Prime 1 Studio 1/4 Marvel Venom

[sparda]

Dafadcariad has the right gest of it. The relationship started of pretty OK, but P1 made serval errors such as releasing their own webshop, selling certain exclusives that were only available via their webshop, releasing a venom even before SSC's (Don't forget P1's venom went up before that of SSC!), releasing a flash in the new52 line, cutting sales off for SSC, etc etc

Situaton became toxic and P1 has had to pull out of the 1/4 DC market and their Marvel license has pretty much come to complete standstill/stop. They also scrapped their New 52 aquaman despite several confirmations before that they were going to release one,...

So yeah nah, it ain't al chummy between the two

[supermetroid]

Originally Posted by dafadcariad

As somebody who has followed it for years now the P1/SS relationship feels pretty toxic. It really has little to do with Marvel and much more with SS's gatekeeper licences and Prime 1's aggressive push into not just the same market but also the same licences. Toes have been stepped on by both parties and ultimately we're at a point now where P1 is desperately trying to get out from under SS's thumb by establishing and growing their own online store and community. Sadly, as of right now that's pretty much a hot mess and still in it's infancy.

P.S. If you want a good example of their current "relationship", go take a look at the Venom product page on SS. When the statue was released, it was part of the Prime 1 catalogue and listed as manufactured by Prime 1. Now just one mention of Prime 1 in the entire product description even though P1 made the piece and it's not listed as a P1 product at all.

Originally Posted by DPmaster

I’m in the US so the only thing keeping me from ordering more stuff from the actual Prime 1 website is the higher shipping charges versus ordering from Sideshow. Otherwise I’d order all my P1 stuff from P1.

Yes, really good observations daf. I think it will hurt P1 sales quite a bit if they break the partnership with SS. I know I wouldn't likely order a P1 piece if I had to pay overseas shipping. I do with XM because I feel they're more limited and they don't have huge ES and variants like P1 likes to do. I understand SS's position too, P1 would really get into their sales if they were allowed to do any 1/4 Spider-man, X-men, Batman characters etc. It'll be fun but maybe painful to see how it plays out. Part of me wants to see the floodgates open and see all companies be allowed to produce 1/4, but at the same time the markets already so saturated I think it would be detrimental somehow...

[dafadcariad]

Originally Posted by DPmaster

I’m in the US so the only thing keeping me from ordering more stuff from the actual Prime 1 website is the higher shipping charges versus ordering from Sideshow. Otherwise I’d order all my P1 stuff from P1.

I can understand the urge but for me that feels like it'd be playing with fire. Granted, the shipping is a bloody good reason to stay with SS but Prime 1's communication is just plain awwwwful and the main reason why I don't order directly from them. There's just been two many instances of P1's spotty customer service for me to play russian roulette with ordering from them. After all, I might have my issues with SS however customer service is definitely not one of them.

Originally Posted by sparda

Dafadcariad has the right gest of it. The relationship started of pretty OK, but P1 made serval errors such as releasing their own webshop, selling certain exclusives that were only available via their webshop, releasing a venom even before SSC's (Don't forget P1's venom went up before that of SSC!), releasing a flash in the new52 line, cutting sales off for SSC, etc etc

Bloody ell, well said. I totally forgot about the timing of their Venom releases. It is probably safe to say that was at least partial motivation for SS's "fek it, I'm gonna drink your milkshake" response and some of the subsequent changes in their business relationship.

Originally Posted by supermetroid

Part of me wants to see the floodgates open and see all companies be allowed to produce 1/4, but at the same time the markets already so saturated I think it would be detrimental somehow...

It might be detrimental to you but personally that's my dream. I'm one who firmly believes that the current prices are artificially inflated in large part to SS's stranglehold on the hobby. With SS swallowing up distribution rights and locking out competition there will continue to be an inability for other companies (customs and licenced) to freely produce and advertise their wares in multiple markets. It's a shame too since with more companies I feel that this hobby would truly have a renaissance that it is currently in some part being denied at the expense of SS's goal of becoming a true collectibles monopoly.

[Sonic Boom]

Wow, sounds like P1 dun goofed. Oh well. Did anyone else get a $100 shipping quote? I only paid $59 for my 1/3 scale piece. Eww.

[dafadcariad]

Originally Posted by Sonic Boom

Wow, sounds like P1 dun goofed. Oh well. Did anyone else get a $100 shipping quote? I only paid $59 for my 1/3 scale piece. Eww.

There's no goof and $100 shipping for a statue of this size is actually far better than many (including myself) anticipated. Also, you can't adequately determine what shipping should be based off of what you paid for another piece. Shipping weight is determined by box size and not weight so a statue with these dimensions will cost more to ship than many 1:3 scale statues with a "lighter" shipping weight.

[Comicbookguy]

Originally Posted by dafadcariad

There's no goof and $100 shipping for a statue of this size is actually far better than many (including myself) anticipated. Also, you can't adequately determine what shipping should be based off of what you paid for another piece. Shipping weight is determined by box size and not weight so a statue with these dimensions will cost more to ship than many 1:3 scale statues with a "lighter" shipping weight.

Yes I was expecting 125-150.00 with the ss discount they have. I wonder without the ss discount how much would a box of this size cost to ship by an average Joe with zero discounts? I'm guessing 200.00-300.00? I shipped xm ghost rider from east to west coast and after a tiny discount with no insurance or anything extra was 220.00. And these p1 boxes are even bigger than xm boxes by far for the most part.

[DPmaster]

I’m so used to shipping prices for XM stuff that $100 for shipping this piece sounds like a bargain.

[Gekon]

Originally Posted by dafadcariad

I can understand the urge but for me that feels like it'd be playing with fire. Granted, the shipping is a bloody good reason to stay with SS but Prime 1's communication is just plain awwwwful and the main reason why I don't order directly from them. There's just been two many instances of P1's spotty customer service for me to play russian roulette with ordering from them. After all, I might have my issues with SS however customer service is definitely not one of them.

One example of P1 customer service. I ask them about some product (regular version) they sell through SS. It was indicated as Low Stock Remaining and what's important it was December 2017. So my question was is there will be some kind of new batch of the product send to SS. They answer few days ago, after a year. And they indicate that the product is still available through they site, and gave me a link. But it was another statue of the same character, not the one i was asking for.
End of story

[dafadcariad]

Originally Posted by Gekon

One example of P1 customer service. I ask them about some product (regular version) they sell through SS. It was indicated as Low Stock Remaining and what's important it was December 2017. So my question was is there will be some kind of new batch of the product send to SS. They answer few days ago, after a year. And they indicate that the product is still available through they site, and gave me a link. But it was another statue of the same character, not the one i was asking for.
End of story

Yuppers, that about sums it up. On the Sideshow forum your personal experience would be a horror story and a bit of an anomaly. Sadly with Prime 1 that might be one of the best case scenarios in terms of customer service. *shivers at the thought*

I do hope you at the very least found what you were looking for. Fingers crossed for that.

[ozboy]

P1 also had an awesome spiderman piece in the works and it disappeared....