"Any news of Black Cat Bases?" Topic

Hi,

Has anyone had any luck contacting Black Cat Bases recently? I want to place an order for some of their metal base inserts but I'm reluctant to, given the amount of reports of them taking months to fulfil orders. I've never had anything but good things to say about them, so I don't want to start any sort of mass bad-mouthing session, but I have to wonder if things have improved at all in recent months.

Alternatively, does anybody know any companies that make similar base inserts for modern day streets (I know plenty of similar resin bases, but I want metal inserts).

Best,
Mike

Black Cat are the subject of regular postings here -

TMP link

I placed an order a few weeks back. After 2 weeks with no figures and no reply to my direct emails, I lodged a Paypal complaint, and the figures arrived about 4 days after that,

My sympathy with their problems is diminished because they are clearly capable of responding when their source of income is cut off ….

It's all really sad as I cannot get away from the feeling that if they just talked to people then customers would be more sympathetic. I tried calling their phone this morning and got an 'invalid number' response. Thanks for your reply. It does make me wish I could find something similar from another supplier.

Gangrel, I'm just as disappointed as you.

I can see lots of items on the website that I'd love to get for pulp/horror games but I buy to paint, not stockpile, and I simply can't afford to spend money for figures that may be months arriving.

ah, thanks for the update they Guthroth, I'm in the process of helping a good friend on here (DWW) chase them up regards some masters owed and a few other things – nice to see that they react when their livelyhood is threatened – hopefully it will work for him.

Given the unremittingly pessimistic responses, does anyone know of similar metal base inserts out there? Thanks to everyone who's chipped in.

A b h s, I've seen some of those posts. I'm about 2 hours drive from their address, which is long way in the UK, but if I was any closer I'd have offered to intervene myself.

I am wondering if there any new updates on the situations with orders getting in in timely from Blackcat Bases?

David P.

No. I placed an order a little over a month ago. I've heard nothing beyond an automated order acknowledgement. I've emailed them and heard nothing, so I've (reluctantly) opened a Paypal dispute.

Gangrel, please let us know how you get on.

Will do. As yet they've not responded to any stage of the dispute. As I've said before, I bear BCB no ill will at all; I've dealt with them online and at shows in person. They've always seemed like decent people and I do hope the problems can be sorted.

Well, I've been out of the country for a couple of days but I came back to find my order waiting for me. No note, no little cat (sadly) but it's all there. It's a real shame though that it feels like a chore to order from what was once a great place to deal with.

Sigh. Your experience exactly matches mine. No response and no figures until you open a Paypal dispute then, as if by magic, the figures arrive !

Very depressing

Wish I had been a member of these boards before I placed an order with BCB last month! Just opened a dispute myself, I can understand health problems, but not them still taking orders! Hopefully I'll get my things, but if not, does anyone know of another company that sells sprues of cans, bottles and rubbish for bases like they have?

I've been waiting 13 months (!) for my order…

Without being a complete about it, I now have firm rules about buying online.

1. Use Paypal if at all possible.
2. Look for an order confirmation email within 2 working days. If not email them directly.
3. Wait another 2 working days and if still no response open a Paypal dispute.
4. Assuming I get an order confirmation, I expect an email at some point confirming the despatch. If I get nothing after a week, I email again, and if there is no response I initiate a Paypal dispute.

Whatever happens, if I've paid by Paypal I never wait more than 2 weeks from on-line purchase to the start of a dispute if a company is being silent on me.

Their website appears to have gone down.

Sadly it looks like they might have gone for good, which I'm sure no-one wanted:

link

It's a shame they couldn't have mothballed the business then restarted when they were able, rather than taking orders they couldn't fulfill and generating bad press. I wish them well and hope we'll see them again in the future, back on an even keel.

that's strange because as far as i know they've been trading until pretty recently but the website says they dissolved four years ago!!!

It is possible one company (legal entity) was dissolved and another, or a sole trader, took over the business. This would not be obvious to the casual purchaser. I have no reason to believe that has happened in this case, just that it would be an explanation why a company could apparently be dissolved 4 years ago and still be trading.

Their website is back up again. Curious.

Well I for one have had enough of them, every order I have placed with them has taken months to get to me, I'm in the same country as they are but I'm getting stuff quicker from the states than them?!

They can keep my money from my last order it wasn't much but it was my last order from them.

Any updates on Blackcat Bases?

Black Cat is still not answering my emails. They owe me for advertising.

It might be time to update their status in the manufacturers directory.

Signs of life – today I received a modest order I made in December. I hadn't opened a Paypal dispute.

The figures are really nice (though some moulds weren't perfectly lined up). So, it you can wait, it seems they come through.