"Boo Privateer Press overcharges on shipping and Gencon hate." Topic

Bare with me because I am kind of on a tear. So I went to Gencon this year and hit up the PP both for their LE models and such. After being in a long line that never moved for over two hours I left figuring I could come back later when it was less crazy.

I go back around 5:30 (about 30 min before the hall closes). They tell me they ran out of figs, but that I could order them from their site.

So I just got my Con only minis from Privateer Press (you know the ones they should have had enough of on hand, but ran out on the third day). I also got my Heroclix Infinity Gauntlet. They charged 9 bucks for shipping from Privateer Press and used a paper envelope. The guys who shipped the Guantlet used a hard cardboard card box with peanuts. They charged nothing for shipping!

So you would think they would discount the shipping since they messed up, but not only that they charge an extra 5-7 bucks for shipping since it only cost them 2 bucks to ship.

Didn't you have to agree to the shipping charge before submitting your payment information for the order?

I am curious if the shipping is a single fee for all orders no matter the size.

If they ran out of stuff they were selling at GenCon due to long lines that I waited 2 hours on before giving up I would have posted on their FB page or in their forum. You might have gotten a response from a bunch of others who were there and PP might have responded appropriately regarding how to order with a special code for the store.

I tried posting on the FB page and they deleted it. As for the forums, the last time I commented on their poor customer service they kicked me off.

Fool me once shame on you. fool me twice shame on me.

Bare with you? Sorry, I couldn't bear it. Too shy. I know, I'm being flippant about your pain, but it was just too easy! Apologies.

If I got tired of waiting in line for something at a con and left, and later came back and they were out of it… I would chalk it up to not being patient. Not that that's a dig on you. Lot going on at a con. time spent waiting in line is time not playing games!

But that's the point, it's a trade-off.

I've been to toycons and kenner or hasbro running out of the con-exclusive is nothing new… and those are companies with COFFEE budgets bigger than PP's entire operations budget. You got out of line dude. Lucky you could get it at all. I have several convention-exclusive action figures I wish I'd had that option for…

As for shipping, it's a robo-cart. You can't negotiate with a machine, and i'm impressed enough they had something like that added as an item at the webstore on the fly. You should have asked the vendoe how to get shipping waived, or if that was possible. Complaining after the fact, in particular accusing them of poor service for the results of a judgement call on your part, is in my opinion "bad form".

I'm curious though, what was your other "bad customer service" experience. I've personally only had one interaction with them, and it was positive. (friends of mine have had mixed experiences, but those aren't MY stories to tell)

Positive story for Privateer Press:

Earlier this year I was painting a set of 'trolls for a buddy of mine, on commission. I had PP replace a fig for me that I mistakenly thought was missing, and they replaced at no cost to me. Later, just before completing the unit, the guy I painted it for sheepishly walked up to me and handed me the "missing" figure, which had fallen between his car seats. I told PP and since they had sent me the fig anyway, asked if they wanted money or the fig back. They said keep it, no harm, no foul. Not the kind of actions I'd expect a greedy company to take.

the trolls in question: link

I came to find out that they would have run out of the item even if I did stay in line. So that point is moot.

The thing is you are right in the grand scheme of things PP is a small fish you would think they could garner as much support as much good will as possible.

Also I am sorta annoyed by the quality of shipping that they charge 9 bucks for. No hard priority box (that is free might I add), not even a padded envelope. The shoddyness of it all I did not know ahead of time. I knew I was paying alot for shipping, but I did expect quality.

yeah, my fig came in a soft mailer. Bubblewrapped to hell and back though. IF i'd have paid for it I woulda probably been a little annoyed. But like I said… Free, and my fault. Maybe their shipping department is a little on the weak side?

reread your post, was it even a con exclusive figure, or was it just some new release that was widely available? (I don't play warmahordes) Because if it was the later, I've had REAPER fall into THAT category too. (wanted one of those fancy heavy-gear paintsets when they FIRST came out, and they were out on day one at the con I was at)

You were at GENCON dude, and whatever it was, it was a hot item from a hot line, at a MASSIVE con.

Hope you at least had fun. I missed that one…

Let me be clear, I have no horse in this race.
Here is some food for thought –

Just as a point regarding shipping.

How does one judge quality in shipping?

Was the item delivered at the speed you expected?
Was the item delivered undamaged?

If the answer to both is yes, then the quality of the shipping was excellent.

I think the point you are trying to make is that you don't feel the rate they charged was fair compared to the packaging provided. It has nothing to do with shipping "quality."

However, you had the option not to order after seeing the shipping charge or write them to ask about it first.

As far as the FB and forum posts – were your posts complaining after you ordered and were they similar to your complaint above or was it an sincere non anonymous post stating that you waited for 2 hours on the line at GenCon and could someone look into the shipping price as $9 USD for one mini can't be right? If it was the former one can understand why a company would ignore and delete your posts.

Being sincere and posing questions in a non-threatening and non-insulting way is the best way to potentially get a positive result.

Some manufacturers/vendors don't check all the details when adding something to a webstore. I didn't see an answer to my question regarding whether the $9 USD was a flat rate fee for all orders or just the minimum amount. It is always possible they added it to the webstore so they kept their promise they told customers like yourself not thinking of the shipping consequences.

The point is if you wanted to potentially do something about the shipping charge you could have contacted their customer service and had a positive discussion. You might not always get the end result you are looking for but in many cases knowing you went through some extra effort at a con and were disappointed you might have received some sympathy from the mfr.

I tried posting on the FB page and they deleted it. As for the forums, the last time I commented on their poor customer service they kicked me off.

If that had happened to me, I would have stopped doing business with them on the spot.

What Brigadegames said.