Newsletter Horror Stories

Posted on | March 14, 2008 |

Many folks were upset they didn’t get a chance to order the latest Sideshow Faux Bronze Exclusive- LOTR Fell Beast vs. Eagle diorama.

This piece is extremely limited as there are only 50 worldwide! You will remember that the regular edition had an ES of 1250 with a pricetag of $299.99. This Exclusive bronze edition will have the same cost….good luck to all who have signed up for the waitlist!

So why are people upset with Sideshow and the corresponding Newsletter?

Here’s what the Shadow & Flame members thought- pretty calm crowd

Check out the thread at the Freaks board- It’s not a pretty site!

From what I’m reading, most people are not happy with the surprise…not knowing something so rare would be up for order on this given newsletter night. Some are saying it wasn’t totally unexpected because of the recent charity auctions for Diane Kamahele. One of the items Sideshow auctioned was a Faux Bronze Fell Beast vs. Eagle with detachable wings…a possible hint to the upcoming pre-order.

The EU customers are unhappy with the time the SS Newsletter is released. Many have mentioned that it should be changed to a more suitable hour…they don’t want to stay up until 3 or 4AM to wait for the dreaded newsletter. I believe the newsletter has been posted between 6PM PST and 8PM PST for quite a while now…not sure Sideshow will consider changing the time its released because of this incident.

For those that are saying the newsletter was posted too early- you are mistaken!…according to Sideshow Dusty, it was posted at 6:07PM PST. This falls between the time frame Sideshow always posts the newsletter every Thursday. It also took about 10 minutes for this rare piece of poly to sell out. I will agree that it was posted somewhat earlier than previous newsletters, but hey…its fun not knowing the exact time every week.

So now its time for you to submit your thoughts, comments, experiences or perhaps vent on this latest Sideshow event. I read many of the posts at the Freaks board…I tend to agree with what lcummins wrote here-

“I can only say that if it is too much hassle, then it shouldn’t matter. I know it is a “hassle” for me at times, as I’ve become a “slave” to the newsletter release and have to be in front of a computer (whether at home or work) until it comes out. That means I really can’t plan anything on Thursday nights or even really enjoy TV or something and have to record it to watch later. Why do I do this? Because I want to and if I really want a piece, then I am willing to make the sacrifice to do it”.

Category: General, Sideshow Collectibles
Tags: LOTR > newsletter

Comments

12 Responses to “Newsletter Horror Stories”

[ [ Artist Proof ] ] Collectiblog » Sideshow Roundup 3/14
March 14th, 2008 @ 11:27 pm

[...] Scope out The Collective for some more in-depth coverage of the fall-out. [...]
Charles Song
March 15th, 2008 @ 11:37 am

Maybe SS should set a definitive time for the publication of the newsletter— I know this probably doesn’t jive with the people who actually put it together as they’d want some ‘flex room’… but don’t we all?
Rook
March 17th, 2008 @ 8:12 am

If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. And it’s not broke.

Any definitive, concrete go-live time would result in a gigantic community outcry the first time that Sideshow ran into technical difficulties that delayed the launch. It’s a can of worms that I wouldn’t want to open. Leeway is important in dealing with web-related stuff, as I’ve come to realize now that my own company is dealing with our own web site.

It’s my experience that fans will always find some reason to cry, “Foul!” This is evident on any given day in the Star Wars forums at SSF.

While I sympathize with the European collecting community for the difficulty presented to them, this is a problem that’s inherent to dealing with a company in another country. What other options are there? The fact is that Sideshow goes live with the newsletter at 6-7 p.m.-ish Pacific time for their own reasons. If it’s important enough to a collector to acquire the odd ultra-rare gem occassionally launched at Sideshow, that collector will do whatever it takes.

It’s also a fact that uber-limited editions like this reward the dilligent collector for patiently and eagerly hitting that reset key. And it’s a smart marketing move that feeds the fervor over the weekly newsletter, driving traffic ever upward. It’s hard to go wrong with something like that.

The long and the short of it is, what we are hearing now is the collective cry of people who feel slighted.

In the end, though, had each of those people been given a heads-up to the exact time of the newletter’s publication, as well as knowledge of this piece’s pre-order slot, there would still only be 50 people who acquired it. Meaning that some of those whose dilligence paid off with the acquisition of this coveted piece would then be left out in the cold by one or two scalpers who only jumped online to snag this flipper bait purely with profit in mind.
wetanut
March 18th, 2008 @ 3:10 pm

well said Rook.
Felmar
March 18th, 2008 @ 6:53 pm

I agree…some good points there, Terry
All in all, I think Sideshow knows what its doing.
oldduffer
March 19th, 2008 @ 2:46 am

I didn’t use any diligence that day, and refused to entertain even the thought of using any the day after. However, I don’t have a faux bronze FBVED either.
Rook
March 19th, 2008 @ 4:27 am

Then you’ve maintained a diligent approach to the principles of the OFC, OD. Which sort of contradicts your statement, now that I think about it.
oldduffer
March 19th, 2008 @ 8:58 pm

If there’s one thing, I’m diligent about my indiligence.
oldduffer
March 25th, 2008 @ 12:13 pm

Not that it matters much, but I did go over to the freaks link above and boy howdy! That thread spiraled down to the depths indeed, lots of Flipper dialogue - spirits were high! :)
Felmar
March 26th, 2008 @ 10:00 pm

There’s one on ebay at the moment…currently over $500 with still like 4 days to go…this will get more sparks flying at the freaks, haha
lcummins
April 9th, 2008 @ 12:31 am

Hey, I’m quoted!!!

Just wanted to point out a couple of things… the Charity auctions specifically mentioned the upcoming pre-orders for this and the faux bronze Dual of the Fates dioramas. Sure it wasn’t like being previewed in the newsletter first, but it was there, so a lot of people were waiting for it to pre-order. I was one of them, but I still missed it! That was because the newsletter came much earlier (but still after 6PM PST) than it had for not just weeks, but months! For several months, the newsletter had been arriving around 6:45PM to 7PM (and sometimes a little later), so that we became “conditioned” to that time. I was anxiously awaiting this pre-order, but didn’t even think to check for the newsletter until about 6:20, by which time it was sold out! I’m on the wait list, but don’t expect much luck there. Having said all that, I will still say, it was completely fair and congrats to the people who checked the newsletter early (or read about it on a discussion board before it sold out! ).

Whew!!!
Felmar
April 9th, 2008 @ 10:49 pm

Hey Lonnie…
a great quote by the way
I agree with everything you say, it was fair because the newsletter WAS posted in the correct time frame, a surprise to see it early, yes…but valid. I think more people will be checking in early after this event!