Forum - View topicIrrational Fear of Direct Purchase?
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RoverTX
 Posts: 424 |
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The fear started because I got messed over really bad by Apple on a direct computer purchase. I ended up with a computer that had a notorious issue that Apple refused to recognize. I had a hell of a time getting a replacement or for them to even admit it was an issue. While my friend who had bought through Best Buy(yes Best Buy of all companies) had no issues getting them to take back the machine and get him a replacement that didn't have the poor quality part from the bad supplier.
See, Apple is both the manufacture and retailer. So, their goal is to take back as few returns as possible. While a pure retailer's, a middle man, goal is to make a profit by pushing merchandise. Which of course means they don't want to eat a return, which gives them incentives to help you find a good resolution to the problem of your broken or defective goods. From the incident I learned the value of a good middle man. One of their values being in their ability to throw around their own purchasing power to get you a fair resolution from the manufacture. As of now I have been buying most of my anime through righstuf (who has always handled broken and defective returns wonderfully for me), but with more and more R1 companies trying to sell direct to market, I am wondering how much longer the middle men will be around, and if anyone else shares this same fear? Also how have people's experiences been with direct purchase of DVDs and Blu-rays? I recently gave into temptation and bought the new Cowboy Beebop release direct from Funimation because of the extras. |
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Sohma_Curse
 Posts: 512 Location: New York |
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Apple is one of the biggest companies in the world and could care less if a handful of customers have problems. The anime industry in America is a vastly different and far less profitable entity. As such, companies tend to emphasize customer service and satisfaction a whole hell of a lot more. Besides, there's a lot more that can go wrong with a computer or an ipad than with a dvd or blu ray disc. Mass defects on discs (and even simple packaging defects) are almost always handled by a recall and replace campaign.
It's apples and oranges (no pun intended). |
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varmintx
 Posts: 1200 Location: Covington, KY |
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I, and many others, requested a price adjustment on our Bebop Funimation Shop exclusives due to the new Halloween codes, and they quickly made those adjustments and emailed to notify us of them on a Sunday. I think you shouldn't worry too much.
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Animegomaniac
Posts: 4081 |
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Recalling the sales details, the Halloween sale was 20% off the total order of 150 with the smaller top off point being 75 dollars... without exceptions. Clearly, they did not think that one through. {if you mean they changed previous orders then that's just the same as cancelling an preorder and making a new one, there's nothing special in that. After you already got it? Now that would be something} Don't worry; As time passes, R1 distributors will become more callous like that one that started this current "super special edition" trend. So, worry, yeah, sounds about right. |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 23769 |
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I don't think there is much of a concern. Anime exclusives like Funi's Cowboy Bebop special edition are relatively rare and I don't see them becoming more prevalent as time goes on. I'm sure R1 distribs would love to cut out the middleman, but maintaining your own internet store and not offering your product through any other outlet doesn't seem like an attractive option for distribs.
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luffypirate
 Posts: 3186 |
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I placed my order for the FUNimation Bebop special edition three weeks ago for $65 are they honoring an even cheaper price now?? |
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One-Eye
 Posts: 2261 |
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Yea, I've got a MBP with a recurring issue that Apple refuses to acknowledge. Its even died once and they will replace parts, but wont give me a different model even though it continues to have issues and repairs (been going on for 3 years and now out of warranty so I'm screwed). Sadly, this is not the first product that they've screwed me over and its testing my loyalty to the brand. On middle men: There's an advantage to putting a bunch of your stuff up on different services (hulu, iTunes, etc) and retailers (Amazon, Walmart, etc). Its about the eyeballs and availability. The more exposure the greater chance of a sale. It might be an impulse buy, it might be an old lapsed fan seeing a show they cherished in their youth (like Cowboy Bebop) making a nostalgia buy, it might be a newer fan seeing that there's other stuff to buy, etc. A lot of people visit Amazon, which is a lot of eyeballs which is why CB is also being sold there. Amazon is not going anywhere, plus they have the expertise, warehouses and shipping services that maybe too expensive for a regular company to maintain. So I don't see middlemen disappearing, unless the industry became incredibly small and extremely niche. As far as exclusives or special Limited Editions, sure some of that stuff is going to be sold directly or thru special retailers (RightStuf) but the number of units maybe so small that its not worth putting in a regular retailer (the retailer may have demands about how many units it wants which may not be economically feasible for the company) and anyway those special LEs will be more attractive to the hardcore and generally more informed collector who knows where to go to pick those things up.
I think it comes down to the company and how it values its customers. I've bought a few things from Funimation and have had no issues, and everything has been solidly packaged and shipped quickly, so I can't comment on customer service when things go wrong. I know there's several people on the forums that have purchased directly from NISA, so I'm sure they will chime in with their experiences. As an aside I will mention that my Ghost in the Shell 25th Anniversary had screwed up audio plus crappy subs and I was not the only one. So how did Anchor Bay respond to these issues? Well they never returned my emails and removed people's questions about the issues from their Facebook page. I wouldn't call that a good response or valuing your customers. Fortunately, I got the disc thru a retailer and returned it. Hopefully, there will never be a time that I need to purchase anything directly from them. |
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varmintx
Posts: 1200 Location: Covington, KY |
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luffypirate
Posts: 3186 |
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Waiting on email from a representative right now. |
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Kruszer
 Posts: 7983 Location: Minnesota, USA |
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Well, I rarely ever buy directly from the manufacturer, simply because it is rarely ever the cheapest option and I'm frugal. Well, unless I need a whole pallet of a something or a gigantic box of it, anyway.
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varmintx
Posts: 1200 Location: Covington, KY |
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Some of the best blu-ray deals I've gotten are from the WBShop and Foxconnect. Granted, it was usually due to them having stackable coupons when they probably shouldn't have applied together.
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