Entertainment Earth or BBTS?

Discussion in 'Transformers Toy Discussion' started by Nemesis Reformatted, Jan 15, 2021.

  1. Nemesis Reformatted

    Nemesis Reformatted Banned

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    Which is better for pre-orders? I pre-ordered Sandstorm from EE but now BBTS has him too. I never shop at EE but use BBTS all the time. Is EE good? Should I switch to BBTS or just leave it with EE?
     
  2. jbwkkl

    jbwkkl Wrecker for life

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    If you don't care about waiting, go with whoever is cheapest. BBTS tends to get most, if not all, of their preorders last.

    Sometimes feels like BBTS had preordered from a competitor and that's why they ship so late
     
  3. Legion9186

    Legion9186 Well-Known Member

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    I heard that EE is really slow with shipping and expensive for the faster methods.
     
  4. Nemesis Reformatted

    Nemesis Reformatted Banned

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    Yeah, EE was charging over $10 for the cheapest shipping & BBTS is only $4. I just switched to BBTS.
     
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  5. Robogeek28

    Robogeek28 Proud grandpa

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    I'd say none of the above, but you're looking for a particular item that only they have right now. :lol 
     
  6. Jaymo

    Jaymo Well-Known Member

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    I use both depending on how I’m ordering. If I’m ordering a wave set or a case, I’ll go with EE and their free shipping for $79+ orders. I’m in Texas and there is a wait but haven’t experienced long shipping lags from them.

    If I’m preordering partial waves or individual figures, like say a Voyager or lets say two Allicons, I’ll order thru BBTS. Pile of loot can group a few together and ship them for $4. Like EE there is short wait for shipping.

    Ordering individuals from EE can lead to individual shipping charges. Sometimes you will get a discount code on future purchase from EE tho. EE tends to use the regular figure retail prices while BBts adds about $1-3+ on prices.
     
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  7. newmanium

    newmanium Well-Known Member

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    I have ordered from EE only once but had a very positive experience. (Netflix Nemesis Prime. Arrived in a timely manner and in great condition)

    I have ordered from BBTS many times and never had a bad experience. As others mentioned, sometimes pre-order items arrived later than other vendors. I do recommend against using their flat $4 shipping method. Upgrading will help speed up delivery and shipping times.
     
  8. Beastbot X

    Beastbot X Old skool. In a lot of ways.

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    BBTS, every time.

    -Pile of Loot
    -More dependable-- if you've got a preorder with them, 99.9% chance it will be filled.
    -Doesn't come from one corner of the country, but rather the middle, so chances are you'll get it faster.
    -BBTS $4 shipping isn't great, but EE free shipping is HORRIBLE. Just pay for shipping folks, it's worth it, and BBTS ships theirs out more quickly and packages it better.
    -Better customer service if something is wrong
     
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  9. SeiberBirdR

    SeiberBirdR Birbicon, Metal-Head

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    Generally, I find BBTS to have better service and to be extremely collector friendly. EE isn't bad, but I feel like they are not as strong as BBTS or some of the smaller e-tailers. Neither are fast on shipping, but I prefer to cheap out when it comes to shipping and pay in waiting. For a multiple item pre-order, I would avoid EE for the individual shipping fees. With a decent coupon for big ticket items on pre-order or multiple items in stock is where I tend to use EE. Sometimes if I'm late to the game trying to snag a late wave and will pay the premium at EE.

    Even though Pulse and Amazon are my top two now, BBTS is a wonderful company and they are often my fallback for official and my preference for third party.
     
  10. rikaldomario

    rikaldomario Well-Known Member

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    I find myself in a similar predicament in terms of my Scorponok preorder, but I should clarify my context and my past experiences with both retailers.

    I'm in Puerto Rico, so outside of having Amazon Prime, shipping charges have increase a lot in the last year or so. However EE offers Free Shipping on certain thresholds which right now Scorponok qualifies and thank Primus PR is included. With BBTS I always have to pay around $15-20 for shipping.

    OTOH, EE charges me sales tax which is quite high for PR (11.5%) and BBTS doesn't.

    In terms of shipping speed, BBTS has alwayd been relatively fast for me. In around 4 or 5 orders I've done with EE only last november/december was the only time they've been slow. It took around 3-4 weeks. After the Christmas rush, the part of my order that was shipped after Christmas got here early January, so roughly a week.

    So I can't complain too much about either one since my experiences have been positive for both.
     
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  11. RobimusPrime

    RobimusPrime Well-Known Member

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    Six of one, half dozen of another.
     
  12. HunterGreen2005

    HunterGreen2005 In-Stock

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    Yeah, just go with BBTS if it’s just Sandstorm.

    I order from EE if I’m in for a whole wave, but I don’t anymore since I no longer suffer from FOMO. :p 

    Also they seemed to have stopped offering unlimited $15 off orders over $99 plus free shipping since ~March 2020.
     
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  13. Grimlock_13

    Grimlock_13 Currently facepalming at your post

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    BBTS has gotten slower to get orders out the door over the years but they still get my business since I’ve rarely had a problem since I first started using them in 2008, and the three instances I did have problems, they responded immediately and fixed it with no hassle whatsoever. I can be patient if it takes a couple extra days to get out the door.
     
  14. ziltama

    ziltama Mods, molds, and casts. Also full of hot gas.

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    Entertainment Earth:
    Tends to get new figures in earlier, sometimes 1st (but annoyingly doesn't update website to 'in stock' status until weeks to months afterward).
    Cheaper pricing (MSRP or a little above).

    Worst "free shipping" / cheapest shipping option of all sites. They use Newgistics / Pitney Bowes with hand-off to USPS. Before holiday crunch / covid issues, deliveries would take 2 weeks. You may be more fortunate if you live in the same state.
    Other shipping options are more expensive than most sites.

    No free returns for any reason.

    BBTS:
    More expensive.
    Figures come in later...even well after brick & mortar stores. Rarely do they ever get figures in 1st.

    Slow "flat rate" shipping. May take up to a week just to get your package out the door. Some have reported getting their packages out the door right away, but this is not the norm.
    Offers multitude of other shipping options that go out in the door in 1-2 business days.

    Packaging is top notch and offers 'collector's packaging grade' at extra price.
    Offers Pile of Loot to bundle different orders together and save on shipping.

    Free return is not guaranteed for all cases; see their return policy.
     
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  15. iacon45

    iacon45 Missing: One Custom Title

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    I've used EE twice. The shipping is slow but that could be because of Covid and they are based in CA (IIRC). But the one thing that turned me off is their customer service. I had a minor issue with one of the Gundam model kits I received. I tried to email them a few different times and fast forward almost 6 months later, I still have yet to hear from them.

    That's the one thing I love about BBTS is their customer service. True they may be one of the slower companies to get stock in (although they nailed it getting the Kingdom deluxes in pretty fast before most anyone else) but whenever I had a question or issue they are quick to respond within 1 business day or so. When I have had a few issues concerning some broken items, they had it replaced within a week which was pretty awesome. Their shipping prices are also a bit more fair than other places too. It would be nice if they had free shipping at $150 but the $4 flat rate shipping is not bad and (based on where I am) I can usually upgrade to Fed Ex shipping for just a few dollars more. The Pile of Loot is also pretty awesome to bundle orders together so you don't have to pay shipping on several different shipments. The one thing I wish BBTS could change is giving cm's an option to go head and pay sales tax on an item as it hits said PoL. If you have a big PoL, the sales tax bill adds up pretty quick.
     
  16. mondo

    mondo Well-Known Member

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    In what ways is EE free shipping HORRIBLE ? Note im located in Cali, same with EE
     
  17. ziltama

    ziltama Mods, molds, and casts. Also full of hot gas.

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    If you live nearby, it may be ok. Elsewhere, it's the most horrific free shipping service around.
     
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  18. aey103

    aey103 Well-Known Member

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    They use Pitney Bowes which basically will deliver it to you when they are gd damn good and ready to deliver it to you.
     
  19. Bubbahearth

    Bubbahearth Well-Known Member

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    Case in point, I live in California and Putrid Bowels had been sitting on my Kingdom Rodimus for 12 days so far. You know it's bad when you could have gotten it from China faster.
     
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  20. Megatron Unicronus

    Megatron Unicronus Needs LEGO Optimus

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    BBTS all the way. They’re my go-to store.