Well, some good news out of the latest Spawn ecommerce controversy

[baimun]

Dion... The ordering load will be what it's going to be, but I thought of a way to at least subdivide the orders to separate servers.

Based on SHIPPING ADDRESS, tf there was a map of the US with the states colored, and the East half of the US is one color, and the west half another, and all NON-US deliveries another... clicking on your area would transport you (and the server load) to three different E-commerce servers to complete your order.

thoughts?

<font color="#cd6600" size="1">[ May 05, 2005 12:03 PM: Message edited by: Ultimate Baimun ]</font>

[Dion Bozman]

Yeah, it's really pretty ugly and everything we've done to "help" -- and, believe me, we've really been trying to do the right thing -- has only seemed to make things worse.

The venom over a toy is pretty astonishing, though I do understand that the ordering process is frustrating. What stinks is that an inept outsourced provider is making us look pretty foolish and unprofessional. No one really wants to hear that it's not our fault. They just want a target and that target is McFarlane and, to a lesser degree, me. [img]frown.gif[/img]

Ah, well, the weekend is coming!
d

[baimun]

Maybe I should photoshop a pic of you in your monster Jeep... about to run over a heaping pile of Deion figures.

"One more word and they ALL GET IT!!!!"

[img]wink.gif[/img]

You rock. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[-megalithanod]

You'll always be loved here , Dion [img]wink.gif[/img]

Especially if we can't keep Peeker from coming around. [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

[Drau]

Sounds like good news. Hopefully it will prevent any future headaches.

My own experience with vendors is that often times they do not take the time to understand your business and clientelle when recomending what you need hardware wise.

[316what]

[Slytherin Snape]

Well, I didn't get caught up in this ordering stress because (a) I was busy with my "real life" and totally forgot they were even going on sale [img]tongue.gif[/img] and, (b) don't really care for Deion much anyway and wouldn't have ordered if I had remembered they were going on sale. [img]wink.gif[/img]

However, I do have to say this has been the biggest breakdown in collector's club exclusives I've seen (pure online ordering). Now, I 100% understand the server being out-sourced and you guys being in a contractual situation where you can't just jump ship immediately, but IMO where the wheels totally came off the wagon was when the whole "Master List" idea got implemented.

Despite best efforts - and I don't doubt it was a legitimate effort to make at least some people happy - there was just no way that was going to be an equitable way to determine who should get the special web site address and chance to order again. There were just FAR to many variables in there.

In what seems to me to be the biggest variable/example, someone who was trying diligently for say 5 hours (starting as soon as they went live) may have just happened to be in an "offline"/restarting phase of trying to order (after already trying 20+ times), when the e-commerce list was frozen/snap-shotted (whatever you call it), while someone who was logged on for the first time that day and had only been there for 5 minutes just happened to be at the right place in the order process to be reflected as being far enough in the process to be on the "Master List". I just don't see taking a snap shot in time as accurately reflecting who really was trying hard all day and who just happened to be at the right stage at the right time by pure chance.

Normally that's just the way it goes (some get them, some don't) and I'm fine with that, but that is when all the product is equally available to everyone and it's just by luck of the draw/persistence/etc if your order does or does not go through. But the way the "Master List" was done it automatically - and IMO somewhat arbitraily - limted who was even able to have a chance at getting to order.

IMO, once it became glaringly apparent there was such an extreme demand issue (ie, when the server had a heart attack of epic proportions), NO MORE orders (other than those non duplicate orders that had already been 100% processed at the time the server died) should have been allowed at all (meaning no "Master List") until a big step could be taken back and the situation sorted out in more detail.

And then there was the fact that the "Master List" people had the opportunity to still order 2 each, but when the scraps finally hit the store the limit was down to 1 each (I understand the theory at that point - just working the whole thing through). So even after the product was opened back up to everyone, they still didn't get the same opportunity as the chosen ones. It seems that once it became apparent there was such a tremendous demand problem the limit should have been dropped to 1 each even for the "Master List" people.

Even though you all were honestly doing what you thought was the best thing possible under the circumstances, it unfortunately just ended up being more gas thrown on the fire every step down the line it seems.

I know you guys work hard and have to deal with many demands all pulling at you at the same time from different directions, and I think you all (except that f'er Goff [img]tongue.gif[/img] ) do an admirable job of holding things together. Unfortunately, this one was just a bad, bad situation where you guys ended up with a "no win" scenario. I sure don't envy you guys having to deal with that mess. [img]frown.gif[/img]

Hang in there! [img]smile.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]


PS - Again, I neither tried to order when they went live, nor when they hit the store again last night. I don't want the figures and do not in any way feel personally pissed/cheated at not getting one. So, for whatever it's worth, those are my thoughts from a purely "neutral" position as someone who doesn't "care" about the figure one way or the other.

<font color="#cd6600" size="1">[ May 06, 2005 09:42 AM: Message edited by: ?SNAPE? ]</font>

[-megalithanod]

I think my head just fried a few synapses reading that -

*ouch* there goes another one!

[Slytherin Snape]

Sad to think what would happen to all the fools over there if I tried posting that on the White Board then, isn't it! [img]wink.gif[/img]

[-megalithanod]

Don't event hink about that!

You'd cause a rift in the space time continuum! [img]wink.gif[/img]

Not like there is a lot needed to send a couple of them over the edge of insanity now as it is with this whole thing. Just amazing how quick they spout off at times.

I can really see the CCx figures going the way of the dino after this......