tfidownunder (Australia) feedback

[ZoonMaster5000]

But that makes no sense whatsoever! Honour all pre-existing agreements and make the new sale agreements under the new site.

That's pretty simple and doesn't inconvenience customers having to reorder

The only thing I can think of is the same items will cost more under the new site, so it's a cash grab...

From what I've seen new pricing was matching places like bbts but are obviously cheaper on shipping which is where they are coming out cheaper.

As for shutting down it could explain why they are only advertising items that are in stock. It will be unfortunate if they do shut down I hate seeing any Aussie business work hard only to fall short in the end.

[starrs]

By shopping at TFI you are just inviting trouble upon yourself. I would hope by now that yet again with this episode people are smart enough to stay way clear.

[MEEEGGGAAATTTRRROOONNN!!!]

From what I've seen new pricing was matching places like bbts but are obviously cheaper on shipping which is where they are coming out cheaper.

I mean not compared to other stores, but compared to the price that someone may have already paid for only to be refunded then re-invited to purchase again once the new site goes up.

I don't see any logical reason for cancelling and refunding preorders then re-inviting customers to order again. But as others have noted, it seems consistent with a close down rather than a revamp.

[Borgeman]

I dunno, they've been talking about updating their site for months, while more recently they said they'll be moving to the more usual (ie less stupid) method of paying for your preorder on the spot, rather than the debacle they have atm. Hence the removal of all other preorders. Also makes sense to only leave up in stock items.

Lets see in a week or 2 what happens. I think they still have the customer base, because they are still mostly cheaper than overseas, and only PC has them (mostly) beat competition wise locally.

[WeallscreamforStarscream]

Man TFI have been around from the beginning.. as far as i know they were the first to provide us with the goods before the other locals came.

Evan explained to me that it's gonna be like a 'reset'. All customers will get a refund unless the item is in stock and with the new website coming it's gonna be a great fresh start.

Deposit on pre orders will be happening because too many customers left him high and dry by not paying and/or taking their time to pay.

Just passing on the info for all to read here and hopefully it clears a few things up.

[TAAUBlaster]

I just want to say that this is not meant to be a "white-knighting" post for TFI. They certainly have their problems, and shortcomings. And I'm really not happy about the way they are being cagey and unforthcoming (is that a word? ) with what's happening. But this is just my thought on the matter.

It sounds like they just want to start completely fresh with the new website. Their current business model needs to change, which seems to be what they are trying to do now. New website, new ordering policies, and hopefully much needed new and improved customer service. however if the original pre-orders end up becoming more expensive that will really hit their customer numbers hard. So I'm hoping there isn't anything like that going to happen.

Cancelling all pre-orders from the old site will make everything easier to keep track of from a business perspective and ensure nothing falls through the cracks. Not to mention trying to carry existing pre-orders/payments over to a new system is incredibly time consuming and there is a high chance orders could get missed during the transition. TFI have a hard enough time keeping up now. They don't need anything else to chew up their business time. Which is why a clean slate is probably the best way to go for them. Yes - it will lose them a lot customers in the short term but hopefully they will emerge stronger and with more consumer confidence in the time after. They will have to work hard though.

From a long time customer's perspective though, that is quite frustrating to me because I have always done the right thing and paid on time, haven't hounded them too much and stuck with them. And now it seems like I will have to place all my orders again. It has me worried because with things like MP's - a lot are pre sold out quickly. What if TFI's allocation runs out from the new website before I can replace my order? Even though I pre-ordered almost immediately as their listing went up, now I might miss out? Not to mention I have to try and remember what my orders were in the first place as some of them were placed months ago. I spread my business around, so its hard keeping track of what I'm getting from where sometimes

I've been a customer since TFI first opened, and honestly I haven't really had any major issues with them in the past. TFI's delayed shipments honestly doesn't bother me as much as it seems to everyone else. Maybe because I've always grouped my international JP/US orders into POL or private warehouse so I never usually receive any figures straight after they are released anyway. Maybe I'm too easygoing.

From what I understand their biggest issue for a while has been people not paying for their pre-orders on time (or at all) and so delaying the arrival of a lot of figures. The money paid for pre-orders goes directly to paying for the figures from suppliers. And for the expensive figs like UW Dev, if 10 people don't pay their pre-order, there's $2000 odd TFI has to find from somewhere else so they can pay for the shipment to come in so those who did pay, can get their items. Which then they have to try and recoup from somewhere for the next shipment. It's a never ending circle of "robbing Peter to pay Paul." And with so many figures getting released so soon after each other, it gets very hard to "pay back Paul."

The "order now, pay later" policy sounds attractive to potential customers, but it just doesn't work for a small business starting up. It places too much faith in the customers which is usually taken advantage of at TFI's expence. To offer a service like that, they need to have a large backup capital that comes with years of trading (or a large initial capital) to account for when this type of thing happens.

TFI certainly have a lot of work to do in the future and really have to work on their customer service. The new policy of paying upon pre-order should help a lot in getting the figures into them quickly so they can dispatch quickly too. I really want them to succeed because I enjoy supporting Australian businesses where possible.

My 2 cents.

[EDIT] I took too long typing this and Borgeman and WeallscreamforStarscream beat me to my point

[Borgeman]

From what I understand their biggest issue for a while has been people not paying for their pre-orders on time (or at all) and so delaying the arrival of a lot of figures. The money paid for pre-orders goes directly to paying for the figures from suppliers. And for the expensive figs like UW Dev, if 10 people don't pay their pre-order, there's $2000 odd TFI has to find from somewhere else so they can pay for the shipment to come in so those who did pay, can get their items.

Unfortunately that was half of their problem. They had no capital of sorts to source stock, yet wouldn't take payment before release to secure said stock. Customers were relying on lazy Joe #5 to pay up before their order was filled. And as was seen with Devvy, it dragged out for ages. That was a joke - in no business model is that viable.

The other half was their failure at customer service whenever their shortcomings were pointed out, as we know. In stock or not, shoppers will walk away if the service is bad enough.

Hopefully with the rework of their payment model their attitude to customer service improves as well.

[Jetfire in the sky]

Didn't someone on here say they sold 200 Apollyons, assuming $10 - $20 profit which is conservative considering the price they were selling for that's 2-4K profit, right there! Therefore some capital to take some risk.

If there is a business model that involved zero financial risk but great profits everyone would do it!
For a store to wait for everyone to pay for a pre-order before buying it from their supplierat the detriment of other customers is downright outrageous (and really may as well be called drop shipping). If the pre-sale people who didn't pay in the first instance eventually don't pay at all, I'm sure one could still make a profit off the unsold item(s) and that the worst case scenario would be to at least break even.

[Ralph Wiggum]

I'm of the impression that most, if not all Aussie stores are small businesses and have very limited capital to source a wider range of stock, unlike the big boys across the ocean like BBTS. Thus stock inventory is limited and what I believe largely dependent on up-front payment of pre-orders.

I'll admit I'm a little cautious and wary in over committing/ over spending on pre-orders. As mentioned before, pre-order money could be used to fulfil other orders and all it takes is a period of poor sales / non-payments for the house of cards to collapse.

I'm not saying anyone is setting out to rip others off, it's just a case of doing your research.

[TAAUBlaster]

TFI just updated their FB page:

--To the most important people in the world--

Many of you would have already started receiving notes on your orders with cancellations and refunds.
Due to the events that has previously occurred, the lack of payments and the protection of the people doing it in certain forums due to the fact that some of the worst offenders are representatives of the forums, we have been forced to make the decision to cancel/refund your orders. We sincerely regret this decision, but we feel that it is in best interest for our customer base to avoid massive delays on items.
I personally would like to thank you all who did the right thing by us and honored your payments on time. This is not anyone singled out or a specific item, this is a store wide happening to avoid our customers from having their orders being delayed due to the few that refuse to follow our terms and conditions. In effect, this will speed up the process to open our new site which has a new set of policies. These policies are designed to protect our fantastic customers to avoid this problem from occurring in the future.
While we understand that some customers will be upset with this decision, you have to believe me when I say, that this is the best option. Otherwise, I could easily sit here and send out requests for payment everyday until the cows come home and still have massive delays. This is the ONLY way out of this never ending cycle of delays due to this issue.

We truly appreciate all of our customers that have waited for these periods and made the effort to honor their payments on time. The amount of love and support for Tfi Down Under making this decision has been over whelming. This is a tough decision, but one I have made in full faith that we are doing the right thing by our customers.

----A couple more things for what might be the answer to some common questions---
- ALL ITEMS that are being cancelled will be placed back up for pre-order on our new site under our new fantastic policies.
- In order to squash any rumors; Much to the disappointment of our friends over in the forums, Tfi Down Under is far from closing down. In fact, we are on our way to become something quite the opposite.

-If you are wondering if your pre-order is cancelled, it probably is UNLESS it is in stock and I am awaiting payment, or it's part of a combined order that must be partially refunded. I am currently working everyday cancelling and refunding as many items as I can, and there are a lot.

-If you've written a pm and haven't received a response, forgive me, but this is a lot of work and a LOT of orders, over 500 alone that haven't paid for their items (not including the hundreds that have) and you probably would by now have a note on your order explaining the situation anyway. It's just me (Evan) here at the moment as everyone else has been away over the last fortnight. I'm trying to get these done as fast as I can so please, bare with me.

If you've received a cancellation notice, but no refund, just let me know and I'll eventually get back to you and sort it out ASAP. Please don't go on any forums/mob mentalists/rumor mills and ask for advice. We have NO affiliation with any of them at all. Tfi Down Under does not share information with any of them anymore. This is Tfi's actions, so please let me request that you ask Tfi as we are the only ones that would have the reliable answer. All this means, is that some sort of miss communication between Tfi Down Under's Website and Paypal has happened and it's an easy fix.

-Refunds will come in order that items are cancelled. When your item gets cancelled, it will be followed up with a refund. I understand there are people asking when their refund will come through, but trust me, it's coming as soon as your order is cancelled. smile emoticon
Again, thank you so much for the support on this and we promise you that the new experience will be far greater on our new website.
Thank you so much and
kindest Regards,
Team Tfidu

Hopefully the new site is up and running to start taking pre-orders again soon. I'm keen to keep supporting them especially with the new pre-order policies. Should make a lot of things run smoother.