, aug, sept.

Yes, flex payers have already been charged two payments. The third would charged be on shipment. I guess since they've been holding my first two flex payments for several months now, they feel that they owe something for delaying once again- thus the certificate. I still haven't heard back from them about my cert code problem though.

 

[belloq]

Just got a response regarding my $75 code problem:

-------

Thank you for contacting our Customer Service Department.

I am so sorry for this confusion, as per the Terms and Conditions posted
to our Website for the Gift Cards....

* Cards may expire on the specified expiration date at 23:59 GMT (11:59
PM) regardless of the physical time zone/location of the card holder.

Sorry I don't have a better answer for you. Please let me know if I
can be of further assistance.

Best regards,

--------

Huh? This wasn't a gift card and there were no conditions in the email. GMT? Have you ever heard of an offer expiration date from a company located in CA being placed in a time zone ahead of any US time zones? This is a first for me.

 

[temponaut]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(belloq @ Jan 3 2007, 09:06 AM) [snapback]1389210[/snapback]</div>

This wasn't a gift card and there were no conditions in the email. [/b]

The e-mail didn't refer you to the Website for terms and conditions?

 

[belloq]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(temponaut @ Jan 2 2007, 10:26 PM) [snapback]1389332[/snapback]</div>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(belloq @ Jan 3 2007, 09:06 AM) [snapback]1389210[/snapback]

This wasn't a gift card and there were no conditions in the email. [/b]

The e-mail didn't refer you to the Website for terms and conditions?
[/b][/quote]

Nothing in the email instructions was directly about terms or conditions. There was only a link in the email to "Look for items now." as you can see in the original email below (code deleted). The email refered to a gift certificate. The terms and conditions on that site refered to a gift card. Same thing? Once you get to the site, I think there is a click box (above the terms) to agree to terms for a gift card and I suppose the line about GMT is in there. I guess it was unreasonable to expect a US timezone deadline from a US company? According to the time in the GMT zone, I missed the midnight deadline by about 20 minutes. Foiled by the fine print. Damn. In any case, I replied to Sideshow again just to see if there is any further recourse. Perhaps if Kong gets delayed yet again...


Dear Valued Collector,

Thank you for placing a pre-order with us for the 1933 King Kong Stop-motion armature replica (item #7181FLEX). We wanted to take this opportunity to contact you about this anticipated collectible.

Although this item became available to pre-order almost a year ago, the delivery of this item has been significantly delayed due to production issues. The original armature has an incredible strength provided by its steel construction, which allowed it to withstand the constant handling and stress of the early stop-motion animation process. While we do not recommend for our replica to be used for stop motion animation, we are creating your collectible with strong materials, which will provide it the durability to be handled and posed for your collection.

We apologize for the delay in delivering this item to you. Our designers and fabrication facility have been hard at work to select the correct materials and construction for this item, in order to capture the same mobility and detail of the original, right down to replicating the screw caps at the joint locations. This item is among the most unique that our design team has tackled to date and the replication process has been extremely difficult, which has accounted for the delayed delivery.

At this time, we anticipate your 1933 King Kong Stop-Motion armature replica to arrive into our warehouse in March of 2007. We appreciate your patience as you wait for the arrival of this anticipated item. Our designers are adamant that they will only deliver an item that they would be proud to add to their own collections, and we support them.

As you have this item on a flexible payment program, your last payment will now become due on March 5th of 2007. If you would like to have your first and second payments credited back and begin the flex pay schedule again on January 5th, please let us know. Of course, the previous offer to reduce your final payment by $25.00 will be honored as well.

Again, we apologize for the delay and would like to extend to you an additional $75 gift certificate code for any inconvenience that you have experienced with this item. This gift certificate is good towards select in stock merchandise purchased through our web site.

Gift Certificate code:

Expiration date: 12/31/06

Look for items now.

http://www.sideshowtoy.com/cgi-bin/categor...giftcard_lookup

Best Regards,

The Customer Service Team

 

[temponaut]

Thanks for the detailed explanation, belloq.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(belloq @ Jan 3 2007, 01:28 PM) [snapback]1389372[/snapback]</div>

The email refered to a gift certificate. The terms and conditions on that site refered to a gift card. Same thing?[/b]

I'd guess Sideshow uses the terms interchangeably, although it would be clearer if they used a single term consistently.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(belloq @ Jan 3 2007, 01:28 PM) [snapback]1389372[/snapback]</div>

I guess it was unreasonable to expect a US timezone deadline from a US company? According to the time in the GMT zone, I missed the midnight deadline by about 20 minutes.[/b]

Ouch. I hear ya.

Even though Sideshow is U.S.-based, the company makes a point of its international marketing (for example, by maintaining and shipping from both US and EU warehouses). I suppose that Sideshow intended to make the deadline clear by using the international standard of GMT. (This avoids any confusion about, for example, daylight savings time.)

The problem is that the deadline appears only in the "fine print," as you say. When Sideshow announces priority pre-ordering on its exlcusive editions, they explicitly note that the pre-orders will be taken (for example) "from 10am to NOON (PT)." They don't use GMT in these announcements. Based on this, it's not unreasonable to assume that other deadlines would be geared toward Pacific Time in the U.S., too.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(belloq @ Jan 3 2007, 01:28 PM) [snapback]1389372[/snapback]</div>

Expiration date: 12/31/06[/b]

I love Sideshow and have been delighted with every product I've purchased from them. In my experience their Customer Service is terrific. But it would be nice if, in the future, they would be more specific about the deadlines: Not "Expiration date: 12/31/06," but "Expiration date: 12/31/06, 11:59pm GMT."

You might raise these points (especially about the use of "PT" in their pre-order announcements) when you try negotiating with them to get your discount past the deadline. Maybe one of their CS reps will agree with your position and give you a break. But be prepared for this: "I understand your disappointment and we're sorry. We'll look into changing the wording. But in the future, it might be better if you didn't wait until the deadline to order."

 

[belloq]

Yup, procrastination sucks. And of course I thought I was four plus hours ahead of the deadline.

I just couldn't decide what to use it on in October and forgot about it until my reminder popped up on New Year's Eve.

 

[temponaut]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(belloq @ Jan 4 2007, 02:34 AM) [snapback]1389658[/snapback]</div>

I just couldn't decide what to use it on in October and forgot about it until my reminder popped up on New Year's Eve.[/b]

They ought to give you the discount just for logging onto the site on New Year's Eve.