PNSO dinosaurs

[Psittacoraptor]

@ceratopsian That sucks about the handling fee. I guess I should be happy that I enjoyed tax-free and handing fee-free dinosaur figures for a while.

@SRF @Kapitaenosavrvs It's definitely the best way of handling the new import tax situation because you avoid customs processing and handling fees. It just sucks seeing everything get more expensive. All the smaller models were tax-free in my country under the old rules, those days are over. Seeing these things happen when massive corporations evade taxes left and right, and hoard billions and billions of profit overseas just rubs me the wrong way. But hey, let's tax the populace a little more.

I don't want to complain too much because you can still get good deals (probably still the cheapest compared to non-Chinese resellers), and it's still crazy to me that shipping from China is free, but the new checkout window was definitely not a nice thing to see this morning.

[Kapitaenosavrvs]

@ceratopsian That sucks about the handling fee. I guess I should be happy that I enjoyed tax-free and handing fee-free dinosaur figures for a while.

@SRF @Kapitaenosavrvs It's definitely the best way of handling the new import tax situation because you avoid customs processing and handling fees. It just sucks seeing everything get more expensive. All the smaller models were tax-free in my country under the old rules, those days are over. Seeing these things happen when massive corporations evade taxes left and right, and hoard billions and billions of profit overseas just rubs me the wrong way. But hey, let's tax the populace a little more.

I don't want to complain too much because you can still get good deals (probably still the cheapest compared to non-Chinese resellers), and it's still crazy to me that shipping from China is free, but the new checkout window was definitely not a nice thing to see this morning.

Yes, but we also have to be honest, that even Packages worth of like 70 Euros of Figures from AE never got taxed because they (The seller) wrote a Value of under 22 Euros on the Package (to Germany). So, that was kind of... you know. But yes, it is quite bad. I guess i was dreaming a bit, that a few Packages could slip trough, but of course you are right with it being easy this way.

That the Shipping is free feels indeed a bit hard sometimes. :D But this is a completely different Topic.

[Psittacoraptor]

@Kapitaenosavrvs That's true, some sellers undervalue. But sometimes packages were exempt from tax despite the value being correctly declared on the box. For example, last month I got a package valued more than 100€, with the correct invoice and price on the box. Customs just put a green "tax free" sticker on it. They clearly read the invoice because the envelope was opened, and the value checked with a pen. You can't even say "slipped through" in these cases because customs did process the shipment. I guess someone felt generous or wasn't in the mood for paper work that day.

[Duna]

When it's charged up front, you probably won't be charged with any handling costs of the postal services in your own country, which here it can go up to €10,- per parcel which I have to pay extra on top of the VAT rates.

THAT'S IT. If the VAT is charged previously, it will probably go directly to your home and no more charges required. If not, at least in Spain and from my experience, you will be charged those 4-6€ for VAT and 12€ MORE  for handling, etc. Even if you pay 1€ for VAT.

[Over9K]

Heads up for anyone wanting the big 20" Chungkingosaurus, I was able to grab one on eBay from a US Seller asking $65 shipped. The listing says they have three left at that price. That's the best price I had seen for it in a while. YMMV.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/203276515648


I really love the character of this piece, can't wait to have it in hand!

[SRF]

Well speaking of the new VAT regulations and delivery of items, I'm still waiting for Andrea to show up at my doorstep. It should arrive today according to the track&trace info, but the status now says it's delayed. According to the detailed info, it hasn't moved in the last five days.

So even when paying the new VAT up front, it now still takes longer to process parcels, I guess. 

[thedeadlymoose]

As part of a bigger Aliexpress sale, PNSO has a sale going on for their Aliexpress store for 10% off for a few figures, and 20% off of Zaha and Andrea. May be of interest given the recent prices increases...

https://pnso.aliexpress.com/store/sale-items/912243411.html?spm=a2g0o.store_pc_allProduct.pcShopHead_6001558724388.2

[Over9K]

'A Scent On The Breeze'

Tarbosaurus bataar by PNSO

[SRF]

For us Europeans:

In earlier posts I have mentioned the Dutch webshop Speelboer.com selling PNSO figures. If you're in the Netherlands, Belgium or Germany you can buy PNSO figures here with ease, perhaps from other European countries as well. The big problem was that PNSO figures are much more expensive at this store than they are on AliExpress or even Amazon.

But... that has actually changed. Out of curiosity I looked at the website to see how far behind the stock is compared to what is now released by PNSO. Turns out they have the Carcharodontosaurus, Tarbosaurus, Yutyrannus, Torvosaurus and Stegosaurus in stock now. Prices are much more the same as they are on AliExpress, but with the advantage that you don't have to pay any additional taxes of course.

This actually means that this website will be a better source for PNSO figures than AliExpress. It only takes longer before figures are available. Maybe I'm going to pick up the Stegosaurus after all in the near future and I'll just wait untill the Olorotitan is availble from here as well.

Sadly this doesn't apply to older releases though, meaning that the Yutyrannus and Pachycephalosaurus are priced the same. I do wonder what this store will charge for the Nanotyrannus...

[SidB]

'A Scent On The Breeze'

Tarbosaurus bataar by PNSO

Nice image, @Over9K , that's just how I pictured our stocky friend, testing the air for an item of interest.

[need4swede]

My Ankylosaurus has quite a bit of paint scheme difference compared to other forum member's and youtube reviews. Noticeably there is a splash of a cloudy/light pink on the club. Also, there is this sort of very very light gray paint/wash over the entire figure, compared to most member's figure or youtube reviews, the light gray wash/paint is not as heavy as mine is.

Mine's the exact same way. Thoroughly disappointing, as all the photos I had seen of the Ankylosaurus looked fantastic.
You can imagine my surprise when I opened the packaging and found what I thought must have been some sort of Halloween version of the model, with its pale coloration and lifeless presence.



I reached out to PNSO about this, sharing an additional image of someone else's model that was far more colorful, and this is what I got back.

Hi,
Thanks for contacting us.
Without box information I cannot tell if the two in your images are in same batch,
I think we are no longer have Ankylosaurus like the color in your first image. Maybe the first one is a very very old version make that orange.
Hope this helps and thanks for your support our brand.
Thanks

I want to press on and see what's going on here, as this is hardly a sustainable business practice. As much as I like their sculpts, they won't be able to keep customers if this sort of thing continues, and as someone who likes their products and wants to see them succeed, I genuinely want them to do better.

[Bread]

@need4swede yeah apparently there are different batches for this figure. The first batch is the best and the original of the bunch. Second is the worst of them all, which I have. There is a third that has a slight improvement and I believe a fourth is either coming soon or out already. Can't comment on the fourth as I have yet to see it or mentioned of it.

When did you order yours?

[need4swede]

@need4swede yeah apparently there are different batches for this figure. The first batch is the best and the original of the bunch. Second is the worst of them all, which I have. There is a third that has a slight improvement and I believe a fourth is either coming soon or out already. Can't comment on the fourth as I have yet to see it or mentioned of it.

When did you order yours?

@Bread
I bought mine from ED earlier last month.
If the advertising for the product falsely represents the variant that will ultimately be adopted by the paying consumer, then the failure to disclose the intrinsic differences between the variations is negligent at best and downright nefarious at worst.

Here's the model as advertised:



Here's what the box looks like:



Both the resellers and the manufacturer (via their website and via the item's boxart) are misrepresenting and falsely advertising the end product. If changes have been made to the supplied variations of the product, then those changes should be adequately represented. This is a burden on the side of the manufacturer/supplier, of course, and not the reseller. Purely as a point of reference, consumer protection laws within the United States cover cases such as, "Misleading illustrations or photographs; or the use of coloring or other modifications to make a product appear to be of a different quality".

Things like this can tarnish a corporation's reputation and I genuinely do not wish to discourage people from ordering models from PNSO, but unless something changes about how they go about advertising their pieces, I cannot in good faith recommend any of their products. This isn't something limited to the Ankylosaurus (as this whole thread has proven), so I hope I can reach out to the appropriate representatives to have this sort of thing addressed so that they may continue to make wonderful products without it feeling like a game of Russian roulette every time I click on 'Place Order'.

[Faelrin]

Unfortunately this sort of thing isn't new at all. It's happened with Papo and possibly other companies like Safari Ltd for years now. It's just the unfortunate reality of the industry.

Here's a really good video on the subject:

https://youtu.be/xpuqHuYH34I


Edit: Linked the wrong vid at first. Oops.

[Bread]

Thanks for the vid @Faelrin and what you said is right. It has been apparent for a while now and it will never go away.

@need4swede I don't know how recent ED has gotten their shipment of the other batch of PNSO Ankylosaurus (plural) as they seem to get their order of PNSO figures later than U.S. retailers. As a result, you may have gotten the Ankylosaurus from batch 2 or 3. Again the second batch being the worst so far. Apparently if you purchase from Amazon or PNSO's direct Aliexpress store, you will be able to get their newest batch of Ankylosaurus. I have yet to try this as I am worried if it will just be the same figure I have currently (batch 2).

I do agree with everything you have stated and its ashame that the quality decreased this bad with their paint scheme. Note that this is not the only figure that has experienced this sort of drop in paint quality. The Pachyrhinosaurus also seems to be getting this sort of treatment but I have yet to see comparisons of it, just been mentioned and seen images of the single bad batch of the figure.

[BrontoScorpio]

All I can think of is a quote from monty python :  "people have too much time on their hands ..."
or, was it ".. aren't wearing enough hats ... "

Here ...

[RobinGoodfellow]

[suspsy]

Instead of "improved paint," it might have been nice if they had given Sede an entirely new colour scheme.

[Bread]

Speaking of new color scheme for Sede, what about Lucio the Amargasaurus repaint? Has anyone received one of the new ones yet, I am looking into buying the new color scheme?

[Antey]

Today I ordered a new version in their brand store on Aliexpress. when I get it, I will definitely show the photos here.