Prime1 Studios - 1:3 Catwoman - Arkham series

[Nugchompa]

Originally Posted by BrandonJF

Yeah, 4 weeks is not very long for a dispute. Many years ago, I disputed something I hadn't noticed for many months and had no problem, so I don't think I'll have an issue if I go that route.

It's pretty funny - I looked on Sideshow's site and they actually have a section in their return/exchange FAQ for chargebacks. They try to make an argument for a chargeback DELAYING refunds. I don't know what they are talking about. I also see where they state their 7-10 business day turnaround time on requests, which is just ridiculous. They must have 1-2 people handling these request forms and they work 1 day a week.

People probably wouldn't be doing chargebacks if they were being taken care of.

Chargebacks do delay refunds as many retailers will have to argue for their advertised cancellation fees. They may also block you from future purchases due to lost money from the arbitration process.

[Silas Loki]

No loss, I'm pretty sure this episode will deter him from using their services in the future anyway.

[Phoenixblazes]

I personally buy most of my pieces via PayPal (which itself is covered by credit card) that I’m quite sure has a 6 month dispute window. But I believe most credit card company dispute windows are quite reasonable as well.

And Sideshow’s customer service is usually better than this, but I’m sure that ‘eventually’ everything will be sorted. Especially if your refund request is for a broken piece.

[Wah]

it took me around 2 weeks to get my refund. i did call them after 1 week to give them a nudge, but it was refunded and resolved about 2-3 weeks period. if anyone hasn't gotten a response i'd recommend calling and bothering them again.

[BrandonJF]

Originally Posted by Nugchompa

Chargebacks do delay refunds as many retailers will have to argue for their advertised cancellation fees. They may also block you from future purchases due to lost money from the arbitration process.

I don't know if it works differently for other credit cards, but if I dispute a charge I am immediately getting a credit. It may technically "delay" a refund, but the refund is irrelevant to me at that point. A refund just means I'll lift the dispute. They can take all the time they want - or never refund - once I've disputed the charge. If the dispute was somehow found in the retailer's favor (nearly impossible), the charge would obviously come back.

Blocking me from future purchases would not be a punishment for me at this point (and their site says it would take multiple chargebacks before they do that, anyway - they will put accounts on hold, though). If this is the way Sideshow is now going to operate, I won't be buying anything else from them. Even their listed turnaround time for support on their website (7-10 business days) isn't acceptable. That is their target. The only thing holding me back from being more aggressive is I have another open request that has moved forward and I'm waiting on a part.

When I contacted them via chat, I don't recall there even being an apology. I was actually blamed for their slow response time. It has really been an odd experience that is abnormal from my typical Sideshow support experiences.

[NorthernLadMSP]

Originally Posted by BrandonJF

I don't know if it works differently for other credit cards, but if I dispute a charge I am immediately getting a credit. It may technically "delay" a refund, but the refund is irrelevant to me at that point. A refund just means I'll lift the dispute. They can take all the time they want - or never refund - once I've disputed the charge. If the dispute was somehow found in the retailer's favor (nearly impossible), the charge would obviously come back.

Blocking me from future purchases would not be a punishment for me at this point (and their site says it would take multiple chargebacks before they do that, anyway - they will put accounts on hold, though). If this is the way Sideshow is now going to operate, I won't be buying anything else from them. Even their listed turnaround time for support on their website (7-10 business days) isn't acceptable. That is their target. The only thing holding me back from being more aggressive is I have another open request that has moved forward and I'm waiting on a part.

When I contacted them via chat, I don't recall there even being an apology. I was actually blamed for their slow response time. It has really been an odd experience that is abnormal from my typical Sideshow support experiences.

Yeah, they don't apologize for anything.

When their website was giving people problems for 5 weeks earlier this year, I called them about an issue and sat on hold for LITERALLY 35 minutes being forced to listen to blasting loud Star Wars theme music. When they finally came on, I complained about the wait time and got crickets. BTW, there was also zero communication to anyone about said 5-week long site "upgrades."

Precisely why I laugh at anyone who claims they have stellar customer service. I've worked in customer service for over 20 years, and work for a company with some of the best service in the business. Their customer service is a joke.

[Nugchompa]

Originally Posted by BrandonJF

I don't know if it works differently for other credit cards, but if I dispute a charge I am immediately getting a credit. It may technically "delay" a refund, but the refund is irrelevant to me at that point. A refund just means I'll lift the dispute. They can take all the time they want - or never refund - once I've disputed the charge. If the dispute was somehow found in the retailer's favor (nearly impossible), the charge would obviously come back.

Blocking me from future purchases would not be a punishment for me at this point (and their site says it would take multiple chargebacks before they do that, anyway - they will put accounts on hold, though). If this is the way Sideshow is now going to operate, I won't be buying anything else from them. Even their listed turnaround time for support on their website (7-10 business days) isn't acceptable. That is their target. The only thing holding me back from being more aggressive is I have another open request that has moved forward and I'm waiting on a part.

When I contacted them via chat, I don't recall there even being an apology. I was actually blamed for their slow response time. It has really been an odd experience that is abnormal from my typical Sideshow support experiences.

Being on the retailer side, I can say that I win almost every chargeback. The CC companies put the money back on the customer's card, but then remove it when found in my favor. Most retailers do not violate the terms they set forth which make a lot of chargebacks fraud to begin with. You can really only issue a chargeback if a company violates their own terms and you have proof. Doing one because you dont like the terms you agree to will make you lose. I'm not sure if a lot of smaller companies are versed in how to handle these issues, but I imagine Sideshow probably is.

These are simply the facts. There are a lot of times a chargeback might be merited. You buy something, and it's broken, but the seller doesn't offer a return and never states that "all sales are final". That is not the situation here. Sideshow saves itself by making their target response time two weeks and always offering a full refund if there is a problem with the product. If the terms of the sale are not to ones liking, they do not have to make the sale.

None of this excuses the two week turnarounds and lack of satisfactory options, but legally, they are fine.

[Jiggatron69]

Originally Posted by Nugchompa

Being on the retailer side, I can say that I win almost every chargeback. The CC companies put the money back on the customer's card, but then remove it when found in my favor. Most retailers do not violate the terms they set forth which make a lot of chargebacks fraud to begin with. You can really only issue a chargeback if a company violates their own terms and you have proof. Doing one because you dont like the terms you agree to will make you lose. I'm not sure if a lot of smaller companies are versed in how to handle these issues, but I imagine Sideshow probably is.

These are simply the facts. There are a lot of times a chargeback might be merited. You buy something, and it's broken, but the seller doesn't offer a return and never states that "all sales are final". That is not the situation here. Sideshow saves itself by making their target response time two weeks and always offering a full refund if there is a problem with the product. If the terms of the sale are not to ones liking, they do not have to make the sale.

None of this excuses the two week turnarounds and lack of satisfactory options, but legally, they are fine.

I feel like im on a different planet then. When i called SS, they apologized constantly for the damaged statue and long wait times to figure it out. The girl on the phone was super nice and they kept me up to date on the status of my claim. Maybe because i immediately ordered another Catwoman statue while the damaged one was in process? Overall, it just seems like im seeing a wide range of service experience.

[BrandonJF]

Originally Posted by Jiggatron69

I feel like im on a different planet then. When i called SS, they apologized constantly for the damaged statue and long wait times to figure it out. The girl on the phone was super nice and they kept me up to date on the status of my claim. Maybe because i immediately ordered another Catwoman statue while the damaged one was in process? Overall, it just seems like im seeing a wide range of service experience.

Probably a difference between phone vs e-mail vs chat. Or luck of the draw depending on who you get. But, I have always felt the same when I've seen posts in this forum about their poor customer service. It hasn't been my experience. I've considered myself lucky after some of the things I've read.

Until now.

My initial response this time was quick, too. It wasn't 7-10 business days. However, that response was "I'm forwarding this to someone else" and that is where it has died. They make it sound like there is now one person who deals with Prime 1 support, which has not been the case in the past. It makes me wonder if some of you who had more recent success stories made it under the wire before some change went in place...

[Jiggatron69]

Originally Posted by BrandonJF

Probably a difference between phone vs e-mail vs chat. Or luck of the draw depending on who you get. But, I have always felt the same when I've seen posts in this forum about their poor customer service. It hasn't been my experience. I've considered myself lucky after some of the things I've read.

Until now.

My initial response this time was quick, too. It wasn't 7-10 business days. However, that response was "I'm forwarding this to someone else" and that is where it has died. They make it sound like there is now one person who deals with Prime 1 support, which has not been the case in the past. It makes me wonder if some of you who had more recent success stories made it under the wire before some change went in place...

Well, I have 2 pieces on order direct from P1 so let’s see how this works out in 5 years when the statues get here