Robotoybase - Canceled Order to Relist $40 Higher!

Discussion in 'Transformers 3rd Party Discussion' started by protostar8, Feb 4, 2021.

  1. protostar8

    protostar8 Well-Known Member

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    I ordered an item from them. I paid and then days later (today) get a refund out of nowhere from them. No description, no reason, just get a refund. I go to check the site thinking maybe it was out of stock...nope...the item is now listed $40 higher. So I guess they felt they weren't getting enough out of me at the normal retail cost (which we all know they list everything lower and charge crazy shipping). So yeah, after this and the whole extra shipping charges nonsense from before, I'm done with them.

    Best of luck to everyone that chooses to risk ordering from here.

    Edit: As of 3/15/21 the "help" desk at Robotoybase has not responded to me. So yeah, they are dodging my question b/c they know what they did was underhanded and wrong.
     
    Last edited: Mar 15, 2021
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  2. Hoffman

    Hoffman Well-Known Member

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    That's pretty crappy, what was the item?
     
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  3. primetime77

    primetime77 Well-Known Member

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    How about you write them an email explaining what happened and see what they say before ranting on here?
    Shipping costs are high because they are shipping internationally and HK doesn't get the preferable rates mainland does.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 4, 2021
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  4. imfallenangel

    imfallenangel Well-Known Member

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    Trouble is, he seems to be the only one with certain out of date items, I checked on the forum and feedback was positive as much as I could see.

    That said:

    I'm actually dealing with my first purchase with him (under his "old" chimungmung site) and the shipping is a bit high price-wise but better than Robotoybase, but I got a message to confirm that I'm fine with the sea shipment that's going to take 3 months... nowhere during the purchase was I given any "regular"or "fast" shipping, so fine, we tack another 20$ so that I can actually get my item properly, and now the shipping is more than the item... but anyways... (note that I checked on the Robotoybase site and again, during the purchase process I had not only no different options, but the site was defective and I wasn't even able to get past that phase. The site itself has been horribly slow, I can barely get it to load, for a few days now).

    So since I'm going to pay an arm for shipping I figured I'd ask to drop a few more items in the shipment, one item he obliged, I've paid for it, and... for the other item:

    He did just this, where on his older site one item was much cheaper, and I asked to tag it on top of the other item, and got the reply that it's out of stock, the page was taken down. BUT the same item on the Robotoybase site at a good 20$ higher.

    I'm awaiting his reply. Depending how what he does, will be how I'm review him, and if I'll ever shop there again or recommend his site(s).
     
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  5. Alph

    Alph Well-Known Member

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    Always ships very promptly and cheaply to my current residence in South Korea. It helps being on the same side of the world as the place you're ordering from.
     
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  6. Spiffy

    Spiffy Well-Known Member

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    Question is, how much is the item listed at other sites? If his was disproportionally cheaper, maybe the product just turned out more expensive, and he would have taken a loss. This kind of thing isn't that unusual, MS Stunticons were listed differently than how they were eventually sold, I had a preorder cancelled by TF Express when it turns out their cost for a paint variant was more than they wanted to spend to import it, etc. C'est la vie.
     
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  7. Ottertron

    Ottertron Moon-faced assassin of joy

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    Did you by any chance order and not notice that it was out of stock? I see that a lot with Robotoybase - people put links up here saying they have x rare figure but it’s actually not in stock, despite the ‘Add To Cart’ button being there. For example -

    [​IMG]

    He really should remove out of stock items from the site as I’ve seen a fair few people get excited, thinking they’ve found an older figure, but it isn’t really there.
     
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  8. nacho

    nacho Well-Known Member

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    Tony's always been good to deal with, never had any kind of shady interactions, even back in the classic chimungmung days. I wonder if the OP is sure the items are really in stock. His site often doesn't prevent you from putting out-of-stock items in the cart (Ottertron beat me to it), and then you find out they don't really have any. It's a bug for sure, but I suspect that if Tony cancelled his order, the items are not actually orderable regardless of the price they're listed at. Nothing shady, just a shopping cart software that needs a little modern coding work.
     
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  9. unicronic

    unicronic Well-Known Member

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    I've ordered from Robotoybase (or chimungmung as it used to be called) and never had any issues.

    This is likely an exception to the rule. Tony is excellent to deal with.
     
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  10. Predakwon

    Predakwon ...Green Lantern's light!

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    Man, how many Robotoybase threads do we need?
     
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  11. GavynN.X.

    GavynN.X. I want AM thundercracker

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    Show thyself robo warrior
     
  12. Dutchy79

    Dutchy79 Well-Known Member

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    From all my years dealing online and even having my own webstore, TF stores are the worst kept up sites out there, no matter who it is.
     
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  13. Ottertron

    Ottertron Moon-faced assassin of joy

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    I've definitely seen a fair few sites where 'Out Of Stock' doesn't necessarily deactivate the 'Add To Cart' button, and the 'Availability' marker isn't exactly prominent.
     
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  14. Dutchy79

    Dutchy79 Well-Known Member

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    Out of stock, sold out, just remove those items from the sites and be done with them, I would say.
    But I am a bit of a clean nut :D 
     
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  15. Scurv

    Scurv Well-Known Member

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    Tony's great, never had a bad experience in the past, always helped me with replacement parts ect... but his shipping costs are horrendous and have always been horrendous. If he could get those sorted I'd start buying from him again.
     
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  16. Doom Slayer

    Doom Slayer Unrelenting force of nature

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    Yes, that is also a nitpick of me. Sometimes you get high hopes, and then you see the dreaded Out Of Stock message. Other than that, never had any issues with Robotoybase. It is my number one place to get figures.
     
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  17. protostar8

    protostar8 Well-Known Member

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    It was definitely IN STOCK. It is still IN STOCK. The dude just cancelled my order with no explanation and now the item is relisted $40 higher. Roadking has been out awhile. This wasn't him not knowing the cost or anything. He obviously just wanted to make more money.

    Luckily one of my friends that lives about 20 minutes away has heard about this and offered me his spare. Like I said, I've had 2 separate bad experiences with this site. Another friend has had a bad experience. How many bad experiences do people have to have collectively to show the loyalists that there is more going on than they want to admit?
     
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  18. Hoffman

    Hoffman Well-Known Member

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    There can be benefit to leaving sold out items online, for SEO purposes. But I agree that after a certain time period, old products should be removed. Especially if they haven't programmed out of stock items to drop to the bottom of the pages.
     
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  19. Bezuul

    Bezuul Well-Known Member

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    Are some of you guys bots for Robotoybase? The OP has a legitimate complaint and you want it taken down? Move it to the main thread, sure. But this is a scummy business practice, if it's legit, and I'm happy to hear about it.
     
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  20. Doom Slayer

    Doom Slayer Unrelenting force of nature

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    No, we're not bots, at least I'm not (not that I'm aware of, and get out of my head Skynet). I do understand what the OP's problem is and it is weird/scummy that it goes like this. I would reach out to him and ask him what's up.