ANOVOS issues (ANOVOS ONLY discussion)

oblagon said:

and yet companies like Sideshow and Master Replicas were able to put good product out in the time they were supposed to be released with small quantities.

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Master Replicas went out of business, so I'm not sure they are a good example of how to run a business. They didn't need to deal with Disney either. Disney does make a difference. The communication from Anovos was much better early on before Disney told them to stop sending out progress updates.

I have no idea how well Sideshow does with preorder estimates. They probably work with different factories than Anovos since Sideshow sells small figures as opposed to costume pieces. I would think the items Sideshow sells are easier for resellers to stock because of the smaller size. The Anovos boxes are larger which makes it less likely for shops to stock them. At cons I see dealers with Sideshow and other similar items. I don't see many dealers with full size replica helmets.

Based on the "We have found that moving projects to different manufacturers has improved our ability to provide a full range of items to customers this season, however we still have a bit to go to achieve that goal." statement in the emails from Anovos, it appears they are fully aware of the issues and are trying to do something about it. Hopefully this won't cause drastic increases in price or decrease quality.

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ggriffaw said:

Master Replicas went out of business, so I'm not sure they are a good example of how to run a business. They didn't need to deal with Disney either. Disney does make a difference. The communication from Anovos was much better early on before Disney told them to stop sending out progress updates.

I have no idea how well Sideshow does with preorder estimates. They probably work with different factories than Anovos since Sideshow sells small figures as opposed to costume pieces. I would think the items Sideshow sells are easier for resellers to stock because of the smaller size. The Anovos boxes are larger which makes it less likely for shops to stock them. At cons I see dealers with Sideshow and other similar items. I don't see many dealers with full size replica helmets.

Based on the "We have found that moving projects to different manufacturers has improved our ability to provide a full range of items to customers this season, however we still have a bit to go to achieve that goal." statement in the emails from Anovos, it appears they are fully aware of the issues and are trying to do something about it. Hopefully this won't cause drastic increases in price or decrease quality.

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You were talking about how low production runs were a valid reason for not delivering on time. MR and Sideshow are valid examples that your statement is wrong. FYI, MR didn't go out of business for not delivering product; something that could be a reality for Anovos.

As someone who actually did production work for Disney in the past; I find it hilarious that you think Disney is this looming evil force stopping things from being released. The fact is the production issues are on Anovos and them alone.

My question to Anovos - should I get the kids all excited about a Star Wars project this Halloween or go f myself?

Use a older costume again.

I guess maybe. Except that years ago I spent $3k not too.

K means thousands.

Thousand
Thousand
Thousand

And in return I have gotten patronizing smiles and secrecy. BS. But...wait...oh dang!

I forgot.

They are really mature and I am being immature.

That's right. I have to be really mature. Like them. Like the professionals at Anovos.

My mistake.

Lichtbringer said:

Use a older costume again.

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oblagon said:

You were talking about how low production runs were a valid reason for not delivering on time. MR and Sideshow are valid examples that your statement is wrong. FYI, MR didn't go out of business for not delivering product; something that could be a reality for Anovos.

As someone who actually did production work for Disney in the past; I find it hilarious that you think Disney is this looming evil force stopping things from being released. The fact is the production issues are on Anovos and them alone.

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I imagine Sideshow uses different kind of factories than Anovos. The situation with getting bumped at vacuform, fiberglass, and soft good factories may be different than toy factories.

MR used some similar types of factories quite a few years ago. Maybe delivering products on time wasn't an issue, but they may have lost too much money producing and delivering certain products. If their business model was so good, why did they go out of business?

Some of the earlier updates from Got Maul indicated issues with Disney not allowing things as trivial as detailed status updates to be sent out anymore. I never said Disney is somehow causing factory delays. They could cause issues with delays on approvals and direct which products Anovos is allowed to produce.

I totally agree multiple year waits are way too long. I'm still waiting on several Rogue One items.

I can understand using the preorder model to better determine how many of a product to order. It would be quite bad to be stuck with hundreds of large expensive boxes that need to be put on clearance because they overestimated interest in a helmet. Code 3 is an example of a company that offered several expensive SW items, had to sell quite a few at discounted prices, then got out of producing SW items.

If it is as easy as people think to run a high price SW replica/costume business smoothly, on schedule, and at a profit, why isn't anyone doing it? Efx is in a similar business. They have had some pretty poor performance in the last few years. At one time they were much more reliable. What happened to change their performance?

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darthjones2 said:

My question to Anovos - should I get the kids all excited about a Star Wars project this Halloween or go f myself?

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Unless the item is in stock, I would not expect to receive an item from Anovos by a specific date.

Why are people so worried about buying from Anovos if the claims of many superior products being available at a better price and quicker ship times from other vendors are accurate?

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ggriffaw said:

I imagine Sideshow uses different kind of factories than Anovos.

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So what? Factory vetting is part of being a reputable business. Again, production issues fall on Anovos alone.

Not sure why you're such a cheerleader for them; Anovos really needs to get their crap together. The constant delays, QC issues, refund issues will all be their downfall in time.

That's the thing - I DID have access to the materials and everything to make this costume on my own at the level they are attempting. It is what I used to do. This tiime I said, "huh, why don't I save myself the time since someone is actually selling such a thing." The WHOLE point was to save time. If I stopped now and started my own it would take about a year or two since my job keeps me busy. Now here I am after two years with zero. Most recently Anovos said shipping in March and April. Granted, they stay slippery by saying "anticipate" shipping in March/ April but WHYYYYYY do they make such an update when they KNOW it won't happen. After a product is done and in hand there are no huge surprises left. They claim it is additional safety checks - joke. I did a safety check on my socks and jacket this morning: Good I did because of the dynamite and nerve agent I hadn't seen before!

ggriffaw said:

Unless the item is in stock, I would not expect to receive an item from Anovos by a specific date.

Why are people so worried about buying from Anovos if the claims of many superior products being available at a better price and quicker ship times from other vendors are accurate?

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I too have a number of helmets on order and it has been over a year for some of them. I sent an email to Disney to see if it helps....

going on 2.5 year wait for kylo.

has anyone been waiting longer from anovos?

Okay, listen to this. I think I can sum it up without vitriol: Anovos completely removes the possibility of planning - with family, friends, events, conventions - anything. All of that is gone. Imagine being so excited to get married that you SPLURGE for the dress she wants: thousands and thousands of dollars. And before you get too far along you even delay the wedding when this top designer says that they cannot get it exactly right. But they tell you it will be delayed until the end of Summer or whatever. What the F do you do?

Anovos removes all possibility of planning. All of it. And I am not the only person to be embarrassed by getting folks excited or planning to join a higher-end event and then having to back out more than once such that I do not tell anyone anything anymore about this stupid Kylo outfit that Anovos says THEY are excited about.

I mean, who the heck wears costumes by themselves?!

The last thing I am going to do is tell anyone it is still on its way. Supposedly.

And yes, I have told numerous potential Anovos customers about my experience and none of them have ordered anything but in-stock material.

I am not going to cancel. And you'll note that the Kylo premiere has gone up to $4000.00

So if I do not get it in enough time for Halloween (like by the first week of Sept.) I can always flip it for a profit and deny Anovos some future income.

But my point is, ANOVOS DESTROYS ALL POSSIBILITY OF PLANNING.

sparrowfan said:

going on 2.5 year wait for kylo.

has anyone been waiting longer from anovos?

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Tie fighter helmet and Solo belt were both longer that i know of.

My wife ordered an OT stormtrooper helmet last year for me for Father’s Day. Maybe I’ll get it this Father’s Day. Lol doubt it.

According to anovos it will ship spring 2018. Which I believe was March 20th - June 20th. I don’t think they will be making that deadline.



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Just cancel the order. Big bad toy store still has some in stock. http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/VariationDetails/19466

So who here dares plan something big for this coming Halloween - using an as of yet undelivered Anovos project... or have you made that mistake already? Just curious to share stories.

I never plan for anything from any vendor until I have it. I lay in other supplies, like paints and glues and other bits for detailing, as applicable. I work on what I have, and I have plenty. *shrug* I've had enough delays and disappointments since I was in high school -- many of them just having Darth Real Life™ interfere with my own sewing -- that I don't pin all my hopes and happiness on somethign I've ordered or am working on being ready by a particular event. I'll target it, but not kill myself trying to make it so. It'll be done when it'll be done.

That sounds awesome. I have a great but tired Indiana Jones costume and a Darth Vader that is movie size (too big for me). But while I have talent/ skill (I sold my TK years ago) I don't have the time to make anything. But I had the money to buy something so I thought, "problem solved!" Some friends do this great Star Wars halloween they want me to be part of. The kids too were all into it so we were set for last Halloween.

Last Halloween.

I too no longer pin any hopes or happiness or planning on anything here anymore from Anovos. And I will never pursue the hobby again beyond this situation. I will wait for this costume but they truly killed the hobby for me. What I don't understand from other people is that they are saying this is a great way to be. That this numb/ dead attitude is a neccessary part of dressing up in Star Wars costumes. Am I missing something. They are calling it things like "mature" or "real world" or some crap like that to not look forward to anything. Doesn't that baffle you when folks say I (and others) need to learn not to be excited in any way at all?

I don't get it.

A very attractive woman asked me out today. I said yes and that I would meet her on March 8, 2022.

Because I'm mature, right?

I ain't dumpin on you, Inquisitor - you sound to have a lot of good stuff up to speed. Sounds pretty cool. I wish I had time for more.

I do have a great mask collection though. You'd like my Tusken Raider I think. No time for rest of outfit though. But I would have put it together if I knew two + years would go by.

Costuming has always been a completely different thing for me than most of that other stuff. Socializing, appointments, school, work, family... There are no stakes for costuming, though. And even when I'm doing a lot of the work myself, I don't think I have any where I've been able to do all of it myself. Hell, sometimes it takes me years to source the right fabrics and acquire them. Chris Trevas stumbling on a cache of Cold War era British Civil Defense radiation dosimeters was the only way I was likely ever going to get accurate code cylinders. I'm still trying to ID parts for my Merr-Sonn blaster.

Then there are vendor issues. SkyGunBro had some seriously rough patches, as did DL, as did MC, as did Gio, etc., etc. In my experience, the vendors who never have any hiccups are so rare as to be astonishing. Occasionally there are other issues. Once, I was saving up to get a set of Stormtrooper armor from RT-MOD. He had told me he needed until January to clear his queue, but he'd put my name down. So I spaced out my budget to make sure I had enough come January to order it. Then he e-mailed me in November saying a couple people had backed out and I could go ahead and order. I said I wasn't ready yet -- I was scheduling for January, sorry for the inconvenience, I don't mind moving to the back of the queue to let someone else have the slot, even if it means waiting until after January to order. Never heard back. Gave him a year. Finally re-initiated contact and tactfully said I still wanted his armor and I felt like I was being punished for not being ready months in advance of when he'd said he'd be ready for me to order.

So this is far from the first time I have had a lag of years in getting stuff for costumes. I dearly want my FOTK while it is still a current and relevant thing in the pop culture. I don't know how much milage the First Order will get after Episode IX. Yeah, OT Stormtroopers are still popular, but still. My benchmark is probably my Royal Guard. I knew as soon as I found out about the 501st I was going to have to do one. I'd fallen in love with them in '83. That was in late '01... My rough draft is pretty good, and wearable, but I still need to acquire the correct fabric, revise the inner robe, finish my suede gloves, finish the jumpsuit and armor from Force Unleashed for the inner layer under the robes, etc. I've been wanting it done-done for a good decade.

I don't understand why this is so hard. If you don't want to wait, either don't order from Anovos or only order when something is in stock. If enough people stop ordering from them then they'll have to change their business practices. There's no point in clogging up the thread with arguments back and forth complaining about the wait for stuff when it's a well known issue with them. If you already have money down, then get a refund. I've ordered several things from Anovos and I'm totally satisfied with what I received. The delays weren't bad for the two things I preordered, but since I know it's an issue, I wouldn't order again unless something was in stock. It's pretty simple.

Also, with a few exceptions (Relicmaker, Luke 0312, and Peter74 come to mind), most of the independent builders I've bought from have had plenty of delays too. I don't like making people wait for stuff, so personally, I don't offer something for sale unless I have it in hand and ready to go, but a lot of the hobby doesn't work like that. I understand why. It can be expensive to make a lot of this stuff and having it sit around for months without being sold ties up funds. I get it. So either accept it and be willing to wait, or don't, and find somebody who will sell it to you now. Complaining about the wait times isn't really doing anything.