TFCC/Fun Publication Subscription Service

[Philip Ayres]

$90 for a deluxe? F the F off!

[Dezzeh]

Jackpot gone too.. So, group buy any one?

[mellowshade]

I'd be in for a Slipstream and a Scourge.

[Philip Ayres]

So far I make that:

Circuit 2
Scourge 5
Slipstream 5
Ultra Mammoth 4
Breakdown 2
Jackpot 2

[Dezzeh]

Make that 2 slipstreams for me I think. So 2 of those, mammoth and scourge.

If any one can do the group buy that is..

[Bogatan]

Aug 18, 2012 11:08:05 GMT Philip Ayres said:

So far I make that:

Circuit 2
Scourge 5
Slipstream 5
Ultra Mammoth 4
Breakdown 2
Jackpot 2

Do those numbers include me? More than likely I'll go with the full set If I get any.

I had a quick look today and I can only assume, FP have fucked up because when I selected 1 subscription to the UK the shipping was $113 (plus $22 insurance) while expensive $18ish per figure is much better than previous exclusives, but when I put in 3 subscriptions the shipping came out at $337 which is only about $3 cheaper than 3 separate orders.

Even if they do get it fixed though each of the 6 packages will be cuta'd £78 just in parcelforce fees.

We need a US address.

NICK!!!!!!!

Edit: In comparison US postage for 1 set is $37.80 plus $21 insurance.

[Benn]

The insurance is that much more internally in the US? I do not understand numbers at the best of times, but...

[Bogatan]

Sorry my bad that should have read $21 for insurance. Posting internationally the insurance is also about $21.

[Bogatan]

Just had another look, assuming we found people wanting Circuit Jackpot and breakdown and ordered 6 sets Post office Priority international is $441 or $73 / £49 per shipment.

With cuta it would be £43 per shipment I think, 49 + 43 = £92 or £16 per figure. Add the cost of the toy and we're back in the £45-50 ballpark at least.

Thats without insurance as I cant work out which services need additional insurance and which dont.

[Jim]

I'd absolutely take a Circuit.

[glaug]

I believe any of the Priority services come with tracking, not sure about insurance though.

[kayevcee]

Aug 18, 2012 13:17:47 GMT Bogatan said:

We need a US address.

NICK!!!!!!!

You rang? Give me a holla once you have an estimate for total number of subs. Would it be worth getting a couple of subs for Toy-fu 2013? I know there isn't a huge amount of money in con exclusives and other dealers may well have them as well. Whaddya reckon?

-Nick

[Kingoji]

I have a strong desire for Breakdown. I also find Slipstream oddly appealing.

[primenova]

Are they going to round to stop news sites doing reviews of the figures revealing which ones they are & which order released?

[The Doctor]

I'll have to pass on any group buy. Most of my disposable income for the rest of the year is tied up in weekends away. Toys are cool, but I need my breaks more!

-Ralph

[Nigel]

While I've been slowly ground down by Hasbro's onslaught of repaints over the last decade or more and actually have been keen to get some of them, I seem to have returned to my default position of not much liking repaints, as I'm quite ambivalent about these. The only one that really grabs me is Slipstream (possibly in part because I don't have that mould). For me, the Animated Jazz is just that - Animated Jazz; I don't really see the mould as other characters, so Jackpot's out. I like Circuit's vehicle mode and the robot head and colour scheme are actually a decent match, but the overall shape is so far from an Actionmaster that to me, it doesn't really seem to fit. Scourge and Breakdown, I've seen it all before and Ultra Mammoth, well, I've got Big Convoy and that's a nicer scheme.

So I suppose what I'm saying is, basically, that I'm out as far as a group buy is concerned, especially with Bruticus to pay for in October.

[Philip Ayres]

Fun Publications having issues with invoices on both it's subscription services?

www.hisstank.com/forum/g-i-joe-news-rumors/257728-collectors-club-fss-announcement-46.html

Really?

[Nigel]

Oh, good grief!

All they need to do to sort out all these problems is just use shopping cart software or a hosted shop.

[Dezzeh]

Did I see somewhere they had a not too far off deadline for this?

[Nigel]

9th or 10th September, I believe.

[Andy Turnbull]

Why are we even surprised anymore?

Andy

[legios]

Aug 22, 2012 16:45:19 GMT Andy Turnbull said:

Why are we even surprised anymore?

Andy

I'm not. The general assumption with these things is that folks can commit to quite significant chunks of investment on a short timeframe. I think that is crazy talk but it does seem to be the prevailing model. Doesn't really bother me much though - although I like a couple of the offerings I don't like them enough that it would justify the price tag of either a subscription or getting them on the secondary market.

Karl

[The Doctor]

Aug 22, 2012 7:15:21 GMT Philip Ayres said:

Fun Publications having issues with invoices on both it's subscription services?

www.hisstank.com/forum/g-i-joe-news-rumors/257728-collectors-club-fss-announcement-46.html

Really?

Sending customer's credit card details to...other customers??? WTF!

Wow. I did not think Fun Pub could get any worse. Wow.

Revoke their licence, Hasbro. Please.

-Ralph

[Toph]

This is definately not what I consider unreasonable for the club.
Prices are high, but honestly prices are high for everything, so that's not too different from what we would expect an exclusive deluxe to be, from current retail prices.
When you remember modern deluxes now cost the same as a BW Mega, it's not bad at all.
And quite frankly, it's cheaper than what the club has been wanting in the past.

I'm back in as soon as I can afford it.

[The Doctor]

Do you really trust them with your card details? They've just breached security AGAIN!!!

I wouldn't even ask a mate to order stuff for me from them due to how lax they are with financial details.

-Ralph

[Bogatan]

well this latest screw up has just reconfirmed my intention not to use anything but a pre paid credit card with them. This is going to make a group buy effort all the more tedious, but heres what I'm thinking as to how to go about it.

Edit: to correct poor maths skills.
Estimate of total including shipping and probable customs if they get stopped. Read on (forever and ever) to see how I came to those prices.
So toy price + Toyfu + postage + possible customs
Circuit £20 +2 + 8 = £30 + 9 = £39
Jackpot £20 + 2 + 8 =£30 + 9 = £39
Breakdown £30 + 3 + 8 =£41 + 9 = £50
Scourge £40 + 4 + 8 = £52 + 9 = £61
Slipstream £40+ 4 + 8 = £52 + = £61
Ultra Mammoth £40+ 4 + 11 = £54 + 9 =£63

First The Payment: I'm only going to use a prepaid card with the club from here on out and as I only just have enough cash to cover my sub it means I need all monies owed before I order. Sorry, I know that sucks, but, thats the club for you making life difficult. Deadline is Sept 10th but I'm in London from Sat 8th and allowing for FP screw ups I would really like to order by Wednesday 5th September. That gives me two days when FPs offices are open to sort any problems. Remember thats when I need the money in hand to go put on my card so you need to allow 3 days for paypal to transfer to my bank, or however long for cheques postal orders to arrive in the post etc.

Secondly the prices: Demand being so uneven theres no way we can just split the cost equally 6 ways. Based on interest shown so far we'd need 7 subs (sorry Dezzeh no chance of a second slipstream for you unless more of the other figures are taken first) and would be left with 5 Jackpots 4 circuits 3 Breakdowns and 3 Ultra Mammoths and a Scourge which is about £510 if we split it evenly.

So I figure follow BBTS lead and adjust the pricing a little. I'm going to work in pounds from here on in. One sub costs £190. Circuit and Jackpot clearly appear the least popular (shame on you all) so pricing them to move at £20 each. That means the other four need to cover £150 which is £37.50 each. Thats probably a little much for Breakdown, so if Breakdown is £30 the others would be £40.

Circuit £20
Jackpot £20
Breakdown £30
Scourge £40
Slipstream £40
Ultra Mammoth £40

Considering BBTS had Scourge and Slipstream at £65 and sold out very quickly, I still think those prices are fair but it brings down the unsold figures to £430.

As I said theres no way I can cover the extra £430 or so there would have to be some way of covering most of the unsold amount. Hopefully a few more people decide to grab something before the order is made and that figure drops quite a lot but for now its what I'm working with.

The first way is for everyone to make a small donation to toy fu, in the short term it would help cover the purchase costs, we would effectively use it to buy however many figures at the time of purchase and hopefully sell them at a profit on ebay or at AA. I'm thinking a donation of about 10% but if people disagree let me know, I'm just trying to find the fairest way.

The other option, in addition to the first one, is for everyone to take an equal share of the extra and as soon as I'm able to sell enough of the spares to cover the original cost I refund everyone. I know thats not a great option as it could be almost a year before I could return all the money, or potentially, all the unsold ones come in the first shipment or two and I can sell them off by easter. If anyone has alternative ideas or any thoughts on wither of these option lets hear them as I'm stumped on how best to get around this.

Thirdly The Postage: Nick has kindly agreed to receive the shipments and post them on, probably in 3 lots rather than 6 to save on postage a little and at least halve the cuta action, and hopefully avoid it completely on some of the packages.


For 7 subs the US postage is $185 plus insurance of $51.00. $236 total. £160 or £3.80 per figure.


This is the prices for shipping (insurance next to it) to nick for 7 sets through just 1 set.
x7 $185.40 + $51.00
x6 $165.60 + $46.50
x5 $144 + $42
x4 $123.60 + $37.50
x3 $103.20 + $33
x2 $83.10 + $30
x1 $54.30 + $21.00

International postage in 3 lots I estimate would be about $70 each fully insured, $210 total. Or £10 per toy, obviously a box of UM might be a little more, but I think I'm over estimating the weight of the packages to start with. This is as I said based on 7 subs the per toy price slightly goes up if fewer subs are ordered.

Roughly we are looking at £15 to ship to Nick then on to me per figure. Thats actually not a lot cheaper than directly sending via international mail, but I'm hoping I have over estimated shipping and even if not we will save £60 odd pounds in customs at least.

So rough totals
toy price + Toyfu + postage

Circuit £20 +2 + 15 = £37
Jackpot £20 + 2 + 15 =£37
Breakdown £30 + 3 + 15 =£48
Scourge £40 + 4 + 15 = 59
Slipstream £40+ 4 + 15 = 59
Ultra Mammoth £40+ 4 + 15 = 59


Sorry for the length of this but there are a lot of variables due to the number of toys involved.

[Bogatan]

Okay should have added. Everyone who has already shown interest if you can let me know what you think and if you are still interested at these prices so I can see how many subs would still be wanted.

[Jim]

I am genuinely surprised that Circuit is proving unpopular. The Lockdown / Axor toy is great, and that's a glorious colour scheme. Also, Action Master homage!

[Toph]

Aug 24, 2012 8:49:36 GMT The Doctor said:

Do you really trust them with your card details? They've just breached security AGAIN!!!

I wouldn't even ask a mate to order stuff for me from them due to how lax they are with financial details.

-Ralph

Nope. I never said I did. Without the new security breach, I had no intentions of giving them my actual card.

[glaug]

Okay, so what's the total for someone wanting a whole set, so I can see if i find the money? With the various uneven prices if I want 4 of the most popular figures anyway I might as well think about the others too...