Premiumcollectables (PC) (Australia) feedback

[philby]

i ordered the star wars black series k-mart Jyn Erso with scenery stand while it was on-sale and in stock around x-mas and it got here in a few days, well-packed, on NYE i think.

My Star Wars S.H. Figuarts K-2S0 just arrived today, I think at about the same time they are showing up overseas, well-packed again.

I am currently waiting on MP-11SW and MP-33. I have not asked about them yet, i may wait a week or so.

I haven't had any big problems so far. The biggest thing has been the wait for stuff that comes out locally and then goes on sale. In my case it was Hasbro Titans Return Galvatron and I think the first case of Hasbro Black Series Rogue one figures. I am still waiting on the next case but they have not shown up here yet, only in America and Asia so far.

What I think they really need to do, for a start, is something like a weekly newsletter e-mail update. This can go out to everyone and list any and all things like delays or shipment updates. When you browse sites like tfw2005, every week there are updates from shops like tfsource, robot kingdom etc. This might help alleviate concerns and also potentially the number of emails and enquiries from people asking 'when is xyz coming out'.

[laproblematique]

I really hope they're going to improve their VIP system this year. They used to respond very quickly to invoice requests, yet this is becoming a real issue as what's the point of a 10% off perk if I can't use it on in demand items that aren't in high supply because I'm waiting on an invoice to be issued (often never hearing back after sending multiple requests). I don't think it's fair for me to have to continually request these or to the staff that have to eventually wade through multiple requests or to other customers who have their queries delayed because staff are tied up.

I'm very grateful for the VIP program, but the number of VIP's has surpassed thirty from memory and I'd like to think that I'm not the only one that is affected and annoyed by these ever increasing response times.

[OptimusNerd]

I really hope they're going to improve their VIP system this year. They used to respond very quickly to invoice requests, yet this is becoming a real issue as what's the point of a 10% off perk if I can't use it on in demand items that aren't in high supply because I'm waiting on an invoice to be issued (often never hearing back after sending multiple requests). I don't think it's fair for me to have to continually request these or to the staff that have to eventually wade through multiple requests or to other customers who have their queries delayed because staff are tied up.

I'm very grateful for the VIP program, but the number of VIP's has surpassed thirty from memory and I'd like to think that I'm not the only one that is affected and annoyed by these ever increasing response times.

I asked this earlier (or perhaps it was in the other non-feedback forum) but have you ever actually missed out on an item that you requested an invoice for within the first, say... 2 days of release?

If you have that's bad... but you've requested a (hot) item a week after release, well - that's unfortunate, but probably not entirely unreasonable.

[laproblematique]

I asked this earlier (or perhaps it was in the other non-feedback forum) but have you ever actually missed out on an item that you requested an invoice for within the first, say... 2 days of release?

If you have that's bad... but you've requested a (hot) item a week after release, well - that's unfortunate, but probably not entirely unreasonable.

Yes, 4 requests yesterday were sent periodically for the Rogue One Smuggler's Bounty which was listed in the morning and sold out around midnight.

[BruiseLee]

Yes, 4 requests yesterday were sent periodically for the Rogue One Smuggler's Bounty which was listed in the morning and sold out around midnight.

Hope they put one aside for you. From your experience, have you been able to get an item which was listed as available when you email them but the email reply comes back after its listed as sold out on the site?

[OptimusNerd]

Yes, 4 requests yesterday were sent periodically for the Rogue One Smuggler's Bounty which was listed in the morning and sold out around midnight.

Yeah that seems really suspect and unusual to me. I don't buy anything other than bots, but in my experience even if I don't hear from them immediately, I do get an invoice for the product even if it goes "sold out" on the website.

My question always was: where does a VIP order put me in the queue?

They seem to have addressed that question recently by saying (my interpretation, they haven't written this) that order priority is: express-paying orders, then VIP orders, then general purchases in the order they were received.

[GoktimusPrime]

From here:

More convo bat (Ehobby) available on PC at $99.95 right now.

Holy crap-in-a-hat that's expensive!
Convobat's RRP is 5000JPY (approx. AU$60), making PC's price nearly 67% above RRP!
Compare this with say PC's price for MP Thrust vs MP Thrust's RRP. Thrust's RRP is MP Thrust 15984JPY (approx. AU$190) and PC's price was $195. While this is certainly an expensive price for an MP Seeker I think that PC's price was really good considering that it was pretty close to RRP (which PC doesn't set of course). Only $5 dearer than what you'd pay if you bought it directly from the source in Japan, but PC gives free shipping whereas shipping from Japan to Australia would definitely cost more than $5, so PC's price ultimately worked out cheaper. And being 5c under $100 means that the toy isn't eligible for free shipping, so you're gonna have to fork out the cost of shipping on top of the toy, which would bring it well over $100.

You all know that I'm either usually on the side of defending PC, and one of their strengths is their competitive prices... but I find charging $99.95 for a toy that normally costs $60 to be somewhat indefensible. Given the number of ongoing complaints that PC receives, I wouldn't be so keen to give up on their #1 competitive advantage - their prices. Cos I can only imagine two reasons why this price is so ridiculous:
1/ PC are being ripped off by their supplier, in which case they need to find a better supplier as they have been able to do in the past with toys like the MP Coneheads.
2/ PC are being greedy and jacking the price up themselves to exploit fans. I don't need to explain why this is bad corporate practice. Fans aren't stupid.
So either the supplier is trying to scalp collectors here or PC are. I hope it's the former, and I really hope that PC considers dumping them as a supplier for future stock.

[hYpNoS]

From here:

Holy crap-in-a-hat that's expensive!
Convobat's RRP is 5000JPY (approx. AU$60), making PC's price nearly 67% above RRP!

And hlj is charging 7,800yen, add shipping...then convert our rubbish dollar...if I didn't get him in one of my "massive boxes of toys I shouldn't get every 2 months" I'd be reeling.

E hobby items are always going to be over priced, considering legends transformers are waaay more than their hasbro counter parts and then e-hobby comes along and charges more for essentially the same but with a spiffy paint job and accessories that weren't theirs, and from what I can tell from previous e-hobby items they basically ask for their straight item price from retailers and retailers have to foot that bill as well as shipping, then go crazy and try to make a profit somehow.

Only way to get a cheap e-hobby is mandarake or having a damn good proxy, if you go PC its because you didn't know better or just want to buy Australian

[Raider]

I asked this earlier (or perhaps it was in the other non-feedback forum) but have you ever actually missed out on an item that you requested an invoice for within the first, say... 2 days of release?

If you have that's bad... but you've requested a (hot) item a week after release, well - that's unfortunate, but probably not entirely unreasonable.

I have only missed out once and that was reissue Hasbro Soundwave. I believe I missed out as they overlooked my invoice request. I requested an invoice immediately too. From my experience, PC tend to hold enough stock to cover potential VIP requests for at least 2 days after the item becomes available. So even if it sells out on the site a vip should still be able to order if done so within 48 hours of listing.

[GoktimusPrime]

E hobby items are always going to be over priced,

Continued here (as I go off on a tangent that's no longer related to PC )

The MP Coneheads are overpriced too, they really are. But at least PC were able to give good prices (only $5 above RRP) for those figures which actually worked out cheaper than getting them directly from Japan with shipping. PC have demonstrated that they are able to sell limited exclusive Japanese figures at good prices. eHobby Convobat is really overpriced too (see rantage in link above), but these hiked up prices come from the original sources like eHobby or TakaraTOMY-Mall, so it's not the retailer's fault. I'm just talking about the mark-up on top of the toy's RRP, and Convobat's mark up seems exorbitantly higher than what we've seen on the likes of the MP Coneheads.

I can't imagine why, because if I were to order either the MP Coneheads or Convobat directly from Japan the cost would be effectively the same, i.e. RRP + shipping. If I were to get MP Dirge directly from Japan, it'd cost me 15984JPY plus shipping. If I were to get eHobby Convobat from Japan, it'd cost me 5000JPY plus shipping. I'm not sure where this extra $40 charge is coming from, and that's a fair amount of money to be unaccounted for in the pricing. Even though I'm able to get any of these toys directly from Japan, I've chosen to go with PC because they actually work out cheaper than if I go direct because their price is almost the same plus free postage. Cos as overpriced as the MP Coneheads are, I can tell you that I would absolutely have skipped PC and bought these toys directly from TakaraTOMY-Mall if PC's prices weren't so competitive. In fact, I nearly did pre-order MP Dirge from TakaraTOMY-Mall because PC's page for MP Dirge kept on showing up as "SOLD OUT." I had to go and cancel my TakaraTOMY-Mall pre-order after I was finally able to pre-order one from PC!

My loyalty with PC will only go so far. As long as their prices are competitive then I'm more than happy to shop with them and support an Aussie business. But if not then I'm also equally willing to go with another source.