Statues & Figures Thread - Any & All Game Related

[Spect3r]

Originally Posted by L1Slayer

What others? Are you referring to companies sitting elsewhere in the world? Because that would make 0 sense, since shipping costs are not just a matter of distance, size and weight, but also about the individual countries and their trade agreements and of course the delivery services themselves.
CoolProps would be another japanese manufacturer that is similar to Prime 1.
They don't ship oversees at all. You have to go through another distributer to get their stuff. They don't even have an english translation for their website.

Prime 1, like any other business, makes the most money through their own website. So promoting it, like they do with some store exclusives, makes pretty much sense. What doesn't make sense is, to accuse them of charging ridiculous amounts of money (at least for some statues, especially heavy and multi-boxed ones) from oversees customers on purpose.
That would be totally counter productive for them.
If they would do that on purpose, why the hell should they even bother with economy shipping for the US and setting up various warehouses then?
Besides that, they also sell their stuff via HEO to EU retailers where you get all P1 pieces quiet a bit cheaper compared to a direct order through them, while they suffer a profit cut with two different companies.
Example: I would pay 1350€ + around 40-50€ shipping if I order the XE Suit Batman within the EU. Ordering from P1 would costs me 1700€.

Or take another example: XM from Singapur.
They charge 1095SGD (which is like 700€ or 800$) for their 1:4 Shogun Batman. Half of that even in Asia!
Their newest Deathstroke is far smaller compared to the Shogun Batman, but still costs like 300€ / 350$ shipping.
Luckily, we have an official distributor of their stuff here in Germany, so can get their stuff for reasonable prices. Much like using a distributor for P1.

Prime 1 isn't the only one that is struggling with this issue. Keep in mind: They are not as big as Sideshow. Hell, they started out in 2012, with their first statue being released in 2014. They can't snap a finger and get things done like they want to.

Still:
People wanted to place oversee orders directly through them - they made it happen
People wanted cheaper shipping prices - Prime 1 is working on it, with US eco being the first step
People wanted US/EU warehouses - Prime 1 is working on it. (But I have my doubts about an EU one being profitable for them, unless they partner up with someone)

I know I sound like a hardcore fanboy at this point. But that company has done a lot for collectors and the industry in general. So seeing "unfair" arguments made against them makes me a bit pissed.
If there is proof they are doing something wrong, I have no problem with criticising them. As I did with their variant policy.
But until then, they have made extremely good business decisions so far, as one can see with their stellar success, that I give them the benefit of the doubt right now.

Too long, didnt read after the 1st paragraph.

Have you shipped 10, 20, 30kg?
Because due to my profession, i have received and shipped from/to every where around the world and can tell you that no company has even got close to this shipping costs and i am talking from Europe, to South America, to Asia, to North America, hell, even Africa.

Do not make excuses for them.

Is not the 1st time you "act friendly" towards big companies (amazon and the sekiro steelbook...), i dont care about that, to each its own, however, do NOT try to justify what has no explanation.

Edit:

Just as an example, you can get the Dark Souls Trilogy LE, that weights a lot and has a considerable size, for 71.42€. Tracked, insured and delivered in 3 days from Japan to any EU country.
Now, i do know the statue will be heavier and the package bigger, but almost 10x more expensive? Not a chance in the world.
I am not saying they take part of the shipping costs for them, but that they could and should get cheaper alternatives, of that, i have no doubts

[L1Slayer]

Originally Posted by Spect3r

Too long, didnt read after the 1st paragraph.

Have you shipped 10, 20, 30kg?
Because due to my profession, i have received and shipped from/to every where around the world and can tell you that no company has even got close to this shipping costs and i am talking from Europe, to South America, to Asia, to North America, hell, even Africa.

Can't say it's my profession, but the cheapest method I found so far is not under 140€ to Japan. (about 1:4 sclae, up to 20kg, without full ensurance)
Compared to my 1:4 I ordered directly from P1, 120$ shipping doesn't seem totally unreasonable.
I paid for my two 1:3 pieces from Sideshow 110$ and 140$.
And another example: A 1:3 P1 Statue I'm eventually buying from a retailer within the EU is quoted to be 40-60€ (depending on if it's one or two boxes) and that's basically just to drag it over the border.
And for even more, see my comment about XM before.

Originally Posted by Spect3r

Do not make excuses for them.

I do not make excuses for them, I try to stay neutral and find reasonable arguments based on the information we have. (While not being part of the industry)
Hench my post, you didn't read.

Originally Posted by Spect3r

Is not the 1st time you "act friendly" towards big companies (amazon and the sekiro steelbook...), i dont care about that, to each its own, however, do NOT try to justify what has no explanation.

I won't argue about what I did with amazon, I'll leave that for you decide.
But I'm not allowed to justify the unexplained, while it's okay to bash it?
That's the reason why I appear so pro company. People tend to simply jump onto rage trains without even trying to see if there might be a reason.

Originally Posted by Spect3r

Edit:

Just as an example, you can get the Dark Souls Trilogy LE, that weights a lot and has a considerable size, for 71.42€. Tracked, insured and delivered in 3 days from Japan to any EU country.
Now, i do know the statue will be heavier and the package bigger, but almost 10x more expensive? Not a chance in the world.

See my comment on the first quote.
About a 10x more expensive piece, which you refer to, would probably be something like Lobo. And that piece is expected to come in 3 or even more(!) boxes and weights over 30Kg.
(Not saying Lobos shipping cost is justified, but the reason on why it's so high, is unclear and certainly not something P1 wants)
With that being said, I would guess the statues of GoW and DMC will ship for around 120$-180$.

Originally Posted by Spect3r

I am not saying they take part of the shipping costs for them, but that they could and should get cheaper alternatives, of that, i have no doubts

And as I in my post before, that is exactly what they are trying to do.
Economy Shipping for the US was the first step and it's vastly more cheaper. EU and US warehouses are suppose to come as well. So what else are they suppose to do?

I simply dislike it, when people just jump the ship without trying to figure out why someone would act as they do. Why would P1 implement so heavy shipping costs, when the only thing it does is restricting people from buying from them?
Until I have a good reason to think otherwise, I'll stay neutral.

[Spect3r]

Originally Posted by L1Slayer

Can't say it's my profession, but the cheapest method I found so far is not under 140€ to Japan. (about 1:4 sclae, up to 20kg, without full ensurance)
Compared to my 1:4 I ordered directly from P1, 120$ shipping doesn't seem totally unreasonable.
I paid for my two 1:3 pieces from Sideshow 110$ and 140$.
And another example: A 1:3 P1 Statue I'm eventually buying from a retailer within the EU is quoted to be 40-60€ (depending on if it's one or two boxes) and that's basically just to drag it over the border.
And for even more, see my comment about XM before.

You are checking prices for general public, companies have contracts, get way cheaper prices because of the amount they send.

Also, thats to Europe that is a much longer travel than from Japan to Canada (from where Mike is and all this $500 talk comes from)

I do not make excuses for them, I try to stay neutral and find reasonable arguments based on the information we have. (While not being part of the industry)
Hench my post, you didn't read.

I read it now (sorry, was at work and cant stop reading/replying for many minutes at a time.
Thus values from P1 are insane, sorry to say.

I won't argue about what I did with amazon, I'll leave that for you decide.
But I'm not allowed to justify the unexplained, while it's okay to bash it?
That's the reason why I appear so pro company. People tend to simply jump onto rage trains without even trying to see if there might be a reason.

Amazon is a cancer in the world, with their book banning and all, so i am sorry if i find it hard to have the slightest appreciation for them.
You are allowed to try to justify it but if is unexplainable then how can you?

See my comment on the first quote.
About a 10x more expensive piece, which you refer to, would probably be something like Lobo. And that piece is expected to come in 3 or even more(!) boxes and weights over 30Kg.
(Not saying Lobos shipping cost is justified, but the reason on why it's so high, is unclear and certainly not something P1 wants)
With that being said, I would guess the statues of GoW and DMC will ship for around 120$-180$.

No, i am talking about the 1/3 piece they were charging $500 to ship it to Canada, thats where all this talk comes from

And as I in my post before, that is exactly what they are trying to do.
Economy Shipping for the US was the first step and it's vastly more cheaper. EU and US warehouses are suppose to come as well. So what else are they suppose to do?

They are not in the business for the past year or 2, they should have it figured it out by now, hell, just look at what companies like Nin Nin Game has, is not rocket science

I simply dislike it, when people just jump the ship without trying to figure out why someone would act as they do. Why would P1 implement so heavy shipping costs, when the only thing it does is restricting people from buying from them?
Until I have a good reason to think otherwise, I'll stay neutral.

I am not jumping ship, i am stating the obvious
How the hell can other companies do it and they after all this time, havent yet?
Specially, if resellers of their products can do it, how the hell dont they manage to?

[L1Slayer]

Originally Posted by Spect3r

You are checking prices for general public, companies have contracts, get way cheaper prices because of the amount they send.

Also, thats to Europe that is a much longer travel than from Japan to Canada (from where Mike is and all this $500 talk comes from)

Fair point on that. Canada and Australia seem to have insane quotes. As for why is beyond me. All I'm saying is, it's hardly on purpose.

Originally Posted by Spect3r

I read it now (sorry, was at work and cant stop reading/replying for many minutes at a time.
Thus values from P1 are insane, sorry to say.

No problem. And you are right on it being insane. So are the shipping prices in general. (including XM and Sideshow)

Originally Posted by Spect3r

Amazon is a cancer in the world, with their book banning and all, so i am sorry if i find it hard to have the slightest appreciation for them.
You are allowed to try to justify it but if is unexplainable then how can you?

As I said in the respective thread, I understand your view and I largely share it. But it contains many people that work their ass off and like the saying goes: "shit is always falling down".
I guess, we just have different viewing angles on this, but overall I agree that Amazon is a real cancer.

Originally Posted by Spect3r

They are not in the business for the past year or 2, they should have it figured it out by now, hell, just look at what companies like Nin Nin Game has, is not rocket science

To be honest, I don't know Nin Nin Games, but they look like a bigger retailer, selling all kinds of stuff. My best guess on this is, that they have way more quota with better conditions.
Edit: Nin Nin quotes me 215€ for a 1:4 P1 statue. And another one for 65€.
Don't know what to make out of that.

Originally Posted by Spect3r

I am not jumping ship, i am stating the obvious
How the hell can other companies do it and they after all this time, havent yet?
Specially, if resellers of their products can do it, how the hell dont they manage to?

Probably because resellers get them delivered in larger quantities.
Sideshow for example gets their stock via ship oversees. (That's also the reason why it takes 1-2 Months longer until retailers get their stock)
Edit: Their new US economy shipping is working similar afaik. Getting your order shipped out with various different other items from other companies via ship. Takes 1-2 Months, but costs only half and sometimes even less.

I think at this point we can agree on shipping prices being very high (too high) more often then not.
The reason why I went into this topic "more in depth" is just that some comments look like accusations, while I cannot really believe P1 would try to rip their customers off this way. They could come up with better methods. The last few comments made it pretty clear that no one is willing to buy, unless shipping prices go down. And I can admit, maybe Prime 1 can do better, but as I said before they seem to try. In the end these prices are sure as hell not earning them more money.

[Spect3r]

Originally Posted by L1Slayer

To be honest, I don't know Nin Nin Games, but they look like a bigger retailer, selling all kinds of stuff. My best guess on this is, that they have way more quota with better conditions.
Edit: Nin Nin quotes me 215€ for a 1:4 P1 statue. And another one for 65€.
Don't know what to make out of that.

If i am to be honest I dont buy much from them, but for the bigger stuff that i checked their shipping prices were not as outrageous as the ones we been discussing.

Also, i have got an engine block (a full engine block for a car) from USA last year, that weighs way, way more than these statues and we paid around 700€ but just the case where it came weighs almost as much as any of these statues, granted is from USA and not Japan, but is a god damn engine block!

[L1Slayer]

Originally Posted by Spect3r

Also, i have got an engine block (a full engine block for a car) from USA last year, that weighs way, way more than these statues and we paid around 700€ but just the case where it came weighs almost as much as any of these statues, granted is from USA and not Japan, but is a god damn engine block!

There are probably a few instances where you can get bigger and more expensive stuff for less. But I have no clue on why. Most likely because there is more to handling shipments then we know. Like collective deliveries. Do you remember how fast the delivery was?

But damn man, 700€. I understand why, but seeing that quote on paper would get me pale like ghost. Totally understandable that you question the 600$ for P1 Lobo, when you can get an engine block instead.

[Spect3r]

Originally Posted by L1Slayer

There are probably a few instances where you can get bigger and more expensive stuff for less. But I have no clue on why. Most likely because there is more to handling shipments then we know. Like collective deliveries. Do you remember how fast the delivery was?

But damn man, 700€. I understand why, but seeing that quote on paper would get me pale like ghost. Totally understandable that you question the 600$ for P1 Lobo, when you can get an engine block instead.

Well, in all fairness it took some weeks to arrive, i believe it will be much faster shipping in the statues lol

[flatout]

Originally Posted by L1Slayer

Probably because resellers get them delivered in larger quantities.
Sideshow for example gets their stock via ship oversees.

Sorry to butt in but I noticed you are missing a fundamental point to all of this.

Re-sellers do get bulk shipping deals but to their own storage factories and THEN they must ship them again when people order them and they still find a way to offer decent shipping cost AND make a profit even with the extra cost of the bulk shipping to their warehouses.

Basically buying direct from PRIME 1 cuts out the middle man and the additional bulk order shipping costs as well as the re-seller profit margin yet they still cannot offer a similar price from PRIME 1 (the original makers of the statue).

Does that make more sense? I could do a long form equation that shows it better if you still do not know what we mean but the gist is ordering from PRIME 1 cuts out multiple parts of the cost yet still costs more somehow.

[L1Slayer]

Originally Posted by flatout

Sorry to butt in but I noticed you are missing a fundamental point to all of this.

Re-sellers do get bulk shipping deals but to their own storage factories and THEN they must ship them again when people order them and they still find a way to offer decent shipping cost AND make a profit even with the extra cost of the bulk shipping to their warehouses.

Basically buying direct from PRIME 1 cuts out the middle man and the additional bulk order shipping costs as well as the re-seller profit margin yet they still cannot offer a similar price from PRIME 1 (the original makers of the statue).

Does that make more sense? I could do a long form equation that shows it better if you still do not know what we mean but the gist is ordering from PRIME 1 cuts out multiple parts of the cost yet still costs more somehow.

The only thing that is so damn expensive about Prime 1 is their "express" shipping method, nothing else.
That's why they just recently introduced economy shipping to the US and are working on more options for various other parts of the world.
(Hardcore example Lobo: Normal is 864$ and economy is 369$ or Hush Ivy is normal 512$ and with economy 190$, all to the US)

Now, you could argue that they could pay a part of those shipping costs themselves, since they do not have a middle man, but I'm not sure how effective that would be for them. (On the other hand, who says they aren't doing so already )
When shipping costs are like 500$, what is the point on opting in your own 100$ to lower it to 400$? It's still way too much and wouldn't convince many people. Besides, you then again miss your targeted profit share.

They simply have to find better ways to get their statues out cheaper.

[flatout]

Originally Posted by L1Slayer

The only thing that is so damn expensive about Prime 1 is their "express" shipping method, nothing else.

Oh... so they offer a fair low price for regular/economy or even Priority shipping? From the few people who talked about it I was under the impression that it was more expensive to get one shipped direct from PRIME 1 then re-sellers like Sideshow who buy from PRIME 1 direct and then re-sell and re-ship themselves.