Valkrist wrote:Anyone that pre-ordered the High Elven Warrior statue not received theirs yet?

I'm super irritated with Weta at the moment. My card was charged the full amount of the statue over two weeks ago, yet there has been no shipping notice to date, and the status on their worthless website merely says 'processing.'

I've contacted Anthony at customer support for an update to no avail. They're becoming pretty terrible at keeping their customers up to date with the status of our orders, and the whole system seems to have taken several steps backward in terms of efficiency since the previous version. That new site has been up long enough for them to have worked out all these bugs, not to mention that it shouldn't be this difficult to keep their order and shipping notifications up to date. All I know is that their prices keep increasing and service keeps declining.

That stinks. It took forever for me to get my Dain statue after being charged and emailed the shipping notice. They did not ship it until about six weeks later, and that was only after dozens of emails to Anthony asking where it was. He replied to most, but he simply had no clue what was going on at the US facility Weta contracted to use for North American distribution, and claimed no one would respond to his inquiries. That soured me on ordering anything else from Weta since. I was hoping the situation had improved by now.

Yeah, I remember your bad experience, Kit. I think I will be done with them after this. I have Lurtz and the mini Wiki helm on preorder and then that's it. I will probably use my Weta dollars on one last item so they don't go to waste.

My main reason for giving up on them is actually their shipping costs. On an average $300 statue, they are charging around $100 for shipping. That's fully one third of the cost of the item. When you add customs and taxes to that, I'm paying half the price on top. I know those costs are unavoidable, but their shipping rates from the US to Canada are ridiculous. I know because they use USPS for most deliveries, yet when I buy their stuff on ebay or from a store, the shipping charges are between $30- $60. How and why does Weta charge so much more, for service that is becoming pretty much horrible? I just don't get it.

It seems we are all struggling with the shipping costs. Previous to the new website, it cost me around $25 to $30 to ship a average statue from NZ to AU. Which was the actual cost. Now, it costs close to $80. That jumped up in the course of one day. I ordered Lurtz in the morning and The elf in afternoon. I sent an email querying it and got a thanks for letting us know. But unfortunately it was the $20 that was wrong. Not the $80.

I actually believe Weta have lost heaps of money over the Hobbit. They went at it expecting LoTR reaction and it didn't come off. I reckon they have decided to charge overall shipping - meaning incorporating the cost of reshipping defective items etc., which are rumoured to run to around as high as 30% at times. I think they will lose sales but maybe people like BBt will pick up the slack. Who knows. Perhaps they had to do something as they were bleeding.

Of course, paying the VAT for the Europeans all these years is another questionable decision - but that is another can of worms.

I'm off to a small con today and Weta will be there. See what I can wheedle out of Dan Falconer at drinks later. There may still be some 'hunters return' prints for sale. Last time aroun $25au. Probably cost another $20au to ship overseas. So around $30us. If anyone sees this in time and wants me to get them one just reply to this thread and I'll get an email. You've got around 10 hours

I think you might be right, Idril.

However they may have messed up and been cutting a us a break in the past, that's not necessarily our fault though, and the increases were too big and too sudden. Something a little more gradual would have been easier to swallow. I get that had they not raised prices across the board, we may not have any more products to buy at all, but passing the costs of short sightedness and mismanagement down onto your consumers is very unfair. I honestly suspect that it really doesn't cost as much as they charge to ship to my address, but that the additional money is going toward covering other hidden costs, like the returns you mentioned. I think that's grossly unfair and disingenuous, especially in light of the fact that after spending thousands of dollars on their products, I have yet to return a single one for any reason. To me, that means I am paying for their policies and the returns of others. I'd rather they lower the overall shipping and partially charge customers for returns on an individual basis. Either that or go after the shipper to cover costs on damaged deliveries. Isn't that what insurance is for, after all?

It sounds like Weta's success has gone to their heads and morphed into greed and incompetence on the business side of things. That's sad.

Reading this statue's thread over at the Flame of Udun has become like nails dragging across a blackboard for me. It's replete with posts about people receiving their statue, yet mine remains in limbo. Still no answer from Weta. I sent them another email today, this one slightly less cordial than the last. Having said that, NZ was hit with a pretty bad earthquake today so I hope everyone is ok.

Finally heard back from Anthony: apparently, for some mysterious reason that was not disclosed to me, the US warehouse did not have my order. He said he was going to request that it be dispatched urgently.

The similarity between this and Kit's issue with his Dain statue seems symptomatic of some serious flaws in Weta's system of communicating with its warehouses. It's like the left hand has no clue what the right hand is doing. I know mistakes can happen, but it really puzzles me how, in this day and age of computers and lightning-fast communications, something so glaringly obvious can still be missed like:

Has pre-order been made?
Yes.
Has the order been assigned a number in the system?
Yes.
Is the item now in stock?
Yes.
Has payment been made and cleared?
Yes.
THEN SHIP THE @%&^!%$ THING ALREADY!

Still trying to figure out how the order can go in their system, deposit and full payments are charged, but the warehouse somehow isn't notified that the product should go out? I think someone tripped on a loose cable and unplugged something at Weta: common sense.

Great news though that it is being shipped out.

I think Weta should change their US warehouse. They constantly have probs with lack of response.

Maybe it's hoping for too much, too fast, but it's been 24 hours since Anthony's email and there's been no change to the status of my order on the website, nor have I received a shipping notice from the warehouse.

I definitely agree they need to do something about that warehouse. I have a feeling Weta is getting an earfull about them from more than just this guy.

Valkrist wrote:Maybe it's hoping for too much, too fast, but it's been 24 hours since Anthony's email and there's been no change to the status of my order on the website, nor have I received a shipping notice from the warehouse.

I definitely agree they need to do something about that warehouse. I have a feeling Weta is getting an earfull about them from more than just this guy.

Val, have you thought about contacting the CC company that you use, and letting them know that one of their clients is charging for a product and then (for whatever lame reason) not shipping the item in a timely manner?

Unless something is a custom order that has yet to be made, such as a craftsman might make, and where you have to pay up front, and such a requirement is specified in the order, a company that uses MC and Visa is not supposed to charge you for something until they are ready to ship it.

If it's out of stock, and even if they are expecting incoming stock, they are still not supposed to charge your card.
Normally I'd give accompany the benefit of the doubt, but Weta seems to be getting habitually careless (or arrogant?)

If it were me, I'd let the CC know what Weta is doing...just my opinion.

Deimos, I fully agree with you, and the thought of contacting my CC company has crossed my mind more than once. However, two things have held me back so far:

- Weta (judging by Anthony's reply) was operating under the assumption that the US warehouse had shipped my order. Since the statue was in stock at that location, they probably had no reason to think they wouldn't all be shipped out to people that payed for them. The problem seems to stem greatly from the fact that we are dealing with two separate entities, on two different countries, and two different continents. While this sounds like I am defending Weta, I am not: I merely suspect that (for now,) the warehouse is the entity that dropped the ball and fell asleep at the wheel. Either that, or someone at Weta itself failed to tell them my order was in the system and paid for. Either way, someone fudged up royally. The benefit of the doubt I've given both sides so far is wearing down daily.

- Secondly, I do want this statue very much and finally receiving an email promising impending action has stayed my hand a while longer. I know that once I complain to the CC company, they are empowered to recover my money from Weta. However, once that happens, not only do I risk causing this situation to be drawn out even further, but I would also forfeit my preorder deposit, which is non-refundable.

So, for now, I wait. However, Mt. Doom is growing restless...

I've had the same issues with Weta before. A few years ago I ordered Balin's mace on there Black Friday sale and I received it with some flaking paint. I believe Darren was in charge then and had all sorts of problems getting it replaced and communication issues with the wearhouse. I think he had to call them to get it taken care of after 3 weeks. I also think this was before they switched shipping companies as well. A lot of there customer service people seem to have left and there is a lot of new people and that doesn't sound good when trying to get these issues taken care of. I'm glad there are only a few things I still want to order from them as with the ever increasing prices and hit and miss customer service it makes me wary.

The latest update:

Got an email late today from the Weta website (not a person) saying my order was shipped. However, I think this is far from over because 1) the source of the email was not the usual one that the warehouse itself issues, but rather an automated email from Weta, and 2) the tracking number matches nothing I've ever seen from either USPS or UPS. In fact, when you click on the 'Track my package' link button that came with the email, the Packagetrackr app cannot make heads or tails of the number either, nor tell me who the carrier is.

So, colour me about as far from excited about any of this as one can get. I don't necessarily view this as progress so much as a further deepening of the aggravation of not knowing what's going on.

N2, or anyone else in the US here that got this statue, can you confirm who delivered it to your door? Was it USPS or UPS Oversize? The Weta site says oversize so I'm guessing UPS might be involved.

Very weird.

All my shipments from Weta come UPS. As I have set up my account with UPS and I usually get updated by them via email that I'm due for a package way before Weta ever sends one. In the case of the HEW I had received my statue before Weta sent me a shipping email.

This must be extremely frustrating for you Val. I hope it gets resolved here quickly.

Mine have always come via UPS as well. You should get a shipping notice email from UPS the day before arrival. It should show it ships from TRANSFAIR/TRANSGROUP-EXODUS. Transfair is the warehouse/shipping fullfillment company Weta was using.

Good luck with it. Hopefully you won't get two months of apologies from Anthony like I did before my statue finally shipped. He never never actually told me when it finally did ship. I just got a shipping notice from UPS one day.

Thanks for the well wishes, guys.

Due to complaints about the high cost of shipping to Canada and UPS brokerage fees, Darren changed carriers from UPS to USPS to cut us a break a couple of years ago. However, USPS has a size and weight limit on the freight they will deliver, so Weta's Canadian customers were warned that some large and heavy items would still have to be shipped with UPS. To date (for myself at least) only Smaug and the Balrog have fallen under that category.

The Weta website says the HEW is an oversized box. That's why I asked how you guys got your shipments, but I see it doesn't matter now because UPS is their default carrier for US addresses. I'm guessing since this statue appears to need a bigger box than normal, that UPS will be the carrier. Yay for more fees.

Just want the bloody thing to show up already.

Looking at options for ordering Weta products going forward, and Secret Compass or BBTS seem like good choices. I think the only time it's worth ordering from Weta directly is for smaller items that ship directly from NZ.

lol... no sooner do I look to jump ship from Weta and they counter by putting up their Black Friday deals, which I have to say, are pretty incredible.

Looks like I won't be able to pass up some of them. Fingers crossed this doesn't turn into another shipping debacle.

Sale from noon 24 Nov PST to noon 28 Nov PST, or while stocks last. All deals are subject to change. Deals will be available at wetaworkshop.com/shop

-- Deals --
•Minimum 15% off all products storewide -- CODE: BLACK15
•15% off all Wingnut Wings
•Selected environments and dioramas - 2 for USD$200
The Fellowship of the Ring Set 2, The Fellowship of the Ring Set 3, Gates to Erebor, The Green Dragon Inn, The White Council Chamber, Bag End Open Edition
•30% off Balrog statue
•30% off selected DVDs and DVD sets
Planet of the Apes: Blu-ray collector's set with Caesar bust; Jane and the Dragon: Dragon Diva, Dragon Rules, Foul Weather Friends, Knight Light, Last of the Dragon; The WotWots: Australia, Chameleon, Flamingo, Peacock, Tiger, Zebra
•30% off selected Hobbit jewellery
Thranduil's Ring, Acorn Pendant, Black Arrow Pendant
•30% off selected LOTR jewellery
Aragorn's Ring, Elven Leaf Pendant, Nenya - Galadriel's Ring, Sting Pendant
•30% off selected prop replicas and weapons
Knives of Nori the Dwarf, The Black Arrow, Dr Grordbort's Saboteur 66, Tauriel's bow and arrow
•30% off Thunderbirds jewellery
•30% off Warcraft jewellery
•50% off selected prop replica weapons
Dwalin's Axes, Balin's Mace
•50% off Hobbit holes
•50% off Krampus figures
•50% off selected Middle-earth character rings
Thorin's Ring, Thror's Ring, The One Ring (tungsten, without inscription)
•60% off Tintin figures
•Selected 1:6 and 1:10 scale figures - 2 for USD$200
Balin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dori, Dwalin, Gloin, Kili, Nori, Oin, Ori, Bilbo, Thorin Oakenshield Exclusive Edition, Gollum Enraged and Orgrim 1:10
•Selected 1:6 scale figures - 2 for USD$400
King Thror on Throne, Yazneg Statue, Faramir, Azog Commander of Legions, Gandalf the Grey, Legolas, Radagast, Saruman, Elrond, Eowyn, Uruk-hai Warrior
•Bookmarks - 2 for USD$15
•Keyrings - 2 for USD$10
•Tea-towels - 2 for USD$15
•Barrel riders - 4 for USD$100 / 2 for USD$69 -- CODE: BARREL2 | BARREL4
•Selected mini figures - 3 for USD$150
Arwen, Strider, Smaug King Under the Mountain, Frodo in Tree, Gandalf, Gollum, Ringwraith (Does not apply to Dol Guldur range)
•Selected art prints - 5 for USD$100
Gates to Erebor, Baggins of Hobbiton, Eagles' Rescue, Map of East Farthing, Flight to the Ford, Riddles in the Dark, Dawn Counsel at Rivendell, Map of Hobbiton, Smaug over Laketown, An Unexpected Journey, When all other lights go out, Thorin's Map Parchment Art Print, Lineage of Durin, Map of the Shire, NZ Map of Middle-earth, Sunrise upon Edoras, Disturber of the Peace, The Argonath, Battle of the Peak, Parchment map of Middle-earth
•Magnets - 5 for USD$20
•Collectible pins - 5 for USD$35
•Selected trolls - 3 for USD$150 / 2 for USD$80 -- CODE: 2TROLLS | 3TROLLS
•Caps - USD$10 each
•All 3 Warcraft 1:6 scale weapons for USD$99
•Hobbit Chronicles books - 2 for USD$50
•Leather cuffs - 2 for USD$40
•Mini Grordbort's weapons - 2 for USD$60
•Postcard books - buy 1 get 1 free
•Selected books - USD$15 each
The Art of The Adventures of Tintin, Letters from Father Christmas, LOTR Location Guidebook (Extended Edition), LOTR Location Guide Revised Edition, Smaug: Unleashing the Dragon, Dr Grordbort's Triumph
•All tees - 2 for USD$50
•Stone pendants - buy 1 get 1 free
•Purchase Thorin's Map prop replica + Key to Erebor for USD$100

-- Reverse Auctions --

In a reverse auction, the price of the product will drop at regular intervals until the max number of units has been sold.
•Minas Tirith - Limited to 50 units.
Commences Thur 24 Nov at noon PST.
•Dr Grordbort's Manmelter 3600zx – Limited to 15 units.
Commences Fri 25 Nov at noon PST.
•Smaug bust - Limited to 50 units.
Commences Sat 26 Nov at noon PST.
•Dr Grordbort's Victorious Mongoose – Limited to 25 units.
Commences Sun 27 Nov at noon PST.
•Bilbo's contract prop replica – Limited to 10 units.
Commences Mon 28 Nov at noon PST.
•Smaug the Terrible statue – Limited to 50 units.
Commences Mon 28 Nov at 2pm PST.

-- Terms and Conditions --
•No other discounts will apply during the sale
•Weta Dollars may be used during the sale.
•The 15% storewide discount excludes items on pre-order or back-order
•The 15% storewide discount excludes items already part of another offer
•Any bespoke or manual order items such as 1:1 scale figures, The Master Swordsmith’s Collection and 18K One Ring are excluded from the sale.
•All offers are valid from noon 24 Nov PST to noon 28 Nov PST or while stocks last.
•Payment Plans will not be available during the sale
•Only one discount coupon can be used in any single order
•One customer can place multiple orders if they wish

Wow those are some tempting deals!

Update on my ongoing saga with Weta:

As predicted, the shipping number I received from Weta is meaningless (it matches no known carrier format,) and there's been no shipping email from the warehouse itself. I've checked the tracking app every day and it returns an error every time. Weta then tried to close my ticket because I hadn't replied back and this made them somehow assume that there was no further problem. So I emailed them back and set the matter straight: I was trying to give the warehouse time and a chance to ship the statue out. As it's become very apparent no such action has taken place, I told Anthony about the useless tracking number and lack of any updates in the week since receiving it. He promised me he was going to contact the warehouse ASAP and get it sorted it out, and to then contact him back within 24 hours for an update. Well, he's got about eight hours left.

... and the update from Anthony was... he has no update. In fact, he seems to have no clue what is going on in that warehouse. Is there a law in NZ that forbids its citizens from making a long-distance call? I feel that just five minutes of good ol' fashioned yelling would get that statue on a truck pretty quickly.

This whole experience is so disappointing.

I want some of those Black Friday deals very badly, but Weta is really making this difficult for me.

That is really awful.

Sorry val. Sounds exactly like what I experienced last time, so nothing has been fixed. I think I'll pass on ordering anything new from them.

geez..... how hard can it be??????

Sorry you have to endure this Val. I have wanted things here and there but really only ever bought pre-ruin Orthanc. After the increasing prices, and shipping issues. I might not even bother looking at WETA stuff anymore until they figure things out.

Apparently all the carrier pigeons from NZ are being shot down once they enter US airspace.

Well, I'm about three days away from taking Deimos' advice and calling VISA to cancel my order. I'm also going to get Weta to refund my preorder deposit. There's no way they have a case for keeping that money when they seem unable to honour my order after full payment was made four weeks ago!!!

Positive news, at last!

There was a knock on my door today, and when I opened it and looked down, there was a little elf there waiting to be let in.

Trying to piece this together backwards from the tracking number on the customs papers, the statue was indeed shipped via USPS on the 15th (well, it left the warehouse on the 16th.) Problem was, the tracking number that Weta provided was rubbish. It did not match any carrier or return any results. That aside, even Anthony could not figure out where the statue was or if it had been shipped. So, even though I have it now and am extremely happy with it, I feel this is a black mark for Weta's service as it relates to their shipping facilities in the US. I thanked Anthony profusely for his help (I could tell he was as frustrated as I was,) but I did say the he needs to push for some kind of change or improvement in how things are being done lately.

At least now I can breathe a sigh of relief and start planning the Black Friday onslaught. Let's hope I don't get almost burned again, because if I do, this time it's on me.

I'm glad that it all finally turned out well, Val. Congrats on your newest acquisition!

Yes, congrats on getting resolution to this mess Val. I'm only planning on ordering a few things on Black Friday and hopefully that goes well. I wish us all luck on that front.

Thanks guys.

I'm a bit hesitant too but these deals are too good to pass up. This is the best Weta sale to date.

Planned purchases are:

Gandalf the Grey
Saruman at Dol Guldur
Dwalin
Kili
All the available Hobbit holes
Balin's Mace

I'm also going to take a crack at the reverse auction for Bilbo's contract. Wish me luck.

Valkrist wrote:Thanks guys.

I'm a bit hesitant too but these deals are too good to pass up. This is the best Weta sale to date.

Planned purchases are:

Gandalf the Grey
Saruman at Dol Guldur
Dwalin
Kili
All the available Hobbit holes
Balin's Mace

I'm also going to take a crack at the reverse auction for Bilbo's contract. Wish me luck.

OK...Good Luck.

So Mr "Space-is-at-Premium", I'll ask you the same thing I asked N2...where are you going to shoe-horn those (1:6?) statues into that Dungeon of yours? And you haven't even got your SECOND Galadriel statue yet. *roll-eyes*

Deimos wrote:So Mr "Space-is-at-Premium", I'll ask you the same thing I asked N2...where are you going to shoe-horn those (1:6?) statues into that Dungeon of yours? And you haven't even got your SECOND Galadriel statue yet. *roll-eyes*

What's this obsession you have with where we are going to fit things?

Yes, I complain a lot but it has mostly to do with wall space, of which there is almost none left. Admittedly, I don't have a lot of shelf space either, but I'm not buying these statues to keep them in a box. I am good at organizing space, and there is a plan as to where to put them. The two dwarves are pretty small in size so I have a space for them, and Gandalf, Saruman, and eventually the second Galadriel will join Elrond on a shelf stand top that I have cleared for the Dol Guldur bunch. As for the Hobbit holes, they are so tiny that I can pretty much place them anywhere. I also have a space picked out for the mace. That good enough for you?

I think Deimos was teasing you, Val.

Buckeye wrote:I think Deimos was teasing you, Val.

I know she was, and it worked. She does make a valid point given past comments of mine, however, so I felt compelled to offer an explanation. My last remark was snarky though, and for that I offer my apologies to her.

Edit: ...and wow, not even five minutes into Black Friday and Weta's site has crashed already. You'd think they would have this figured out by now. Sigh.

Well, that was no fun whatsoever.

It took 1 hour and 45 minutes, three separate browsers, and ever-dwindling patience before my order finally went through.

In the end, two things happened:

- I lost out on one of the Hobbit holes - the whole thing took so long that I guess it sold out
- the discounts for the 1:6 statues appear to have been applied incorrectly - they were tagged at check out as the same as the 2 for $200 Dwarves discount. This means the discount worked out in my favour because it made it so both Gandalf and Saruman were base price $100 each after the discount, not $200 which is what it was supposed to be with the 2 for $400 1:6 discount. This error remained all the way through order completion but I'm fully expecting a correction at some point. I just don't have that kind of luck.

Wow, that sounds like a great deal if it works out. I only ordered the Great Garden Smial and the new Weta T-Shirt. I'm eyeing Saruman's staff right now as it's 30% off - probably won't get a lot cheaper than that.

Yeah, I'm about as law-abiding as they come but I'm not about to point this out to them. That website is atrocious, their shipping rates and product prices keep going up and up, and their shipping methods leave a lot to be desired lately. I will not look a gift horse in the mouth, that's for sure.

Just got all the order confirmation emails from Weta (all nine of them,) and the error is still there. Fingers crossed.

Dang, sounds like Weta has had a rough time this fall as I catch up on news. This makes me a little nervous to order tonight. Still, the deals are incredible. Val, I am almost wondering if I should take the 2 for $400 gamble and see if I can't get double the discount on accident!

Hey Fin, easiest way to find out is to place two of the 2 for $400 statues in your cart and see what happens. You don't have to complete the checkout process to see the discounts. I was so confused when I was doing mine that I removed my Gandalf and Saruman from the order once because I thought it was only applying the discount to Kili and Dwalin, which were also in the cart. Yet when I added the larger statues back in, they still got the smaller statue discount applied to them.

I'm going to have to duck for cover as I say this in case Deimos reads it, but if I had the space for *larger* statues, I would have tried to replicate the error with Thror and Azog. Second part of the problem with that (space aside) is that I am still fully expecting Weta to discover the mistake at some point and send me an email. If I tried for Thror and Azog and then had the error corrected, it would be $400 in total that I would have to pay back. Yikes.

Still, I am tempted to go back and get Gloin and Gollum Enraged. With the discount and Weta dollars, I can get both statues for $164, and that includes shipping!

Edit: I know many of you post over at FoU but please refrain from mentioning this error over there. I've been following the discussions there and no one else has mentioned this happening to them, or if it did happen, no one is saying anything. My point is, that's Weta's forum and they read it. Well, you get the point.

Val, point taken! I'll keep the secret safe. I didn't have as much luck with getting the double discount. In fact, I went to order stuff anyway and was really disappointed when they started adding shipping costs. My total went up by $75 with shipping, and the only items in my cart were Balin's Mace, the Green Dragon and the Gates of Erebor. I know the Mace is big, but you can't charge that much in shipping. I can only afford new items when they throw deals like that at me in the first place, and these new and excessive shipping prices are kinda pricing me out of the hobby. I guess I'll have to back off for now and wait for a bigger paycheck if I want to buy anything new from Weta.

Fingolfin wrote:Val, point taken! I'll keep the secret safe. I didn't have as much luck with getting the double discount. In fact, I went to order stuff anyway and was really disappointed when they started adding shipping costs. My total went up by $75 with shipping, and the only items in my cart were Balin's Mace, the Green Dragon and the Gates of Erebor. I know the Mace is big, but you can't charge that much in shipping. I can only afford new items when they throw deals like that at me in the first place, and these new and excessive shipping prices are kinda pricing me out of the hobby. I guess I'll have to back off for now and wait for a bigger paycheck if I want to buy anything new from Weta.

Fin, Somewhere in this thread I think Idril mentions the sudden increase in Weta shipping costs.
Actually it was both pathetically funny and sad...she noticed one order with a really low ship cost ($20?) and another order had something like an $80 ship cost, and when she contacted them, assuming they would correct the higher one by dropping it, they raised the lower one.

Yeah I recall that discussion. I do have about 23 Weta Dollars collecting dust, so maybe I'll just use the Black Friday 15% discount and my Weta dollars to get a good deal on one item. But the conflict there is that, if I'm buying something more expensive, I'm paying the same as if I went with one of the 2 for deals and I could get even more stuff...but then I'm be charged up the whazoo for shipping on multiple items, so it's a moot point. Maybe I'll just draw statue names from a hat.

So as predicted, I couldn't resist and dipped back into the pot to scoop up Gloin and Gollum. Very, very expensive weekend, but I think it was worth it: I spent $1009.99 on Weta products, and that includes shipping. I know that's a lot of money, and it is, but doing all the math on the regular prices of those same items and shipping came to a whopping $2606.63!

That's well over 50% off, so I think I did pretty good.

I did intend to try for the reverse auction on Bilbo's Contract tomorrow, but am feeling like my wallet is crying for mercy.

I'm also dreading any more shipping issues after the High Elf debacle but... no risk, no venture, as they say.

So, aside from myself, N2, and Idril, did anyone else pick up anything? Now that I've gotten in on the Hobbit hole fever, I picked up the sold out 1 Bagshot Row on eBay for a very good price ($40.) The only other one I'm missing now is 40 Bagshot Row, but there are no good deals right now.

you are a brave man Val! - adding it up. I'm always scared to do that.

I ended up getting Thror on Throne and Faramir, the 3 trolls, the Fellowship leaf brooch and Bofur's hat. Looks like I too inadvertently got more of a discount than I should have on Bofur's hat - but I didn't realise it at the time. Yes, the item was discounted by the 15% but the items page clearly said "enter BLACK15 for an extra 15% off".

The hat is not something I thought I would ever buy but saw a friends and thought it was great. Thought about getting GtG and Radagast but chickened out.

Did I tell you Dan Falconer drew a Radagast inside one of my chronicles books a couple of weeks ago. Just doodling while we were chatting. Amazingly talented people.

Very exciting pickups, all! It looks like I'm going to cave and buy Balin's Mace. It's a heck of a deal, I can get it for about 120 shipped with weta dollars. Hard to pass up!

that Mace is great.

Valkrist wrote:...So, aside from myself, N2, and Idril, did anyone else pick up anything? ...

Nothing for me right now.
For the near future, I have to choose my [budget] battles...that is, it's an 'either/or situation' right now, not 'both/and'.
I am setting aside funds for the Eowyn helm and I hope a forthcoming Merry helm.

And it also means I am subsisting on peanut butter and crackers until Christmas . :-p

Well, Weta, just lost my business. I emailed customer support after spending two days trying to complete an order. Their horrible new website had me stuck in a loop where, every time I signed into PayPal and was redirected to the Weta site, I had to start the cart process over. I literally couldn't finish the order. Tried everything for two days, still wouldn't go through. Weta emails be back today and says sorry, the sale is over and we can't do the order manually. You're out of luck.

Goodbye forever, that's bullsh!t. How long can you put up with obnoxiously high prices, passing on major shipping costs to the customer, increasingly bad customer service and warehouse issues, now this garbage? Stand by your business promises. I'm out; I'll give my business to the second-tier retailers and eBay scalpers. I'm royally pissed off and for whatever reason, can't even get onto the FoU to complain. The site is down for me. Incredibly disappointed.

That's a shame Fin. I'm sorry for you

I did hear they were having problems with their Paypal connection.

I'll keep a lookout for deals on the mace. You may see an even better deal than 50% off in the future. Who knows. They did 83% off on the Wind in the Willows bookends.

Fingolfin wrote:... I'm royally pissed off...

Fin facing off with Weta....

Leonard just posted a pic of the War Troll beside the Cave Troll over on FoU. It seems a fair bit bigger.