Goods: What a nightmare order (Samurai Champloo figures)

After waiting for one long bloody year… these figures finally arrived…

Broken and damaged…

On 6 January 2010. I was incredibly upset. Hands slightly shaking when I took the photos. I wanted to ask for feedback on their forum but my registration was being moderated so I can’t post anything yet. How frustrating, so I sent an email to the staff on 6 January 2010. No reply yet. I had to vent, so I wrote this post *_* It feels almost as bad as getting a bootlegged item for the full price. HAHA. But I’m not smiling.

Update 8 Jan 2010: Given some good advice by helpful forumers there who have many praises for Triad Toys stuff. Still haven’t heard anything from the staff though… Hmm… I guess the damage isn’t as bad as I thought. Well, I’ve recovered from the shock… *shrugs* I probably won’t ask for an exchange or whatever. A lot of hassle. x_x;; I was told that smudges can be easily removed by rubbing alcohol on Jin’s face and the mega-powerful magnets on Mugen’s sandal can also be easily super-glued back. BUT I’m not wrong to expect products in mint-condition right? :( [update end]

Depending how they respond, it will determine if this will be last time I’m buying anything from their online store.

1) Unbelievably flimsy packaging, no bubblewrap whatsoever

For something that costs about US$12o EACH and needs to be delivered overseas. Unbelievable. Maybe the figure’s own box packaging is supposed to give it protection but obviously it is not enough.

2) Broken sandal on Mugen (and some paint scraped off from his hair)

It is supposed to be removable BUT the sandal piece is broken. See last pic, so I won’t take him out before I get an answer from the staff.

3) Jin’s hairpiece flew off (and is probably the cause of ink stains on various parts of his face)

Okie, seems like his hairpiece is removable so that you can pose his eyes from behind but what a shock to see it… and I think due to this, his face was smudged in several parts with the ink.

I guess after such a long wait, expectations run really high and to receive the items in this condition, it truly is appalling. Shipping was not cheap either!

And I think if there are removable parts like the headpiece (I’m just guessing for now), they should include instructions in the box. These are my first Triad figures, so I’m not sure what to expect. To save customers the pain and shock, please do something about this or have some information at the website.

Link To This Page
1. Click inside the codebox
2. Right-Click then Copy
3. Paste the HTML code into your webpage
codebox

22 thoughts on “Goods: What a nightmare order (Samurai Champloo figures)”

  1. yup. even in yahoo auctions.T_T Kaito is sooo hard-to-get.

    I would really really love to get my hands on Zetsubou sensei as well.T_T

    Speaking of buying two sets, I made sure to get 2 sets of the Junjo petit nendoroid. mwehehe. Not many people in our country knows that it will have a nendo. I’m hoping I can sell one set for a higher price as well.XDXD

    1. Yeah… the closing bid for Kaito always ends around 9000Yen =_= Sensei is slightly better… definitely less than 6000Yen but still 2 times more expensive.

      Muahaha… if only I have the spare money to do “otakugai” to get at least 3 of each. Lol~ XD

      Ah~ smart move! XD As for me, I may try to order an extra set for the purpose of having a backup set. kekeke

    1. Me too! And I think for some of these figures, like Sebby, Ciel, Zetsubou sensei etc. I’ll try to get 2 sets if I can afford it. (T_T) cos now that they’re out of print, the ones available in the market cost enough to buy 2~3 of the same already. I’ve been regretting not getting Kaito for the longest time cos I thought they’ll rerun him like they did for Miku. His market rate is around 9000Yen now :(

  2. I would love to see your entire collection of them boy figs.XDXD THE WORLD NEEDS MORE MALE FIGS!! *amen!* I’m a new member of this forum http://otakai.ipbfree.com/ here in our country. It’s a forum on figure collecting. Most of the members are males and all they go about is yap and squeeee over loli girls.O_O

    1. I need to find a day to “stock take” my boys again ^^;; I’ve done it once and it stopped me from buying goods and figures so impulsively. It’s very scary how fast the collection can accumulate over time, which is a testament to a very slim bank account =_=

      Lol~ yeah the majority of figure collectors are males XP I also don’t see how we can squee along with them about bishonen figures since most of the time, they seem to just go EEK! at them XD

      Anyway I’m looking forward to Ciel’s nendoroid (seeing that you have Sebby) He’ll probably be up for preorder when season 2 starts this year, do watch out for him!

  3. Did you manage to get it fix??? That sounds terrible. I’d be so pissed.

    I was backreading your old posts when a thought struck me. You prolly display your figurines right? How about making a photo mash up of all of them??? Lol. I am so curious about your ENTIRE complete figurine collection!!!! (I am sorely tempted to get Hitsugaya from Animate…!!! But oh so expensive. >.<) Boo.

    1. Hey imbeleth~ well, I haven’t had the time to fix/clean them, so the Champloo boys are back in their boxes. I’ve overcome my initial shock. They’re not as badly damaged as I thought x_x but hopefully this will encourage the seller to package their items properly next time and save other newbie collectors from the pain.

      I wish I had all the space I want to display my figures! But most of them go back to their boxes and into the cabinet after the photo shoots. I probably only have 5% of my figures on display and they’re mostly one-coin chibis of the nitro chiral boys :P I look at my entire collection and my bank/wallet cry in despair. Rational mind just can’t get over it. *dies*

      Oh~ that Hitsugaya statue looks lovely! -IF- I collected bishonen statues, he would be on the wishlist, although I’m not a bleach fan. There’s quite a cute doll/action figure of Hitsugaya too. See: azone-int.jp/cct/Character/hac/018/hac018htg.html

  4. Wow i can’t believe there is a group like that out there. Hopefully they didn’t hound you.0_0

    I remain among the newbie collectors whos in search for pretty bishonen lol~ XD

    Yea it is better to wait.^^

    1. The forumers seem nice in general so I guess it’s ok for now ^^;;

      Hehehe I realised that guy collectors and girl collectors are very different. My cousin who is a guy was like OMG eek! I hope I don’t get that blue-haired guy character in vocaloid nendoroid petite (Kaito) and I was like OMG I hope I get an extra box of THAT (same blued-haired) CUTE ONE!

      Lol~ but *sweat drop* XD We want more bishonen, while the guys avoid them like the plague. HAHAHA~

  5. If I were you, I’d sue!!XD Though I dunno on what grounds since I’m not familiar with those stuff. But if I could, I would!! That was such a long waaaait and they didn’t even make sure that their products were properly packed/secure in their places. I bet there was no quality control.O_O

    BTW, junjou romantica petit nendos, I noticed, was postponed until August 2010? FTW.

    1. @neko: That’s one of the risks of buying stuff online x_x I minus points from Triad for their lack of good customer service. I believe there was some sort of quality control, but not enough. Erm… yeah, Junjou boys were MEGA delayed. Another of those nightmare things x_x The seller offered a refund but I decided to continue with the preorder. Hopefully they’re worth the wait and have no futher delays when August 2010 is here. *dies*

    1. Well, they didn’t offer to replace it but said it could be fixed, so I gave them a piece of my mind (quite gently I feel). I was like… how can you expect your customers to fix something they bought when it arrives broken and is obviously:
      a) A manufacturing fault and
      b) Bad handling/packaging?
      It irritated me. *shrug* I don’t doubt that they put in a lot of effort in their figures but I think they’re also really pampered by desperate/hungry/thirsty (for figures) fans and collectors who form the core group of their die-hard customers. I’ve read posts of forumers (customers) chiding/scolding other people who make complaint/venting posts about having to wait really REALLY long for these figures. Well, you can’t assume everybody to be hardcore collectors. There are many newbie customers out there who get frustrated when delays happen over and over again (AND having their credit card already charged). It is understandable.

      I think Fuu would be most probably be good and cute, judging from the quality head sculpt and paint job of Jin and Mugen’s faces :) but you won’t see me pre-ordering so early this time. ^^;;; Once bitten, twice shy.

  6. Thank you so much for the link! This epoxy thing is really a nice idea! I’ll try later.

    But I’ve superglued the neck-joints, one is perfect cos it was only the pin, so it can rotate, up and down etc. Another doesn’t let it moves for up/down but works ok for left/right, cos this had broken the ball. And the third, well, it’s ruined i.i Now I’m extremely cautious with changing his faces and manipulating him.

    Oh, so you have your Sebby in the box yet? That’s a quite noble attitude, I’d like to be disciplined as you, but I couldn’t control myself when I saw him, I had to touch him all, he was finally mine LOL – and with my unskilled – and nervous – hands it was nearly a disaster…

    Hope you have good luck to find another original one from him. And we all want Ciel nendo for pairing with Sebby ASAP!

    Talking about this, Junjou Romantica Nendoroid Petit are over postponed, and I can’t barely wait these to come, hope they can be released someday. Do you know something about it?

    Thanks again, dear! Your site is awesome!

    1. Hope tat helps! Hehe well, I actually have most of my Nendoroid still in their boxes *_* Maybe I’ll play with Sebby after Ciel arrives :X I thought that notti boy will be released in December 2009 in time for Christmas. But I think they’ll probably release him when the next Kuroshitsuji airs this year. Yes, it’s confirmed! There will be a New season! XD

      Yeah… Junjou Romantica Petit is incredible… the new estimated release date is August 2010! *faints* I’m still holding on to my pre-order although the seller gave me an option to cancel it. Let’s hope that Usami and Misaki are worth the wait!

      Thanks for your compliments! I’ll do my best!

  7. Oh dear, I’d have a stroke if something like that happened to me ;A; Poor Jin!!!
    That happened with a figure one of my bosses bought, not only the hair flew off, but the arm fell off. >_<" But the thing was really badly made, no one cried its loss..

    Anywho, hi there! ^^ Just wanting to thank you for adding our link to your blog!

    1. @sigma: I'll glue the magnets back and that's all… but I managed to feedback to the staff and they're open to it. Oh well, sending stuff back IS inconvenient. I'll live with it since nothing really major was broken. But I guess I won't pre-order anything from them next time. The wait was too long. Anyway Fu is in the works. I'll wait and see how she turns out and decide later :)

      @Benihime: oh dear *_* I’ll be upset if Sebby’s neck broke! I also have him in my collection but I haven’t taken him out of his box yet ^^;;; He is too precious x_x I’m looking to buying another box for safe-keeping but he is sold out everywhere.

      I think you can try making the neck joint by duplicating a similar one from other Nendoroids? I checked some forums that teach people how to duplicate these replacement joints using clay and other materials. Lemme find the link… Here ya go: http://plamo.outthere.info/forum/showthread.php?tid=38&page=1

      Good luck! Do let me know the result! >_< Cos fixing with super glue may make his neck not movable?

      @Gi: Hi Gi, thanks for dropping by… hmm… Jin's head is ok since it is supposed to be removable… just the shock of receiving it in that condition was… gaaa~ Hope your boss could got his replaced!

  8. That’s really sad.
    To me something bad happened, my first Nendoroid ever was Sebastian, and he came by mail perfectly, but when I’ve started to positioning the heads, the neck joints broke easily, I haven’t force them, but they broke one by one! Monday I’ll buy a super glue and try to fix it. I’ve googled about it and some people have similar issues with his neck joint. I’d like new neck joints, but to me that lives in Brazil is very difficult to find things at fair price, how will I get new neck joints? Hope glue can work.

  9. OMG! I would be so upset!! Mugen got the most damage an after a year of waiting, I hope you can do something about this situation an i hope the owners of the online store will act fast an fair about it. Figures are not cheap i remember when i received my lamento figure konoe he had a noticeable semi-big white scratch on his black cape. It wasn’t a big deal but thinking of the money you pay you expect the item to be in mint condition.OTL

    1. Hmm… I finally got access to the forum and was advised the correct email to send to. The emails I sent previously were sent to limbo. They should update their website with the correct email information! I’m waiting for their reply now :)

      I was told by a forumer that those were magnets on Mugen’s sandals and they were not broken but they sure looked like they were ripped out. I think most probably I’ll have to superglue them back but I wonder what the staff’s reply will be.

      And as for Jin, I was told his hairpiece is removable so it is not damaged… But cos it flew out of place (I think the delivery journey must have been really bumpy) Jin’s face was smudged by it. Sigh~ It’s so disappointing to see this kind of condition after such a long wait. I’ll try to clean it when I have the time to figure out what to use.

      Since I’ve bought other similar figures before, I know some of them have wires inside the package to hold the figure’s head, body and legs in place. I think in the case of these Champloo figures, those would’ve been necessary to prevent these type of heartaches.

      Oh my, I would’ve been upset if I was in your situation too *_* sigh~

Leave a Reply to sigma Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Notify me of followup comments via e-mail.
You can also subscribe without commenting.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.