XM Studios 1/4 Star Wars Darth Maul

[Hellboy]

Originally Posted by Mepaphoros

There is no way I wouldn't return this if I paid top dollar. You guys should really return all of these, make the company pay!

If it were only that easy.

[slickrick]

Originally Posted by Mepaphoros

There is no way I wouldn't return this if I paid top dollar. You guys should really return all of these, make the company pay!

Yes that should be the right thing to do, but man they take forever and I got to ship it back, and go through all the headache with the middle man... so I just accept breakages. I'm no pro repair guy, but I use super glue and try to match the paint with a little brush. Sure, I'll contact the sellers at least to see what are my options, but majority of the time, they don't offer much that will make the return process worth it

[aa909]

Originally Posted by WEIRDO 1 SHINOB

Of course /filming the last 10 ft makes a difference, especially when valuable items are being delivered. Beside your items being damaged, some people have the nerve to steal your packages in other instances. I was just saying it was a good idea. To each their own.

Yes, the box can be flipped, thrown or dropped in transit, but at least I have actual proof. I have had a previous argument with a delivery company where damage occurred to the item and they said they were not responsible. When this guy dropped my container with the Darth Maul statue, do you know if that may have caused the damage or not? Of course you don't and more than likely it is still XM Studios lack of protective measure, but if you can claim some of that loss from the delivery company, go ahead I say.

By the way, you talk about the package being able to withstand far worse, too bad XM did not follow through with testing their new protective measures. It doesn't need to be mishandled a hundred times, just that one time can mess up your day.

the above in bold is what you should be complaining about, not the last 10 ft of delivery. If the delivery guy dropping your box was going to break your statue, then it was likely already broken in transit from China.

Bottom line is the statue was poorly designed. Unless the box was opened in customs, then XM is to blame for the 99% of these broken statues.

[aa909]

Originally Posted by built2shred

I went ahead and did my own little fix...

With normal lighting and viewing distance you really can't see the break.... but with a light on the statue and close up you can see the crack... Once I put in the display case nobody will see it as you can't see his backside in the case but it's still annoying knowing it's there on a fairly expensive statue.

nice fix but for the money it's unacceptable. I'd want a replacement or at least a few hundy back for a proper fix.

[WEIRDO 1 SHINOB]

Too bad XM did not follow through with testing their new protective measures. It doesn't need to be mishandled a hundred times, just that one time can mess up your day.

Originally Posted by aa909

the above in bold is what you should be complaining about, not the last 10 ft of delivery. If the delivery guy dropping your box was going to break your statue, then it was likely already broken in transit from China.

Bottom line is the statue was poorly designed. Unless the box was opened in customs, then XM is to blame for the 99% of these broken statues.

Most definitely I agree with you about XM, but I disagree with you about not worrying about delivery to your house. You do not know what caused the break in actuality and I do not know anyone who would be alright with actually seeing the delivery person dropping a package that contains fragile contents. I know what you are trying to say and of course you wouldn't want your parcel mishandled, whether abroad or at your driveway.

The point I'm making is if you catch someone mishandling your package on delivery, you can fill out a complaint form and a agent will file your case to recover the full or partial value. FedEx, DHL or whatever courier service does not know if XM packed the contents properly or even if they tested for damage. All the delivery company knows is that the box is marked "FRAGILE" and has "THIS SIDE UP", so if I catch the person delivering it by hand and then dropping it, it makes very good sense in capturing him delivering the package in a method he/she is not supposed to. Trust me, if this happened to you, you would wish you had video. I had to contain myself.

Like I said, to each their own, as it was only a suggestion brother. There is nothing I can really do to XM to recover any loss. I have to rely on my reputable third party to aid me in obtaining a replacement.

Sorry if I did not make sense. I think we can agree that video surveillance of your house is just good in general.

[WEIRDO 1 SHINOB]

Originally Posted by aa909

nice fix but for the money it's unacceptable. I'd want a replacement or at least a few hundy back for a proper fix.

I agree one hundred percent. I pray that I can get a replacement and recoup some of the money from the delivery company for mishandling the box.

[WEIRDO 1 SHINOB]

Originally Posted by Mepaphoros

There is no way I wouldn't return this if I paid top dollar. You guys should really return all of these, make the company pay!

Originally Posted by Hellboy

If it were only that easy.

Originally Posted by slickrick

Yes that should be the right thing to do, but man they take forever and I got to ship it back, and go through all the headache with the middle man... so I just accept breakages. I'm no pro repair guy, but I use super glue and try to match the paint with a little brush. Sure, I'll contact the sellers at least to see what are my options, but majority of the time, they don't offer much that will make the return process worth it

It is a hard situation for those who bought this piece through a third party to get any money back on this item. Built2shred listed some very good points.....

Out of curiosity I sent a message directly to XM about the issue, basically I just got a boiler plate response saying to fill out a form.... You have 4 options.

Bought it from an official XM retailer (within licensed area) - They will take care of the issue for you.

Bought it directly from XM website, XM will take care of any issue for you.

Bought it from a private seller (someone who buys it for you in Singapore and then ships it to you).. XM views this like buying an item on Ebay, so your only recourse is dealing with the seller, the original buyer will have to contact XM for a replacement and then you'll have to discuss the shipping costs with them.

You can pay XM to fix your problem (any country) and they will fix or replace the part for you. But again you have to pay them for the service of fixing it and shipping it to you.

In the response XM didn't mention anything about the issue they have with boxing that part that keeps breaking on people... Basically they're pulling a SS standard response. Never admit anything

Anyways that's the risk you take with buying grey market statues. If your going to buy them, I would get them from Speculative Fiction since he takes care of his customers... anyone else and It can be a gamble.

They also mentioned they make replacement parts in their workshop and not the factory... and since it's from scratch it can take several months for a replacement.

[Commander0Zero]

Originally Posted by Mepaphoros

There is no way I wouldn't return this if I paid top dollar. You guys should really return all of these, make the company pay!

Oh they are gonna pay its just not an immediate thing. The payment will be the loss of goodwill and customer confidence. I personally have pulled back from spending my money with them. The only thing I can think of that I still will be in for is their 1/6th Wonder Women. I'm personally not going to buy another 1/4th from them.
Not only are they a premium over say Sideshow but for many of us we are ordering out of market and have to pay crazy shipping prices. Also many have to pay those shipping prices just to have an issue taken care of. Their product is good but IMHO not that good.

[built2shred]

As a Star Wars collector this is a must have piece for me even if in the end it stays broken... Everyone who sees this statue is wowed by it....

Ultimately what I hope will happen is XM will redesign the piece so the cape part is a separate piece and they will make a small custom box to help reduce shipping costs for people who bought this out of the licensed areas.. I know they don't have to since technically were not in their market but I'm sure XM knows a majority of their sales are out of the licensed market.

I'll be patient and see what happens, so far my contact hasn't said much other then putting in a complaint with DHL... which IMO isn't really their fault as it is XM's for a bad design that can easily break during shipping.

That all I said I still have 3 other XM pre-orders from my contact in Singapore that I ordered awhile back, but now I'm not sure I'm going to keep those orders. I don't think it's worth the risk of getting another broken statue. Now if my contact would of said "Hey we got you covered and will take care of it for you" instead of saying "will put in complaint with DHL" then I wouldn't be thinking of cancelling my other orders with him.

I also have like 8 pre-orders of XM stuff with SpecFiction but I'm more confident with Todd then my other guy... So I'll keep those orders... plus 5 of those statues have world licenses....

[WEIRDO 1 SHINOB]

Originally Posted by Commander0Zero

Oh they are gonna pay its just not an immediate thing. The payment will be the loss of goodwill and customer confidence. I personally have pulled back from spending my money with them. The only thing I can think of that I still will be in for is their 1/6th Wonder Women. I'm personally not going to buy another 1/4th from them.
Not only are they a premium over say Sideshow but for many of us we are ordering out of market and have to pay crazy shipping prices. Also many have to pay those shipping prices just to have an issue taken care of. Their product is good but IMHO not that good.

I wonder if enough Star Wars buyers outside their market would impact them? Even the buyers in the market that received a faulty Darth Maul statue will be pissed off.

I like your attitude towards not supporting them as much. I must admit, I am on the fence about purchasing the Boba fett or Luke. As this statue was my first XM or 1/4 scale statue purchase. It is all up to the consumer of course and if XM is impacted, who knows if they will do another Star Wars piece.

Does anyone know if they have any potential Star Wars pieces down the line?