A reliable insider told us BTC will be opening a local shop here. I live in the Philippines and it’s a splendid news for us collectors. I also like their points rewards system too. They sometimes hold events where you can buy a book by using them. Neat.
I recognize it’s unfair to give a grade to Kickstarter as an entity since they all are individual, but I’m officially done, kaput, fini with any and all kickstarters.
They seriously seriously do not know how to package without damage. My last 3 (and many more behind that 3) have had issues.
First a richard corben kickstarter - damaged comic
2nd the Nocterra hardcover - damaged hardcover
Now I just got the Dreadstar Returns. My God. Who puts 15 small prints in a giant Manila folder to flop around?
It’s like being in Kindergarten with these kickstarter packagers.
1 star because I’m sick and tired of writing them for replacements each and every time.
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The refund situation is one reason I stopped buying from DCBS, and the second is the cancellations. Be sure to request a refund. I made the mistake of thinking it would be credited back to my card, but (of course I should have checked and read the fine print), it was stored as store credit. After a few months, I had to send multiple emails to ask for a credit back to my card, and because their tracking info sucks, I had to play detective to understand what/when purchase was paid, cancelled, etc., with screenshots, before their CS could issue a refund. The CS could not figure out themselves. TFAW is better here because they charge you only when they ship.
My books were cancelled with no warning, and I had to find out by checking my account. Its a shame because, I did have good experiences earlier.
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The very cheesecakey Notti and Nyce Kickstarter campaigns are always packaged well. If you like those racy comics. They are funny with the homage covers.
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My most recent order from TFAW arrived and it was packaged well. Except the bagged and boarded books weren’t wrapped in paper like usual but I only found 3 books with damage and it wasn’t shipping damage. I haven’t contacted them yet but I’m sure they’ll replace or refund.
I also didn’t pay for the bags and boards which was a pleasant surprise as my order previous had 7 damaged books and most of the bags and boards were damaged. So whether it was intentional or a mistake I appreciated it.
Received my first order from Villain Gaming today. Great overall experience and thank you!
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Another great experience from Villain Gaming and @faele !
I ordered two WOBH Jabba The Hutt 1:25 variant packages. Total of 28 books packaged in a Diamond box. Two stacks of Chang cover Bs each in a bubble envelope, taped to a large cardboard backer. The two incentive variants were sandwiched behind those in their own cardboard cocoon.
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Glad they arrived safely! The box said “Please recycle”, so I did just that! 
If the boxes aren’t beat up, I always save them to reuse.
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Only thing I don’t like about the Diamond ones are the openings on the top side edges…just have to add some extra tape to protect the guts. Otherwise they are pretty sturdy boxes.
When I first ordered from Midtown last year, they had a BAD reputation here on this post. Quite a bit of evidence of poor service in general. From what I can see, they’ve dramatically improved their service overall. I’ve ordered from them a few times, and I’ve gotten really good deals, had fast delivery times with reasonable shipping prices, and the books have always arrived in good condition with good packaging.
This last one was a single book (Nice House on the Lake #1A). It’s probably not a 9.8 (maybe 9.4/9.6), but that’s not what any shop promises, so I’m satisfied with the purchase. Well packed. Fast turnaround time.
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Midtown has upped their game tremendously since they stopped distributing DC comics. My last several orders from them have been shipped fast, secure and in mint condition.
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Haven’t heard back from them about this a week later. Just emailed them again now asking to clear any pre orders that didn’t ship.
The reason I’m so annoyed by this is that they didn’t ship any of those ms marvel’s when they came out. Then they shipped one copy out a few months ago, which came out to about $10 shipped and then they did it again last week. Absolutely ridiculous and seems like a way to move comics that have been sitting on their shelves. “Let’s see who pre-ordered these when they first came out and surprise them!”
TFAW back to extreme processing times for me. Two orders ago was shipped about 8 days after it processed. Not this time.
Just had my 7/29 order process while my 7/15 order is still being packed up and still has not been shipped yet. Can’t even get one order out the door before a second one is charged. 2+ weeks is wild.
I’m just going to have to add my current rating for TFAW star rating.
They are currently at a 2.5 stars (out of 5).
I’m not a fan of being charged a fairly significant sum of money to have the order simply sit in processing forever. I don’t care about spec, getting them while hot …I simply don’t like floating these businesses interest free loans. Charged me $335 dollars for an order 7/15 and it’s still just sitting in “processing”. Absurd and bad business.
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So let me ask, what do you do about other online shops that charge you for pre-orders at order time and it takes weeks/months for the comics to arrive based on release date? Those are much longer loans.
I know it sucks TFAW has been severely behind in getting orders out but that’s one of the things I like about TFAW ordering books, particularly pre-orders. As an example, if they charged at actual order time when I pre-ordered my Star Wars Adventures #7 back on January 2nd, it’s just now about to get released 8 months later. That would have been an 8 month interest free loan in comparison to just a few week interest free loan. And I just got charged yesterday for them after they got processed, might see a few week delay but few weeks is better than 8 months if you ask me. 
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And just FYI, my current star rating for TFAW is as follows:
- Customer Service, always top notch and they’ve taken care of every single problem every single time.
- Shipping/Processing Time, recent delays just suck but should be a 1 star, I threw in second star cause I’m patient as most of my orders are not books I’m trying to flip quickly.
- Packaging, it’s hit or miss at times but in the past year, only one package showed up with damages and they appeared to have happened pre-packaging and likely overlooked.
- Online Ordering System and Website Ease of Navigation/Use. I dinged them a star due to the indexing issue which I think could be easily addressed. It’s not a huge deal but is misleading at times.
It’s about professionalism and communication and appropriate business practices. You see, I’m fine with any system that is put into place, but if a business chooses to go with any system, follow through with that system appropriately.
For example, I used DCBS for years. I paid for every single large order months in advance and up front. That is their system and they indicated as such. Up until that last year, If I placed an order, after paying for it upfront, it was extremely rare that I didn’t received my product (like maybe 1% rate). That was for years of orders. If paying up front assures me my order…so be it. Your business, your system.
Lately, they haven’t followed through on that…same principle. I’m not giving them a loan either and I’ve stopped ordering.
TFAW has elected this system of preordering. Either get it right, change your system, or be very transparent that they simply have no darn idea of what they are doing.
The length of time makes no difference to me. It’s the principle. If they can’t handle their business and keep up…well, perhaps take a month break of orders to get it together.
The product is out…has been for some time. They have had my money. Don’t put that order into processing status and charge me if you can’t follow through with that very same process.
I tend to be all about professionalism, honesty, and proper customer service in order to receive my hard earned money. If they (or another business like DCBS who has lost my business entirely) can’t handle the traffic, get out of the game. I can live without new comics…can their business and livelihood go on without their customers?
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Villain Gaming Ratings:
- Packaging
- Communication
- Shipping time
- Online Ordering/Options (I like the ratio variant package deals)
N/A - Customer Service - Haven’t had to use it yet but the owner/operator hangs out here on the forums so probably 5 Stars if and when that happens. 
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Fair enough…
I can’t recall if TFAW has the process time listed anywhere to set expectations. Gonna go browse now…