After Robotkingdom sent me the wrong item

[Robzy]

RK are brilliant like that!! They always put the customer first... I had a package arrive from them without one of my figures. I emailed them and they didn't even ask for proof, they just expressed the fig to me immediately with a few extra little freebies and an apology!

Not like Hobby Link Japan! I refuse to use them and I don't trust them, after several billing and shipping problems I had with them. I'm still waiting for HLJ to resolve issues from 2007. They are really bad, and they don't care about their customers.

Robot Kingdom, however, are highly recommended!!

[Kyle]

I think for most online stores with a shopping cart system, realistically we should never expect them to charge us the exact shipping cost. A shopping cart system can only use very simple and basic forumlae to "estimate" very roughly the shipping cost. To be charged the exact shipping you will either need (1) a staff who goes to pack your toys first before giving you a shipping quote. This wastes human resources and costs the store greatly if you happen to change your mind or cancel the order. Or (2) a sophisticated algorithm built into the shopping cart system that can take into account the dimensions and weight of each toy, the amount of bubble wrap required and dimensions of packing boxes available. And this is actually much much more complex and difficult than most would think, if you know anything about mathematics or programming, keeping in mind some item boxes are not even rectangular nowadays. And (1) is not possible anyway if you want to checkout and complete the transaction right away. So there's a trade off between how fast the shopping process can be completed and how much you pay. The online stores are there to make a living so we cannot expect them to under-estimate the shipping cost in most cases.

I think, before you checkout, as long as you can live with what they quote you, just forget if there will be any difference on the final shipping cost on package. This way you'll live happier.

[griffin]

After a bit more hassling, RK sent the Ghost Henkei Starscream that I ordered back in January.
Now I can go back and order more stuff...

[Eazy D]

I've bought relatively large orders from robotkingdom about 4 times before in the past with no hitch. They usually reply to my emails but tend to be a bit vague. Unfortunately on my last transaction I had a bad experience with them

I ordered a fairly large orders of
1.The asia exclusive ROTF leader class jetfire and buster optimus two pack
2. Bludgeon
3. alternity cliffjumper
4. Human alliance sideswipe

The postage calculator gave out a shipping price when I made the order and I made the paypal payment based on that. The option I selected was Hong Kong post registered air parcel [which is what I normally use]

A couple of days later I get an email from them saying the parcel is oversize to australia and they have to ship it in two separate parcels. For this they wanted an extra 6 USD.

I emailed them saying I thought they could'nt just change the postage totals like that when the ordering system had given a final price but they would'nt send the items out so I ended up having to paypal them the extra 6 USD.

I was pretty disappointed with the whole transaction. Once an on-line ordering system gives you a final shipping price they can't go back on it. If postage ends up being more then they have to bear that cost. I don't mind systems like the one HLJ uses where they wont give you an exact shipping total when you make the order [they will give you a rough guide] You only find out the exact total once they have packed the item and invoiced you. That system is fair because they specifically state that they wont commit to a final shipping total until they've packed your order.

Anyway, I got all the stuff in two boxes. I'm still not happy with the experience though.

[Kyle]

I ordered a fairly large orders of
1.The asia exclusive ROTF leader class jetfire and buster optimus two pack
2. Bludgeon
3. alternity cliffjumper
4. Human alliance sideswipe

Did you order multiples or only one of each?

[griffin]

The shipping calculator probably wasn't able to know when a package size cut-off point was, and just gave an 'estimate' based on the details it knew (toy sizes and weights, and destination). So a change in the shipping method (2 boxes instead of 1) would change the estimate/actual postage amount.

Considering it was only $6 for an order that would have been close to $200, they could have just absorbed the cost (considering the higher prices they've been charging now - they still boast in their FAQ that they are cheaper than other online sources on *everything*, but new items often the same or more than other major sources).

Anyway, at least you had both boxes sent at the same time. A couple years ago I ordered enough stuff for two boxes, and they only sent one. They wanted me to confirm its delivery before sending the second one, but I never saw the request to contact them, so ended up waiting a couple weeks for the second box before asking them where it was. It wasn't a condition of the sale that they would withhold half of the order, and they didn't make it clear beforehand, or have me agree to it.

A bulk of my collection comes from that store, so can't really complain too much about a couple of bad transactions.

[jaydisc]

In my earlier days with RK they tried to pull the "can we send it in two boxes please?" to which I refused. They sent it via EMS at the same price instead. Granted, these were typically large group orders, and by the time they did this to me the first time, I had already had numerous successful orders with them and used this in my argument.

[Eazy D]

Did you order multiples or only one of each?

No, Just one of each.

The funny thing is that although the items were indeed pretty big, I have in the past recieved a parcel from hong kong [not RK] that would have been size and weight-wise comparable to a single box for the whole order.

At the end of the day RK isn't bad and I'd still go back to them but they've got their fair share of flaws as well. I just really have a pet peeve against "unexpected costs" which on-line retailers conjure up.

[Kyle]

No, Just one of each.

The funny thing is that although the items were indeed pretty big, I have in the past recieved a parcel from hong kong [not RK] that would have been size and weight-wise comparable to a single box for the whole order.

At the end of the day RK isn't bad and I'd still go back to them but they've got their fair share of flaws as well. I just really have a pet peeve against "unexpected costs" which on-line retailers conjure up.

Back in January, kurdt and I received a very big box from RK... the box used was the Hasbro case box made to hold 3 of those ROTF Optimus Prime + Jetfire 2-packs. We paid only for airmail registered, but when we received the confirmation email they gave us EMS tracking (automatically upgraded).

[Mr Ed]

I just ordered 3 Diamond Select Toys statue, 370Z and Megatron Alternity sets via EMS. Total cost $305.

Hopefully it will arrive quickly!!