More Irrational Games Limited Editon Items

[toxicatom5]

Originally Posted by usiris

I'll quote this and ask him to respond.

Sounds great! Again, just let me know if I can help.

Originally Posted by Iwatasan

If you're taking suggestions, I'd really like to see an option available at checkout where a buyer can mark individual items in his cart as collectibles to ensure that an undamaged copy is selected from warehouse stock, carefully handled, and properly packaged with padding on all sides.

I see what you're saying and I agree with you, but not totally. BigBadToyStore does this, and I have selected the option before (it's usually something like $2-$4). The difference is that with BigBadToyStore if you don't select that option, your item is still packaged well and it's still going to arrive in very nice condition (at least in my experience). If I'm buying something advertised as a "collectible", it ought to be in darn near perfect condition without me having to pay extra over and above the several hundred dollar price tag. Appropriate packaging materials should be accounted for in the pricing to begin with, because it has to be shipped anyway. I guess if DR gets to the point of consistently providing near-perfect items, then I might be willing to consider splitting hairs about the differences between a 9 and 10. Right now I'm just thinking about baby steps I guess.

Originally Posted by KnightOfTruth

Gotta give 'em props though....

Scratch that...

Sorry Knight. I empathize.

[Iwatasan]

Originally Posted by toxicatom5

I see what you're saying and I agree with you, but not totally. BigBadToyStore does this, and I have selected the option before (it's usually something like $2-$4). The difference is that with BigBadToyStore if you don't select that option, your item is still packaged well and it's still going to arrive in very nice condition (at least in my experience). If I'm buying something advertised as a "collectible", it ought to be in darn near perfect condition without me having to pay extra over and above the several hundred dollar price tag. Appropriate packaging materials should be accounted for in the pricing to begin with, because it has to be shipped anyway. I guess if DR gets to the point of consistently providing near-perfect items, then I might be willing to consider splitting hairs about the differences between a 9 and 10. Right now I'm just thinking about baby steps I guess.

You got me excited to hear there is a retailer out there who cares about collectible condition and proper packaging. But I went to their site, added some things to the cart, created an account, and got all the way to the place order screen without seeing the $2-$4 option you're talking about. Is it only for certain items?

Good point that packaging materials should be accounted for in the price tag of collectibles. I somehow doubt that's standard practice. If it is, then DR is pocketing that portion of revenue as profit and screwing its customers with shitty packaging. If it's not, then DR is just trying to provide packaging and shipping services at the lowest possible cost. In that case, what I'm saying is if they need more money to actually do it right, I'm willing to pay for more than their cheapest possible option (a thin, oversized, unpadded box). Problem is that's the only option they offer.

[toxicatom5]

Originally Posted by Iwatasan

Is it only for certain items?



If it's not, then DR is just trying to provide packaging and shipping services at the lowest possible cost. In that case, what I'm saying is if they need more money to actually do it right, I'm willing to pay for more than their cheapest possible option (a thin, oversized, unpadded box). Problem is that's the only option they offer.

Haha! Sorry to get you worked up! Yes, it is just for certain items. I'm not sure how they decide...maybe only when they set eyes on the stock and know that they can guarantee some to be collector quality (they do limit the offering to only a portion of the stock they have).

The goal of every business is to make money, so I do think that where they are at right now is to ship for the lowest possible cost. Since it sounds like shipping physical goods is a new-ish practice for DR, this shouldn't be too surprising. There will come a point where the lowest shipping cost begins to effect the bottom line though --through return costs and lost sales, that's usually when executives take notice and recognize that things need to be balanced out. You might be right, they may just need to increase prices by a few dollars in order to make these changes (that can affect sales too though) -- it's all about the balance.

[Iwatasan]

Originally Posted by toxicatom5

Haha! Sorry to get you worked up! Yes, it is just for certain items. I'm not sure how they decide...maybe only when they set eyes on the stock and know that they can guarantee some to be collector quality (they do limit the offering to only a portion of the stock they have).

The goal of every business is to make money, so I do think that where they are at right now is to ship for the lowest possible cost. Since it sounds like shipping physical goods is a new-ish practice for DR, this shouldn't be too surprising. There will come a point where the lowest shipping cost begins to effect the bottom line though --through return costs and lost sales, that's usually when executives take notice and recognize that things need to be balanced out. You might be right, they may just need to increase prices by a few dollars in order to make these changes (that can affect sales too though) -- it's all about the balance.

Darn! Well, still, if they do it for some items that's a good start. And if their standard shipping practices are top notch anyway then that's even better!

Yeah, that was my assumption about DR, that they're just trying to save themselves and their customers money on packaging/shipping, which is fine. If I bought like a shirt or a plushie, or something I was planning on using instead of collecting, cheapest available shipping would be perfect. But for purchases of collectibles I want an upgraded packaging option, that's all.

I know what you mean about how if the price goes up sales go down, but if it was just an option, then other people could still buy the product at the regular price and get the cheap shipping and not see any difference. Meanwhile I could optionally pay a little more to get the product in mint condition for my collection.