Bandai DX Chogokin 1/48 VF-1

[orbitalharvest]

24 minutes ago, Saburo said:

VF-1S from HLJ has landed, and just before Thanksgiving!

beautiful box!  can't wait to see your pics dude!

[Roy Focker]

I'll see mine in February 2020 with NY.

[sqidd]

2 minutes ago, Roy Focker said:

I'll see mine in February 2020 with NY.

Ahhhh, I see you're a optimist.

Glass half full brother!!!

[505thAirborne]

Just arrived via DHL from HLJ. 

 

[Corrinald]

1 hour ago, Dobber said:

Mine arrived from AmiAmi earlier than expected too! Looks great, no issues other than the 100 on the one stabilizer. The swing bar connector is pretty solid too. It is maddeningly loose on the Max 1A and not too bad on the 1J. So 2 out of 3 are alright so far. Looking forward for the Fast Packs. 

As we’ve mentioned a while ago, it’s a shame Bandai missed the skull log badge beneath the cockpit with all the other tampo they put on this thing.

Chris

It is amusing, or I guess disappointing, that with all the tampo Bandai spams these VF-1s with somehow it is both inaccurate and incomplete 

[Tober]

10 hours ago, sqidd said:

I would have to do some "soul searching" to see if I would go nuclear and do a charge-back. My gut says do it. My moral code says don't, I knew the risks. I'd have to actually be faced with the situation and see how the retailer is treating me before I could say what my choice would be.

Good point on the terms and conditions. IDK if NY has them written in there. If I was them and I didn't want to deal with warranty claims on grey market stuff, I'd be sure to have it in there. If they do and someone/I get caught out, it's on them/me. We all know everything has T&C's. We don't read them though.

I have very, very thorough T&C on my sites. They're a fall back position if the customer gets unreasonable and/or abusive (which is rare). Most of the time we provide much better customer service than our own T&C's require.

Ultimately if a purchase is made through PayPal or a credit card it is their T&Cs that take priority. Part of the reason PayPal and credit cards are so expensive is due to the protection they offer consumers.

Down here in Australia, we have the strongest consumer protection laws in the world. When my clothes dryer broke down after 16 months, still under warranty, I contacted the seller, who contacted the manufacturer who sent out a tech to inspect it, and then arranged replacement starting the 2 year warranty again.

Out of the dozens of times I have made chargebacks, Mastercard has always sided with me, it's just a matter of having strong enough evidence that the seller is in the wrong.

Don't accept store credit if you can help it. Once you do you can no longer make a claim through PP or credit if anything goes wrong.

 

[beatsing]

On 11/26/2019 at 4:51 AM, theraiden said:

So, i just opened my second DX VF-1J (to inspect it before a sale) that's been sitting in its box since i ordered it from NY way back in June....

The first thing i noticed was that the 2x Antenna were not where they are supposed to be in the clamshell, they were both loose and one was stuck in one of the wing openings, but ok, shipping and all that.

Then i took the VF out of the clamshell and noticed a big gap between the intake and the main body, like it was improperly transformed before it was put in the clamshell (it was not like it had popped out by itself in shipping since you had to lift the legs from the body and re-attach them to fix the gap)

I then proceeded to inspect it further and when i undid the feet from the body i noticed that the clasp on the swingbar was really really weak, like it takes nothing to undo it (it's not like that on my display VF-1J, i mean its weak but this one holds nothing.)

And one off the hip joints is totally loose. Like no resistance at all. I inspected the screws that hold the hip joint cover very closely and they look a little bit worn on the top, like someone had messed with them with a screwdriver that's a hair bit to big.

And to top it off, one of the panel lines on the "back" near where the booster pack folds onto it is raised up by nearly a millimeter when in fighter mode.

So. Do i have a previously returned-item lemon on my hands? Or maybe manufacturing faults? Anybody else had these issues?

Do i have grounds to return it to NY for a replacement or should i just display it in fighter mode and cut my losses?  
Obviously not going to sell it unless the buyer is willing to accept these faults.

It's defective goods.  You were sold defective goods.  You have a contract with NY, not the manufacturer.  Bandai, as far as I know, doesn't service out of Japan.  NY has a contract with Bandai, if they bought it from Bandai, they should take it up with Bandai, unless they bought it from another store or used goods.

 

@tekering Thanks your picture says it all

On 11/26/2019 at 5:08 AM, tekering said:

A picture is worth a thousand-character text string.  

 

 

On 11/26/2019 at 7:22 AM, General Rasp said:

I wouldn't count on NY helping you out. I purchased a new Metal Build Astraea from them and it was missing an armor piece. NY wouldn't exchange the gundam or refund the money (even in store credit). I went thru my credit card company and they pushed the return through, and then NY locked my account. The best part is that the CC refunded the transaction and any possible interest. I then bought a new one off of ebay for $150 less. 

 @General Rasp Similar experience, I got banned when they wouldn't exchange or refund, so I opened a Paypal dispute and did not reply to Paypal, NY banned me.  Most sellers would reply to me or Paypal.

On 11/26/2019 at 9:53 AM, sqidd said:

It doesn't bother me at all. I accept capitalism for what it is. It's pluses and minuses. It's the best of all the bad systems.

In this case if I was going to blame anyone, it would be Bandai. They could all but eliminate scalping if they changed their selling practices.

There's a difference between speculators and scalpers; Speculators buy items and guess that the item will be worth more in the future without manipulating the market.  speculators are playing within the rules of capitalism and the law, but scalpers are cornering the market and artificifically forcing the price up since the have gamed the system.  This is unlawful in many regions because governments recognize it's exploitative.  Speculators are gambling; scalpers are fixing the game.

Capitalism has limits that the government imposes to curb exploitation.  As I mentioned, in commodities trading, which this resembling, has rules for non delivery or jacking up the price, and cornering the market.  It's just that this is a "low" stakes sector of the market or the government would step in.  I'm sorry I don't have your gold after sitting on your money for years, I'll just refund you without interest.  You'll just have to buy your gold at double or triple the price somewhere else.  Or tomorrow I'll have gold at higher price you can buy again.  No, that is not lawful because the replacement cost is much higher and many companies sue over that.  Both the government and businesses deal with this problem.  Larger businesses include heavy penalties in their contracts so the other doesn't back out or screw them.  The governments set laws so bad/scalper behavior doesn't mess up the market.

20 hours ago, Shizuka the Cat said:

Mandarake has the VF-1S for 23,000 yen. 

https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/detailPage/item?itemCode=1124794683&ref=list&dispAdult=0&keyword=マクロス&lang=en

Thanks, did you get one?

14 hours ago, theraiden said:

Yeah, i got a reply from NY and they said i have to talk directly to Bandai since they take no responsibility for manufacturing defects. I have no idea how i should do that or whom to talk to or the costs associated with shipping regarding replacement etc. I guess i'll just keep this bird permanently in fighter mode 

Your credit card or Paypal should cover you.  In North America, consumer protection and contract laws don't allow that.  Japan may be different, but I don't think so.  All the other companies this board regularly purchases from does not behave like this, only NY.  Japanese, as another member here pointed out, have a different culture, and pride and reputation and face mean a lot to them.  Most Japanese would try to honor a deal since honor is a big part of their culture.  NY may be the exception since some have debated whether they are scalpers or not, but their customer service is not good.

14 hours ago, Tober said:

Yep, it's the retailer's responsibility. If they don't arrange a replacement, tell them you will be talking to your credit card company (assuming you paid with one, PayPal or direct),

This

14 hours ago, sqidd said:

You think it should be their responsibility (so do I). That doesn't mean it IS their responsibility. There are no laws (and if there were, who is going to enforce it?) that say retailers are responsible for the manufacturer.

I'm a manufacturer and distributor. If here is a warranty issue with something that I manufacture, it's my responsibility. If there is a warranty issue with one of the nearly 100 manufactures I sell customers get referred directly to the manufacturer. Of course we help the customer with the correct contact info, etc. Saying "Contact the manufacturer" and then leaving the customer to fend for themselves is horrible customer service. And that is where capitalism comes in. People can choose to not shop at certain places because they don't provide the level of service that they thing they should be getting. I know I'm personally done with NY. They're never getting another dollar out of me. Their customer service sucks.

His contract isn't with the manufacturer, it's with the seller.  Although the seller may not know (without inspecting the product that is MISB) that it's defective, the seller in turn has been sold something defective by the manufacturer.  The seller had a contract with the manufacturer.  So who has a relationship with whom?  That's who you go to complain.  It is there responsibility.

Manufacturers started offering a manufacturer's warranty because of cases like this.  If a bad can of food was sold in a giant lot to a warehouse, it doesn't open every can, it resells it to another retailer, who resells it to a grocery store who sells it to mommy who gifts it to her friend for Christmas who finds a finger in the can.  Everyone in the chain has a contract with the person before that they can sue, except the person who received a gift.  Who can she sue since she didn't buy it?  The fault wasn't her friend's or the grocery store or the warehouse, etc.  It was the manufacturer's.  But back then, they couldn't sue, so Tort law came in Britain, since manufacturers rarely sell directly to the consumer.  Manufacturers also wanted peeps to be confident of their products so warranties came about.  Later, consumer protection laws came in too, so buyers have some choices, but at the end of the day, since the member here has a contract with NY, that's who is responsible to him.  NY sold him/her defective merchandise whether they knew it or not.  The buyer doesn't know the risk (unless the listing says sold as is).  NY being a retailer knows this business better than the customer, and understands the risks since they regularly deal with manufacturers, so consumer protection laws put the responsibility on the seller.

 

13 hours ago, Tenbatsu said:

One of the Japanese got his VF-1S shoulder stuck during transformation. Another guy with the index finger fixed wrongly. They highly recommend to open up once received.

MIB>MISB defective

11 hours ago, Digitalfiend said:

I understand where you are coming from and I think the issue here is that we’re buying a grey-market product, which is generally understood to have little to no warranty support.  One can argue that a manufacturer should honour a product’s warranty regardless and proxy companies that sell grey-market products should, in my opinion, facilitate the claim process.

With that said, if my product had THAT many obvious defects and my proxy retailer refused to help, it’d be hard not to want to go to my CC company (right or wrong).  No one wants to be out hundreds of dollars.

Then again, if the proxy company’s terms of service clearly state that they don’t deal with warranty claims ... you agreed to those terms by using their services.  Such a crappy and tough situation for overseas customers...

This.  Just charge back.  If they treat you bad, you must be masochist to go back to them.

11 hours ago, sqidd said:

I would have to do some "soul searching" to see if I would go nuclear and do a charge-back. My gut says do it. My moral code says don't, I knew the risks. I'd have to actually be faced with the situation and see how the retailer is treating me before I could say what my choice would be.

Good point on the terms and conditions. IDK if NY has them written in there. If I was them and I didn't want to deal with warranty claims on grey market stuff, I'd be sure to have it in there. If they do and someone/I get caught out, it's on them/me. We all know everything has T&C's. We don't read them though.

I have very, very thorough T&C on my sites. They're a fall back position if the customer gets unreasonable and/or abusive (which is rare). Most of the time we provide much better customer service than our own T&C's require.

Terms and conditions have to be prominently displayed.  Like on ebay, it has to say "as is" "returns not accepted" "used" "broken".  That's what he got, but that's not what he paid for.  If he knew that, he wouldn't have paid the inflated price.

 

 

55 minutes ago, Tober said:

Ultimately if a purchase is made through PayPal or a credit card it is their T&Cs that take priority. Part of the reason PayPal and credit cards are so expensive is due to the protection they offer consumers.

Down here in Australia, we have the strongest consumer protection laws in the world. When my clothes dryer broke down after 16 months, still under warranty, I contacted the seller, who contacted the manufacturer who sent out a tech to inspect it, and then arranged replacement starting the 2 year warranty again.

Out of the dozens of times I have made chargebacks, Mastercard has always sided with me, it's just a matter of having strong enough evidence that the seller is in the wrong.

Don't accept store credit if you can help it. Once you do you can no longer make a claim through PP or credit if anything goes wrong.

 

This

[Saburo]

[505thAirborne]

34 minutes ago, Saburo said:

Looks good Saburo, now you just need some missiles & fast packs. 

[canklebreaker]

[davidwhangchoi]

3 hours ago, 505thAirborne said:

Just arrived via DHL from HLJ. 

 

CONGRATS!

[VF-Zer0S]

NY just shipped my VF-1S. Glad it didn’t take as long as the vehicle voltron

[canklebreaker]

Is it weird that I’m paranoid in handling/transforming the figure in fear of damaging it?

[F360]

3 hours ago, 505thAirborne said:

Just arrived via DHL from HLJ. 

 

wait, wheres the 3 free KitKat!!

[chyll2]

4 minutes ago, canklebreaker said:

Is it weird that I’m paranoid in handling/transforming the figure in fear of damaging it?

Its normal but VF-1 is among or simply the easiest to transform so get over it to enjoy the toy more.

[505thAirborne]

46 minutes ago, davidwhangchoi said:

CONGRATS!

Thanks David, did you take plunge and get one? 

[Saburo]

1 hour ago, 505thAirborne said:

Looks good Saburo, now you just need some missiles & fast packs. 

I gotta get the missile out of storage and waiting on Strike/Super parts.

[505thAirborne]

38 minutes ago, F360 said:

wait, wheres the 3 free KitKat!!

You mean these tasty treats? 

[505thAirborne]

10 minutes ago, Saburo said:

I gotta get the missile out of storage and waiting on Strike/Super parts.

Nice! I'm hoping on a reissue for those Fast Packs. I'll grab a set if they do for sure. 

[Slave IV]

More pics, less talk about these shops and just buy from whoever you want. 

NY has a no cancellation or return policy, that’s it. The Valk in question with the severe defects is a 1J that was bought when it originally came out and just now opened if I’m not mistaken. There are very few if any US retailers that would cover a purchase from that long ago. 

[Lolicon]

2 hours ago, Saburo said:

iPhone pic?

Not opening mine until I return to the States. Gotta fix the messed up modex too. Thanks Bandai! 

On a side note, I think I did a year's worth of drinking in the past week. 

[Saburo]

23 minutes ago, Lolicon said:

iPhone pic?

Not opening mine until I return to the States. Gotta fix the messed up modex too. Thanks Bandai! 

On a side note, I think I did a year's worth of drinking in the past week. 

Yes, iPhone pic.  I use it for quick shots when I first get the toy.

The Modex is unfortunate, I guess its better that its on the vertical stabilizer than fuselage or wing.

Hope you had a good time drinking!

[F360]

1 hour ago, 505thAirborne said:

You mean these tasty treats? 

Woohoo , I plan to snack on 1 after transforming each mode.  3 is just enough for me to transform back to fighter so I can put it back in the box .

[beatsing]

1 hour ago, Slave IV said:

More pics, less talk about these shops and just buy from whoever you want. 

NY has a no cancellation or return policy, that’s it. The Valk in question with the severe defects is a 1J that was bought when it originally came out and just now opened if I’m not mistaken. There are very few if any US retailers that would cover a purchase from that long ago. 

Inspecting for defects is on the buyer if it's MISB with no box damage, within a set amount of time.  Each store has a different time frame for inspection.  Stores may have a week or more.  

If the member here had inspected in on time, he/she could have complained to the seller, or if the seller doesn't accept returns, then he/she could have complained to the cc or Paypal.

As I've said before, MIB inspected>MISB defective.

Just chiming in, as it seems members are not aware of the rules when making these expensive purchases.  It's nice he shared his experience so that others here don't step in the same crap.

Very tempted to pull trigger as the prices aren't as crazy as preorder night.  

[drumondo]

I'm just waiting on a support ticket from N-Y to decide whether to cancel and purchase from elsewhere or wait for my order to be fulfilled.

I'm probably not the only one though...

[chyll2]

7 minutes ago, drumondo said:

I'm just waiting on a support ticket from N-Y to decide whether to cancel and purchase from elsewhere or wait for my order to be fulfilled.

I'm probably not the only one though...

my order got shipped recently. I belong to the initial PO batch, just sharing if it ever is relevant. They are really slow to ship items but they do deliver.

[davidwhangchoi]

2 hours ago, 505thAirborne said:

Thanks David, did you take plunge and get one? 

not yet, i keep missing these orders. but eventually i'll get one. 

[505thAirborne]

19 minutes ago, davidwhangchoi said:

not yet, i keep missing these orders. but eventually i'll get one. 

Sweet, hopefully you can get one here down the road vs. the scalpers on ebay. 

 

@F360  I'm saving the green KitKat for last! 

[canklebreaker]

3 hours ago, chyll2 said:

Its normal but VF-1 is among or simply the easiest to transform so get over it to enjoy the toy more.

Being that this was my first time transforming a VF, it was nerve-racking but I managed to do so successfully without breaking anything! Definitely a fun figure.

 

[sh9000]

Cool.

[Tober]

13 minutes ago, sh9000 said:

 

 

 

Cool.

Nice. Your work?

 

[ps99042]

Still waiting for "preparation in progress" from NY but I figure they have to fulfill all these orders since they're still listing it available for pre-order at the low price of $322.50 before shipping.

[Tenbatsu]

For those who overpaid at NY and pending, I highly recommend just cancelling from them and just grab one of Buyee. They are going for about 31000yen~ including shipping to USA.

Edit: There's one now with a buyout price of 24800yen excluding shipping and fees. (Sold)

Edited November 28, 2019 by Tenbatsu

[PsYcHoDyNaMiX]

Looks like buyee just announced no international shipping and service fees for 3 days. Im guess as some kind of black Friday promotion.

Edit* its for cyber Monday, but effective 11/28. They stated "please acquire the coupon first before making the purchase".

Edited November 28, 2019 by PsYcHoDyNaMiX

[Ipsquitch]

53 minutes ago, PsYcHoDyNaMiX said:

Looks like buyee just announced no international shipping and service fees for 3 days. Im guess as some kind of black Friday promotion.

Edit* its for cyber Monday, but effective 11/28. They stated "please acquire the coupon first before making the purchase".

As far as I can tell, that's only if you order off Mercari. Still a great deal if you can find what you're looking for there at a price comparable to YJA.