If you're interested, click on read more.
So, I guess you watched my video (thanks if you did! :)). The statue is absolutely AMAZING and it definitely worth the wait! So, why am I making a post, when I already did my review on the statue?
Well... As I mentioned, there were some things that I wanted to talk about in the video, but later I decided not to, because there are more like ramblings, and I didn't wanted to change the mood of the video in the middle.
Well... As I mentioned, there were some things that I wanted to talk about in the video, but later I decided not to, because there are more like ramblings, and I didn't wanted to change the mood of the video in the middle.
So... what is that thing, that made me not very happy? It's one word... Customs.
Yes. If you're living in America, and order stuff from there, probably you never have to face these kinds of situations. But I live in Hungary, and I have a very unfortunate(?) addiction to HTTYD and Toothless. Why is that a problem you might ask? Well, there is a very limited HTTYD stuff you can buy here. Aside from the movies, and some plush or occasionally a few action figures, there isn't any much you can collect. All of my collection comes from different countries, mostly from Germany and the USA. The figures that I wanted, wasn't available anywhere locally... well, except Mega Toothless, he's from here, but he was the last one in the whole country!!! (Kinda like in HTTYD). After I got him, they even deleted the whole page about him on their website! So yeah... if you live here, and you want him, the only way is for you to go searching on E-bay or Amazon. Good luck! :) (You can thank me later... hehe [evil grin])
If you are in my shoe, and want to order from abroad, there is a high probability that, you will have to face customs. Most of the time, I didn't even noticed, but now... it's a whole other freaking story.
First of all. I knew, it will be obligatory, because it's a big box, and the carrier is DHL Express and the content is also expensive. I searched for it, and 10 out of 10 people said, it will get stuck on customs. And sure, it did.
I got an SMS to send my e-mail for them, so they can ask me certain things like, what is the content, what's my address, and transaction conferment. OK, I sent everything, I even print screened the detailed order page, where you can see the product, the order number, the separate fees, like NRD, Shipping etc. and EVERYTHING. I sent to them, and waited. Few days later, they wanted to know, what is the statue made from. Then, it was made by hand or machine? I wondered if they want to know who designed it, or where Sideshow get the material to produce the statue. I mean, why on earth you need to know these details, when it's "just" a collectible statue (well... for me, a LOT more)! It's not some dangerous chemical or some illegal stuff.
Anyway, I answered all of their questions, and then... nothing. One day passed, and then another and another. When my patience was on the edge, I started to call them, but they didn't say anything useful, just asked if I answered all of the questions. When I said yes, they only responded, keep waiting. Thanks... I know that mine isn't the only package they have, but I though the express meant, that it's priority or something. Well... I think, I was wrong. I must say, that as from the transporting point of view, I didn't really saw anything like this before. From Los Angeles the statue came to Budapest in 3 days! Wow! That's really neat and awesome, and I didn't have a problem with that! I only have problems with their customs department.
Now, it's time for the real annoying part, what I edited out from the video. After more than a week, they finally let it through, and delivered on the next day. You know the rest, if you watched the video. If you did, you might noticed the green sticker that was wrapped around the boxes.
Sigh... Yes... After I answered them EVERY little detail, and I think they also X-Rayed it, they decided to open it just to make sure...
And surprise! It's "just" a Sideshow Toothless statue. Not a bomb, not a container for drugs. It's just an innocent (gorgeous) statue. (What a bummer). But wait! Don't just close it, let's assemble him, because it looks freaking awesome! The idiot who ordered, won't even notice. Well, I have bad news for you dear customs people, the idiot who ordered, is very aware that you assembled him. Oh, how could I know that for sure, well... I have proof, look!
Can you explain how that broken piece was get up there? Well, I really doubt that when it was in production, and got damaged in the progress the artist just though: Meh, I don't care, I just put it on the paper, it's fine. HECK NO! What kind of message would be that from Sideshow?! We don't give a crap about your stuff, and fix it yourself? They are a little company and they MUSTN'T(!) allow these kinds of mistakes, because otherwise, they reputation will go down fast. So, I really doubt, that it was damaged in the end of the production. I'm really sure, if it didn't got opened by the customs, the piece was there intact, like nothing happened.
But wait! There is more!
Yes, there was another damage. It wasn't that noticeable, but it annoys me.
What I found out while I was assembling him, that one of his arm spikes was broken in half. I was worried, that I broke it off accidentally, when I put him on the rock, but after watching back my footage, when I lifted him out from the box, it was broken already!
If you are in my shoe, and want to order from abroad, there is a high probability that, you will have to face customs. Most of the time, I didn't even noticed, but now... it's a whole other freaking story.
First of all. I knew, it will be obligatory, because it's a big box, and the carrier is DHL Express and the content is also expensive. I searched for it, and 10 out of 10 people said, it will get stuck on customs. And sure, it did.
I got an SMS to send my e-mail for them, so they can ask me certain things like, what is the content, what's my address, and transaction conferment. OK, I sent everything, I even print screened the detailed order page, where you can see the product, the order number, the separate fees, like NRD, Shipping etc. and EVERYTHING. I sent to them, and waited. Few days later, they wanted to know, what is the statue made from. Then, it was made by hand or machine? I wondered if they want to know who designed it, or where Sideshow get the material to produce the statue. I mean, why on earth you need to know these details, when it's "just" a collectible statue (well... for me, a LOT more)! It's not some dangerous chemical or some illegal stuff.
Anyway, I answered all of their questions, and then... nothing. One day passed, and then another and another. When my patience was on the edge, I started to call them, but they didn't say anything useful, just asked if I answered all of the questions. When I said yes, they only responded, keep waiting. Thanks... I know that mine isn't the only package they have, but I though the express meant, that it's priority or something. Well... I think, I was wrong. I must say, that as from the transporting point of view, I didn't really saw anything like this before. From Los Angeles the statue came to Budapest in 3 days! Wow! That's really neat and awesome, and I didn't have a problem with that! I only have problems with their customs department.
Now, it's time for the real annoying part, what I edited out from the video. After more than a week, they finally let it through, and delivered on the next day. You know the rest, if you watched the video. If you did, you might noticed the green sticker that was wrapped around the boxes.
Sigh... Yes... After I answered them EVERY little detail, and I think they also X-Rayed it, they decided to open it just to make sure...
And surprise! It's "just" a Sideshow Toothless statue. Not a bomb, not a container for drugs. It's just an innocent (gorgeous) statue. (What a bummer). But wait! Don't just close it, let's assemble him, because it looks freaking awesome! The idiot who ordered, won't even notice. Well, I have bad news for you dear customs people, the idiot who ordered, is very aware that you assembled him. Oh, how could I know that for sure, well... I have proof, look!
 |
| Evidence No. 1 |
Can you explain how that broken piece was get up there? Well, I really doubt that when it was in production, and got damaged in the progress the artist just though: Meh, I don't care, I just put it on the paper, it's fine. HECK NO! What kind of message would be that from Sideshow?! We don't give a crap about your stuff, and fix it yourself? They are a little company and they MUSTN'T(!) allow these kinds of mistakes, because otherwise, they reputation will go down fast. So, I really doubt, that it was damaged in the end of the production. I'm really sure, if it didn't got opened by the customs, the piece was there intact, like nothing happened.
But wait! There is more!
Yes, there was another damage. It wasn't that noticeable, but it annoys me.
What I found out while I was assembling him, that one of his arm spikes was broken in half. I was worried, that I broke it off accidentally, when I put him on the rock, but after watching back my footage, when I lifted him out from the box, it was broken already!
 |
| Evidence No. 2 |
So, someone definitely assembled him before me and it was then, when it broke off. Also, I haven't found the spike's other half in the box, and I searched thoroughly for it. I also assume, it happened at the customs. They got him out intact, place the rock on a desk, but they didn't know how to put him correctly on the rock base, so they didn't put his body down from above, but from the side and rotating while it got in. And if you do it that way, you can really break that spike in half!
You can see below, it broke off the same height, as the rock...
 |
| Evidence No. 3 |
All right, rant time over. Sorry, if this post is a bit bittersweet compared to the other posts I previously made, but I didn't find a better medium to write it down. I clearly didn't planned to talk about this any other fans page, or blog. The best option was this. But now I have a bit rambling one as well. :)
It's a bit ironic that more than the half of the post is about dissatisfaction, where instead I should be very glad and happy that the statue (aside from the damages) is at least as good that it looked like in the pictures, and also didn't have any mistakes or flaws on it. I really appreciate the amount of work and time they put into this masterpiece! They surely know their stuff! There isn't a day, when I don't have a good look on this gorgeous and beautiful statue! It worth every penny, and frustration and it was one of best purchases I ever made! I will never regret pushing that place order button! Never!
Also, I'm happy that I could show you the Cove map for the first time, in action. Yes, in the video, I said there were problems with it, but recently I solved the biggest one. It was a quite lame mistake from me actually, but I show you anyway and what caused it, so you won't get this error if you plan to make something like this. You want to know what was that mistake? Next time...
So, that's pretty much concludes my rambling on the customs subject. I have to say, I really, REALLY love Toothless, and my hearth breaks, when I see something barbaric like this happening to him. I don't want to start how eagerly wanted to get him, and how annoyed I was, when they kept delaying the delivery. They really put my nerves on the edge! So yeah. You can now see why I edited out, the customs part. It wasn't a pleasant experience, when I find out the damages, but I didn't wanted to break the video's epic, triumphant, and overall bright mood, with some rambling and negativity in the middle.
For some very recent news, I also ordered the Toothless and the Dragons of Berk painting from Sideshow. It will come with a frame, so I don't have a clue how the packaging will look like. Recently, I got their SMS again, to tell them everything and sure, they will have everything they need, but I hope this time, they won't get it out from the box and hang it on the wall and damage it somehow in the progress. If they do, I will definitely go to alpha mode!
That's it for now, I hope you enjoyed(?) the post. Usually, I don't like to ramble about things, but HTTYD and Toothless has a very special place in my hearth and is also a very sensitive topic for me, and I just wanted to write it out from my system. I don't know it was useful for you, or not, it's yours to decide. But I wanted to have a record somewhere, that these situations can happen too.
No comments:
Post a Comment