is Kebco reliable? (merged)

[odi-wan windu]

is it?

[JrJedi]

My opinion - YES. Sometime I may have to wait a week or so to get what I order, but I'm in not hurry. Just want quality merchandise at a good price. Also think they have the best customer service on any on-line store I've dealt with.
They also have a club to get every figure. Once you sign-up, you never have to order another figure, they handle everything for you. I don't thing anyone else does something like this?

[CrossWizard]

Oh yes, very reliable, although sometimes it will take a week for them to ship your order due to the huge amount of customers they have. But like the guy before me said, if you want a reliable and cordial customer service, and affordable prices you can never go wrong with Kebco. It beats having to spend $10+ on gas and food just to find little to nothing at all of what youre looking for at stores.

[wedgeA]

I just pre-ordered Pilot Obi Wan and Chancellor Palpatine from them (first time I've ordered from them), and I was pleased by their low prices, and the overall orgainzation of their web site. Very informative and thorough. I can't wait for those figures.

[Forhekset]

They usually take up to a week or so to get an order out the door, but they reply to emails within 24 hours, and my packages have never arrived damaged, late, missing pieces, etc. KEBco is great in my opinion.

[odi-wan windu]

what kind of shipping do they use? and how often is it a week? because I'm gonna order obi-wan pilot, qui-gon jedi master, and expanded universe luke on june 10th and my b-day is june 15th. so, what are the chances of me getting it on june 15th?

[Slacker Jedi]

Hi, I had a rather disappointing experience with kebcotoys.com, and I think you'll want to hear this.

Now, before placing my first (and last) order from them, I had relied on another website, which had always shipped the figures very, very promptly.

I ordered some AOTC figures from kebco.com --partly because I'd heard good things about them in this forum-- right around the time the movie was about to open. I was willing to pay a premium (to me, 7.91 is a premium price) to get them more quickly rather than wait for TRU to get them.

The website said the figures were IN STOCK! But guess what? I ended up not getting anything for nearly two weeks. By the time I got them, there were tons of them at TRU for 5.99!!!

Now, mind you, the whole time I'm waiting for the figures for Kebco I'm trying to get some help from customer service and possibly cancel the order, but I didn't get any help from them, and I even got contradictory stories about when exactly my order had shipped/was going to ship.

You know, even right now, I would be willing to pay 7.91 plus shipping -- IF I KNEW I WAS GOING TO GET THE FIGURES BEFORE THEY'RE AT TRU, KB, WALMART, TARGET, ETC.

One of the guys from Kebco even posts here sometimes; I tried sending a PM to discuss my experience with them, but he never replied!!

Why would they claim their figures are IN STOCK when obviously they were not? :(

In my experience, this was a huge disappointment. :( I would never order from them again. Better to wait for TRU/Walmart/TARGET/KB to get the figures. :)

[KEBco]

Originally posted by odi-wan windu
what kind of shipping do they use? and how often is it a week? because I'm gonna order obi-wan pilot, qui-gon jedi master, and expanded universe luke on june 10th and my b-day is june 15th. so, what are the chances of me getting it on june 15th?
I guess I'm the one to answer this.
We normally use UPS ground. However we can ship however you like. We have many customers, especially international, that choose express mail. If you place an order on 6/10, it is unlikely you will receive your package by the 15th. I hate to tell someone that they will not get their toys in time, but, honesty is best.
We process all orders within 24 hours of receipt. So your order would be processed by the 12th. If we have everything in stock, it would probable be shipped on the 13th. Since the 15th is on Saturday, I doubt if you would get it in time. Also, the Obi-Wan Jedi Starfighter Pilot is current a pre-order item. According to Hasbro, we should have them by the 10th, but Hasbro is very bad about missing shipment dates.
KEBco

[odi-wan windu]

understood. but it doesn't have to be EXACTLY on my b-day. so it's cool.

[Slacker Jedi]

Kebco dude, I sent you a PM and you never answered! :(

My experience with you guys was extremely disappointing (see post above).

Odi-Wan Windu, I would take anything they say with a big grain of salt!

[odi-wan windu]

besides price, how is brian's toys anyway? I'll most likely get it from kebco, but I just wanna know.

[KEBco]

Originally posted by Slacker Jedi
Kebco dude, I sent you a PM and you never answered! :(

My experience with you guys was extremely disappointing (see post above).

We try to answer all questions. Just checked my PM and there is nothing there, so please check to see if you have an answer. I will be glad to answer any questions now.

[Slacker Jedi]

KEBco, I'm glad that you finally acknowledge me! Look at my post above and tell me why you guys let me down!!!

Man, I feel stupid paying 7.91 when TRU got them out at 5.99 before your order had arrived!!!

[Lee Whalley]

Hi,

I'm a collector from the United Kingdom, I've been collecting Palitoy/Kenner/hasbro stuff since 1978. I consider myself a serious collector - have most of the old stuff (short on an A Wing, Skiff & US Death Star but have pretty much everything else.. Even got myself a legit loose plastic caped Jawa at the time.. I collect the newest stuff by the case were possible.

Now the UK is pretty **** these days for collecting Star Wars so I've had to depend on US overseas shippers since '95. I've dealt with around 10 different companies in that time, inc. Amok Time Toys, Infield Collectables (changed to Gold Rush, then disappeared). I've either been let down in some way or have been completely stiffed by (Infield).

Now, its a fairly expensive deal shipping stuff from the States to the UK, on top of shipping there's the duty to worry about - I've probably paid more in shipping tax over the years than I have on SW stuff.. So finding a company that is reliable has been a very stressful time for me..

Out of all the shippers I have dealt with I'd strongly recommend KEBCO (www.kebcotoys.com), to anyone.. I've dealt with them repeatedly for over four months now & they have never let me down. They're spot on with pricing & shipping & they use good, solid packaging when shipping the items. They actually send the right stuff. The two guys I deal with there are very helpful & maintain contact with me through EMail regularly. They may not be the fastest, but they are very reliable.

I've also used Brian's Toys (lousy packing for international shipping), Action Figure express (v. unreliable), Growell Company (not bad), & Entertainment Earth (reliable but pricey).

If anybody is looking for someone to deal with, try Kebco.

Thanks,

Lee.

[Freedom]

I put my money on Yestertoys.

[Slacker Jedi]

OK, this obviously looks like an orchestrated campaign on behalf of Kebco... does it have anything to do with the fact that they advertise on this website?

I said it once, I'll say it again... I have been buying figures for quite some time, online and in stores, and the experience with kebco was a very major disappointment.

I know some other people here may have had OK experiences with them, but I really think they were not prepared to handle orders around the release of AOTC.

My experiences have been as thus:
KEBCO -- advertised certain figures as being IN STOCK, but didn't receive them for two weeks. By that time, they were already at TRU, selling for 5.99 (versus 7.91 at Kebco)

SWFAN CLUB -- they haven't let me down yet. It was nice to get Qui-Gon & Massif for 5.99 each (got them like 2 weeks ago).

K AND C COLLECTIBLES -- service is extremely reliable, prices are usually a bit higher than retail stores but reasonable by online standards. A pretty good stock, too.

BRIANSTOYS -- Order only once, because at the time they were the only ones who were selling Han w/Tauntaun. If I remember correctly, they shipped it in a box inside another box. I paid top dollar but got a perfect specimen. Seeing their prices for current figures, don't think I'd want to order from them anytime soon.

YESTERTOYS -- Placed only one order so far, but everything went smoothly and I think I got a very good price for HTF vehicle.

[odi-wan windu]

does anyone know how brian's toys shipping is? I have the money for the expensive figs, but how's the shipping?

[Slacker Jedi]

See my post above. :)

[QLD]

I had no problem with Brian's Toys shipping. It was very fast, accurate, and packed securely.

[Lee Whalley]

Naa, sorry - you're wrong there mate.

This isn't a bulls**t orchestrated campain, its straight up.

I'm sorry to hear that you've had bad dealings with them, but they have been very helpful to me.

If they do let me down in the future though, I'll certainly post a reply on here.

Who would you recommend?

Lee.

[odi-wan windu]

thanks.

[JediDan]

I used to order from Entertainment Earth for years and was very happy with them. But ever since AOTC toys came out they have been very slow and now WAY too high in their prices. I am done with them. I ordered a case of SW figures that were in stock, it took them 8 days to ship out my order. $108 for a case of figs, no thanks.

I have ordered from K and C Collectibles and my items always came in great shape and quickly. Jams Toys I am 50/50 on. Last order was VERY fast but others before that took awhile for them to ship out. Items came in pretty good shape, not mint but thats not their fault thats Hasbros fault for the way they cram them in those cases. :rolleyes:

[KEBco]

Originally posted by Slacker Jedi
KEBco, I'm glad that you finally acknowledge me! Look at my post above and tell me why you guys let me down!!!

Man, I feel stupid paying 7.91 when TRU got them out at 5.99 before your order had arrived!!!

If you have had a bad experience with us, I've very sorry. We do try to please.
We are a small company, do not have dozens of employees. What we miss in size we try to make up in customer service.

We had all of the 4/23 figures in house on or about 4/12, but we could not tell anyone about them because of the privacy policy we signed with Hasbro. As you may know, Hasbro increased the wholesale price this year. We increased our price the same amount. My sales rep keeps telling me that everyone pays the same price as we do, TRU, Walmart, but these retailers actually decreased their selling price. Go figure?
If we say we have something in stock, we do (or we know its on the truck heading our way), but because we could not sell anything before 4/23, we were accumulating orders and staging shipments. We actually started shipping on 4/20 to the west coast so they could have theirs on 4/23. But we were completely SWAMPED with orders. We worked from 8AM until - some days 3AM just to get these things out the door. So we were a little late, some times a lot late in getting the shipments out.
We have always told everyone we do not get the figures first. Rarely do we get our shipment before they hit retail. We are on the east coast and the figures always hit the west coast first. We try to explain if you are a collector that must be first to get your figure, then perhaps we are not the company for you. But if you can wait a while and you want quality merchandise, then we can work with you.
Again, I'm sorry you had a bad experience. Give us a call. Complain.. We will work with you. But we can not compete with Walmart on price, we just do not have their buying power.
KEBco

[Slacker Jedi]

Lee Whaley, I'm sorry if this is in fact not an orchestrated campaign, it just seemed funny to have two threads going on at the same time that mentioned Kebco in the headline.

I wish I had nice things to say about them, believe me, but that's sadly not the case. :(

I already described my experiences with established online retailers above. I'd like to also mention that I recently placed an order from a British dealer, Paul Gales, he sells some stuff on eBay sometimes. I got a Eopie at a reasonable price from him. I liked the fact that even before I received it, he offered a refund if I wasn't happy with it. But it turned out OK.

[Slacker Jedi]

KEBco,
OK, I'm glad to hear your side of the story. And yes, I just checked, and you did reply to my PM message earlier this week-- I just hadn't seen it.
I'm still disappointed but I guess maybe you didn't try to intentionally mislead customers into thinking they would be getting their orders quickly.
It would be nice if you could give an estimated delivery time in the e-mail you send to customers after placing an order. Other online stores do that.

[MikeAndTheBots]

I like yestertoys, not sure if they ship over seas. They have a decent selection, good prices and the one time i did order something it came within 4 days (then again, I ordered it on the first business day of the week). Not only that but i ordered non-mint and the card was still in great condition.

[Lee Whalley]

Slacker Jedi, I see where you are coming from with the two threads thing.

I just wanted to give these guys a pat on the back for being so helpful to me.. Like I was saying, it has been very stressful over the years dealing various companies - I've lost alot of money.

Kebco have shipped to me repeatedly since 03/19 & every time they have been spot on.

I see that they have responded to you in the other thread, I feel that they are being very straight & honest about the situation.

I hope you resolve your differences with them.

Lee.

[Lee Whalley]

MikeAndTheBots,

Hi, do you have a contact name there at all? I spoke to a guy called Tom but at the time seemed a little miffed about something when I asked him a question..

Lee.

[MikeAndTheBots]

Originally posted by Lee Whalley
MikeAndTheBots,

Hi, do you have a contact name there at all? I spoke to a guy called Tom but at the time seemed a little miffed about something when I asked him a question..

Lee.
No clue, as I said, the one order I had was very good but I don't know about over seas shipping. I don't know anyone there either. sorry.

[Lee Whalley]

MikeAndTheBots,

Ok, thanks for the reply mate. I'm after a case of Snowspeeders/Tie Bombers, I may try them.

Lee.

[Jedi_Master_Guyute]

I ordered some stuff from kebCo and am anxiously awaiting. After i found Djas and Palpatine, i tried to get those taken off my order but the guy said that wasn't doable cause i couldn't take stuff off after i found it. I understood their policy and am happy to take these figures. It just struck me as funny when they were like "no, not gonna happen" but i have only heard good things about these folks and i'm sure after i get my Anakin-Nexu Deluxe, and Obi-han, and chewie, i'll be praising them as well!!!

[Hellboy]

I ordered from them as well and found the customer service to be prompt and friendly. I wouldn't hesitate to order from them again. No complaints.

[INDIANA]

I, too, have not had the greatest experience with Kebco. The most recent being the deluxe Anakin and Nexu. I placed my order for the "IN STOCK" items on May 24th. Today is June 6th and NOTHING! I think their on-line order check is stupid seeing that they only tend to update it once a week, and it STILL doesn't even show an order for me even though an e-mail said they did have the order!

I have ordered from a lot of on-line places. I have gotten great customer service from Federation Toys, D&S, Falcon's Hanger, Planet Action Figure....all of which I believe to be small operations as well. I have become accustomed to items being at my door 3-4 days after my order.....NOT waiting over two weeks for the items....advertised "IN STOCK" to even be shipped!!!!

I will probably not be ordering from Kebco again.

[INDIANA]

So, before I actually never order from Kebco again, what is the story with these Deluxe. Advertised "In-Stock" and 2 weeks later they have still not shipped to me. Did you actually have them in stock or were they "in a truck comming". In a truck and comming is NOT in stock to me. Will I have a problem, too, cancelling this order? Not that I have found them yet, but for the fact that I think 2 weeks is too long too wait these days for merchandise when others do it much faster.

[JEDIpartner]

I have had nothing but a great experience with KEBco. I have recommended them to MANY people who have been frustrated by figure shortages caused by scalpers.

[JediTricks]

I merged the 2 KEBco threads together since they're the same topic from different ends.

[songwrtr]

So, with all the people who have had experiences, good and bad, with KebCo, is anyone participating in their one of every figure club? I was happy with the one experience I've had with them thus far on a one-off order, and I like the sounds of the club on paper/screen. That said, I'm interested in hearing from people who are doing it and what they think about it -- the good, the bad, and the ugly -- before I consider taking the plunge myself.

[JrJedi]

Originally posted by songwrtr
So, with all the people who have had experiences, good and bad, with KebCo, is anyone participating in their one of every figure club? I was happy with the one experience I've had with them thus far on a one-off order, and I like the sounds of the club on paper/screen. That said, I'm interested in hearing from people who are doing it and what they think about it -- the good, the bad, and the ugly -- before I consider taking the plunge myself.

:D I joined their club somewhere in the middle of the Power Of The Jedi waves. I was never able to find anything at my local stores, even after making several trips a week. So I decided to give it a try. Glad I did. I never even search for figures anymore. I wait until they come to me. This saves me sooooo much time and effort. The only problem, and it really is not a problem, is the retail stores may get the new figures before anything is delivered to me. At first I was really worried. Will I get what I ordered? When will I get what I ordered? But after a short wait, I got everything I ordered. They have me for a club member forever.
But I guess the hardest part is the wait, seeing figures at retail, hearing that figures are available, and having nothing in my hand. So I have learned to be patient and wait. And what is the saying? Good things come to those who wait? Or something like that.
I say - GIVE THE CLUB A TRY, I bet you will like it.

[Forhekset]

Originally posted by JrJedi



I say - GIVE THE CLUB A TRY, I bet you will like it.

The only problem I can see with the club is that you can't see the figure before you buy it. So if they send you a fig with a bad paint job or whatever, you're stuck with it.

[JrJedi]

Originally posted by Forhekset


The only problem I can see with the club is that you can't see the figure before you buy it. So if they send you a fig with a bad paint job or whatever, you're stuck with it.

Good point. They do guarantee their figures and I have never had a bad experience. You could always specify that you are the type of collector that must have mint figures and see what they say.

[stillakid]

Originally posted by songwrtr
So, with all the people who have had experiences, good and bad, with KebCo, is anyone participating in their one of every figure club? I was happy with the one experience I've had with them thus far on a one-off order, and I like the sounds of the club on paper/screen. That said, I'm interested in hearing from people who are doing it and what they think about it -- the good, the bad, and the ugly -- before I consider taking the plunge myself.

I've been a "member" for quite some time now. It's been great. The hassle of having to make time to run around town looking for figures that probably aren't there anyway is all gone. Sure, oftentimes the retail price is lower than KEB, but I look at it like it's a wash, what with the time and gas that I save. Plus, it's like Christmas whenever a box shows up at the door!

If I've ever had a problem with an order, I've never had a problem "fixing" it.

I still head out to retail for easier to find items, like ships and playsets, (plus the shipping on those would be a bit more through an online source) and for army builders, but knowing that I can have a complete collection is worth the price for me.

[Forhekset]

Originally posted by JrJedi


Good point. They do guarantee their figures and I have never had a bad experience. You could always specify that you are the type of collector that must have mint figures and see what they say.

I've ordered from KEBco several times and I've been pleased, but I have gotten a couple of figs with sloppy paint jobs that would make me pass the figure up in a store. Which isn't KEBco's fault, but I doubt they really have the time or inclination to ensure that the figures you receive have good paint jobs. Plus, a good paint job is subjective anyway. What's awful to one person might be ok to another, and vice versa. I reckon the most KEBco, and other online retailers, can really guarantee is that the cards will be in pretty good condition, and they won't send you a figure with a major defect, like missing an accessory or something. Then you're on your own after that. It's a trade off...you can save lots of gas and time ordering online (I do it quite a bit myself), but you miss out on being able to personally inspect each figure.

I know with some of the bad paint jobs out there right now in the Saga line (cross-eyed Yoda, Royal Guards with blobs of black paint on their cloaks and chipped paint on their helmets, and flat-out awful looking Clone Troopers) I'm kind of wary about ordering figs online. I got a Han Solo Endor Raid in the mail last week; he's awfully close to looking like he's got a lazy eye, but fortunately it's not too bad.

[JEDIpartner]

KEBco just showed that my latest wave has shipped.

242 Chewbacca - Cloud City Capture
251 Djas Puhr - Alien Bounty Hunter
241 Han Solo - Endor Raid
240 Obi-Wan Jedi - Starfighter Pilot
250 Supreme Chancellor Palpatine

As for people's gripes- One stated that the Items were "in stock" on the 24th of May. Wasn't that the Friday before the holiday. Your order most likely wasn't processed on that Friday, but rather the following Tuesday or Wednesday. The fill was probably done the next day and the box was most likely picked up from KEBco that evening making Thursday the first real transit day. If they had a commit of 5-7 business days, that would put you at Friday, June 7th as the last day, which is the day I got my last wave of figures (Anakin/Nexu/Orn...). I'd say that's fair.

If you are a member of the One-of-Every Figure club... what in the world are you doing in the club if you plan on running for the pegs when they are released? The whole point of being in the club is to NOT have to run to the pegs. You basically signed a contract saying you will take one-of-every figure that Hasbro puts out. To think they could remove them from your order would be asking them to break your contract.

Have a little patience. Shipping ain't like microwaving popcorn! ;)

[CrossWizard]

Hey JediPartner, did you recieve and email of some sorts? how did they notify you that they shipped?

[stillakid]

Originally posted by CrossWizard
Hey JediPartner, did you recieve and email of some sorts? how did they notify you that they shipped?

I'm finding that the ship date listed on the website (you get a personal update page for your specific orders. Cool!) isn't always that accurate. Either that, or my packages are coming via ship around Cape Horn. :) That's a bit of an exaggeration of course, but I've had lag times of 2 to 3 weeks sometimes b/n what the site says and when I'm opening a box. It's not that big of a deal to me. Most of the time, things come soon enough.

[songwrtr]

Thanks for the reports, guys. Looks like I'll be joining up once I clear up the credit card a bit -- unless anyone's had a different experience. The area I live in sees stuff 3 weeks to 3 months after the rest of the country and has missed waves entirely, so a bit of a wait doesn't really hurt me any. Better to know that the figures really are on the way and devote my time to something other than the hunt. Of course, I'll still be out looking for those exclusives, but that's a much smaller group of items.

Last call -- anyone with any real negatives? If not, One of Every Figure Club, here I come!

[stillakid]

Originally posted by songwrtr
Thanks for the reports, guys. Looks like I'll be joining up once I clear up the credit card a bit -- unless anyone's had a different experience. The area I live in sees stuff 3 weeks to 3 months after the rest of the country and has missed waves entirely, so a bit of a wait doesn't really hurt me any. Better to know that the figures really are on the way and devote my time to something other than the hunt. Of course, I'll still be out looking for those exclusives, but that's a much smaller group of items.

Last call -- anyone with any real negatives? If not, One of Every Figure Club, here I come!

Once I ordered those Palm Talkers from the site so I didn't actively hunt for them. I ended up getting an email telling me that Hasbro wasn't shipping them anymore, so the order was cancelled. Luckily, I ran out and found a few of them at Walmart, but still don't have a complete set.

So, that was my one negative, but it hasn't happened yet for the run of the mill action figures or ships or anything.

[JEDIpartner]

My latest wave of figures arrived yesterday. I am really pleased with MOST of them. Han sucks. KEBco posted a ship date of the 21st and they arrived on the 25th. How's THAT???

[Jedi_Master_Guyute]

I had my first sale with KEBco and was very very pleased. I ordered: han, Chewie, Obi and Deluxe Anakin and Nexu and they arrived on the 21st (shipping date was the 21st, that's fast!) and they were very well packaged and such. I will definately think about odering from them again. Saved me countless hours of hunting and gas and stuff. Go for it!

[Senator Binks]

Also agreed -- got my package of the Chewbacca and Obi-Wan Starfighter wave before I have seen *any* of them around here with some concentrated looking. Saved plenty of time, driving, and aggrivation, and now the price is down to $5.99. Highly recommended.

I did get a couple of small dings on my cards, but this would only be of concern to someone who insists on an *absolutely* mint card. The figures were very well packaged with a "handle with care" label on the box.

[CrossWizard]

Now Im bummed out, I preordered my JSFP Obi Wan around June 6th and it also said it would ship on June 21st but I havent got him. Well actually I did, thanks to Amazon.com, but the one I ordered from Kebco has yet to arrive.

[stillakid]

UPS tried to deliver my latest shipment today, but I was out at the time, so now I have to wait until Monday. :cry: Oh well. At least I have something to look forward to after the weekend! :D

[thespar]

I have only placed one ordered with them so far. But after an e-mail telling to go ahead ship part of the ordered because i know half was pre-order everthing went fine. But heck i shop on line as a last stop. And every-one i have used had ads one this site at one time or another.