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Couple of things I've noticed recently:

- my Forgeworld packages are postmarked from Sweden (??)
- their already slow service is now bordering on glacial

I would actually likely spend a lot more on Forgeworld than I do lately, simply because it seems like I'm gambling on receiving what I ordered upwards of 2 to 3 months after ordering it. It makes no sense to me, because they post new products quite frequently on their site. So they are creating new designs really fast, and can obviously produce them at nice quality - why not invest in a shipping department? Is there something about their operation I don't understand (are they hugely backordered? Anybody have inside info?)? It's really baffling.

- order comes in
- charge credit card
- ship product

(I'm not talking about pre-orders of course)

if they got any slower, wouldn't The packages be going to them?!?!?

I know I am not experiencing the same issues. I am getting my orders very quickly, within 3 days now (maybe its also since I order with express delivery), but I am getting great service. I may be the exception though.

AbsoluteBlue wrote:I know I am not experiencing the same issues. I am getting my orders very quickly, within 3 days now (maybe its also since I order with express delivery), but I am getting great service. I may be the exception though.

Hmmmmmm. Not sure why this is happening, it's a pain.

IF they're getting slower(an I don't know, I haven't ordered from them since before Apoc), it probably has something to do with the excellent exchange rate currently(it's currently 1 GBP to 1.378 USD), so everyone's getting in orders before the rate spikes again.

Yeah. Right now it's cheaper to buy FW broadsides than regular ones. The same for a bunch of the character models and small vehicles as well.

I noticed that stonefox, been very tempted to get a full unit of those broadsides lately.

But I really hate that wait, 2-3 months is ridiculous. Especially when you consider you're billed for it immediately.

How about the free express shipping option for $250 orders and up? does that help with shipping speed enough?

AbsoluteBlue wrote:I know I am not experiencing the same issues. I am getting my orders very quickly, within 3 days now (maybe its also since I order with express delivery), but I am getting great service. I may be the exception though.

It would be interesting to compare *what* people have ordered, because I think that's a large part of it. Some more popular things they have large reserves of, others they cast up as they need them. They're probably being overwhelmed with Apoc related orders and GW aren't investing in more manpower and equipment whihc is a mistake IMO because Forgeworld clearly has a healthy turnover.

Damn. Thought this thread would be about how slow they are to release new product lately. The DKoK run meant a handful of new models almost monthly. I guess they're taking a bit of a breather, or working on that Inquisitor(and hopefully Grey Knight) run. Mmm.

LunaHound wrote:How about the free express shipping option for $250 orders and up? does that help with shipping speed enough?

Nooooo. A lesson hard learned.

Basically, look at it like this. All Express shipping does is tells them to upgrade the shipping priority once it goes to post. The delays are in them processing orders, packaging, casting, etc. etc. Long before it goes to post.

So of the 2-3 months, only a week or so is lost in shipping. If you upgrade, you shave a couple days off a 2-3 month wait. Such a screw job, that. Don't think for a minute that complaining about it will get you anywhere either.

Horror stories from the post-apoc delays abounds.

I ordered off them Sunday (just the master class book) got the automatic email saying they were processing my order but they have not billed my card yet. I think I will stick to buying their stuff via other people on Ebay.

My most recent order took 2.5 weeks to get to me. I think that's about just as long as it's always taken for other orders I've placed. I just wish they would send you some kind of confirmation email when the order ships, or at least respond when you email them and ask if it shipped yet.

My last order is approaching the 1.5 month mark or so. I didn't even order a big kit, just some traitor guard parts and a command suit. I am starting to worry it is at the bottom of the sea, or perhaps the bits are strapped individually to the legs of pigeons.

I've had an order for brass emblems in for a month or so, no word from them.

Is there a point to emailing them or calling?

How is customer service these days?

Excellent. I placed an order a little over a month ago. All the infantry sized models were at my door within a week, and Weathertop just arrived.

I had ordered 2 books from FW around Christmas time. It took 2 months for the first one to arrive...and was bent in shipping .

I called them up 3 days afterwards and within a week they shipped me a replacement order (both books free :O). Seriously! Then guess what? The 2nd book from the original order arrived 2 weeks later !

While I will admit that the order time tends to be slow especially around Christmas, thier customer service in fixing problems has always been top notch !

Kid_Kyoto wrote:I've had an order for brass emblems in for a month or so, no word from them.

Is there a point to emailing them or calling?

How is customer service these days?

Weirdkind wrote:My last order is approaching the 1.5 month mark or so. I didn't even order a big kit, just some traitor guard parts and a command suit. I am starting to worry it is at the bottom of the sea, or perhaps the bits are strapped individually to the legs of pigeons.

Call them! And by that I mean get a representative on the phone. Don't even bother emailing them or leaving a message on their answering machine. Once I emailed them and waited two weeks. I then called them and got the situation squared away pronto! Guess what? I got a response to my email like 3 weeks later saying that I should call them !

In some cases, where they can't track the package, they will send a second package out expedited mail. If the original order does happen to arrive later, congratts...you just got a free mini ! I have had this happen like 3 times in the past 5 years.

I have found it is faster to get forgeworld bits... from battle bunkers!

wyomingfox wrote:Don't even bother emailing them or leaving a message on their answering machine. Once I emailed them and waited two weeks.

Last time I e-mailed them about a problem, I got a response in 2 hours and they had the replacement parts out to me the next day.

I got a reply over night and it's in the mail.

Good, fast reply.

Last time I ordered from them was last year right before apocalypse hit, and they didnt return emails then so things must be getting better I would think.

One warning I must give to everyone:


Never ever select High Priority Shipping!!!


Whatever their default shipping method is, select that. Never choose the express/high priority/whatever shipping because it will not make it any faster - it will only make it more expensive!!!

A while back I ordered two Macharius tanks. I selected the priority shipping and paid the £40 in shipping + the cost of the tanks (and this was way before the Pound tanked). Took them nearly 3 months to get to me, and when I E-mailed them they never responded.

When I asked for the money back on the 'express' shipping they said, and I quote, "We owe you nothing".

How did this happen?

Well think it of this way - I did get the express shipping that I paid for. When they sent the package it did arrive within a few days (UK to Australia). The problem is they didn't get around to sending the package for a few months. So, technically speaking, the shipping was very quick, however because it took them so long to actually ship it, I might as well have paid the £20 instead of the £40 and it would have arrived a week later.

So express shipping doesn't mean they ship it faster, it just means that when they eventually get around to shipping it (be it 2 days or 2 months after you've made the order) that it arrives quickly.

So save your money. Avoid 'speedy' shipping from FW.

Platuan4th wrote:

wyomingfox wrote:Don't even bother emailing them or leaving a message on their answering machine. Once I emailed them and waited two weeks.

Last time I e-mailed them about a problem, I got a response in 2 hours and they had the replacement parts out to me the next day.

Kid_Kyoto wrote:I got a reply over night and it's in the mail.

Good, fast reply.

PanamaG wrote:Last time I ordered from them was last year right before apocalypse hit, and they didnt return emails then so things must be getting better I would think.

I must concur with PanamaG, they must have implemented a new email policy recently...ie start checking it

H.B.M.C. wrote:*snip*

Yeah, what a load of bs that is. I don't recall ever seeing that mentioned on the website anywhere, either, so they will happily screw you out of money and then proclaim "We owe you nothing" like a bunch of donkey-caves.

I really do not understand why people order from them at all, yes the miniatures are very nice, no argument from me there. However, all I ever hear about are ridiculous shipping times, horrible customer service, parts which are often miscast, broken, and require a great deal of work to even have them construct the intended item, and to top it all off prices that make GW's normal pricing look downright reasonable (which is saying a lot.)

Personally, I really do not understand it. Even assuming I had the amounts of disposable income required to invest in FW models, after all I've heard and experienced secondhand I'd rather kitbash and/or make custom pieces if I had that much time and money to make use of, especially since it seems I'd be using even more if I actually dealt with FW. In the end though FW and its policies will likely never change until they stop being allowed to profit from such substandard practices, and no one but the consumers who buy from them can change that.

In a way I kinda agree with you, the models are very nice, but for the prices they charge they really do need to have better quality control. Pouring resin really must be some kind of lost art, because they won't hire people to help them fill orders and get rid of that backlog, and the orders they do fill seem to often come out rather poorly.

Neconilis wrote:I really do not understand why people order from them at all

Because after an entire night of swearing, cutting, sanding, greenstuffing, hot-water bending, dishwashing liquid and superglue, at 3am in the morning, a friend and I looked over what we'd built and went "Cool! A whole squadron of Manticores, a Bombard and an Enclosed Basilisk!".

They're nice models, and, as it happens, the newer the model, the nicer it usually is. My Stormblade made me want to kill everyone in my street it was so frustrating to put together, but my Macharius Company, I can't fault those minis. Wonderful things. Well designed and they look great.

Neconilis wrote:I really do not understand why people order from them at all, yes the miniatures are very nice, no argument from me there. However, all I ever hear about are ridiculous shipping times, horrible customer service, parts which are often miscast, broken, and require a great deal of work to even have them construct the intended item, and to top it all off prices that make GW's normal pricing look downright reasonable (which is saying a lot.)

I still order from them because I've always gotten good customer service from them, always gotten everything quickly, only ever had 1 miscast(and it's wasn't anything that was serious, just a misaligned arm that was replaced within a week), and the only extra work I've had to deal with is the extra resin flash from the molding process and washing the pieces. The extra work I find is worth the better scaling and superior detail that Forge World models have over normal GW figures.

Neconilis wrote:I really do not understand why people order from them at all, yes the miniatures are very nice, no argument from me there. However, all I ever hear about are ridiculous shipping times, horrible customer service, parts which are often miscast, broken, and require a great deal of work to even have them construct the intended item, and to top it all off prices that make GW's normal pricing look downright reasonable (which is saying a lot.)

You should listen a bit more carefully then. If you can't understand it, it's your fault for only listening when people complain, and never noting when people talk about how good their experience was.

Platuan4th wrote:

Neconilis wrote:I really do not understand why people order from them at all, yes the miniatures are very nice, no argument from me there. However, all I ever hear about are ridiculous shipping times, horrible customer service, parts which are often miscast, broken, and require a great deal of work to even have them construct the intended item, and to top it all off prices that make GW's normal pricing look downright reasonable (which is saying a lot.)

I still order from them because I've always gotten good customer service from them, always gotten everything quickly, only ever had 1 miscast(and it's wasn't anything that was serious, just a misaligned arm that was replaced within a week), and the only extra work I've had to deal with is the extra resin flash from the molding process and washing the pieces. The extra work I find is worth the better scaling and superior detail that Forge World models have over normal GW figures.

This I can understand, if you have the excess money for it and you've repeatedly had good experiences I can't really blame you. It's simply that the majority of what I hear is continually negative and reeks of blatant negligence and ignorance on their part. Not just from people I've never met online, but from friends and acquaintances in real life as well. But if you have the disposable income and you're the one of the lucky ones, well I can get that.

I can even understand H.B.M.C. to a point, I think most of us know the joy of assembling something and having it look great. For me however the point of what I'm willing to tolerate from a company whose products cost a great deal of money is far lower. In short the reward is not worth the price. For some people it obviously is, I just have a hard time wrapping my head around that. Especially since many of these people are experienced modelers, and that being the case why not do it some other way and avoid the issues of FW entirely?

These are simply things I've thought about FW for awhile, and for those of you who responded constructively and non-defensively I appreciate it and thanks.