Sad Nendoroid Shipment :(

Hey guys,

Today kind of sucks and I'm a bit stressed so I wanted to talk it out here 

For years I've used AmiAmi, Mandarake, HLJ, etc. for figure orders (even with shipping, pricing is always the cheapest to Canada through these guys), but recently I ordered 2 Nendoroids from GoodSmile US. The whole process went pretty smoothly until they arrived this morning...

Vanilla is for myself, so I don't mind her box too, too much (I do keep all my boxes in the best condition I can, but oh well) but Dragon Knight is a gift for my boyfriend, and would be his first Nendoroid... They were shipped in a really thin box that was far too big for them. It was stuffed with brown paper but still, that only prevented them from sliding a bit.

I've sent GS USA an email and voicemail, not sure what'll happen.

Has anyone else had bad experiences with their US site? I love GS, and anything I order straight from Japan is always packaged so carefully 

 

The US GSC shop is the worst at packing.  I have never before received figures with boxes in such horrible conditions.

Back in August I finally received the Gamma Suit Midoriya that I had ordered for my partner, and after he took literally forever to ship out (they're pretty bad at this sometimes, too), he arrived in a box that wasn't even 1cm larger than the Nendoroid box.  Here's what the box looked like when it arrived:

It was so crushed in shipping that the plastic clamshell that held the figure was also crushed.  Luckily none of his parts were damaged, but this box was beyond saving.  I didn't bother to message GSC about it, but I really hope you hear back from them and that they're willing to do anything about it.

They really need to do better with shipping things, because I've heard other instances of this happening over on the Nendoroid subreddit, too, so this isn't a new or a 'rare' instance.  They used to offer free shipping for preorders, and now they offer "50% off shipping" for preorders, and I think this is a big part of why their packing is so abysmal.  They're clearly cutting corners wherever they can, and it's a shame because they sell collectable items, so they should really know better.  I'm sure 99% of their customers would rather pay a little extra to receive the item in good shape rather than risk having it be absolutely obliterated thanks to shoddy packing.

3 minutes ago, OccultBeast said:

They really need to do better with shipping things, because I've heard other instances of this happening over on the Nendoroid subreddit, too, so this isn't a new or a 'rare' instance.

Dear god... I actually teared up a little when I saw your photos. That's horrible...

Never NEVER in 10+ years of figure collecting have I received this much damage, or spoken to someone directly who has. I've personally sold figures to Europe with 3 times the quality of packaging as this official affiliate has (or branch, whatever they're considered. to be) The box they used may as well have been layers of the same brown packing paper. Unbelievable. I'm never using GS USA again, which is a big bummer because they have some decent inventory that I missed out on/couldn't grab previously. 

Also I had the same problem; dispatching the package took weirdly long with no communication.

Really sad. I'm sorry the same thing happened to you, and for a gift item as well, no less.

Same!  I've been in the doll hobby since 2010, and I've collected figures for a good chunk of that time as well, and I've never received a figure with anything more than a slightly damaged corner before now.  A part of me wanted to believe that I had become spoiled by AmiAmi's exceptional packaging (their boxes are SO sturdy, and they almost always ship my Nendoroids with a little cardboard frame to keep them in the center of the box!), but my partner ships out products daily, so I know that this is just them doing a piss-poor job at packing.  It's extra frustrating that it's GoodSmile themselves.  I could maybe be more understanding if it was a Partner Shop or other kind of reseller, but it's not.  This is directly from the company, and that's unacceptable.

At least luckily in my case, my partner doesn't care about the boxes, and they all just get stacked haphazardly in my closet anyway.  I also pre-ordered Kirishima's Nendoroid, and I'm waiting for him to ship this month.  Hopefully he doesn't arrive in as bad of shape as Deku.  I've taken all my other pre-orders back to AmiAmi or another US Partner Shop, though, because of this.  I guess it helps that a lot of the recent figures I've wanted, GS never seems to bring to the US shop, like the Hatsune Miku Nendoroid Doll.  And yeah, I'm looking at you too, Bandai; I'm going to own that Agumon Miku no matter what you say.

Thanks for cheering me up a bit, as bad as it sounds it's comforting knowing this wasn't some one-off extra bad treatment; it seems like a major problem they need to correct. I'll let you know if I hear back.

I've got my fingers and toes crossed for your Kirishima!

Gosh! I’m so sorry! That’s terrible! I’ve only ordered from the GSC US shop once and it was fine but I have 2 more pre-orders with them and man that doesn’t make me feel confident. I definitely will be staying tuned to hear if you get an update. I hope you hear back with a positive answer!

I was hoping to respond with a full resolution, but communications with GS US seem to have gone cold.

Initially, I sent them an e-mail and left a voicemail; the voicemail was answered, the e-mail was not. They responded via text the next (or the same, I can't remember) evening, saying they respond to voicemails through text currently due to Covid. Which was fine, at least someone responded. Also I just want to add that I keep my messages polite, I worked in a bank for 5 years and various customer service jobs totally 7 years so I respect there's another human-being on the other end of the line.

However, this was by far the weirdest customer service experience I've ever experienced.

It was like talking to a casual acquaintance; constantly correcting themselves, not capitalizing, typos. So strange. I'll give this person some credit, through the weird discussion they advised me to e-mail a manager, attach the pictures I took (the same ones in this thread) and mention them the following: "My international shipment was damaged by carrier and a damage claim should be submitted." Over text, they said because it's international this was a "loop-hole"; my guess is GS can claim full amount from the international carrier then the items are left with me at no cost. The person over text told me this would occur, they confirmed it twice in writing.

Well, I e-mailed the manager as instructed, she takes a week and a day to respond. She does not follow-through with what her colleague told me to do, and explains the most she can do is a 10% refund; doesn't even comment on the claim option the previous person so heavily insisted on. I thanked her for her time, and asked her to clarify the international order damage claim option; to this day (2 weeks later) she has not responded, and I haven't been communicated any follow-up instructions on the 10% refund or anything at all. I sent a polite follow-up a week after the manager's response, too, to no avail.

I'm really, really disappointed. This is so far from GS JP's service, who are wonderful. I've written a complaint that I'll be sending to GS headquarters... I don't normally take things this far (in fact this is the first time I'm doing something like this) but I'm just so sad and disappointed. The boxes and packaging they are using and their customer service is a real, real let-down.

This whole process has also delayed me being able to send my gift package with the Nendoroid. I hope it won't be late now 

Oh no @Veravey, this is definitely the worst outcome!  The least they could do is respond to you!  I hope you continue to reach out and get the answers you definitely deserve.  😥

My Kirishima was delayed on the US shop so I'm still waiting for him to ship out and hoping for the best...  I did however blindly order another in-stock Nendoroid from the US shop and it actually arrived in perfect shape, so it really just makes me wish they could get their sh*t in order and just ship things safely every time!

7 minutes ago, OccultBeast said:

My Kirishima was delayed on the US shop so I'm still waiting for him to ship out and hoping for the best.

Thanks, you're a sweetheart. And yeah just a response or closure would be all it takes.

I'm happy to hear one of yours arrived in good shape though! And I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the delayed one. It's interesting how much it seems to vary.

Same experience here. Luckily my US order wasn't terribly crunched, but it was crunched nonetheless. I'm sorry this happened. : ( I think you're right to take it up with headquarters, if they're aware of the issue then steps can be taken to correct it hopefully.

See, I would recommend the International site, as I've never had a problem with them.  Buuuuuuut, they are currently not shipping, to other countries, at all.  Mostly because they refuse to use any other mail service besides EMS, so unless you're using a proxy in Japan, you will never get your stuff.  I had to cancel my Noir XD figure because I didn't see the point in forking over that much money for a figure I would not get indefinitely.  

49 minutes ago, Meowjima said:

See, I would recommend the International site, as I've never had a problem with them.  Buuuuuuut, they are currently not shipping, to other countries, at all.  Mostly because they refuse to use any other mail service besides EMS, so unless you're using a proxy in Japan, you will never get your stuff.  I had to cancel my Noir XD figure because I didn't see the point in forking over that much money for a figure I would not get indefinitely.  

Yeah, I had the same thing happen to me. I had 13 orders from various preorders so I had a lot of money tied up with no guarantee that I’d ever receive anything.  They were my go-to but I can’t recommend them right now either.

51 minutes ago, Meowjima said:

Buuuuuuut, they are currently not shipping, to other countries, at all.

I've purchased from GS for years and I love them, the issue was that the nendo I was looking for (Nakopara Vanilla) has long been sold out, and I had been looking for out her second-hand. I was excited to see GS US had some previously sold out stock. Then this happened

Shipping to Canada has been available, though, things are just coming in slower which is to be expected. My HLJ order is taking a month as of this week, but that's ok. I know postal workers are crazy busy and stressed right now.

Oh dear this is horrendous. How does this even happen?! Looks like your mailman kicked the shipping box or something. I live in Europe so I don't have any experiences with US stores, but I do know that European stores (even the ones that specialize in collectibles) also tend to kinda throw things in a box without any protection. However, they've mostly reached me undamaged. Worst thing I've had was a scuffed/slightly dented corner on a nendoroid. 

I wanted to add an update here, I’ve had a few bad experiences with Goodsmile US in the past but I recently have had good experiences with them. My figures have arrived in pristine boxes with no damage, figures fine too. I think they’ve straightened up (perhaps because of this very thread!) 

Does anybody have any recommendations for preordering Nendoroids? I really want to get Frieren and Fern. I'm UK based btw. I think I can order on the Goodsmile Japan (intl?) site but it would be annoying if I have to preorder each one separately.

Oh and my first ever Nendoroid will arrive next week. I picked up Empty Miku to live in the Re:Ment Miku Miku apartment. Figma Racing Miku will be evicted as she's a bit delicate.

5 hours ago, Xiongmao said:

Does anybody have any recommendations for preordering Nendoroids? I really want to get Frieren and Fern. I'm UK based btw. I think I can order on the Goodsmile Japan (intl?) site but it would be annoying if I have to preorder each one separately.

Oh and my first ever Nendoroid will arrive next week. I picked up Empty Miku to live in the Re:Ment Miku Miku apartment. Figma Racing Miku will be evicted as she's a bit delicate.

https://www.dekaianime.com/ currently has preorders open for them both. They are UK based and offer free shipping and no customs tax or fees. I have made multiple orders with them for both preorder and in stock items and I have never had any issues so I do reccomend them! 

On 1/19/2024 at 11:19 PM, roro_robot said:

https://www.dekaianime.com/ currently has preorders open for them both. They are UK based and offer free shipping and no customs tax or fees. I have made multiple orders with them for both preorder and in stock items and I have never had any issues so I do reccomend them! 

An unfortunate update to this as Dekaianime has suddenly gone into liquidation. Very sorry if anyone here preordered anything from them due to me recommending them! Its come as a huge surprise as they were very well trusted and reliable for many years until now. If anyone does have outstanding orders with them please do attempt a chargeback with your bank if possible, there is more information available on their website if needed. It seems that many UK based shops that carry anime related goods are struggling lately 

5 hours ago, roro_robot said:

An unfortunate update to this as Dekaianime has suddenly gone into liquidation.

Whoa! This is wild!

 

On 1/20/2024 at 2:24 AM, Xiongmao said:

Does anybody have any recommendations for preordering Nendoroids? I really want to get Frieren and Fern. I'm UK based btw. I think I can order on the Goodsmile Japan (intl?) site but it would be annoying if I have to preorder each one separately.

Figuya still has a preorder up for Fern at least. Frieren may pop back up in case other people cancel their order.

They're based in Germany, which is arguably not ideal for the UK, but shipping might still be better than from Japan. I used them a lot back when I was living in Germany (until 2018), their warehouse was just a few tram stops away. Can't say how good they're nowadays, but back then everything worked super well with them.

This is so sad. The only issue I ever had was with Hobby JP where the post lost my parcel and they refused to refund despite the fact that I chose insured shipping. Never got the Nendoroid or my money back. It's been over a year now and I just gave up. But that damage to their boxes is horrible, I hope Goodsmile US learns to pack better because I would never dare to order from them if this is the standard with them.

That's sad news but I didn't order any Nendoroids as I'm not sure if they're for me or not.

The economy seems to have gone very slow for non-essential purchases lately. I haven't offloaded much of my old Lego lately. I ordered a new Lego set from Lego today and it looks like they've dispatched it the same day. That's really rare.