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I just purchased two IG tanks from an online store, a chimera and a hellhound.  Both boxes had pictures showing the tanks with the track guards and other bits from the new IG tank accessories.  However when I opened them, both boxes came with the older IG tank accessories kit.

 

I didn’t think this would be too much of a problem, I figured it was just a mix up with GW when they were packing it together.  So I emailed and than called GW’s customer service, only to be told that they do not replace any missing or miscast bits from any purchases made from an on-line retailer.  They even suggested that it might be that the on-line retailer has been opening boxes up and then re-sealing them. 

 

Their only suggestion is to only make purchases from their on-line store, or other brick and mortar stores. 

 

I know that PP doesn’t care where you get your stuff from, if anything is missing, I usually get it from them in the mail within the week.  I also know that Forge world is very good about replacing miscast bits.  Last time I e-mailed them about some miss cast Cadian veterans; I got the replacement bits with their apology. 

 

Has this happened to others out there?  Is this a new policy?  

Are you in the US? GW US does not like internet sellers.

UK contract law would compel the retailer, not the original supplier, to replace missing parts. Some original suppliers have the policy of filling such requests but obviously it can be abused.

Yeah, I'm in the US. I know they don't like internet sellers, but it's still disappointing.

I'm assuming your in the US, in which case: Never, ever, NEVER tell GWUS you bought their product from an online retailer. Ever. Had you bought those items from a brick and mortar retail shop they would have happily offered the replacement sprues free of cost and with apology.

I'd actually suggest you calling them up again, perhaps from another phone number, and tell them your problem but lie about where you got the kits from. Tell them it was an indy retailer, if one is nearby, or it was a gift or whatever, just not an online retailer. They should send you the missing sprues no problem then.

How they get away with refusing to fix their defective product just because it was sold through an internet store is beyond me. It's yet another reason why I refuse to buy anything from Greed Worship. Keep on with the ridiculous crap GW and see your sales continue to plummet!

I don't know how it works in the US, but here in Oz it's the same as the UK... if you buy something that has something wrong with it, you take it up with the retailer, not the original manufacturer.

There are some exceptions, where manufacturers choose to handle faults directly, but in general you just contact whoever you actually bought the item from and it's their job to fix it.

In the US, generally if something is wrong with the product, the MFGR is supposed to take care of it, the retailer is just a middleman. Retailers still have return policies and you can also attempt to get resolution direct through them, but for miniatures it's always been something handled by the mfg. They're the ones that will have the spare bits and what not to replace miscastings, missing pieces and so forth, not the retailer.

"In the US, generally if something is wrong with the product, the MFGR is supposed to take care of it, the retailer is just a middleman."

Of course the retailer is just the middleman. But they're the middleman who actually sold the product.

Manufacturer/Distributer sells to Retailer, Retailer sells to Customer.
If it's faulty, the Customer returns it to the Retailer (who replaces or refunds) and the Retailer then returns it to the Manufacturer.

That's the way the system should work.

Of course, some Manufacturers are also Retailers, as is the case for Games Workshop. But processing returns or faults through the place of purchase rather than directly still has certain benefits. For one thing, it's generally faster for the customer (replacement on the spot, rather than waiting for something to come in the mail... although that's obviously not applicable to online sales)

Stores SHOULD handle their own returns and faults. That's just good customer service. Telling your customers to go away and call the manufacturer themselves is a great way of making sure you never see that customer again.

Ugh. We've gone over this before. It does not work that way in the US. Which is where the poster is. The stores themselves are allowed to set their return policies with those that do having a variety of conditions that must be met for a product to be returned. One of which often being that the product hasn't been opened. Then there are those stores that have "all sales final". Ergo, no returns. Buyer beware. This is particularly true of many US indy stores which are often barebones affairs and don't have the machines to repackage kits and therefore do not accept opened product as returns.

The mindset being that it isn't the store's fault if a product, which the store most likely purchased via a distributor (ie: Alliance), did not include all the parts. If it's missing pieces, that is the manufacturer's fault and one should take it up directly with the manufacturer. This holds particularly true for miniature companies in the US. If I have ever had a problem with any miniature figure, I have always, always, always gone direct to the manufacturer (and been told to do the same).

How is a retailer, which may order only once a month or less from that manufacturer, or worse, a distributor, going to replace a miscast, missing or otherwise faulty item faster than someone contacting the manufacturer directly? Especially considering said stores often do NOT carry a large amount of overhead, making it quite feasible that they don't have another kit/blister of the same item (and if they do, it might also be defective).

In short: In the US, when dealing with miniatures, just contact the manufacturer.

"Ugh. We've gone over this before. It does not work that way in the US."

So you said. Hence my statement as to how it 'should' work... not how it 'does' work.


"How is a retailer, which may order only once a month or less from that manufacturer, or worse, a distributor, going to replace a miscast, missing or otherwise faulty item faster than someone contacting the manufacturer directly?"

By taking the faulty item, putting it aside for return to the distributor, and grabbing another one off the shelf and saying 'Here you go...'

If the retailer has no more of that item, then obviously they're going to offer a refund or a different item instead.

And no, I'm not talking specifically about miniatures here. Just retail in general. The original posters question was already answered, so I'm just rambling a little. There are certain levels of service that I'm used to both providing and receiving, and so I always find it a little appalling when retailers refuse to stand behind the product they sell. It's essentially saying 'Yeah, we know the products we sell are crap, but that's your problem for being stupid enough to give us your money.'

Why any customer would put up with that sort of attitude is beyond me.

I cant believe GW said the online seller opened it and swapped the parts and resealed them. They didnt did they?

And miscasts are THEIR problem, not whoever sells them, no matter where you got it, as long as its sealed new.

Lie. tell them you got it from your aunt for a birthday present.....

"I cant believe GW said the online seller opened it and swapped the parts and resealed them. They didnt did they?"

He actually said that they suggested that this -might- be the case. And to a certain extent, it's a valid suggestion. This is one of the reasons that making retailers handle their own sales problems is a good idea... it lets the manufacturer/distributor see where the problems are occuring. If one particular store is returning a disproportionate number of boxes with missing sprues, it's probably worth looking into. Whereas if they just deal directly with the customer, they have no way of telling where the item originally came from.


"And miscasts are THEIR problem, not whoever sells them, no matter where you got it, as long as its sealed new."

Just from curiosity, can you tell the difference between GW shrink-wrap and somebody else's shrinkwrap?

By taking the faulty item, putting it aside for return to the distributor, and grabbing another one off the shelf and saying 'Here you go...'

 

For what it's worth, that's exactly what I do at my two shops. If someone has a problem with GW merchandise, I take back the bad stuff, give them a new kit. Or open another kit, and pull out the missing bits and hand them to them.

Then I call up my GW rep, and they send me another kit. Not the missing bits, the whole kit. Rarely do I even have to send back the bad kit, they tell me to keep it for bits, store army, painting class, etc.

I can't do this with any other manufacturer. PP wants to handle it themselves, so I have to tell customers to email/call PP for missing pieces. For some companies, I wait 6 to 8 weeks for the bitz, and have to reshrinkwrap the packages. GW by far has the best and easiest system for replacing bad parts.

I have purchased 7 chimera's for my IG force and of that 5 of the kits were missing the top of the chimera (Sprue B). Well each time I would call GW and they would ask me what was missing and I would tell them. After the third time they told me I would have to send the kit to them at my expence, I spoke to a supervisor and explained that this kit came from their on-line store and that I did not feel I should have to send it back to them at my expense. Long and short of it is I got the sprue sent to me. For this to happen 5 times out of 7 tells me that QC on assembly of kits is poor.

As far as accessary sprue, I have gotten both the old one and the new one in my kits. As I do some kit bashing and mixing of products it was not a big deal, but I do prefer the new IG accessary sprue.

As far as PP goes they were great. I had an arm missing on my Capt Finn. Notified them and got it in about 5 days.

Some companies do care and some don't make an effort.

I bought the Armoured fist box, and didn't receive the wheels to put the treads on. A phone call later, and they were in the mail... My only gripe is the fact that I bought a hellhound, and received an older accessory sprue. Oh well.

GrrraarrrgghhhHHHHhhh!!!!11!!!
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NON say you KNEEL BEFORE ZOD. IF he has mercy on you, you WILL get problem fixed. GW CUSTOMER SERVICE best EVER and it KNEELS BEFORE ZOD.
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