I guess that explains why they are so friendly and accomodating with me.

 

I side with BBTS on issues of canceling pre-orders. Don't use pre-orders as "back-ups in case I can't find it at the store first." I don't give any loyalty to big box stores or even Amazon but I do with these smaller vendors. Lot's of canceled pre-orders can hurt a business their size.

 

I agree. In fact, charge us full price for the item we preordered, even if we cancel it. Make people fear using you!

 

I use BBTS as my primary source, it's actually still more likely that I get figures from them before I find them at retail a lot of the time. Retail is my backup though, as there are plenty of items (especially from ER) that never showed up around me, but if I find something at retail and it hasn't come in from BBTS, I'll usually grab it and cancel my pre-order.

If I have something in my POL, I won't cancel it even if I find it at retail, that happened with Rattrap, he dropped in my pile of loot before he started showing up at retail, and I was waiting forever for more stuff to show up in my Pile, meanwhile he was showing up everywhere at retail, but I just waited for more stuff to show up rather than cancel him from my pile.

They're also my go to for Gen Selects, them or Pulse that is. I also buy most of my non TF stuff from them, like the retail GI Joe's or SH Monsterarts Godzilla and Kong. I don't order much 3P, but I have Dr. Wu Chatter in my POL and the three Unrustable 'restocks' (I think it's more likely they just found some warehouse stock) on PO.

 

I wish BBTS had an option like Gamestop were you could either pay it at your leisure, pay for it all upfront, or pay half now and get charged the second half when it arrives. I understand that for this system to work, they might not let you cancel it once you’ve paid, but being able to pay when I want(rather then bring charged $20-$300 randomly) and just having the assurance that I’ll get it would be enough for me.


As a matter of fact, if I could just pre-pay for all my pre-orders at whatever point at the cost of cancellation, I would do that 100% of the time. It would remove the stress of random charging(which even Amazon has been bad about) completly, and would make collecting so much more stress free and enjoyable.

 

I've cancelled many a preorder with BBTS, never thought of the algorithm issue till recently with this thread. I use many sites to preorder, but no matter the site if I find it in person I'll usually cancel the preorder. It's fair that they ding me, I understand it's inconvenient for them. But thinking strictly as a consumer, it's inconvenient for me to wait an extra couple of months just to keep my good faith order in, when it would be quicker and a bit cheaper to buy it right now. When I place preorders 6 months in advance, I'm not planning on finding it earlier in stores, but it happens. Wish I had the strength to pass on them in person but alas, I don't. Regardless, they've always been super helpful with me and have the best customer service I've dealt with online in recent years. So if I've lost a couple brownie points with them it's cool, and even more so appreciate them helping me with any issues I've had.

 

I mean, obviously you can do whatever you want. Anyone who's ran a store knows abusive customers exist and has to figure out a way to deal with them so that the store isn't hurt (too much). BBTS has been good to me, so, I see no reason to abuse their pre-order system.

 

The value of those customers may actually be negative if they cancel frequently enough. They surely don't go out of their way to find people to punish. If you're running up against the policy, there's more than likely a reason.

 

I see no reason to abuse the customer. No perks? Check. No free shipping? Check. Algorithm not giving you first dibs when you're supposed to have it? Check. Pre-order penalties after a certain amount of issues? Check. And all of that on top of usually being the last to get stuff in, packing them slowly, and shipping with the slowest method known to man. Plus, they expect you to wait ALLLLL that time and pay their markup? This is a two-way street, man.

I get that they're a smaller business, but much like the big guns, they're not all they're cracked up to be for the employees. No benefits, zero. Even Amazon, Target, and Walmart provide those. (People on Glassdoor confirmed this in reviews.)

So, what? I'm supposed to walk by the Galvatron going for $49.99 (and even less with my Red Card discount), and pay $53 plus tax, plus shipping all because loyalty?

Forget that. Where's loyalty for the customer? People mock TFSource, but at least their shipping is free and they pack really well. Their prices are no better, but you do accumulate points.

My loyalty is to me and my collection. How I get it and when I get it matters. None of us should be punished for saving money and getting things in a reasonable timeframe/manner. Loyalty to a store, a company, a product will always be a waste in the end. To thine own self be true.

 

Nobody's on your case for buying from Target. What is in question is placing a phantom preorder at BBTS and then cancelling when you run into something at Target and then being upset that it has consequences. People that have good Targets should just shop at Target and not lock up preorder slots online anywhere and save everyone alot of grief.

(And...while BBTS shipping may not be "free" (though $4 in 2021 is damned close), they also pack stuff very well.)

Edit: Generally speaking, if people think this allocation penalty is bad, they must never have shopped with Japanese shops. Some of those will outright ban you for cancelling too many preorders. They take preorder commitments very seriously. They'll let you off the hook if it sounds like a genuine emergency/mistake but don't get cocky.

 

I mean, why are you even in this thread then? Don't shop with BBTS. I am not doing background research into every company I do business with, so I'm not basing decisions on that information. I know what I'm getting into when I deal with BBTS and it works for me. If it don't work for you then you can skip on them. But if you are demanding things from them and NOT communicating this to the business but expect it from them and then you abuse their service afterwards because you didn't get what they didn't know you wanted-- that's totally on you.

A business says: we don't give free shipping, sorry. Customer's reaction is: I want free shipping but since you're not giving that to me I'll still use your service but become a nuisance and that's okay because I didn't get what I wanted. The business never offered that perk-- its not their fault, they didn't trick you. I'm confused...

 

That is very true. In cases like Kingdom Galvatron, where they only got a portion of their order from Hasbro, that's going to happen even if all the orders filled with their limited stock were first come first serve.

No online retailer big or small can control the tin-hat society  

This isn't about loyalty, it's about abuse. If you abuse their system, they reserve the right to bump you down in the queue when orders are filled that's all this is.

People Mock TFSource because they've earned it. Price hikes as soon as a figure hints at being sold out on other stores (even multiple increases in the same day). Holding back stock so they can sell it for a markup later. A points system that short changes the customer compared to other sites. And call me crazy, but I don't consider a required minimum purchase to be "free shipping"

 

Got my shipping notice fore DK-19 and DK-21, but I still need my Scorponok! Any word on the Earthrise Scorponok rerelease?

 

I'd let mine that's sitting in the POL go to somebody that's desperate to get it right now if I could. It's just not that important for me as a customer as it was when I was selling and had to have stuff in time for shows with months between them.

 

I've shopped with them since they opened. They're good when it comes to customer service. I don't hate them, I don't dislike them, but I'm not going to spend extra money just to appease them and wait to do so. I can also shop wherever I want and don't actually shop at Target all that often, I mentioned them because they're getting things in early, lately.

It's not a phantom order with intent, it's a phantom order by chance. I keep all of my pre-orders with them when possible, but I'm not going to pay extra just to sit there while everyone else has their stuff sometimes months in advance.

That's a ridiculous ask by them, by you, by anyone. Since 2019 roughly, they've been really slow and way behind everyone. The fact that they got Galvatron so early is a shocker and that specific point has been discussed. If people, and I mean more than a few, can say how shocked they are that BBTS got anything in stock in a reasonable (and early) manner, that's a telling sign y'all are trying to ignore.

It's not just here, it's Facebook too... People are less than enthusiastic with BBTS in recent months because of these issues. I get that you tried to be a small business so you're biased but my gosh, stand down once in a while, you're not on watch 24/7.

I'm not demanding things from them. I'm pointing out they have flaws just like their customers do. This works both ways. I never said anyone tricked me, nor do I feel tricked. I'm also not a nuisance and don't appreciate the name-calling. Thanks for the lack of respect, there. And I'll shop wherever I want so unless you're coming to my door to stop me, mind your own business on such matters and deal with the fact that I have an opinion (that's shared, btw) that you don't have. You're voicing yours, I can voice mine. Don't like it? You know where the block button is, feel free to click it whenever you like.

Me? I'll keep on keepin' on.

 

Hasbro or their distributor network is 100% behind these partial/delayed shipments. BBTS is not siting on mountains of stock and trickling it out just to screw with us.

That sort of bullshit is exactly why I never took preorders. I didn't want to be in exactly this situation, with customers beating down my door or filing chargebacks over a situation that I had zero control over. You can call it bias but I consider it a broader perspective. Alot of stuff has changed over the last decade.

 

I never said they were. That said, they need to step up and tell Hasbro or their distributor to step it up because it's costing them money and they've been a good customer for years. No one said they're sitting on a mountain of stock, in fact, we know they usually don't have it 9 times out of 10.

You have gotten too emotionally involved, here. No one said anything of those things, certainly not me.

 

You have no idea. You try threatening a supplier as big as Hasbro and see how far that gets you.

 

Well if I find it in the store for cheaper (and it usually is) then I will buy it and cancel my pre-order. If I get penalized for that then so be it. I'm doing what's best for me. If they didn't take so long getting product in then it wouldn't be such a issue.

Also another thing that bothers me is that they have a direct account with Hasbro but stores are flooded with kingdom ultra magnus yet they still aren't in stock (just one example). I don't understand it.

 

Nor I, nor anyone else, said anything about threatening anyone. FFS, you need to step back from this conversation and take a breather. That's... We're done here.

Bingo. There's no rhyme or reason to how they operate, apparently, and people shouldn't have to wait months beyond what's already being sold by others.
I will still shop at BBTS, and I hope they get the rest of Kingdom in really soon, but this loyalty thing people have is misplaced and it explains a lot about the attitude in the fandom as of late.

If one must be loyal, it shouldn't be misplaced.