Figarti I,m PO,ed! (1 Viewer)

[jazzeum]

Brad...

After recently commenting upon a member and his ties etc to a manufacturer and his alleged defence or whatever one wants to call it is calling a member petulant really called for considering the well known ties you have/had or still have with Figarti. Its equally the case that some could say that your comments are more in keeping with someone with such ties and could be expected.

I am not certain that it would be warranted but, can see how it could be thought. Did you contact Rick about the damage to the stuka if you don't mind me asking? Was the response the reason why you sold it shortly after the show? I know from comments with a number of people that they have not been satisfied with the additional expense of returning an item for repair and then risk additional damage in a long haul dispatch and return.

I think this is the very place to air ones annoyances at such issues when the price we are paying is not really peanuts. I know I have contacted Figarti about damage to two pieces and received no reply back.

What are collectors to do?
Mitch

Mitch,

I don't mind you me asking about my ties to Figarti considering what I said about another member. Fair is fair. I consider Rick a friend although I'm not in constant contact with him. However, that doesn't mean that I won't contact Rick privately if something irks me. However, I won't lambaste him on the Forum. There are better ways to express your point of view. I have received two items from him as gifts. One is when we were in China on vacation in 2010 and we visited the factory and as a result he gave me a tank. However, his standing policy is that he will give any collector who visits the factory any item of his or her choice. This was therefore not something I received that another collector who was visiting the factory would not have. I was asked to help out at the Figarti table at the Valley Forge Show in 2011, although not by Rick (although he was given a list of who would be doing so), and he provided a tank to each person who did so.

I did not contact Rick or anyone from Figarti about the Stuka. I was not happy so I sold it. I never did mention it to Rick.

I never said Figarti shouldn't get criticism for the paint flaking issue. However, I believe Rick has said in the past that if someone has an issue they should contact Figarti. As I've only had an issue with one item (and that occurred before Rick made the announcement) I have never done so. I don't know if Figarti's policy is that they will pay for the cost incurred by the collector to send the item back to Figarti. However, if not, I believe they should do so.

My only point in making the comments about being balanced in our comments is that we shouldn't "throw the baby out with the bathwater."

My further view is that sometimes whatever you say is unlikely to change minds. I have basically said what I have to say and am unlikely to say more on the topic, especially as this is not a new issue.

Although I am not affiliated with the company in any capacity, I don't think it's good that you contacted them and received no reply. If this should happen in the future, please let me know and I will see what I can do to get you a response, although I would first work through Clive.

Brad

 

[desk11desk12]

Gary:

Simple question: Have you contacted Figarti or did you just want to make sure everybody got as angry as you?

If it’s the latter, you’ve succeeded. Congratulations, old wounds are fresh again. The set you’re talking about was released 3-4 years ago.

Please now, contact Figarti and they’ll take care of this issue despite your post.

They stand behind their product, don’t know anyone who have tried ever been disappointed.

Carlos

 

[gk5717]

Brad posted that he thought I might be "petulant" in regards to Figarti.
I wasn,t sure of the exact meaning of the word petulant so I looked it up in the dictionary. It means "ill tempered"
Brad you are 100% right. I am ill tempured with Figarti. No I can,t claim to have 65 problems with Figarti as Mitch did, but I certainly had my share. Some corrected others not. I have been petulant with Figarti since I discovered the flakeing on my $1600 E-Boat. I did talk to Rick about it. He said send it back and we will repair it. OK, now lets be realistic, that boat arrived initially, slightly damaged. Would any reasonable person expect this boat to go to China, then back to the USA and arrive intact? I think not. Then who is going to foot the $200, each way, shipping cost?
This whole thing came to a boil when I went to sell that artillary set and just then discovered more flaking. Oh, and I looked at my V-2 rocket, and it looks as if it might also be in the process of some flaking. Frankly I don,t really want to inspect closely any other of my remaining Figarti sets as I don,t want to get more petulant than I am now!
Gary

 

[Toy Soldier Brigade]

They've disappointed me many times

 

[HAWKEYE]

This is exactly the sort of thing you don't want to see happen; much like the panic in the streets that the "I've got a problem with the new Figarti Stuka" caused, to the point where collectors were cancelling their orders on a plane that in the end did not have any issues, a plane which is now sold out, so said collectors now have lost the opportunity to own one all over nothing.

Don't let the negative experience of a collector/collectors (wow Mitch, 65 repair/repaints, that's quite a number) deter you from buying something; if nothing else, simply ask the dealer you're considering buying the piece from to check it prior to shipment. AND, if you do have an issue with the item after getting it, rest assured it will be taken care of, all Figarti dealers and Figarti themselves stand behind their products.

I've sold well over 1,000 Figarti items in the time that I've been a dealer (I've been with them since their first trip to the Chicago show, thanks for having me as a dealer Rick) and I can count the number of issues customers have had with items shipped by me to them on one hand and every last one of those were resolved either directly by me or with Ricks and Peters assistance.

At the end of the day, all of the manufacturers stand behind their products 100%, as do the dealers who represent the products, the manufacturers have stood behind their products for me whenever there has been an issue, never once have I had a manufacturer tell me "Sorry, you and your customer are out of luck on this one."

Ok, carry on fellas.

well i am one of collectors that has bought a few figarti from george and the other were bought on site in chicago thru the years. i have the k9 railway gun, the owl, the train, all the fabulous russian tanks, shermans, fireflys, mkivs jagdpanzers, grants and probably a few i am missing off the top of my head and i must say i have really never had any problems. well i did have one with the k9 and the figarti team gladly fixed it in chicago. but i have had zero paint problem. maybe i am lucky. but if you knew my luck i have really never one anything except for a couple beautiful kids. i love my figarti items and hopefully they make some more cool vehicles. but as for problems i have not had any and i know if had some rick and his team would make them right. and i know george would certainly stand behind what he sell as i had dealt with him for over a decade. maybe the flaking has something to do with the environment they are being displayed in. hopefully everybody gets their issues settled. take care. greg

 

[toyking]

i have been collecting figarti for about eight years i have over 80 vehicles as i always purchase 2 of each because through my experience in the past their has been always something broke on the vehicle,mostly small stuff do to tight packaging and the fragile nature of figarti vehicles.i have also noticed after displaying vehicles after a certain amount of time i have seen paint peeling on several of the models.i can understand the frustration for someone paying 289.00 for a figarti tank and have it arrive broke or have a paint issue.i see both sides of issue some points #1 figarti is not that accessible to most people as they dont communicate on the forum and are not very good with returning customers emails to discuss problems and concerns.also not all collectors have the talent to repair themselves or have the funds to send back to china for repair not realistic.also the limited production of figarti vehicles usually 100 or so if peeling occurs down the road a replacement from your dealer might not be possible.that being said the past three years or so i have seen a huge difference in the amount of breakage and paint issues almost none at all for me. And when i have had any issues at all george "warrior" has taken care of it right away super fast no cost to me. And also i have approached rick at the chicago show and vented and he has always addressed my issues and taken care of it. this has not changed my collecting of figarti product. i do not carry the figarti flag but i do like their vehicles and will continue to collect them.All manufacturers have their issues nobody is perfect and i am sure they all work hard to give us the best product. My advise is if you are not happy with a company and feel you cannot get any recourse just collect something else.

 

[TomNT]

Hi fellas

I have quite a few Figarti AFV's and vehicles and most of them arrived to me in one piece and in good condition. I did have a couple of minor issues with two of them so i contacted Peter Wang at Figarti by email and he responded to me very quickly to organise the vehicles to be returned to China for repairs. It did not cost me a cent as he arranged for the Fedex pickup and return and the vehicles are now in good condition. My advice to you is contact your dealer and or Peter or Rick and you should get satisfaction in getting your vehicle repaired. I might add that i live in a climate that has high humidity for 7 months or so during the year so i am concerned about the climate affecting the paint on not only my Figarti collection, but also my K&C, TG, CS, FV and FL collection. So far i haven’t had any major issues and many of my items (including Figarti) were purchased many years ago.

Tom

 

[uksubs]

One last comment on Figarti products. Don,t know if any of you had this feeling. A box of new Figarti products would arrive on your doorstep, you would bring it in the house, open the outer box, then stare at the Figarti box, AFRAID to open it as you knew there would be damage.
Finally two years ago I said this is insane, it should be fun. I corrected the problem and stopped buying Figarti.
Now I face the dilema do I sell my remaining Figarti, knowing for certain that the product most likely will not arrive safely at the new owners or do I keep them and wait for the paint to flake?
Sounds like I,m booking a loser no matter what.
Gary

To be fair Gary on the old Figarti set your right you are worried that there be paint missing every v2 figure set I've had they had paint missing but not had any problem with any of there new stuff and does not put me buying Figarti

 

[buffalohibernia]

To be fair Gary on the old Figarti set your right you are worried that there be paint missing every v2 figure set I've had they had paint missing but not had any problem with any of there new stuff and does not put me buying Figarti

I like very much the Figarti range of figures and vehicles. Since my cabinets are jammed packed, my policy is to sell an item when I buy a new one. So I was perplexed, when I recently sold some Figarity figures and the paint flaked off in my hand. I generally don't handle the figures after they are placed in my cabinet. I was, to say the least, PO'ed but the buyer was great and knew about the problem.

Fran

 

[Firebat]

Half of my collection is Figarti....I had one problem with the Long Tom......Easy fix......

They are among my favorites.

I didnt even read this whole thread....Just giving my experience.


No Problem



No Problem



No Problem




No Problem




NO Problem



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No Problem



And on and on and on

High quality highly detailed products

 

[jbonzo1]

Half of my collection is Figarti....I had one problem with the Long Tom......Easy fix......

They are among my favorites.

I didnt even read this whole thread....Just giving my experience.


No Problem



No Problem



No Problem




No Problem




NO Problem



No Problem



No Problem



And on and on and on

High quality highly detailed products

Outstanding work. The black and white photos are especially nice.
So far, I've had no problems with my Figarti pieces... But I do take a deep breath before opening the box on a new purchase!

 

[Firebat]

Outstanding work. The black and white photos are especially nice.
So far, I've had no problems with my Figarti pieces... But I do take a deep breath before opening the box on a new purchase!

First of all Thank You.........I agree... Figarti was the first manufacturer to approach making Toy Soldiers more like scale models, which made their stuff somewhat delicate.

They prgrerssed through different packaging, to deter breakage and different construction methods. Yes there were problems. As I said, I have had few problems and I think they, as of late, have not had any problems.

I personally love their stuff and I hope they work out all of their bugs, if there are still any.

I have no business relationship with Figarti, but I am friends with Rick and Peter. I do not blow hot air. When I saw this problem I immediately contacted Peter and he Imediately contacted the forum member with the problem. It is being worked on now and I will stay with it until it is favorably resolved.

I worship no manufacturer and I hold them accountable for good products, especially with the current pricing. What power or authority do I have to make such statements..NONE...but my money and where it is spent does. Alex