Zavvi - Retailer chat [Europe]

adamj2326 · Apr 28, 2015

Is anybody having any difficulty uploading a picture to their customer support? Mine get's to 100% upload before saying upload failed

virkia · Apr 28, 2015

SteelbookGenius666 said:
I was referring to Nightcrawler, Riddick, Red2, Fury etc all of which have been £14.99, at my local HMV (Middlesbrough)

Thank you for reminding me of those - I stand corrected.
I did manage to get to a store at the time to buy some of those earlier titles that you mentioned (RED 2, RIDDICK, GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD) and checking my accounts I noticed that I did indeed pay GBP 14.99 for them.
However, if you factor in the travelling costs, time spent and hassle to get to an HMV - in my case over an hour each way to Oxford Street - it would possibly be cheaper for me to buy from eBay, as I've reluctantly done on occasion, or now from Xtra-vision where the prices of these new HMV exclusives seem to be from GBP 17.99 to GBP 20.99.
Regarding Xtra-vision I was wondering if anybody here has ordered the new HMV HOBBIT from them and could advise on what packaging was used for dispatch and if the example had the HMV Exclusive sticker and also how do these prices compare to HMV instore prices.
Thanks in advance for any information on this matter.

virkia · Apr 28, 2015

Mr Y Fronts said:
Luckily, It seems I am indeed a comedian, many thanks for confirming, I do try.....

As for the 2 examples you provided, I thought you were referring to Ted as you posted this in the Ted thread, but netherless, those two sellers are not exactly 'selling' these, but just advertising, they aren't yet flying off the shelves, not a single sale from either yet.

But I can bet, if zavvis recent track record is anything to go by, these sellers will have there orders cancelled, and if zavvi had any sense, they would cancel the day before shipping, and really stuff the ebay sellers up the chuff.

I do recall a few years ago, when the Skyfall Steelbook was being sold by Amazon, one particular seller had 55 listed !!, and sold over 35 when Amazon cancelled all orders over 1. I remember the seller getting the inevitable negs, although surprisingly only around 2 or 3 negs after he had to cancel everyones orders....

Hear! Hear!
Let's hope you're right as I still need a copy.

Mr Y Fronts · Apr 28, 2015

adamj2326 said:
Is anybody having any difficulty uploading a picture to their customer support? Mine get's to 100% upload before saying upload failed

I get that occasionally, have you tried to resize the picture ?, less than 2MB is better.

adamj2326 · Apr 29, 2015

Mr Y Fronts said:
I get that occasionally, have you tried to resize the picture ?, less than 2MB is better.

Thanks, managed to get it working now!

tenderheartbear · May 1, 2015

Let me be the first to defend Zavvi.

Actually, scrap that as I don't really have any opinion about them either way.

Reading through the information on their website (as written by their own representative) isn't of that much use. In regards to them getting a say on what films get steelbooks, yes, it's clear that they ask for certain titles based on what they think will sell and what a particular 'head office bod' might want to own. While some get produced in cooperation with the studios, it's quite clear than many don't.

Which begs the question, what is worthy of a steelbook? Who are you and I to say? Just because you or I don't want to own it, doesn't make it unworthy of a steelbook release. I don't want any of the PotC movies, or JPIII or Planes, but so what? Someone does. If you had the chance to have a steelbook produced for your all-time favourite movie (even if it was Howling IV) wouldn't you do it?

It's also clear that while Zavvi might request artwork, finishes and embossing etc., all of these requests have to go through the studios. Whether they are agreed is something Zavvi have no control over (as they themselves point out). This I imagine is especially true I imagine of Disney. It's also worth noting that a lot of Zavvi exclusives are nothing of the sort. Zavvi are the exclusive retailer of many titles here in the UK, but right now, their 'exclusive' Fast and Furious collection, Jurassic Park collection and 2001 are available on Amazon.de and elsewhere. To think Zavvi had any say in their finish is, well, not worth considering. The bit in your post put in bold actually highlights the issue, so certainly doesn't help your cause.

The only time I come to Zavvi's defense is when I read things like what happened in the 2001 thread with comments like 'another crap finish from Zavvi', when what people mean is 'another crap finish from Warner Bros'.

In summation, things that Zavvi are crap at include (but are not limited to)...

Customer service
Unrealistic price-hikes
Wanting photos of damages
Being unable to edit shipping addresses
Being unable to edit credit card details
Not keeping customers aware of date changes
Not having the correct artwork pictured

Things they're not to blame for...

Embossing
Silver instead of white paint
Scratches under the J-card

And various other things I've seen them blamed for.

Robsonmonkey · May 1, 2015

I wouldn't be so bothered with Zavvi if they showed some kind of improvement like they want to change but they never seem to care. They know about this forum and I know this because when they do a steelbook with bad artwork and people complain about it on these threads I always try and link it on their Facebook when they show off the artwork by a status. They "thank" me for the link, like it and tell me they'll look into it.....yet guess what nothing ever changes.

I mean why don't one or two of them get told to be a rep for the store on this site. Make an account and speak to us, make polls and ask us our opinion. I mean I've seen what this site does since I've joined and I don't think they would get much exposure for their steelbook range if it wasn't for Hi Def Ninja and other sites like it.

They know about our complaints and hell...they are probably reading this thread right now but they'll never communicate or change something we don't like.

The way I see the Zavvi situation whether they do have a say in the artwork or not is that they could ring up the studio they are doing the steelbook for and say to them

"Listen, we are very grateful you are letting us sell this steelbook for you HOWEVER we have a problem....people aren't responding well to the artwork/finish, do you think you could change it because at the end of the day if we can't sell all these copies at full price we'll have to lower it and keep lowering it untill we actually get rid of the stock. At the end of the day you'll get less money, we will, people will get ticked off and more people will not buy the next steelbook with lack of trust......get what I'm saying. So if you wouldn't mind and try again that would be super. Thanks"

Something like that.

paulboland · May 1, 2015

Robsonmonkey said:
I wouldn't be so bothered with Zavvi if they showed some kind of improvement like they want to change but they never seem to care. They know about this forum and I know this because when they do a steelbook with bad artwork and people complain about it on these threads I always try and link it on their Facebook when they show off the artwork by a status. They "thank" me for the link, like it and tell me they'll look into it.....yet guess what nothing ever changes.

I mean why don't one or two of them get told to be a rep for the store on this site. Make an account and speak to us, make polls and ask us our opinion. I mean I've seen what this site does since I've joined and I don't think they would get much exposure for their steelbook range if it wasn't for Hi Def Ninja and other sites like it.

They know about our complaints and hell...they are probably reading this thread right now but they'll never communicate or change something we don't like.

The way I see the Zavvi situation whether they do have a say in the artwork or not is that they could ring up the studio they are doing the steelbook for and say to them

"Listen, we are very grateful you are letting us sell this steelbook for you HOWEVER we have a problem....people aren't responding well to the artwork/finish, do you think you could change it because at the end of the day if we can't sell all these copies at full price we'll have to lower it and keep lowering it untill we actually get rid of the stock. At the end of the day you'll get less money, we will, people will get ticked off and more people will not buy the next steelbook with lack of trust......get what I'm saying. So if you wouldn't mind and try again that would be super. Thanks"

Something like that.

When as a retailer you agree to an exclusive you are agreeing to take all the stock at a set dealer price
The Film Studio makes full profit

The Retailer then adds its margin to the dealer price and this creates the retail price if they don't sell well and they have to sell of cheaply its the retailer who makes the loss not the film studio that is why record companies and film studios like having an exclusive with a retailer as the risk of profit and loss it with the retailer not with the distributor
The Film Studio/Distributor make full profit on every unit and if it don't sell well that's the retailers loss

A few exceptions to this when its a exclusive that has a expire time attached
3 months
6 months
1 year
With this type of exclusive the distributor can after the deal has expired offer to another retailer the release as an exclusive or make available on general release

In majority of cases an exclusive is a full profit with a Film Studio

The risk is with the retailer if they make a profit or loss

The general rule with exclusives is that you don't get sale of return or sale of exchange
If a retailer that has an exclusive that's not selling sometimes the films studio buys back the stock if they know they can sell it through another retailer if the exclusive has an expire date

There is also overstock companies who purchase titles not selling well from a retailer that has unsold stock and get this stock a very cheap price and then offer these to other retailers

I dealt with specialist companies in this area when I was in the business especially for second hand shop I was the manager off
Even the big name high street shops purchase stock from overstock companies
Customer got releases at very cheap prices but the retailer often made more profit than chart and regular top seller release as the dealer price with the overstocks created bigger profit margin

There are a few Film studios like Arrow Video who will after a set period of time take an exclusive release unsold stock back from the retailer who had the exclusive and then sell through their online shop or release it as a general release
With Arrow the exclusives are usually for 3 months or 6 months

Dan Kyte · May 3, 2015

Hey, guys. Just wondering what the procedure is when it comes to returning a steelbook? Jurassic Park: The Lost World turned up slightly damaged. Not that I'm complaining. It was the 15th steelbook I've purchased from Zavvi and the very first one to have a problem. I'd normally not bother with the effort of returning it and possibly getting a replacement but the damage is mainly on the spine - so it's very noticeable when I put it on the shelf and whatnot.

JackRegan · May 3, 2015

Dan Kyte said:
Hey, guys. Just wondering what the procedure is when it comes to returning a steelbook? Jurassic Park: The Lost World turned up slightly damaged. Not that I'm complaining. It was the 15th steelbook I've purchased from Zavvi and the very first one to have a problem. I'd normally not bother with the effort of returning it and possibly getting a replacement but the damage is mainly on the spine - so it's very noticeable when I put it on the shelf and whatnot.

Go into your account, send them a message to tell them it is damaged.
You don't want a discount,
You don't have a camera - otherwise the procedue is you send photo, they offer you a discount, you say no I don't want it, etc.
As has been said before, they have no right to ask for photos to prove the damage - so don't do it it's a game to make you surrender your consumer rights, and make it more difficult to return anything!

So if they insist on a photo make sure to tell them they have no right to ask for them and it is an infrigement of your consumer rights and you don't have a camera anyway!

They should then send you a link to a returns label, print it off, repack, take it to your local shop and they'll give you a receipt for it.

InAFalsetto · May 4, 2015

So sick of zavvi customer services. They take like 72 hours to reply or more and the returns process is pain stakingly long. It's set up that way so you don't bother sending back an item. I have 3 steelbooks with dents in them and LOADS with spline slashes that I have simply given up caring.

paulboland · May 4, 2015

InAFalsetto said:
So sick of zavvi customer services. They take like 72 hours to reply or more and the returns process is pain stakingly long. It's set up that way so you don't bother sending back an item. I have 3 steelbooks with dents in them and LOADS with spline slashes that I have simply given up caring.

Its a Bank Holiday/Public Holiday in the UK/Ireland today Monday May 4th
Lot of business are closed on a Bank Holiday and in majority of cases office staff would not be in work today
Most staff have been off since Friday evening
Returns and Finance Staff not back to work until Tuesday 5th May

You should see a reply then
I got a reply today about a problem I have with Zavvi and told me they are waiting for the finance department to return to work

Office staff work Monday to Friday
So when its a bank holiday they are not back to work till the Tuesday this happens with 99% off all business in UK/Ireland today with office staff

BluSteel2012 · May 4, 2015

paulboland said:
Its a Bank Holiday/Public Holiday in the UK/Ireland today Monday May 4th
Lot of business are closed on a Bank Holiday and in majority of cases office staff would not be in work today
Most staff have been off since Friday evening
Returns and Finance Staff not back to work until Tuesday 5th May

You should see a reply then
I got a reply today about a problem I have with Zavvi and told me they are waiting for the finance department to return to work

Office staff work Monday to Friday
So when its a bank holiday they are not back to work till the Tuesday this happens with 99% off all business in UK/Ireland today with office staff

I think his point is they still can take 72 hours to reply regardless of holidays. No one expects a problem to be resolved on the first contact email.

It's the whole process that you have to go through that turns people off. There is obviously someone working for them today if you got a reply?? But it's the 24/48/72 hr wait between each email regardless of holiday hours that is the real problem.

paulboland · May 4, 2015

BluSteel2012 said:
I think his point is they still can take 72 hours to reply regardless of holidays. No one expects a problem to be resolved on the first contact email.

It's the whole process that you have to go through that turns people off. There is obviously someone working for them today if you got a reply?? But it's the 24/48/72 hr wait between each email regardless of holiday hours that is the real problem.

I always get a reply in 24 hours if I ask a question in the morning at 9.00am about a return between Mon to Thur
Except during Xmas its 48 hours
If you asked on a Tue evening after 17.00 for example in most cases you would not get a reply until the Wed 24 hours or due to delays or been busy its Thur 48 hours

If you ask a question about a return on a Friday its not going to be until Monday that you will get a reply 72 Hours and if its a bank holiday on the Monday its not going to be until the Tuesday 96 hours you will get a return process started

My issue with Zavvi is more serious noting to do with a return its to do with illegal use of my debit card they charged my debit card the wrong price to what my order details has and pending legal action against Zavvi for letting this happen and reason why I got a reply today and it was only to let me know what department is dealing with my issue
They replied to let me know its the finance department dealing with it and they of course wont be back at the office till Tuesday 5th May

Office staff at Zavvi are no different to all other business they work Mon to Friday
UK time 9.00 to 17.00
So if you ask a question early in the morning in most cases Mon to Thur you would get a reply around 15.00 to 16.00 that day or the next working day
Working Day is Mon to Fri
When its a Bank Holiday on a Monday its Tue to Friday

Office Staff that deal with Finance issues and Returns issues is different to IT Staff and Warehouse Staff
To run the website during a bank holiday weekend they would have only a basic level of staff to keep the website running
If its just cancelling an order the basic staff is all that's needed not the office staff

BluSteel2012 · May 4, 2015

paulboland said:
I always get a reply in 24 hours if I ask a question in the morning at 9.00am about a return between Mon to Thur
Except during Xmas its 48 hours
If you asked on a Tue evening after 17.00 for example in most cases you would not get a reply until the Wed 24 hours or due to delays or been busy its Thur 48 hours

If you ask a question about a return on a Friday its not going to be until Monday that you will get a reply 72 Hours and if its a bank holiday on the Monday its not going to be until the Tuesday 96 hours you will get a return process started

There you have it. 24/48/72 hour response times. As I described in my post above yours. :rolleyes:

You basically just re-enforced my point.

Not everyone can have the time or be seated at their desk with a stopwatch to send an email at exactly 09.00am, so obviously response times will vary.

paulboland · May 4, 2015

BluSteel2012 said:
There you have it. 24/48/72 hour response times. As I described in my post above yours. You basically just re-enforced my point.

Not everyone can have the time or be seated at their desk with a stopwatch to send an email at exactly 09.00am, so obviously response times will vary.

It will depend on when you asked for a return
If you contact about a return on a Friday evening or Friday Night that's why it will be 72 hours or more
That's because the office staff and Finance staff would not be working Sat/Sun

Test it for yourself next time about a return
Yes they will always go through the usual offering you a partial discount before they agree to a full refund and return but if you stick to your request you will get your full refund and return or they might agree to let you keep it and full refund if postage costs to return is to expensive for customers outside of the UK

Some are OK with a partial refund others are not depends on the person involved
If they can save money they will its a business

If you contact them on a Monday or Tue or Wed you would get a reply that day or next day = 24/48 hours as per the auto email you get when you send them a message
If you contact them on the Friday evening about a return it will in most cases not be replied till next working day the Mon and Tue if Mon is a Bank Holiday

paulboland · May 4, 2015

Just a reminder to all especially members outside of the UK

A note on Zavvi Website
Zavvi Help News
Please note that we will be closed on the below dates for Bank Holidays,
The dates are:
Monday 4th May

Monday 25th May

Monday 31st August

If your contacted them today you will in most cases wont get a reply till Tue 5th of May

InAFalsetto · May 5, 2015

Paul stop defending Zavvi.

They are no good. They need to improve their services. I want all companies to look at Amazon for inspiration. Quick, well protected delivery and fantastic returns procedure.

paulboland · May 5, 2015

InAFalsetto said:
Paul stop defending Zavvi.

They are no good. They need to improve their services. I want all companies to look at Amazon for inspiration. Quick, well protected delivery and fantastic returns procedure.

You serious
You must not have read my posts very clearly here and in other threads
Read again were it says I'm taking Zavvi to Court for illegal use of my Debit Card how on earth is that defending Zavvi

My post to you was to point out as you live in USA yesterday was a Bank Holiday in the UK and they were not returning to work till today Tuesday 5th May
Zavvi Offices as in (Office staff and Help staff) were closed yesterday and its posted on their website
They don't deal with returns on Sat/Sun and Bank Holidays and that's normal for majority of online business as most office staff work Mon to Fri
http://help.zavvi.com/?lang=en&locale=gb

Send them a message today and they will reply to you today or tomorrow

virkia · May 7, 2015

InAFalsetto said:
Paul stop defending Zavvi.

They are no good. They need to improve their services. I want all companies to look at Amazon for inspiration. Quick, well protected delivery and fantastic returns procedure.

And suddenly without warning no free posting unless you have GBP 20 worth of stuff in your basket (or unless you have Amazon Prime)... Not at all impressed with this new development as I was not at all impressed when they removed free shipping unless you previously had GBP 10 in your basket.
Thank you Zavvi for maintaining Free Shipping and for some very tasty recent steelbooks!

Zavvi - Retailer chat [Europe]

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