Doctor Strange (2D+3D Blu-ray SteelBook) (Zavvi Exclusive) [UK]

[paulboland]

Release date: March 6, 2017
Purchase link: Zavvi
Price: £24.99
Notes: This steelbook has the title on the spine.

Spoiler

 

[Ask]

I really don't think they care TBH. The steels sell out that's all that matters to them.

Oh I'm sure this is the case. The thing that gets me is they joined the forum and I thought "oh cool, they really value our (as HDN consumers and collectors) business." And while I know this wasn't some malicious attempt or absurd business practice to alienate a segment of the customer base, it was still disappointing that there wasn't really a chance to plan to try to get this and that "insider information" amounted to nothing useful for those of us outside the UK.

Again, I get that it's part of the game and not a big deal in the grand scheme of anything and no one is "owed" or entitled to anything in this regard. Just pointing out how this may have felt for some of us looking forward to getting a chance at this.

 

[Lord Carnage]

Perhaps Zavvi should try to give people a heads up 24 hours in advance. They've done so in the past so I can't see why they can't do it again

Heck - even 12 hours notice. Then you're either awake for the heads up (and can plan to be up for the sale), or you're awake for the sale anyways. Just the way it was done basically excluded the North/South American continents from both the alert and the sale (unless you happened to be on the East coast, where you may have caught the tail end of things if you were lucky)... or working the night shift with computer access.

I'm sure there could have been a way to time the release where the middle of the night would have covered the South Pacific and Kamchatka region (USSR) where... if I could wager... there are probably fewer buyers for their products. Even 3 hours later would have made all the difference.

But don't mind us - we're just disheartened.

 

[Lord Carnage]

I get the frustration, everyone should have equal chances of getting one.

But @SteelCollz said it best, Zavvi are as you said it a UK retailer and unlike any major US online retailer excluding Amazon, they don't even ship internationally or care for over-seas buyers. I would've loved Best Buy's Force Awakens steel, but they don't ship abroad and prices on eBay are outrageous.

Ultimately Zavvi can't cater for every US time zone, it would be unfair to do so for some and not for all.

Maybe I'm mis-understanding you, but it sounded to me like you were re-inforcing my point.

It would be great if Best Buy shipped worldwide, I'm sure. But like you said, they don't. As such, they don't really have a responsibility to choose release times that are cared about outside the continent.

As Zavvi DOES sell and ship worldwide, they should at least factor that into their decision making...

It is what it is I guess, but as someone else said, it just feels like a significant portion of their customer base was neglected. Was it intentional, I'd obviously lean towards no... but it was very bad planning.

 

[blu-steel]

What zavvi needs to do is give their most loyal customers first shot at everything they put back up. Thats the way I do it and it works great.

 

[Shane Dale]

I ordered mine which ain't arrived yet, got told to let them know on the 10th if ain't come and will be refunded. Didn't keep any back for problems like the postal service which is awful

 

[UpsetSmiley]

Maybe I'm mis-understanding you, but it sounded to me like you were re-inforcing my point.

It would be great if Best Buy shipped worldwide, I'm sure. But like you said, they don't. As such, they don't really have a responsibility to choose release times that are cared about outside the continent.

As Zavvi DOES sell and ship worldwide, they should at least factor that into their decision making...

It is what it is I guess, but as someone else said, it just feels like a significant portion of their customer base was neglected. Was it intentional, I'd obviously lean towards no... but it was very bad planning.

No man, you're not mis-understanding me. But I'm sure you know these randomised live times are nothing new, it always seems like short notice. But as usual, the only way to source this information is through HDN or Twitter, and this one sold out very quickly. If I hadn't checked out HDN in that hour I would've missed out, which was pot luck on my part. I never rely on the emails as you never know if you'll get them or not.

All in all, if Zavvi could please share this information at least 24 hours in advance it would help everyone. They can't possibly account for all time zones so some people will have to rise and shine, as I think UK customers have had to do when it comes to the Asian releases for example, but as long as the word gets out that's the main thing.

 

[SteelCollz]

I'd say the most important result of this debate is that an advance notice would truly be great. How about it @zavvi?

 

[thewoe]

They always send me a text and an email when a steel comes back in stock, dont understand how people missed it? (Unless they were asleep or havent signed upto email notifacations from zavvi)

 

[Strangerbyday]

I don't really get the hate over the time it went back up for sale at. Zavvi are a UK retailer. Sure, people buy from them from all over the world, but they're based in the UK.

I buy stuff from PlainArchive. Their preorder time tends to be 6 a.m. my time. Is that ideal for me? God no. Do I complain? Nope. I've never once said that they should put stuff up later just to suit my schedule a bit better. Midday seems like a good a time as any for them to become available again. And they gave advanced notice on their social media accounts that it would be going live in an hour. Could they have given more advanced notice? Sure. But it was probably just a quick decision. "Right, we have 100 of these left. Put a tweet out, they're going back on sale in an hour."

 

[moonbucket]

It seems Zavvi are being damned for going the extra mile, unlike most US retailers, and selling abroad.

I'm pretty sure they alerted everyone and, of course, the original for sale date/time is always given here isn't it?

 

[Lord Carnage]

I don't really get the hate over the time it went back up for sale at. Zavvi are a UK retailer. Sure, people buy from them from all over the world, but they're based in the UK.

I buy stuff from PlainArchive. Their preorder time tends to be 6 a.m. my time. Is that ideal for me? God no. Do I complain? Nope. I've never once said that they should put stuff up later just to suit my schedule a bit better. Midday seems like a good a time as any for them to become available again. And they gave advanced notice on their social media accounts that it would be going live in an hour. Could they have given more advanced notice? Sure. But it was probably just a quick decision. "Right, we have 100 of these left. Put a tweet out, they're going back on sale in an hour."

Hatred is a really harsh word... especially when you consider the response is coming mostly from those of us who are so disappointed a missing out.

At any rate, I do beg to differ on a point you made... Zavvi is not a UK retailer... they are a worldwide e-tailer headquartered in the UK. Significant difference, as they even have a US website site now (as well as other countries).

And we are talking here about a limited supply of something that people were looking for a shot at. We knew a limited supply were coming back, and were waiting for the news. In this case, the news was in the middle of the night (for a large chunk of their customer base), saying that in 1 additional hour (still the middle of the night) they would be made available.

Those of us like me just wished they had considered a time that would work for more of their customer base, and not just local. Like I mentioned, a 2-3 hour swing would have made all the difference for us, while having negatively impacted very few.

Like you said in your last sentence, it was probably a spur of the moment decision. I just wish that Zavvi had given it thought instead of doing whatever in the 'spur of the moment', but now we can just hope for that for next time.

 

[paulboland]

Hatred is a really harsh word... especially when you consider the response is coming mostly from those of us who are so disappointed a missing out.

At any rate, I do beg to differ on a point you made... Zavvi is not a UK retailer... they are a worldwide e-tailer headquartered in the UK. Significant difference, as they even have a US website site now (as well as other countries).

And we are talking here about a limited supply of something that people were looking for a shot at. We knew a limited supply were coming back, and were waiting for the news. In this case, the news was in the middle of the night (for a large chunk of their customer base), saying that in 1 additional hour (still the middle of the night) they would be made available.

Those of us like me just wished they had considered a time that would work for more of their customer base, and not just local. Like I mentioned, a 2-3 hour swing would have made all the difference for us, while having negatively impacted very few.

Like you said in your last sentence, it was probably a spur of the moment decision. I just wish that Zavvi had given it thought instead of doing whatever in the 'spur of the moment', but now we can just hope for that for next time.

Zavvi is a UK retailer
The steelbooks are UK releases as are other Blu-ray and Dvd releases

Zavvi website is UK registered in UK and Channel Islands
The USA and other European Zavvi websites only sell UK releases
It's the same website selling same steelbooks

You don't see USA Blu-ray releases on Zavvi USA website It's actually the UK website in dollars

It's just advertising and marketing tool to have prices show in various countries currencies and local language

Some products are not listed for sale that you see on UK and German site in other countries

 

[JCC]

I still don't understand why anyone can complain about when Zavvi restocks or puts their items up for sale. Every retailer does the same thing, according to their own time zone. Why not go and complain to all the Asian retailers for not accommodating US customers? Surely US customers make up a larger portion of their sales compared to Zavvi. I can't even count how many times I've woken up between 11 pm and 5 am just for a preorder.

 

[Ask]

I still don't understand why anyone can complain about when Zavvi restocks or puts their items up for sale. Every retailer does the same thing, according to their own time zone. Why not go and complain to all the Asian retailers for not accommodating US customers? Surely US customers make up a larger portion of their sales compared to Zavvi. I can't even count how many times I've woken up between 11 pm and 5 am just for a preorder.

I think it has more to do with not knowing when it would be up. If I had known, I'd have planned to be up for it if I really wanted it. I've gotten up in the middle of the night for Kimchi and Nova releases. The issue isn't the time, it's the lack of notice.

But at this point, I think we've said all we need to on the topic, so I'm dropping it after this post.

 

[paulboland]

The stock they had available sold out in less than 15 min

24 hour notice would have meant selling out even quicker and more likely gone to scalpers instead

This was available to pre order for months before it first listed as sold out and cancellations was made available a few weeks before release date

It's always best to pre order when goes live first time if it's a release you 100% want and only cancel if you don't have a choice due to low on funds

 

[sunnyx]

I missed out on the restock because for some reason I didn't receive a notification email from HDN. Shite happens. Would had liked to pick up the UK version with the english data card. Looks like I will have to settle with the Amazon European alternatives.

 

[javiermendoza]

As disappointed as I may be that I missed out on the restock, I didn't say that Zavvi wasn't within their rights by doing so. I simply stated that the perception to a large cross-section of dedicated patrons may come across this way, especially those who shop from the Zavvi US site. There is no need for snark or sarcasm. We're all on the same team here.

And @javiermendoza, 9am PST to 5 UK IS 8 hours. That is what I said.

My bad

 

[Shane Dale]

I missed out on the restock because for some reason I didn't receive a notification email from HDN. Shite happens. Would had liked to pick up the UK version with the english data card. Looks like I will have to settle with the Amazon European alternatives.

U can have my j card if want. I fold mine and put inside

 

[virkia]

My reaction to folded/creased j-cards . . .

 

[UpsetSmiley]

My reaction to folded/creased j-cards . . .

Shoe box. Always.