Arcadia YF-19 coming in 2014

[Mommar]

Paypal is only letting me dispute this with the seller via the paypal website...

[DyNo]

Amiami offered me a 1500JPY refund... $15 dollars, really? Thanks a-holes.

Oh, even better. $14 in store points!!! Thanks, crooks.

$15 WTF!

[CoreyD]

$15 WTF!

Hahaha...wow. As much as the QC factor sucks, this is a lot more damning on AmiAmi.

[bowman]

There goes AmiAmi's reputation

[jvmacross]

Paypal is only letting me dispute this with the seller via the paypal website...

That's fine.....and expected since you did not use a CC...went straight from your bank account to AmiAmi....with paypal serving as the "proxy"....

basically, the issue will be if the damage occurred in transit or if the item left AmiAmi as damaged goods...which seems to be the case....

Paypal protects the buyer against receiving items "not as described".....Essentially, you need to let Paypal know that your purchase was for something "brand new" and it arrived "damaged".......with that said...AmiAmi will tell Paypal that the item was "fresh off the shipper's case" and to the best of their knowledge...it would not be expected to be "damaged"....that they acted with good intent.....they will then point out their "policy towards non-Japan buyers".....this may or may not sit to well with Paypal.......In fact, this draconian policy may be your best hope at Paypal siding with you......

At that point.....you are at the mercy of Paypal...they will either side with you or not....If not, they will most likely ask AmiAmi, in the interest of fairness to all, to accept the return (minus shipping costs) and refund you a partial payment........with that said...I do hope it would be more than 15 USD......honestly, if they do not want to accept the return, the refund should be at minimum 50%........If you receive close to that...you can probably sell for parts....especially the weapons, armor, etc.....

Guess this may be a lesson to anyone considering buying from AmiAmi in the future.....if you get your cash back, then the risk may be worth it.....if not, time to shop elsewhere....

Good Luck!

[Deadeye_281]

Mommar, was the box and/or shipping tray inside damaged in any way? If not, then this broken wing clearly originated within the confines of Arcadia's factory and they should own up to that. A manufacturing company should stand by their product IMO. If Arcadia gave a s&$t about their customer base (international or otherwise) they should just mail you direct a new wing free of charge.

In the Army, we call this 'sorting s&$t out at the lowest level'. IMO, Arcadia has a golden opportunity here to make something right. For the price of an international letter parcel no less, they can reassure an entire community of Macross fans and more importantly, an entire community of customers.

I hope you guys are taken care of and that you get your refunds/replacement parts.

[mechaninac]

$15 refund/store credit on a $300++ item is a downright cynical insult! That's a severe black mark for Amiami... caveat emptor where they're concerned. Inexcusable!

The way for them to properly, honestly, handle this would be to offer the $15 as a partial return shipping compensation with an ironclad commitment to issue a full PayPal refund upon receipt of the clearly factory defective/broken item. They, in turn, should take it up with Arcadia for allowing such a junior league error to get out of the factory.

The two breaks reported herein were caused during, or just after, assembly, or, more likely, done by the incompetent gorilla nestling the toy in the plastic tray before sealing everything up with no QC oversight... like the old joke about GM pumping out defective vehicles to be sorted by the dealers if/when a consumer complained. This is just so unprofessional all the way down the line.

[Scream Man]

Well that's just messed up dude. The Paypal route may be the way to go, or else pleasing direct to Arcadia. In a (Very limited) defense of AmiAmi, the item WAS destroyed at the company level and not in transit; I think Arcadia should try to fix it.

Sadly I'm not sure they will. I'm truly sorry Kicker and Mommar.

[Isamu Dyson]

From experience, what typically happens is that PayPal may ask you to return the item first before even considering a full refund. At that point you will lose money for shipping back, which doesn't make sense at all. ALWAYS pay with a credit card as you will be insured. I see no advantage with using PayPal especially with the exchange rate/charges. Sucks that HLJ only uses PayPal but luckily their customer service reps are much kinder to international buyers.

I don't know what sounds more stupid. A $15 dollar refund or a $14 dollar credit with points. Isn't it a general rule of thumb that you offer more credit for the next purchase than less for a refund? Even more stupid is thinking that $15 dollars will make one forget about a broken wing off a $300 dollar valk. "Hey guys check out my new YF-19! Yeah one of the wings is broken but I got it with a $15 dollar discount, what a steal!! Thanks AmiAmi." Bunch of Douches. AmiAmi should be on our blacklist for their $15 dollar so sorry, so sad, life's tough, so be happy with your broken toy since you don't live in Japan CS policy.

[Isamu Dyson]

Well that's just messed up dude. The Paypal route may be the way to go, or else pleasing direct to Arcadia. In a (Very limited) defense of AmiAmi, the item WAS destroyed at the company level and not in transit; I think Arcadia should try to fix it.

Sadly I'm not sure they will. I'm truly sorry Kicker and Mommar.

Mommar and Kicker didn't purchase from Arcadia directly. They paid AmiAmi, who in turn should just send them a new one and follow up with a reimbursement from Arcadia. QC Issues may fall with Arcadia but Customer Service falls under the retailer. Had it taken time to self destruct on its own would be a different story. Straight out of the box??? Nope, the store I paid my money should fix this problem for me. I feel for Kicker and Mommar and they have a strong case for a entirely new product shipped to them, not parts.

[Mommar]

I'll never buy another thing from amiami and I'm blocking their account so they can't attempt to steal anything else from me. And even if paypal won't get me my full refund I'm taking this to my bank and informing them it was a criminal action.

Mommar, was the box and/or shipping tray inside damaged in any way? If not, then this broken wing clearly originated within the confines of Arcadia's factory and they should own up to that. A manufacturing company should stand by their product IMO. If Arcadia gave a s&$t about their customer base (international or otherwise) they should just mail you direct a new wing free of charge.

In the Army, we call this 'sorting s&$t out at the lowest level'. IMO, Arcadia has a golden opportunity here to make something right. For the price of an international letter parcel no less, they can reassure an entire community of Macross fans and more importantly, an entire community of customers.

I hope you guys are taken care of and that you get your refunds/replacement parts.

The boxes were perfect, this is purely a manufacture issue. But Harmony Gold, etc... Arcadia can't do anything legally (which I feel is a great excuse for no customer service... which seems consistent with everything else in Japan so far.)

$15 refund/store credit on a $300++ item is a downright cynical insult! That's a severe black mark for Amiami... caveat emptor where they're concerned. Inexcusable!

The way for them to properly, honestly, handle this would be to offer the $15 as a partial return shipping compensation with an ironclad commitment to issue a full PayPal refund upon receipt of the clearly factory defective/broken item. They, in turn, should take it up with Arcadia for allowing such a junior league error to get out of the factory.

The two breaks reported herein were caused during, or just after, assembly, or, more likely, done by the incompetent gorilla nestling the toy in the plastic tray before sealing everything up with no QC oversight... like the old joke about GM pumping out defective vehicles to be sorted by the dealers if/when a consumer complained. This is just so unprofessional all the way down the line.

They said they can't replace the item because it's out of stock bu they can offer 1500 JPY store credit. That's $14.42 US. There's no either/or, I just rounded because what's the difference between that and $15 when compared to what I paid.

Well that's just messed up dude. The Paypal route may be the way to go, or else pleasing direct to Arcadia. In a (Very limited) defense of AmiAmi, the item WAS destroyed at the company level and not in transit; I think Arcadia should try to fix it.

Sadly I'm not sure they will. I'm truly sorry Kicker and Mommar.

Kind people on the messageboard have already tried to contact Arcadia for me, they always go back to the legality. Personally I don't see why Mr K can't send his "Nephew" a toy from the confines of his own home... which would also be a hell of a PR stint for them.

From experience, what typically happens is that PayPal may ask you to return the item first before even considering a full refund. At that point you will lose money for shipping back, which doesn't make sense at all. ALWAYS pay with a credit card as you will be insured. I see no advantage with using PayPal especially with the exchange rate/charges. Sucks that HLJ only uses PayPal but luckily their customer service reps are much kinder to international buyers.

I don't know what sounds more stupid. A $15 dollar refund or a $14 dollar credit with points. Isn't it a general rule of thumb that you offer more credit for the next purchase than less for a refund? Even more stupid is thinking that $15 dollars will make one forget about a broken wing off a $300 dollar valk. "Hey guys check out my new YF-19! Yeah one of the wings is broken but I got it with a $15 dollar discount, what a steal!! Thanks AmiAmi." Bunch of Douches. AmiAmi should be on our blacklist for their $15 dollar so sorry, so sad, life's tough, so be happy with your broken toy since you don't live in Japan CS policy.

Blacklist them, Amiami are obviously underhanded. Other people have experienced it. I almost didn't order from them thinking about what happened to other people but went ahead anyway. Should have listened to my instincts.

In other news I'll review how I felt about the YF-19 upon first touch and other things that aren't "broken" with it. David Hingten (SP) is correct, the color has a bit of green-ish tone to it and I think it is actually quite terrible personally. Upon first touch the thing I noticed, and I compared it to my other Yammies, is that the plastic does not feel as high quality as the VF-4, 17 or even the shiny 19's. Touching this thing gave me the same feeling I got when I first opened my V.1 19 after having a few V.2 VF-1's, it was disappointing and cheap feeling compared to previous efforts. Could someone who owns both a YF-19 and the VF-19's tell me if they all fit together the same way? One thing I noticed immediately is that the gear doors, which are the same between the VF and YF releases all fit together perfectly and line up on my VF-19's. They are decidedly gappy, and don't align properly on the YF-19. They seem a bit warped, but that seems consistent where any thin plastic on this toy comes into play.

One other thing I noticed are some triangular bits on the forearms that appear to be glued on. If you turn the YF-19 over in Fighter mode you can easily see them. I'm assuming they're screw covers, or something like that. On the VF-19's they're square and they sit flush with the rest of the arm, you can see it's not a single piece but it sits flush and isn't anything you would immediately notice. I certainly never noticed them. On the Yf-19 they're triangular shaped and they're horrible. They're crooked, gappy, don't sit flush at all. I noticed it immediately and wasn't even aware there were glued on squares on my other three VF-19's until I compared them. The flaps next to the head are also a terrible fit, I've had the same problem David did where one doesn't sit properly and the shape isn't uniform between both sides.

The piece beneath the cockpit that folds down and has the two little flaps that fold up and form the lower portion of the chest area when in Battroid fit horrible as well. Those two small flaps are warped and do not create a nice flush fuselage, unlike my three VF-19's which all hold together nicely. Following on from that my three VF-19's all have nose cone sections that pop into place and stay. Like another member here it seems the YF-19's nose cone is held my friction and it wants to be forced downward. It never really feels like it's in place.

How come the YF-19 doesn't come with a part so you can attach just one of the long thin missiles? Or that there's no way to use the t-shaped piece for them instead? I think it looks better when they aren't paired up but you can't do it. I've had fun swapping out the missile pairings on the wings to see what it looks like with different loadouts. I wish the odd-shaped green... things (I don't know any of the names, the green missiles without the tiny dots) had removeable attach points so you could put them on the T-Shaped mounts as well, I think they would look really cool that way. The gimmick for high speed mode is horrible and affects the orientation of the missiles. The hard points on the wings aren't lined up straight, the only way to adjust them to be straight leaves a gap between the wing at the fuselage in the back and it doesn't hold well.

I haven't transformed it, I'm assuming it will need to be mailed back to somewhere eventually. Now that I think about it since it's broken I should see just how far those ankles can be pushed while I still have it.

Overall, this thing cost what I paid for the VF-17D when it was originally released and I think the plastic/fit/etc... are inferior. It certainly isn't anywhere in the league of the VF-4G, and only twenty or so dollars cheaper. And in a lot of ways it isn't even as good as the VF-19's IMO (I personally don't like the shiny plastic, but if it would have made a more solid product I would take a shiny YF-19 with better fit over this matte one now.) I don't think it's worth the price, honestly, not taking into account my issues with Amiami and broken wings. I can still largely compare the fit and plastic quality in fighter mode to my other Valks and I think it's a large step back. Most of the new, added gimmicks affect the playability. High speed mode. And of course some people don't like the added price for all of the missiles, even if I do enjoy them. The odd little plastic bits on the shield to close the gap in fighter feel cheap and don't really slide or line up well. I was really excited for this release but the overall product is really a step back IMO, considering the prices keep rising. If you're going to charge me like it's a VF-4 I expect the same quality as the VF-4 and it's simply not here on the YF-19 I received.

Edited April 3, 2014 by Mommar

[Tober]

ALWAYS pay with a credit card as you will be insured. I see no advantage with using PayPal especially with the exchange rate/charges. Sucks that HLJ only uses PayPal but luckily their customer service reps are much kinder to international buyers.

If you PayPal is linked to a credit card then you have that extra protection, on top of PayPal's.If you are linked through direct deposit then you will need to open up a dispute through your bank.

Amiami's 1400jpy reimbursement is pathetic, but to be expected. If your bank does side with you and force Amiami to refund you, you will of course be blacklisted.

[Kicker773]

Ami ami responded and wants me to circle and resend the pictures to show what is damaged. WTF? Isnt it already obvious. Gonna resend pics when i get home today. Im think im done with them. Exclusives or whatever the hell it is. If they give me the se response like mommar. I want full refund. The hell if i lose on shipping but i guarantee you they will lose a few Ks from my wallet. I guess more for the guys who want to order from them.

BTW I bitch and moan because unless you are in our position on losing out on a $300 toy, i doubt you'd be having a cool head behind a computer screen. I guarantee you that.

Still havent heard from HLJ on possible inspection of the cases, but i hope they reply soon enough.

[Mommar]

I can't be swinging any extra expenses right now so I can't even just order one from HLJ right now as a replacement.

[Mommar]

To everyone who has tried to help me out, I'm very grateful. Otherwise I'd probably be so furious I'd be buying tickets to Japan to track down the owner of Amiami so I could film smashing this broken thing into his face.

It's too bad it's killed all momentum for me. This was going to be my first video review/transformation guide plus I had preliminary plans drawn up to create attachment pieces for the VF-11 Fast Packs plus additional attachments for a second fold booster beneath the 19 so we could recreate the Operation Phantom look from the Master File books.

Edited April 3, 2014 by Mommar

[Isamu Dyson]

Ami ami responded and wants me to circle and resend the pictures to show what is damaged. WTF? Isnt it already obvious. Gonna resend pics when i get home today. Im think im done with them. Exclusives or whatever the hell it is. If they give me the se response like mommar. I want full refund. The hell if i lose on shipping but i guarantee you they will lose a few Ks from my wallet. I guess more for the guys who want to order from them.

BTW I bitch and moan because unless you are in our position on losing out on a $300 toy, i doubt you'd be having a cool head behind a computer screen. I guarantee you that.

Still havent heard from HLJ on possible inspection of the cases, but i hope they reply soon enough.

I was just thinking about how much you spend on AmiAmi and how much of a loss for them if you stopped doing business with them. However, it would be adding salt to Mommar's wound if special treatment was given for Tier 1 spenders. Good luck. I'm still awaiting for mine from them but ready to file a claim if I get a defective one.

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

I can't be swinging any extra expenses right now so I can't even just order one from HLJ right now as a replacement.

To everyone who has tried to help me out, I'm very grateful.

np! it's good to exhaust every avenue bc you spent alot of dough on this... hopefully paypal does something. in any case, i wouldn't mess/abuse the ankles or guinea pig your damaged valk in case you end up having to keep it.

[Mommar]

np! it's good to exhaust every avenue bc you spent alot of dough on this... hopefully paypal does something. in any case, i wouldn't mess/abuse the ankles or guinea pig your damaged valk in case you end up having to keep it.

Why not? If I end up having to keep it I'm not going to display it as is. It looks terrible.

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

Why not? If I end up having to keep it I'm not going to display it as is. It looks terrible.

you can leave it battroid for now, to hide the wing and hope someway down the road we find a way to get spare parts/wings.

[Mommar]

From reading stuff online if you open a Paypal dispute with just about any Japanese shop they will ban you. Not that I want to by anything from Amiami anymore but I guess I'll be on my way here.

you can leave it battroid for now, to hide the wing and hope someway down the road we find a way to get spare parts/wings.

Forgive my cynical nature but I don't put much faith in "hope." I'd rather use this thing for batting practice if I'm stuck with it.

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

if by the slight chance you plan on putting it in the trash, i'll be checking your dumpster.

http://youtu.be/frxFH6A4LxQ

Edited April 3, 2014 by davidwhangchoi

[skullmilitia]

Mommar, try going into your Bank, and opening a dispute for the transaction. Depending on who, you might be able to bypass paypal.

Be warned though, going above Paypals iron monopolized grip on net transactions may get your account closed.

I've done it once successfully.

[SuperSenpai]

A $15 refund is insulting. I think this definitely deserves a nomination for blacklisting. AmiAmi needs to know how much future business they are losing from this forum. Some of us probably spend more money on valks than some retail stores!

[Mommar]

Mommar, try going into your Bank, and opening a dispute for the transaction. Depending on who, you might be able to bypass paypal.

Be warned though, going above Paypals iron monopolized grip on net transactions may get your account closed.

I've done it once successfully.

Paypal will close my account if I go above them? Every internet business is a douche.

I've been reading around and it sounds like there's a strong chance if I dispute it with Paypal I can get all of my money back and won't have to return the toy. Don't know how many months that will take or if HLJ will have anymore available by the time I get the money back though.

Edited April 3, 2014 by Mommar

[xrentonx]

It's no consolation and seeing as how it may be a lost cause getting a full refund...but I wonder how much it would fetch if parted out on ebay or something. There must be customizers out there who can do wonders on salvaging something like this. Hell, even people looking for parts to fix their own 19. Maybe people looking for extra missiles or Isamus...

[auberondreaming]

Mommar sorry to hear that. You are experiencing my worst nightmare about being an American Macross Collector. I had a similar experience with AmiAmi on an order, mine was not broken but did not come with decals at all. They told me to jump in a lake basically. That's when I read their customer service policy. It's just not worth it from them, I really hope the folks on this board at least stop using them. HLJ has been nothing but courteous and prompt with me through all of my transactions.

As for my copy, its put together quite well. I would be happy to let you take a look at it one of these days. To me it feels very similar to the vf-4, but I agree the vf-4 is the superior piece. I am enjoying my YF-19 though.

This whole situation is adding to my growing feeling of dropping out of Macross collecting. If Arcadia can do nothing for us, and the web shops continue down this road, it is always a gamble on getting a pristine copy of a very complicated toy that, as you say, some uncaring worker in a factory is going to rush into a box. On a less complicated and less expensive toy like VF-1 v2 I can tolerate the risk. But if Arcadia is going to raise prices on those as well with no upgrades to the design, and then continue more complicated builds like this but not surpass the vf-4 on execution, I am out. I need a max and miria vf-2, but after that I may just walk. (unless my beloved vf-2ss actually happens, haha right) The moral here is that Arcadia is not starting on a good foot by hiking up prices on vf-1's and not executing as well on this toy as the vf-4.

[kamadoma]

Does the plastic shelling have those sorts of bumps around the keep the figure in place? Because it looks to me that they don't have them, which means there would be not stress at all in placing the entire Valk on the shelling, which could probably mean that they deliberately packed them even if there were broken wings?

And yeah, Amiami only offered me the same 1500 yen for a QC issue on my VF-19P which had its head quite a bit misaligned. It was good that I managed to wiggle that gray neck part into the middle, or else I would have had a head in Fighter mode that wouldn't go all the way flush. It is quite annoying that Amiami only gave me a reason that Yamato was known for QC issues hence they can only provide a small refund.

Edited April 3, 2014 by kamadoma

[Mommar]

Dunno, Kicker's in particular is very strange. Mine was stressed and cracked on both the top and bottom but the bottom piece still snaps into the wing so it's relatively intact, if warped. Kicker's is totally sheared off, and it almost does look like the wing was broken at the factory and the worker said, "eff it, here's your broken wing" and threw it in the box.

Edited April 3, 2014 by Mommar

[auberondreaming]

Does the plastic shelling have those sorts of bumps around the keep the figure in place? Because it looks to me that they don't have them, which means there would be not stress at all in placing the entire Valk on the shelling, which could probably mean that they deliberately packed them even if there were broken wings?

Yeah you are right, at least on mine it does not "snap into" the shell like most of my other Valks do. It came right out of the shell with ease, so I would guess it was assembled like that unless the wing was in a really extreme pose. But the plastic packing shell doesn't seem sturdy enough to break the wing like that.

[jvmacross]

Since Arcadia has once again started using flip lids on their boxes....it would seem much easier for a seller to once again, at a minimum, visually inspect the toy for any obvious breakage and/or missing parts.....with that said....an unscrupulous company can potentially take advantage of this and "set aside" less than perfect samples to their SOL foreign clientele......

[eriku]

Since Arcadia has once again started using flip lids on their boxes....it would seem much easier for a seller to once again, at a minimum, visually inspect the toy for any obvious breakage and/or missing parts.....with that said....an unscrupulous company can potentially take advantage of this and "set aside" less than perfect samples to their SOL foreign clientele......

Considering the way AmiAmi handles thier foreign customer service, I would not doubt that for a second.

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

I've been reading around and it sounds like there's a strong chance if I dispute it with Paypal I can get all of my money back and won't have to return the toy. Don't know how many months that will take or if HLJ will have anymore available by the time I get the money back though.

not to put too much faith in "hope" but from the disputes i put in over paypal, i've won everytime.

the most recent, i've won a paypal dispute over target over a blk 3ds xl. and got a full refund.

second, i'm not proud of this (maybe i am a bit happy) but i won over maximabuy or as most of you know estertool/cherrytab on ebay. the guy that always posts 1000% genuine.

for an order that never came in while he took my money instatnly and for 3 months he never reponded to my e-mails nor sent the items, i filed a paypal dispute and paypal asked him to refund the amount back to me. at the same time, i did a charge back over visa. Visa came through cancelled the charges. meanwhile paypal asked him to respond if he refunded my credit card. all he had to do was reply to paypal and state that visa did a chargeback to refund my card. the deadbeat never responded so paypal forced him to credit my paypal account another 220 bucks! (i tripled checked my visa wasn't charged again.)

so yes, you do have a chance with paypal. especially since you have photos of the damage and it was reported soon after you received the package.

Edited April 3, 2014 by davidwhangchoi

[kamadoma]

Yeah you are right, at least on mine it does not "snap into" the shell like most of my other Valks do. It came right out of the shell with ease, so I would guess it was assembled like that unless the wing was in a really extreme pose. But the plastic packing shell doesn't seem sturdy enough to break the wing like that.

So I guess they have pricks in the assembly line. This is quite saddening, considering that this is probably their only major release this year. I'm quite worried now too since I ordered from Amiami, and it might take a week or two before it arrives since it's coming with my friend's monthly order batch. I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed, and also hoping that Arcadia would provide replacement parts through the stores for the affected parties. It's one thing to accidentally break your Valk due to carelessness, another thing to have faulty parts like the v.2 VF-1 initially had, but broken parts deliberately packed?

Edited April 3, 2014 by kamadoma

[Dangard Ace]

Got mine today. Also got hit by Canada customs for $47cdn.

No time to play with it as I'm heading out but quick look through the window shows nothing broken. Go hlj!

[Mommar]

not to put too much faith in "hope" but from the disputes i put in over paypal, i've won everytime.

the most recent, i've won a paypal dispute over target over a blk 3ds xl. and got a full refund.

second, i'm not proud of this (maybe i am a bit happy) but i won over maximabuy or as most of you know estertool/cherrytab on ebay. the guy that always posts 1000% genuine.

for an order that never came in while he took my money instatnly and for 3 months he never reponded to my e-mails nor sent the items, i filed a paypal dispute and paypal asked him to refund the amount back to me. at the same time, i did a charge back over visa. Visa came through cancelled the charges. meanwhile paypal asked him to respond if he refunded my credit card. all he had to do was reply to paypal and state that visa did a chargeback to refund my card. the deadbeat never responded so paypal forced him to credit my paypal account another 220 bucks! (i tripled checked my visa wasn't charged again.)

so yes, you do have a chance with paypal. especially since you have photos of the damage and it was reported soon after you received the package.

That's good to know. I'm an engineer, you presented some real numbers that I can bank on. That's very good to know. Maybe I will take the plunge at HLJ, but first I need to know how you leave a note to tell them to please check the time first.