Ok so I am a WOW fan. Which means I will at times purchase Official and officially endorsed Blizzard WoW products. I have to buy online and pay up to twice the amount, then pay etc for PPH because I live in New Zealand and we have a weaker dollar. It's path of the corse. So the products I do choose are after careful consideration, and the how much do I really want this factor.  I do expect a standard of service, provided by Blizzard online store, and by Second Party Officially endorsed Blizzard merchandise. 

However, I would Urge Caution when purchasing Products from Second Party Officially endorsed Blizzard suppliers.

I have four cases in point.

The official Blizzard on-line store.

Great service the product I ordered  arrived in a week, and had a tracking code as standard practice. 5 stars

Jinx who makes T shirts and is a officially endorsed product supplier by BLizzard, their service  is excellent.5 stars  ( perhaps it is because they are a professional company suppling a range  of products for other companies besides Blizzard)  again arrived in a week with tracking code as standard practice.

The latest product I brought was a collectable clander for 2009. An officially endorsed Blizzard product printed to order so limited to literally  only those that brought it. ( to this date I have not recived the product.)

It's now Feb. The contact person I admit was prompt at first. when I wrote and inquired to my calendars delivery, having been told the printers let them down  etc, these things happen so I excepted this answer  as I was told it would / should arrive in the next ten days. My last email has taken almost two weeks to receive a reply.

the Reply I got  basically in sum up, Sorry no tracking code or any way of knowing where or what has happened to your ordered product. its sent  by First Class Mail via the USPS If it arrives back here, we shall contact you and re send right away. ( hmmm if I lucky I may get it in Jan 2010 if ever)   So you ask why not just lay a complaint with Pay Pal ? well fact of the matter is the money go's to charity and helps young people suffering with cancer I do not see why they should suffer.( I  have left out the charities name as again I do not feel it fair or right people should suffer more than they are because of a couple of people who do not appear to know what they are doing )  However it is the principle of the thing. This is not the first year they have done this exclusive Blizzard calendar  so  one would think they would have some checks and balances in place. If and when I ever receive my product. It I shall let you know. IT may be also  it has been stolen in shipment as it did not have a tracking code. There fore an easy target. for less than honest postal service employes

Figureprints.

CAUTION TO INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS.

At the time I ordered my one of a kind 3d sculpture, it was when the lottery system was still active. Yes I was thrilled that on my first go I got to  order my Main toon in a 3d sculpture having seen the details put in  to others characters in the gallery. Having read the blurb about the time it take's to make. It being hand painted and the time it took to send my product. It would work out this this would be arriving close to my birthday. = Birthday present. I already knew what process they used to make such sculptures having learnt and seen the technology in action 2 years before.

So I waited, when the  preposed delivery time had elapsed, and given fair time for any postal hold ups I became concerned,as I now had  waited and waited and waited long story short the only way I got  to learn their customer service email, was by writing directly to Blizzard online store.

Once learnt I sent in the end several emails. the final one getting a response after a very blunt email. Their reply said sorry your emails ended up in the spam/ junk folder, no company logo was on the email. So for all I knew it was the janitor replying to me.

I was then informed  that it was sent over land then by ship of all things. and no they could not send by air. We shipped the order April 2. There isn't any tracking numbers for it, as we ship out Canada post, then it's ground (ship) after that. the typical times are supposed to be 6-8 weeks they told us.( I and my other half order things from around the world, this was the first I ever heard of a company saying they could not supply air freight due to their country's postal service) It Took  months to arrive from time of shipment notified shipping date april 2 to arriving at my door step in June. Eagerly I opened the package. Disappointment hit me as I unwrapped the final layer of bubble wrap. If this had been hand painted the person must have been blind.

The mages staff looked nothing like what I thought it should, not even close and the rest of my scupltrure was faded out colors. It was as it appears from the 3D laser cutting scanner, no touch ups or hand painting had been applied. 

I see now that Figure Prints offers the product with a no wait, with mini movies of how they make it, and how "artists" touch up   making the figure look like one would expect it to look. I am under the impression now that my own may have been a last mintue rush  half arsed job, and I was told a lot of fob off lies. Perhaps their thinking was that because I lived so far away and in a small  country  it didn't matter.

Perhaps certain companies  think they can get away with such second rate servie and product. Because New Zealand is a small out of the way  country with a population less than small tin pot city's in the U.S. They forget or don't know we are the first country in the world that stood up to the U.S.A Navy and told them no way could they bring their nuclear ships into our harbors. Or we were the country that caught and sentenced French secret service after blowing up the Green Peace ship Rainbow Warrior in  Auckland Harbor 

We are a country of really nice people. Just do not  treat us like we are unimportant nobodies.

Or Perhaps I just happen to be the one unlucky customer that gotten  screwed by second party companies officially endorsed by Blizzard

So what does Blizzard have to say about such service 

Basically tuff cheese its not our responsibility as these companies are not owned or operated by Blizzard inc. Personally  I really do no think this attitude  is good enough. How hard is it  for BLizzard who officially endorses these products with their name  gos out of the way to set up  web sites to ensure they all look like part of Blizzard  and not ensure a few basic standards are put in place. As at the end of the day Its their name that suffers.

So a word from learning the hard way. 

Heres a check list you should ask in email with order or before you order

(1) Can you send with a tracking code ? if so how much etc will it cost

( however there is a postal service from the U.S that includes this as standard )

(2) how long and by what method do you send international orders 

(3) what delays can one expect and reason's why.

One would think you  should not have to ask such questions, that the companies you deal with already know the basics of international postal services. Apparently they do not, and apparently you do have to ask and make sure your not talking to the Janitor.

Its not often I get upset enough to have a rant such as this, I only wish to share my experience's so other WOW fans do not have to suffer as I feel I have when ordering Officially Endorsed Blizzard products by Second party companies, or is that second rate companies.