Sideshows QC Problems (Discuss)

[gomur]

Originally Posted by xerxes

This thread while long overdue will ultimately have as much impact on QC as the many and varied posts here, Freaks, social media etc. and that is none, zero, zilch.

A business like SS doesn't listen... it analyses, it analyses numbers on spreadsheets and it is those numbers that inform management and their decisions. Over the last 5 years SS has grown enormously all the while their QC has dropped at an inverse rate. It is all about the bottom line... SS has cut costs at all levels of production (except seemingly where producing excellent prototypes is concerned) and QC is just another area where SS can and has fattened the profit margin on each item they produce.

Example: the lack of replacements that seems to have become a norm over the last year or so, a simple cost cutting measure designed to get collectors to keep sub-par product while attempting and at times succeeding to lock them into future purchases by only offering credits only on SS purchases. At any time SS could order more replacements for any item, hey they did it with Rouge and Psylocke, why not WW or Alien BC or any product that has issues? Well it would cost them and impact those numbers that are oh so important.

In short only when customers stop purchasing from SS and this in turn starts directly and largely impacting the SS turnover will there be any form of change... and that would take an enormous collective effort by 1000's of collectors from over the globe, something I just don't see happening. FWIW.

I'm reminded of the Fight Club scene where Ed Norton explains his car company's philosophy on recalls. A commonly used equation, I'm sure.

"A new car built by my company leaves somewhere traveling at 60 mph. The rear differential locks up. The car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside. Now, should we initiate a recall? Take the number of vehicles in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one."

[Sledge Hammer!]

..

[COI]

We can make suggestions until we're blue in the face about what SS needs to do to get their QC in-line, but the fact is we are missing too much information about the manufacturing cycle of these pieces to know exactly what is needed, or rather, exactly why there is so much inconsistency.

Large companies respond to market forces, so what we can to do actually have an impact is STOP PRE-ORDERING BASED ON PROTOTYPES! Don't decide whether or not to buy until you actually see what you're getting. When you pre-order and wait a year for something, aside from investing the NRD, you build your own hype and anticipation to the point of being committed to getting that piece into your collection; you commit yourself psychologically and financially long before the piece arrives. This makes collectors predisposed to like what they receive, or accept less than what was ordered, because not getting the piece at all is too much of a disappointment after waiting for an entire year. This is even more relevant to international customers who can't simply return things and be made whole. And since edition sizes have increased, and EXs have been mostly lack-luster, what exactly to you gain from pre-ordering day 1?

Stop pre-ordering. They do great work, but they need to earn your cash for every piece they put out. Don't compromise your position as a consumer by capitulating to prototypes blindly, when you know that their ability to deliver on those prototypes with consistency is suspect. It's much easier to walk away from something you never ordered in the first place.

[Viper245]

Originally Posted by COI

We can make suggestions until we're blue in the face about what SS needs to do to get their QC in-line, but the fact is we are missing too much information about the manufacturing cycle of these pieces to know exactly what is needed, or rather, exactly why there is so much inconsistency.

Large companies respond to market forces, so what we can to do actually have an impact is STOP PRE-ORDERING BASED ON PROTOTYPES! Don't decide whether or not to buy until you actually see what you're getting. When you pre-order and wait a year for something, aside from investing the NRD, you build your own hype and anticipation to the point of being committed to getting that piece into your collection; you commit yourself psychologically and financially long before the piece arrives. This makes collectors predisposed to like what they receive, or accept less than what was ordered, because not getting the piece at all is too much of a disappointment after waiting for an entire year. This is even more relevant to international customers who can't simply return things and be made whole. And since edition sizes have increased, and EXs have been mostly lack-luster, what exactly to you gain from pre-ordering day 1?

Stop pre-ordering. They do great work, but they need to earn your cash for every piece they put out. Don't compromise your position as a consumer by capitulating to prototypes blindly, when you know that their ability to deliver on those prototypes with consistency is suspect. It's easier to walk away from something you never ordered in the first place.

Great post, COI! Every Sideshow collector needs to read it and take it to heart. I have stopped preordering Sideshow's offerings for going on 6 months now. I can safely say I am done preordering from Sideshow with no plans to return to the practice. Like COI said make Sideshow earn your business. Don't blindly give them your money through the preorder process.

[Viper245]

Originally Posted by Sledge Hammer!

If it wasn't for the eternally delayed and delayed and delayed again Conan PF, I wouldn't have any Sideshow orders at all. For the first time in close to a decade or so.

The last two pieces I ordered from Sideshow were QC disasters, all but one of the four pieces before that were rife with QC issues, but not enough to replace (apparently), just enough to be underwhelming, disappointing, and to make me feel like I wasted my money. Two of them also had no replacements available. So, what's that, one out of the last six pieces I was properly happy with, three disappointments, and two disasters. Those aren't good odds, and rarely feel like odds worth even considering taking a gamble on any more. Especially in combination with the ongoing price rises.

Now I've been in this game a long time, have realistic expectations, and don't consider myself to be overly picky...certainly a lot less so than many other collectors are, that's for sure (not that people shouldn't be picky, mind). But that is why the only pre-order I have is something that is closing in on two years old by the time it will now allegedly ship (if it ever does), and why I haven't felt the urge to buy anything from Sideshow in a damn long time. The hard truth is, even putting aside everything else, I just don't trust them enough to pony up the cash in advance any more, and I haven't felt like I've missed out on anything much after the fact, either. I mean to pay for something up front, wait in many cases for over a year, only to receive something that clearly isn't anywhere near good enough, only to then be told "sorry, no replacements left. Would you like a minor token discount instead?" is not very much fun. Sure, you can often destroy/return the piece for a full refund (minus fees, exchange rate differences, etc, that you may have incurred), but that's a long way from a satisfying end to the whole ordering and collecting experience.

Right now there's a lot of smaller companies out there really putting the extra effort in to their pieces, delivering the kind of quality and care and reliability that Sideshow used to be known for, and that's where most of my money has been going of late. Companies that may not be perfect, but who do at least seem to care about delivering quality product and satisfying their customer's expectations, and who do try to learn from their mistakes and address issues that come up. And the feeling that a company has your back if something goes wrong buys a lot of credit. It's been a long time since I've personally felt that Sideshow had my back...

I'm not anti-Sideshow, but right now, the way things currently sit, they're barely even on my radar most of the time, where as once they were the center of my collecting universe. There were always other players, but Sideshow was the king. The one to match. The team to beat. The benchmark. They aren't that, for me, any more. They haven't been for a damn long time, to be honest. Now, how things will be in the future, who knows, but it'll be a long road to even come close to winning my confidence back, let alone a good proportion of my disposable income. And honestly, I don't expect anything to change at this point. Sideshow has set their heading, and seems locked to it, no matter what, so I'll just keep taking and spending my money elsewhere instead.

But hey, that's just me.

I can definitely relate to this. My only PO is Conan as well. My only other PO was Lobo and his Dawg but I canceled them earlier this week. I decided to wait for in hand pics before I commit to them. There was no NRD when I placed the order so no money lost.

You echo my sentiments perfectly toward Sideshow and my money has been going to other companies as well. Great post, Sledge!

[Luminous]

Cancelled my Wonder Woman Ex pre-order. That was the last statue I had pre-ordered on my account. For the time being, I see no reason to pre-order anymore of their product.

[Yuca]

I received an exclusive PF just 2 days ago and arrived broken in the oddest place. Plus the hole for the peg insert was short which made a visible seam, had a few paint imperfections, was damp from condensation and best of all ...... the QC sticker was still placed , hahahahaha. THEIR QC sucks. Sideshow doesn't care one bit about our concerns, unhappiness or anything. Its all about $$$$$$. Overpriced items. Just a matter of time that I stop buying. But that's all on me.

[Dark Logic]

Originally Posted by COI

We can make suggestions until we're blue in the face about what SS needs to do to get their QC in-line, but the fact is we are missing too much information about the manufacturing cycle of these pieces to know exactly what is needed, or rather, exactly why there is so much inconsistency.

Large companies respond to market forces, so what we can to do actually have an impact is STOP PRE-ORDERING BASED ON PROTOTYPES! Don't decide whether or not to buy until you actually see what you're getting. When you pre-order and wait a year for something, aside from investing the NRD, you build your own hype and anticipation to the point of being committed to getting that piece into your collection; you commit yourself psychologically and financially long before the piece arrives. This makes collectors predisposed to like what they receive, or accept less than what was ordered, because not getting the piece at all is too much of a disappointment after waiting for an entire year. This is even more relevant to international customers who can't simply return things and be made whole. And since edition sizes have increased, and EXs have been mostly lack-luster, what exactly to you gain from pre-ordering day 1?

Stop pre-ordering. They do great work, but they need to earn your cash for every piece they put out. Don't compromise your position as a consumer by capitulating to prototypes blindly, when you know that their ability to deliver on those prototypes with consistency is suspect. It's much easier to walk away from something you never ordered in the first place.

[Dark Logic]

Originally Posted by Luminous

Cancelled my Wonder Woman Ex pre-order. That was the last statue I had pre-ordered on my account. For the time being, I see no reason to pre-order anymore of their product.

I actually thought they were giving the DC line special QC attention because of how sensitive the license was. Not the case? I was looking forward to Darksied hoping they would go all out on the QC.

[Viper245]

Originally Posted by Dark Logic

I actually thought they were giving the DC line special QC attention because of how sensitive the license was. Not the case? I was looking forward to Darksied hoping they would go all out on the QC.

Sideshow doesn't give any line or particular piece special QC attention. LSF's and PF's across the board get the same shoddy attention to QC no matter how much they cost. The Wonder Woman PF production run is riddled with QC problems. Just look at the WW thread on this forum and the Freaks forum. Also delays don't mean that Sideshow is taking extra care with the piece. It just means the factories involved are backed up and won't finish on time.