Zavvi - Retailer chat [Europe]

Blu-devil · Mar 25, 2015

Rumblings about Zavvi's finances and credit.

UpsetSmiley · Mar 25, 2015

Blu-devil said:
Rumblings about Zavvi's finances and credit.

That's just gossip. Although re-releasing arguably their greatest ever release (Roger Rabbit) does seem like they've taken a loss or something.

Slinchafi · Mar 27, 2015

UpsetSmiley said:
That's just gossip. Although re-releasing arguably their greatest ever release (Roger Rabbit) does seem like they've taken a loss or something.

The "greatest" part being very relative. If you're in a tight spot, you're looking for something that's a financial success. Sure, they were probably very happy with selling all 3000 copies of WFRR, but that number is minuscule in comparison to the amounts of steelbooks sold when you look at titles like IM3 or Frozen.

Thomas Evans · Mar 27, 2015

Andycadle84 said:
You'd think that with the premium price they charge on steelbooks, they could afford to ship steelbooks in proper boxes- This is all for the sake of saving money on packaging costs, but ironically this will cost them more in respects to returns if there are that many damaged steelbooks.
Poor form from Zavvi- Who'd of thought...

Zavvi don't refund for returns. Same as Zavvi.

That is why I am so livid.

You never get a proper apology.

wayne71 · Mar 27, 2015

Still waiting..... and heres the reply...

Hello Wayne,

Thank you for placing order with us.

I am sorry to let you know that there has been a problem in the warehouse which has resulted in your order being stopped prior to dispatch.

I understand this is disappointing and we are sorry. I will investigate further and request for the order to be sent to you as soon as possible. Should there be a problem with dispatching the order, we will arrange for this to be cancelled and for the money to be returned to your account upon confirmation of the cancellation.

I will be in contact shortly to give you an update. Thank you for your patience.

If there is anything else that we can do, then please do not hesitate to get in touch and a member of our team will be happy to help.

Kind regards,
Dave

Zavvi.com Customer Service Team

UpsetSmiley · Mar 27, 2015

Thomas Evans said:
Zavvi don't refund for returns. Same as Zavvi.

That is why I am so livid.

You never get a proper apology.

They will cover the postage costs for damaged items. If you're in the UK, you'll get a Collect Plus label, if you haven't yet. Tweet them @ZavviHelp.

Basil · Mar 27, 2015

Thomas Evans said:
Pathetic card wallet it was sent in...

You can see the mark in the bottom left hand corner where it has been clipped or pressed by something and damaged the steelbook.

Zavvi don't seem to be using the white card Steelbook boxes anymore. Really disappointing.

so great zavvi moved away from white boxes again we had this problem a while ago and everyones steels got damaged and in the end took some of the staff here to ask them to go back to them and they promised they would and duly did to be fair but now here we are again same bloody problem is it me or some zavvi manager trying to say pence per steel in the shortsightedness game again :banghead:

perhaps the staff here need to let them know yet again the issues

basil

blu-steel · Mar 27, 2015

One thing is for sure. It artificially lowers the collector grade % of these steels if they ship them in envelopes. Probably half are going to be damaged.

Mrhoyt · Mar 27, 2015

So Zavvi are trying to do a Boxgate again, if anything comes with even a tiny dent they can keep their ****.

levi · Mar 27, 2015

i think they are trying to save money

Mrhoyt · Mar 27, 2015

levi said:
i think they are trying to save money

Would have been smarter to charger a couple of pounds fro shipping and still use the boxes.

Geek Tragedy · Mar 27, 2015

levi said:
i think they are trying to save money

Last time they used these they claimed they were out of the white boxes and the vendor was having a problem getting them more.

levi · Mar 27, 2015

Geek Tragedy said:
Last time they used these they claimed they were out of the white boxes and the vendor was having a problem getting them more.

i find it a coincidence people were speculating that zavvi were in some sort of financial trouble, and now they are using card envelopes. that's why i thought its a cost cutting exercise.

psychoscot · Mar 27, 2015

levi said:
i find it a coincidence people were speculating that zavvi were in some sort of financial trouble, and now they are using card envelopes. that's why i thought its a cost cutting exercise.

Not speculation, Financial Times had an article on it, they are struggling. [emoji2]

paulboland · Mar 27, 2015

psychoscot said:
Not speculation, Financial Times had an article on it, they are struggling.

What Financial Times Article
Last one I seen was from 2008 and that was when Zavvi went into administration and then was taken over by the hut group in 2009 who have been making increased profits since then

From what I have heard Zavvi are not in any financial trouble as the hut group have increased profits for tax year ending 2014

Did it not occur to anyone its possible the delay in shipping was due to running out of white boxes and was them awaiting delivery of the new packaging that some are now getting with deliveries and from what I've seen its the similar packaging AmazonUK use for Steelbooks

Mr Y Fronts · Mar 27, 2015

paulboland said:
What Financial Times Article
Last one I seen was from 2008 and that was when Zavvi went into administration and then was taken over by the hut group in 2009 who have been making increased profits since then

From what I have heard Zavvi are not in any financial trouble as the hut group have increased profits for tax year ending 2014

Did it not occur to anyone its possible the delay in shipping was due to running out of white boxes and was them awaiting delivery of the new packaging that some are now getting with deliveries and from what I've seen its the similar packaging AmazonUK use for Steelbooks

I think Paulboland is right here, the articles available online (and I've been looking hard) are based only around the original collapse of the Zavvi high street chains (formally Virgin Megastore) and The Hut Group bought the Zavvi name and soon began trading online with it. The Hut Group are actually doing well at the moment and are in profit (having suffered big losses a few years back).

However I don't think the shipping of steelbooks from their Warrington warehouse is due to a lack of White boxes as I received my '71 in the white boxes 2 days back, and this was a part of the Studiocanal series of delays. I'm assuming a credit/payment problem was to blame and the steelbooks where shipped to Warrington as they would be shipped out quicker, rather than sending to the Channel Islands which would have delayed these even longer.

I just hope this Isn't a problem with the White boxes as I can't stand the cardboard envelopes (Horns and Paddington came in these), last time I had a delivery in those envelopes, I had damaged steels (V For Vendetta).

I hope also this is not the start of a cost cutting exercise, and Zavvi are shutting the Guernsey warehouse.

Mobley · Mar 28, 2015

only guessing but if they are shutting the Guernsey warehouse down its all to do with the ending of Low Value Consignment Relief allowing items less than £15 to be sold to the UK VAT free, some time back. Maybe changing things around just like play.com. Moving to the UK, as it may be cheaper now that certain tax doors are shut.
Had a few orders this week and all have been in white boxes from Guernsey

darczap · Mar 28, 2015

If they are delaying orders because they are truely out of the white boxes, why not delay all the orders and send out a communication to customers or put a statement up on the site indicating the situation? That would be great customer service and people would be more than understanding I'm sure. We need to remember, this is Zavvi though, and customer service and transparency are not their strong part at all. Amazon UK's packaging is not good either but they are not touting their products as highly collectible and then under delivering in packaging.

Mr Y Fronts · Mar 28, 2015

Mobley said:
only guessing but if they are shutting the Guernsey warehouse down its all to do with the ending of Low Value Consignment Relief allowing items less than £15 to be sold to the UK VAT free, some time back. Maybe changing things around just like play.com. Moving to the UK, as it may be cheaper now that certain tax doors are shut.
Had a few orders this week and all have been in white boxes from Guernsey

The weird thing is, when Play shut down due to the £15 LVC issue, Zavvi set up there warehouse AFTER the LVC started which doesn't make much sense, especially as the Guernsey customs declaration on my '71 has the VAT pre-paid, so they ARE paying the VAT now anyway.

So why bother with a Guernsey warehouse if they are paying the VAT ?, there must be something more to having the Guernsey operating that I must be missing? maybe it just an extra storage unit and nothing more, but it would be one of the first things I would close if I was going to cut costs.

It would be interesting to see if upcoming steelbooks arrive in the white boxes or card envelopes, and also WHERE they are shipped from.

gaeljet · Mar 29, 2015

no one anwsered

so i'm reposting

"i was wondering, if you buy 4 steels and get the tracked shipping method for free(international shipping), is the package better/are the steels more protected? does it get generally delivered faster(as i would guess)?
thanks in advance!"

Zavvi - Retailer chat [Europe]

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Blu-devil

Steelbook Surgeon General

UpsetSmiley

The Ninja with True Grit

Slinchafi

Vinyl Ninja

Thomas Evans

wayne71

UpsetSmiley

The Ninja with True Grit

Basil

The Helpful Fox

blu-steel

Mrhoyt

levi

Mrhoyt

Geek Tragedy

Lenticular Belt

levi

psychoscot

Crazy Ninja 88

paulboland

Contributor Steels/Arrow

Mr Y Fronts

Mobley

darczap

Mr Y Fronts

gaeljet

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