BigBadToyStore (BBTS) (America) feedback

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Originally Posted by BigTransformerTrev

And surprise, surprise - on May 30th they still had Unicronus Rodimus listed as arriving in May. Now its May 31st they have changed it to June. And since my other items have '0' days before shipping left I have to get them sent. :mad:

It's the one thing that annoys me year after year with BBTS - I don't know why I keep believing their estimates - they always turn out to be BS :mad:

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I have heard from multiple suppliers over the years that their estimates are those provided by their sources, often the manufacturer/Hasbro. They aren't often given updates until it's too late. I've seen this on other big sites like Robot Kingdom as well.

I totally get that doesn't help us, the consumer, when we're trying to stack items into a shipment to save on postage. I've been stung a few times myself.
One of my favourite things about BBTS was the extreme Pile of Loot Period, having it be only 2 months instead of 6 doesn't help with their appeal to folks like us. they must have been renting a second warehouse to hold all their POL product.

I’ve hit up BBTS for more info about their practices regarding the GST and got the following response:

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Hello Trevor,
Thank you for the follow up and I will be happy to explain. We will continue to ship to Australia, but these new tax laws will be in place on that date. We should be sending out a more formal, mass notice about this change in the coming days but from what I understand the GST will be collected on our end and then provided to your government inevitably. If you would prefer to alleviate this tax burden on any items that are currently in your Pile of Loot already or any orders you place prior to July 1st, we do suggest shipping them any time before that deadline, otherwise that merchandise will be taxed upon shipping it.

I have summed up responses for you as well below:
*Will future purchases have GST charged on each individual item as they drop into my POL?
Any items purchased on July 1st and beyond will be subject to GST tax. Please note we do not collect applicable tax and shipping until you release your Pile of Loot items, so you would be taxed at that time.

*If not, will GST be charged on the overall cost of my POL when shipped? Or is there a standard fee for every package, no matter its cost?
From what we understand any products with a value of less than $1,000 will be subject to GST. This means that you could ship various items valuing $2,000 in merchandise but all of it would be taxed. It is my understanding that a single item that costs more than that, will NOT be subject to GST.

*Will GST be charged also on the cost of shipping itself?
Yes, just like the merchandise, your government will be assessing GST on shipping expense as well.

This unfortunate law will definitely be an inconvenience for our customers in Australia, however, the good news is that we will continue doing our best to provide you with collectibles going forward. Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance in the meantime and have a great day!

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Now obviously the bloke doesn’t quite understand the new laws, since of course we WOULD get charged GST on an individual $2000 item, but since I don’t know the ins and outs of the US tax system I don’t expect them to understand ours. I’ll be hitting them up again about whether we would get still get charged GST if we have an Aussie billing address but an American postal address, as perhaps for us with US friends that would post stuff on, it may be a way around these bastard new laws.

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Originally Posted by BigTransformerTrev

Now obviously the bloke doesn’t quite understand the new laws, since of course we WOULD get charged GST on an individual $2000 item, but since I don’t know the ins and outs of the US tax system I don’t expect them to understand ours.

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Well obviously there Customer Service department remain as ignorant as ever. 6 months ago they were giving me info about the new GST system that even I knew was wrong. Now they don't have a clue about postage!

Tried to convince me, at the 10 day mark of waiting for my express package, that the reason I had not received any tracking updates was that the updates halt when making their way through Aussie customs and my item would be there. However I got an update at the 12 day mark saying that the item had finally left the US. So it wasn't even in our country yet :rolleyes:

I know that the CS department for an online toy store isnt going to comprise the greatest of minds, but they could at least occasionally get something right. :rolleyes:

The annoying thing is, I put the order in in plenty of time for it to reach me for Xmas. Yet it took BBTS 3 days to even process and post the order (HLJ does within the hour) and then their '9 to 12 business days' amounted to squat as it took 11 days for it even to leave their shores. So much for the value of paying for the top level of express international postage :(

Back when I used BBTS their CS was top notch and they shipped orders within a day. How things have gone downhill for them.

It's getting to the point where there are very few TF retailers I will use anymore.

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Originally Posted by DELTAprime

Back when I used BBTS their CS was top notch and they shipped orders within a day. How things have gone downhill for them.

It's getting to the point where there are very few TF retailers I will use anymore.

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Oh I replied to their email telling them all the info they told me was completely incorrect. I got another email back from them, with zero acknowledgement that they had got it wrong, and in fact telling me that mailing times were only estimates (and directing me to a very obscure page of theirs I'm sure noone has ever read) and I should have known that.

In fact they finished it off with 'If you want items by Christmas you should have ordered them to be mailed in November' :eek::mad:

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Originally Posted by BigTransformerTrev

Oh I replied to their email telling them all the info they told me was completely incorrect. I got another email back from them, with zero acknowledgement that they had got it wrong, and in fact telling me that mailing times were only estimates (and directing me to a very obscure page of theirs I'm sure noone has ever read) and I should have known that.

In fact they finished it off with 'If you want items by Christmas you should have ordered them to be mailed in November' :eek::mad:

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Thats a bit rude from them. I always thought they were top notch in customer service.

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Originally Posted by BigTransformerTrev

Oh I replied to their email telling them all the info they told me was completely incorrect. I got another email back from them, with zero acknowledgement that they had got it wrong, and in fact telling me that mailing times were only estimates (and directing me to a very obscure page of theirs I'm sure noone has ever read) and I should have known that.

In fact they finished it off with 'If you want items by Christmas you should have ordered them to be mailed in November' :eek::mad:

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That is pretty piss poor on their part.
Perhaps the Xmas rush has gotten to them? I've had the odd abrupt cust serv rep when I've had to deal with them.
How were your interactions like during the slower periods through the year?

I just ordered a toy from them -- although it's a double purchase because I previously ordered the same toy from TBI but I'm rapidly losing faith in them so I've ordered the same thing from BBTS as backup.

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Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime

I just ordered a toy from them -- although it's a double purchase because I previously ordered the same toy from TBI but I'm rapidly losing faith in them so I've ordered the same thing from BBTS as backup.

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If you’re going for on time preorders, BBTS is the worst place to go. I’m still waiting on my Sludge and Snarl to ship my POL, and they were supposed to come in August/September.

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Originally Posted by Bidoofdude

If you’re going for on time preorders, BBTS is the worst place to go. I’m still waiting on my Sludge and Snarl to ship my POL, and they were supposed to come in August/September.

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Oh, there's far worse out there...

But... I've been waiting 2.5 years for an order to be filled.
HLJ were at least kind enough to inform me that the item in question had been discontinued by the manufacturer. BBTS on the other hand keep pushing the date out month after month...

https://i.imgur.com/Cr7BOVL.jpg