Riskbreaker
Sep 20th, 2001, 10:11:08 PM
Okay, so I'm trying to edit my latest script here, and I'm just not in the mood to do so. It's a comedy, and I'm not in good humor at the moment.
I just got off the phone with my best friend in this hobby. We were talking about a variety of things, but the topic that held the most attention was our mutual frustration with the all-too-typical "dealer" stereotype.
You know what it is: the guy that makes many promises and keeps none. The guy that tells you it's in the mail when it hasn't been built. The guy who takes on a new project when he already has 6 others crying for blood due to blown expectations.
I, as well as another member on this forum, have been waiting on a project since the middle of June. Thankfully, not from anyone on this forum. I want you to understand that. This specific situation, at least, has nothing to do with any members of this prop forum.
While the time-frame at just over three months does not seem excessive (it is not in many cases), it is the specific circumstance that makes this situation grow unbearable.
The fact is, we were promised that this project would see completion before August 25th. The dealer had a large fair coming up and wanted to finish before becoming inundated with orders.
August 25th came and went and the communication, while fairly frequent, was devoid of just about any relevant information: ship dates, photos of progress or any specifics.
Now that this festival has started, the dealer has all but severed our line of communication. I have received two brief e-mails in my last month of attempts at contact. I have left phone messages on top of numerous requests SIMPLY FOR INFORMATION. I do not demand that he ship something he has not finished, I simply wish to be kept in the loop. This dealer has failed in all these respects.
The latest of these e-mails (from this morning) read as follows:
"I am quite busy and an still working on your [product], If you just dont want to wait I'd be happy to refund you money. If you want me to proceed let me know"
Now while some of you may point out that he offered a refund, I wouldn't hold my breath. Beyond that, I don't want the money! The reason I handed it over in the first place was to get my damn [product]!
This rant is not specific to this case. While this case has prompted me to write this, it is a history of 6 years I have spent in this hobby and many situations much like this that have brought me to the point of frustration where I am now.
My friend, whom I was speaking with earlier, said something that stuck with me. He said, "Why should we be surprised when we receive our props?"
If you think about it, it's true. And it's sad. When we receive our props (especially those of us who have been collecting this long), we are often *surprised*. This should not be the case. We should be happy to have received our product, we should be excited at our new acquisition, but we should _not_ be surprised! Yet, we all too often are.
I will be surprised if and when I receive my product from this particular dealer.
This is my hobby. I go to work during the day, and I don't love it. I come home at night and I have my writing and my props. These are the things I love to do and spend time on them because I love to do so. Prop collecting is all-too-often a business without the benefit of a paycheck.
You are fighting a war of the peon versus the king. Your piddling little $450 project compared to their inventory that moves 10-20 items a day at that same price. You are a spec to them, and they are all you see.
Why should we be surprised when we receive our props?
This is my open cry to dealers and sellers everywhere. Place yourself on our side of the fence. Most of you are probably collectors yourselves.
If you paid for something and were waiting for it, you would want to be kept in the loop. You would want updates on progress, photos if possible and adhered-to shipping dates. You would want all the same things we want for you. It is only fair. We have given you our money and in return, we are purchasing professionality as well as the product in question. We want the same respect that you would expect from the people you give *your* money to.
These are the things I ask you, the dealer, to remember:
1) Don't lie to us. We hate being lied to.
2) If you tell me it's in the mail, it damned well better be in the mail.
3) Communication is your best bargaining tool. If X is taking longer than expected due to Y, simply tell us about X and Y. We are human beings. We understand the unexpected. Hell, you are tossing unexpected things our way all the time. We adapt. That's what we do. Communicate with us and we will understand.
4) Treat us with respect. Do not talk down to us. Do not treat us like a child. See the fact that we are your customer, we have purchased YOU, not just your product and that we expect a certain degree of professionalism.
and the perhaps the most important thing for you to think about:
5) We, the collectors, talk. We bitch, we moan. You don't want your name coming before the bitch and leading into the moan. Remember that.
For my specific case, I'm planning on biding my time, hopefully receiving my shipment, and then publically lambasting this person for the grief he has put me through (and probably will continue to put me through).
It's frustrating. And it's an intensely disappointing frustration. Here I am, typing a rant over something that I consider my hobby. It doesn't make me money like work does, no, no, it COSTS me money. And here, so often, I have little to show in return.
It's unfortunate that the unsavory dealer seems to be a dime a dozen. In a sense, they are all the same animal, albeit in different forms.
Every day, I see new posts from forumites that are guilty of many, if not all, if not MORE, of the things that I listed above. Read this letter and think about it. Think about the human beings -- the people -- that you are dealing with.
Collectors, dealers and sellers of all ages: hear my words. They are the feelings of buyers and collectors everywhere. They are not unreasonable demands, they are simply the golden rule: Treat others as you wish to be treated.
Thanks, and sorry for the long post. I hope this has been an inspiration to some and a wake-up call to others.
I just got off the phone with my best friend in this hobby. We were talking about a variety of things, but the topic that held the most attention was our mutual frustration with the all-too-typical "dealer" stereotype.
You know what it is: the guy that makes many promises and keeps none. The guy that tells you it's in the mail when it hasn't been built. The guy who takes on a new project when he already has 6 others crying for blood due to blown expectations.
I, as well as another member on this forum, have been waiting on a project since the middle of June. Thankfully, not from anyone on this forum. I want you to understand that. This specific situation, at least, has nothing to do with any members of this prop forum.
While the time-frame at just over three months does not seem excessive (it is not in many cases), it is the specific circumstance that makes this situation grow unbearable.
The fact is, we were promised that this project would see completion before August 25th. The dealer had a large fair coming up and wanted to finish before becoming inundated with orders.
August 25th came and went and the communication, while fairly frequent, was devoid of just about any relevant information: ship dates, photos of progress or any specifics.
Now that this festival has started, the dealer has all but severed our line of communication. I have received two brief e-mails in my last month of attempts at contact. I have left phone messages on top of numerous requests SIMPLY FOR INFORMATION. I do not demand that he ship something he has not finished, I simply wish to be kept in the loop. This dealer has failed in all these respects.
The latest of these e-mails (from this morning) read as follows:
"I am quite busy and an still working on your [product], If you just dont want to wait I'd be happy to refund you money. If you want me to proceed let me know"
Now while some of you may point out that he offered a refund, I wouldn't hold my breath. Beyond that, I don't want the money! The reason I handed it over in the first place was to get my damn [product]!
This rant is not specific to this case. While this case has prompted me to write this, it is a history of 6 years I have spent in this hobby and many situations much like this that have brought me to the point of frustration where I am now.
My friend, whom I was speaking with earlier, said something that stuck with me. He said, "Why should we be surprised when we receive our props?"
If you think about it, it's true. And it's sad. When we receive our props (especially those of us who have been collecting this long), we are often *surprised*. This should not be the case. We should be happy to have received our product, we should be excited at our new acquisition, but we should _not_ be surprised! Yet, we all too often are.
I will be surprised if and when I receive my product from this particular dealer.
This is my hobby. I go to work during the day, and I don't love it. I come home at night and I have my writing and my props. These are the things I love to do and spend time on them because I love to do so. Prop collecting is all-too-often a business without the benefit of a paycheck.
You are fighting a war of the peon versus the king. Your piddling little $450 project compared to their inventory that moves 10-20 items a day at that same price. You are a spec to them, and they are all you see.
Why should we be surprised when we receive our props?
This is my open cry to dealers and sellers everywhere. Place yourself on our side of the fence. Most of you are probably collectors yourselves.
If you paid for something and were waiting for it, you would want to be kept in the loop. You would want updates on progress, photos if possible and adhered-to shipping dates. You would want all the same things we want for you. It is only fair. We have given you our money and in return, we are purchasing professionality as well as the product in question. We want the same respect that you would expect from the people you give *your* money to.
These are the things I ask you, the dealer, to remember:
1) Don't lie to us. We hate being lied to.
2) If you tell me it's in the mail, it damned well better be in the mail.
3) Communication is your best bargaining tool. If X is taking longer than expected due to Y, simply tell us about X and Y. We are human beings. We understand the unexpected. Hell, you are tossing unexpected things our way all the time. We adapt. That's what we do. Communicate with us and we will understand.
4) Treat us with respect. Do not talk down to us. Do not treat us like a child. See the fact that we are your customer, we have purchased YOU, not just your product and that we expect a certain degree of professionalism.
and the perhaps the most important thing for you to think about:
5) We, the collectors, talk. We bitch, we moan. You don't want your name coming before the bitch and leading into the moan. Remember that.
For my specific case, I'm planning on biding my time, hopefully receiving my shipment, and then publically lambasting this person for the grief he has put me through (and probably will continue to put me through).
It's frustrating. And it's an intensely disappointing frustration. Here I am, typing a rant over something that I consider my hobby. It doesn't make me money like work does, no, no, it COSTS me money. And here, so often, I have little to show in return.
It's unfortunate that the unsavory dealer seems to be a dime a dozen. In a sense, they are all the same animal, albeit in different forms.
Every day, I see new posts from forumites that are guilty of many, if not all, if not MORE, of the things that I listed above. Read this letter and think about it. Think about the human beings -- the people -- that you are dealing with.
Collectors, dealers and sellers of all ages: hear my words. They are the feelings of buyers and collectors everywhere. They are not unreasonable demands, they are simply the golden rule: Treat others as you wish to be treated.
Thanks, and sorry for the long post. I hope this has been an inspiration to some and a wake-up call to others.