Online purchase frustration...the hard fact about being a collector on the other side of the world...

If you haven't noticed, I've been rambling about Mattel's movie Egon Spengler figure since it was first hyped out (AND sold out) during the recent SDCC 2009. It was an instant hit, sold out within minutes at Mattel's booth. But rest assured that Mattel would be opening the figure up for sale through their http://www.mattycollector/ website on the 3rd of August.....so it seems.
And so began my quest of waiting for the figure to be finally released online on Mattel's website. It was quite a wait, coupled with the fact that time differences meant that sleep disorder patterns would definitely accompany me while waiting for the order time to be opened to the mass public. When the the word "Available Now" appeared for the 1st time (that was about midnight circa 11 pm local Malaysian time) next to the product picture, I was ecstatic and immediately tried to buy one immediately. God knows I've been waiting to get this figure since it was first announced mid of last year!!! But I was instantly greeted with frustration as my transaction could not get through. Heck I tried both my credit cards to see if there was any problem in using either Visa or Mastercard. Many attempts ensued, each time I was prompted with an error message that says "Unable to process request. Kindly check information".....which I did many many times.
I gave up sometime near 2am and decided to try again the next day. Yup, you've guessed it....it didn't work either. And on Wednesday again I was left flabbergasted as the error message continued to pop out again and again. I was eventually left prepared to face the inevitable fate of missing out on this figure. What made matters worse was that Mattel did not have any email addresses that I could refer my case to. Their hotline was...well, rather hard to reach. *Sigh*
And on Thursday morning (Malaysian time), the figure was sold out......as expected.
For the record, I refuse to bow down to the demands of eBay scalpers who instantenously marked up Egon's prices up to ridiculous amounts. And for that, I'm left frustrated and I shall now accept that there isn't a level playing field in action-figure collecting for us here on the other side of the world.....sounds pretty whiny eh? That's because I am trying to be...hahahah!
I've always maintained that I have no qualms on using online transactions and all those means of cyber payments. Unfortunately, this is one time that the ever-reliable technology wasn't on my side....very timely indeed!
Darn....

Comments

Hey bro, how much for it plus shipping? I did not even bother to try...
The Rebel said…
It was only USD30 plus shipping Adrian....all the way to Malaysia, using Int Post....if u opt for the courier..(I think it was some sort of a Fedex equivalent) then the shipping quadraples!......

Yeah, u're right bro....maybe I shdn't have bothered too, very frustrating experience indeed...:(
darthmental said…
chill bro. tu la lumrah collector. kadang2 ada duit pun blum tentu bleh dapat kan? kalu hang btui2 nak bleh try secondry market la. tu pun kalu hang sanggup bayaq harga dia. bergantung la. kadang2 berbaloi, kadang2 tak.
dude, i added u in my link list,
can u add my page as well?

thanks.
Dash MacBastard said…
You need a contact on the other side of the world to pick this stuff up in case you run into those problems, bro. The scalpers on Ebay will end up raping you. If it happens again contact me and I'll try it on my end.
Email;
snakepitfletcher@aol.com
Armand said…
Well that just sucks balls man... I feel you my brother!
The Rebel said…
Sure, asrul...welcome aboard Ilhamology!!!
The Rebel said…
Dash, that's very kind of you...I'll sure keep your offer in mind next time bro! I'm still reeling from not bein' able to buy Egon....but I'm gonna try to get the rest of the GB and some of the MOTU figures....so I'll keep ya posted... :D
desmond said…
This is defintely a nice figure to have in toy collection. Very classic figure!! But luck is not at your side..Sorry to hear that..
The Rebel said…
Desmond,

I just wish Asian collectors have the same shot at owning these SDCC exclusives.....*sigh*.....
Dash MacBastard said…
Rebel- No problem, bro. Collector's need to stick together and I personally hate seeing anyone paying a scalper three times the originally price of a figure.