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Old 01-30-2020, 02:20 PM   #1
Tweeterhead
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DARKSEID message from Chad and video TODAY!

Hey Folks,

I’m going to do a live video addressing all this later today, but wanted to post an update here as well. We quickly discovered some issues with the Darkseid pre-orer this morning and are going to fix it ASAP!

Needless to say, I wasn't expecting to wake up this morning to about 11 Darkseid sales and immediately came here to see what was the issue was.

1. Shipping: Although Shipping costs have gone up, $86 to anyone for a 20x20x25 box that is 25lbs is CRAZY! The problem was on our end. Our back office uses our UPS account to determine shipping costs and since it's been since Sept that we put anything on pre-order...our UPS acct wasn't linking up because of a password change. For the folks who were charged $85 or MORE...I did a few tests and you should have been charged around $59-$65 for UPS ground. I don't charge any extra for handling...so you are paying the exact same amount as I'm getting billed for.

2. Pricing: NO ONE, not a single distributor or store will ever sell any TH product for $1 less than out EX on our site from now on. Going forward, no one will be able to discount a TH item without written permission from me. Why in the world would I ever want you to purchase something day one for what amounts to over $100 in savings! There was an error with Spec Fiction today, please don't get me wrong, I think Todd is AWESOME...but looking at how this completely pulled the rug out from under our EX release is pretty major and eye opening.

3: EX pricing. Unless I'm wrong, I've always kept the EX the same price as the regular edition. This will always be the case with TH EX.

The bottom line, is I'm trying to do my best to get you guys the best price on my pieces. Between the shipping (no mark up) and the EX, I'm hoping you guys will purchase from me first...

This is how we're going to fix this Darkseid issue...Vicky is refunding all the purchases from today (around 20) and we are relaunching Darkseid next TUESDAY, Feb 4th. I hope you guys will be part of this relaunch pre-order and understand that the shipping error was on us.

Thanks to everyone here for always keeping me informed on whats going on. SO SORRY for this hiccup!!!
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Old 01-30-2020, 02:49 PM   #2
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Nice. I noticed the shipping to me for Shazam went down about $20, so I will be POing today.
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Old 01-30-2020, 05:00 PM   #3
mmk123
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watching the video right now. I know Chad has started to come here and I am posting comments here since I am not on Facebook so I do hope he reads these.

Chad was talking about the lack of sales of the Cheetah and Shazam and Darkseid. I love how Chad is doing the C level characters but I think it might be better to stick with more A and B level. I have been seeing constant posts on this site asking for Flash and Aquaman to finish out the original JLA and it seems that there will be no Aquaman this year. More posts about wanting the New Teen Titans line up and we are getting Nightwing and possibly Raven but what about the rest. These lower tier characters are fantastic but they are only going to appeal to a limited amount. I think it would be great to get some of the higher tier characters out of the way first to draw more attention to the brand.

He also mentioned customer service. I had issues as well when it came to changing my address for shipping twice and the package was able to be redirected. Fortunately I did not have anything arrive broken and have to wait for a replacement. It seems that people were waiting for replacements too long but the main complaint seemed to be was the lack of hearing back from Tweeterhead. I think if it would have been explained at the beginning when people needed replacements that a whole new statue had to be made then there would have been a little more understanding.

The other issue I feel is that the orders from Sideshow or other companies get to customers first instead of ordering through Tweeterhead directly. I know that the exclusive is sold through Tweeterhead and that is why but I am one of those people who do not feel an exclusive is necessary. I say stop the exclusives, get the whole $15 off coupon working and let customers take advantage of that on the website. I am not sure what companies that sell statues offer a discount coupon off a future purchase but I read here that a customer had so many built up I believe he either got the Tweeterhead Wonder Woman or Donna Troy paid for with the unused coupons he had amassed over the years.

And back to exclusives, maybe I am in the minority but I liked the Catwoman Jose Luis Garcia Lopez drawing. It was 8 1/2 x 11 and a nice size (I understand that the Donna Troy one was smaller). The only thing about it was that even though it was a copy, his signature should have been on it and maybe even numbered. Personally, with Batgirl, I do not need the change out belts and purses and batarang hands, I would have liked to have had a copy of the Nicola Scott drawing that this statue was based on. Like an 8 1/2 x 11 or a 10 x 13. When I get her I will put one belt on and one hand on and the others will begin the box and that is where they will stay (some people might switch them out but I would not).

One thing he mentioned is that he heard that people are looking for a replacement for a broken part months after the statue is purchased because they did not open it right away. I used to work in Operations and Inventory Control for a major retailer (that is not shuttering stores but continuing to open new ones) and at one point in time we took anything back regardless how old it was. About a year before I left my job, the return policy changed to 60 days. Many retailers are now limiting there return policy. I think if you get a statue and do not inspect it when you get it and leave it sit in the box for a month or two before looking at it then you are now the owner of a broken statue and you can enjoy displaying your broken statue with your other ones.

I do think that with Debbie leaving last year that really threw a monkey wrench into Chad's operation and sometimes it can take months to recover. It does seem that over the past few months things have gotten better with them and hopefully they will continue to improve.
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Old 01-30-2020, 05:05 PM   #4
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One more thing I thought of, in January, people tend to look for bargains or not spend as much because in the month of December there was alot of Holiday shopping that was happening. February is a bit of a turnaround month because that is when people get their tax returns. I wonder if January was not the right time to release Darkseid. Also, it was 3 months since the last statue went up for sale.
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Old 01-30-2020, 05:20 PM   #5
MisterJ
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One thing I would like Chad to keep in mind is that most of 2019 was littered with bad customer service, complaints, delays, lack of communication, disruptions, changes in direction, etc.... It caused a lot of bad vibes with many people. So far this year they seemed to have turned things around (except for today), but it's only been a month. It will take a lot longer than that to make up the ground that was lost last year. Just keep at it with great products, smooth launches, dependable communication, good customer service and in 6 months or so things will get back on track.
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Old 01-30-2020, 07:09 PM   #6
moviemonster
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tweeterhead View Post
Hey Folks,

I’m going to do a live video addressing all this later today, but wanted to post an update here as well. We quickly discovered some issues with the Darkseid pre-orer this morning and are going to fix it ASAP!

Needless to say, I wasn't expecting to wake up this morning to about 11 Darkseid sales and immediately came here to see what was the issue was.

1. Shipping: Although Shipping costs have gone up, $86 to anyone for a 20x20x25 box that is 25lbs is CRAZY! The problem was on our end. Our back office uses our UPS account to determine shipping costs and since it's been since Sept that we put anything on pre-order...our UPS acct wasn't linking up because of a password change. For the folks who were charged $85 or MORE...I did a few tests and you should have been charged around $59-$65 for UPS ground. I don't charge any extra for handling...so you are paying the exact same amount as I'm getting billed for.

2. Pricing: NO ONE, not a single distributor or store will ever sell any TH product for $1 less than out EX on our site from now on. Going forward, no one will be able to discount a TH item without written permission from me. Why in the world would I ever want you to purchase something day one for what amounts to over $100 in savings! There was an error with Spec Fiction today, please don't get me wrong, I think Todd is AWESOME...but looking at how this completely pulled the rug out from under our EX release is pretty major and eye opening.

3: EX pricing. Unless I'm wrong, I've always kept the EX the same price as the regular edition. This will always be the case with TH EX.

The bottom line, is I'm trying to do my best to get you guys the best price on my pieces. Between the shipping (no mark up) and the EX, I'm hoping you guys will purchase from me first...

This is how we're going to fix this Darkseid issue...Vicky is refunding all the purchases from today (around 20) and we are relaunching Darkseid next TUESDAY, Feb 4th. I hope you guys will be part of this relaunch pre-order and understand that the shipping error was on us.

Thanks to everyone here for always keeping me informed on whats going on. SO SORRY for this hiccup!!!
That’s all great but that doesn’t change the fact it’s $400 and 1/6 scale. Tweeterhead itself has a 1/5 scale Pennywise with multiple switch out parts and a very ornate base with other things found inside. Tones of detail and only $350. Trying to keep things priced along with other manufacturers like Kotobukiya Inc or Sideshow makes sense. It’s to early for that.
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Old 01-30-2020, 07:53 PM   #7
BurningRage
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Quote:
Originally Posted by moviemonster View Post
That’s all great but that doesn’t change the fact it’s $400 and 1/6 scale. Tweeterhead itself has a 1/5 scale Pennywise with multiple switch out parts and a very ornate base with other things found inside. Tones of detail and only $350. Trying to keep things priced along with other manufacturers like Kotobukiya Inc or Sideshow makes sense. It’s to early for that.
You do know the new Koto Wolverine msrp is $400 right?
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Old 01-30-2020, 07:59 PM   #8
built2shred
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Quote:
Originally Posted by moviemonster View Post
That’s all great but that doesn’t change the fact it’s $400 and 1/6 scale. Tweeterhead itself has a 1/5 scale Pennywise with multiple switch out parts and a very ornate base with other things found inside. Tones of detail and only $350. Trying to keep things priced along with other manufacturers like Kotobukiya Inc or Sideshow makes sense. It’s to early for that.
To be fair IP Licensing plays a part in pricing... I have no doubt the IP license for Pennywise is a lot cheaper then the one for DC...

Also SS 1:4 PF prices are in the $550-$650 range, some of their bigger ones are in the $700-$800 range... Given the size of TH Darkseid I would say $400 is a fair price given what statues cost today, I believe XM's Darkseid is going to cost around $800...

If I was Chad I would make the prototype and then let everyone know he needs "X" amount of pre-orders before he can put it into production...
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Old 01-30-2020, 09:33 PM   #9
Sonic Boom
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Quote:
Originally Posted by moviemonster View Post
That’s all great but that doesn’t change the fact it’s $400 and 1/6 scale. Tweeterhead itself has a 1/5 scale Pennywise with multiple switch out parts and a very ornate base with other things found inside. Tones of detail and only $350. Trying to keep things priced along with other manufacturers like Kotobukiya Inc or Sideshow makes sense. It’s to early for that.
Keep in mind Darkseid is huge, like around the size of a 1/4 human statue.
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Old 01-30-2020, 09:47 PM   #10
AlexT
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Quote:
Originally Posted by moviemonster View Post
That’s all great but that doesn’t change the fact it’s $400 and 1/6 scale. Tweeterhead itself has a 1/5 scale Pennywise with multiple switch out parts and a very ornate base with other things found inside. Tones of detail and only $350. Trying to keep things priced along with other manufacturers like Kotobukiya Inc or Sideshow makes sense. It’s to early for that.
Let’s try not to keep things priced along with other manufacturers because if we do this Darkseid would be priced at minimum of $600.
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