Should I Cancel My Current Orders with Prime 1?

[Zombiez]

Maybe I have just been lucky but I have had zero problems with prime 1 if you fall even a few hours outside of their refund window they are technically within their rights to not refund anything.

[greenknight]

I thought I'd share my current Prime 1 debacle here concerning their 1:3 scale Mera statue and ask a question.

I had only ever pre-ordered one Prime 1 statue in the past - the Arkham Knights 1:3 scale Batgirl. I pre-ordered her from Sideshow and she ended up being released 9 months after her estimated release date. That was my only prior experience with Prime 1 but I had heard they were known for delays.

I pre-ordered the Prime 1 Mera 1:3 scale statue from Sideshow in March 2019, about a month after she initially became available for pre-order. Her original estimated release date was Jul - Sep 2020. So Prime 1 had 19 months of production time to get this made. I opted for Sideshow's flex payment plan to pay her off with 8 installments, with my final payment scheduled for July 2020 to coincide with the beginning of her estimated release window.

Knowing of Prime 1's track record, I fully expected the original release window to not be hit. I figured it would be similar to my experience with Batgirl - maybe 9 months of delay, give or take. After my June 2020 payment, I had her 90% paid off. At the end of June 2020, my final flex payment began to get delayed, as I expected. But I didn't expect what was to come...

15 months after her original release window, in December 2021, they finally released the Mera statue. Other Sideshow customers started receiving "shipping soon" emails, so I made my final payment in December, anticipating that mine would also be arriving soon. I reasoned that having her fully paid off would expedite the process after waiting so long. I was wrong.

In January 2022, other Sideshow customers received their statues. I did not. I contacted Sideshow and they told me mine would be coming in another batch, expected to arrive Feb - Mar 2022. That didn't make me happy after such a ridiculous delay but I continued to wait patiently.

Then she was delayed to Jun - Aug 2022.

Then she was delayed to Sep - Oct 2022.

At the end of December 2022, I was informed that she's been delayed, yet again, to Feb - Apr 2023!!

So currently I've been waiting 28 months beyond her original release window! It's been a full year after seemingly every other Sideshow customer has received her, and I still have no real idea when she will arrive! Let me repeat that. A full year! I've contacted both Sideshow and Prime 1 repeatedly over the course of that year and no one can tell me what the hold up is. Sideshow says they can only wait on updates from Prime 1. Every reply from Prime 1 since May 2022 says she has shipped. Obviously she hasn't! I've basically had this (very expensive) statue paid off for over 2 1/2 years and have nothing to show for it except empty promises and blatant lies. Words cannot begin to describe how angry and frustrated I am. In the many years I've been collecting statues, this is, hands down, the worst experience I've ever had with a pre-order.

Now for my question. I'm aware that statues could be released in separate batches. Has anyone ever had to wait this long (over a year and counting) for their statue to arrive in a subsequent batch?

[SONICobra]

damn thats crazy, reminds me of when i preordered pcs sagat from bbts and they oversold their allotment - i never received it. it was an open preorder until they marked it canceled it one day without an email or letting me know. hopefully thats not the case here since its still an open order but this timeframe is crazy

have you asked to speak to someone higher up in customer service, manager or something?

up to you if you want to cancel or wait it out, based on what a cs manager tells you maybe start looking in the aftermarket for one just in case

[AC_808]

Originally Posted by greenknight

I thought I'd share my current Prime 1 debacle here concerning their 1:3 scale Mera statue and ask a question.

I had only ever pre-ordered one Prime 1 statue in the past - the Arkham Knights 1:3 scale Batgirl. I pre-ordered her from Sideshow and she ended up being released 9 months after her estimated release date. That was my only prior experience with Prime 1 but I had heard they were known for delays.

I pre-ordered the Prime 1 Mera 1:3 scale statue from Sideshow in March 2019, about a month after she initially became available for pre-order. Her original estimated release date was Jul - Sep 2020. So Prime 1 had 19 months of production time to get this made. I opted for Sideshow's flex payment plan to pay her off with 8 installments, with my final payment scheduled for July 2020 to coincide with the beginning of her estimated release window.

Knowing of Prime 1's track record, I fully expected the original release window to not be hit. I figured it would be similar to my experience with Batgirl - maybe 9 months of delay, give or take. After my June 2020 payment, I had her 90% paid off. At the end of June 2020, my final flex payment began to get delayed, as I expected. But I didn't expect what was to come...

15 months after her original release window, in December 2021, they finally released the Mera statue. Other Sideshow customers started receiving "shipping soon" emails, so I made my final payment in December, anticipating that mine would also be arriving soon. I reasoned that having her fully paid off would expedite the process after waiting so long. I was wrong.

In January 2022, other Sideshow customers received their statues. I did not. I contacted Sideshow and they told me mine would be coming in another batch, expected to arrive Feb - Mar 2022. That didn't make me happy after such a ridiculous delay but I continued to wait patiently.

Then she was delayed to Jun - Aug 2022.

Then she was delayed Sep - Oct 2022.

At the end of December 2022, I was informed that she's been delayed, yet again, to Feb - Apr 2023!!

So currently I've been waiting 28 months beyond her original release window! It's been a full year after seemingly every other Sideshow customer has received her, and I still have no real idea when she will arrive! Let me repeat that. A full year! I've contacted both Sideshow and Prime 1 repeatedly over the course of that year and no one can tell me what the hold up is. Sideshow says they can only wait on updates from Prime 1. Every reply from Prime 1 since May 2022 says she has shipped. Obviously she hasn't! I've basically had this (very expensive) statue paid off for over 2 1/2 years and have nothing to show for it except empty promises and blatant lies. Words cannot begin to describe how angry and frustrated I am. In the many years I've been collecting statues, this is, hands down, the worst experience I've ever had with a pre-order.

Now for my question. I'm aware that statues could be released in separate batches. Has anyone ever had to wait this long (over a year and counting) for their statue to arrive in a subsequent batch?

Considering how long you've waited and still no sign of it being resolved, I'd cancel and get all my money back. Since it was delayed numerous times, you should also get a full refund from Sideshow. That's long enough of a wait. Be done with it and move on.

I don't believe I have ever waited over a year for a second batch to arrive to get a statue. A few times I've waited slightly over a year for the initial release, but not for another batch.

[qz33]

Originally Posted by SONICobra

damn thats crazy, reminds me of when i preordered pcs sagat from bbts and they oversold their allotment - i never received it. it was an open preorder until they marked it canceled it one day without an email or letting me know. hopefully thats not the case here since its still an open order but this timeframe is crazy

have you asked to speak to someone higher up in customer service, manager or something?

up to you if you want to cancel or wait it out, based on what a cs manager tells you maybe start looking in the aftermarket for one just in case

EDIT: Thought order was direct with Prime 1 Recommendation remains the same: Don't get so stuck on this stuff for so long, if you can get your money do it and run. ALWAYS.

[greenknight]

Originally Posted by SONICobra

damn thats crazy, reminds me of when i preordered pcs sagat from bbts and they oversold their allotment - i never received it. it was an open preorder until they marked it canceled it one day without an email or letting me know. hopefully thats not the case here since its still an open order but this timeframe is crazy

have you asked to speak to someone higher up in customer service, manager or something?

up to you if you want to cancel or wait it out, based on what a cs manager tells you maybe start looking in the aftermarket for one just in case

I've always talked with Sideshow reps via chat. It's always the same thing - they can only wait on updates from Prime 1. On the multiple occasions when I've contacted Sideshow because the release window had come and gone without a new update, they tell me that could indicate that it's on the way or at their warehouse. When I ask them if they can contact the warehouse to get that information, they tell me "no". I get the feeling no one at Sideshow has any interest in helping me. They've already got my money, so why should they?

I've never tried to request a CS manager via chat. If I got one, I have a feeling I'd just be given the same bit of scripted dialog.

I never used to be this cynical...

I've already looked in the aftermarket for this statue. If I could find one around retail, I'd cancel and buy it. But the cheapest one I can find is still $400 more than retail so that's out.

[Iko Iko]

Unless you need the money, I'd keep the order. You obviously want the statue and if you've waited this long, what's a few more months to wait? Your story is frustrating though. I have been waiting for Prime 1's Talon since 2020.

[greenknight]

Originally Posted by AC_808

Considering how long you've waited and still no sign of it being resolved, I'd cancel and get all my money back. Since it was delayed numerous times, you should also get a full refund from Sideshow. That's long enough of a wait. Be done with it and move on.

I don't believe I have ever waited over a year for a second batch to arrive to get a statue. A few times I've waited slightly over a year for the initial release, but not for another batch.

Originally Posted by qz33

EDIT: Thought order was direct with Prime 1 Recommendation remains the same: Don't get so stuck on this stuff for so long, if you can get your money do it and run. ALWAYS.

Yes, if I cancel now I should get everything back.

However, after all this waiting I feel that if I cancel now, Prime 1/Sideshow ends up with an interest free loan for 2 1/2 years courtesy of my wallet and I end up with a year of frustration and aggravation. Not a fair trade in my eyes. If I didn't care about the statue, I would cancel. But if I didn't care about the statue, I wouldn't have pre-ordered it in the first place...

[greenknight]

And to be clear, I wasn't really asking if people thought I should cancel. I do greatly appreciate your viewpoints though.

Aside from some much needed venting, I was mainly asking if anyone had experience waiting so long for a statue to arrive in a subsequent batch.

[HeavyMetalSpike]

Originally Posted by greenknight

. . . If I didn't care about the statue, I would cancel. But if I didn't care about the statue, I wouldn't have pre-ordered it in the first place.

Since you are dealing with Sideshow, you are guaranteed to get your money back if this does eventually get cancelled (by yourself, Sideshow, or PRIME1).

Given you still really want the statue, THAT is the only relevant factor here . . . so I'd wait it out.

Sideshow CS is a bit of a lottery, but WAY better than trying to deal with PRIME1 - so "silver lining" and all that.

Good luck with whatever eventually transpires.

.