PlaymoFriends
General => Report & Review => Topic started by: PMatt on November 19, 2019, 21:45:22
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I am not positive this is the right subforum to post such a discussion, but here we go.
I recently placed an order on the Playmobil website. Received my purchases and was rather dumbfounded by what I found. Multiple klickies can not stand without bending forward noticeably. A couple prints look... washed out, for lack of better terms.
I understand lots of things can go wrong with printing; it's the inner frames failure which bothers me. I have enough skeletons lying around and it'll take me nothing to replace them, but what about regular customers whose brand-new klickies can't stand upright if their life depended on them?
Has anyone else had similar experiences as of late, or was it just me getting an unlucky bunch?
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My first reply to this, just from the title, was "what quality control?"
Things have been getting worse and worse all the time.. brand new sets with misprints... (or needing a 40 mikes cleaning! >:( ) and the figures... don't get me started about the figures...............
Don't remember getting several klickys brand new with the "Apollo Syndrome" though (Apollo was the first to exhibit that behaviour, I suppose - he's the klicky from the indian 7 klicky styrofoam box (xmas 83!) - yes, I'm nuts, and I know it... so does everyone else here :-[ )
Seriously, quality has decreased a lot. It's a shame. It's sad.
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Just send them back to head office and ask for replacements or your money back.
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I knew that Tahra would have something to say about this topic. :lol:
Seriously, you've stirred up a hornets nest here. Poor print quality, malformed parts, incomplete sets have become way more common in recent times. Meanwhile the firm's costumer service department excels (at least in Germany). I think it is an economic decision: the immediate costs of addressing complaints by supplying replacement parts are probably less than increasing quality control at the production line. It is a stupid decision, of course, because the invisible costs of losing disappointed costumers (who cannot be bothered to complain) is not taken into account. Lego does thinks differently, and notice the difference.
I think our research department should look into the history of inlays / skeletons / inner parts. Most old klickies still stand firmly upright, and the tendency to sag of those of more recent date depends on years and themes – in my subjective experience. Sometimes new ones feel firm and move adequately, others are a mess straight from the box. The problem is the quality of the inlay – but is it shape, or plastic type? Is it the machine (or mould), or is it the raw material fed into that machine that makes the difference? :sherlock:
Best wishes
StJohn
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I knew that Tahra would have something to say about this topic. :lol:
Well, it IS a disgrace, lately... Figures are a perfect example - a bunch of series with hardly any issue, and then.. no series without missing/mismolded parts.. and let's not even get into printing, that was going down the drain BEFORE my moronic years!
And yes, there is that.. for me, the figure doesn't have a frame. For ME, it is basically meaningless. I have a box of them. But what is a person who just bought the first to do with a figure without a frame?! I know what they will do. "piece of junk. never again" - oh wait.. that may play into their strategy... no money from this person.
:'( >:(
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Seriously, you've stirred up a hornets nest here.
That's the impression I got upon reading the replies! :lol:
Just send them back to head office and ask for replacements or your money back.
As a matter of principle you're right, but on the other hand: as far as inner frames are concerned it's much less of a hassle for me to replace them directly. Misprints are another matter entirely, that's for sure.
StJohn, your cost-benefit analysis of having laxer QC was an extremely interesting read. The willingness to accept those invisible costs you talk about does not, I think, bode well for Playmobil: new customers (as Tahra rightly noted) get stung by the lack of quality upon their first purchases, and even veterans can't help being disappointed by the decline in quality.
The problem is the quality of the inlay – but is it shape, or plastic type? Is it the machine (or mould), or is it the raw material fed into that machine that makes the difference? :sherlock:
That's a most interesting question, and one I do not feel qualified to answer. There are some excellent fellows here on the forum who might provide some insight into the matter, though.
Don't remember getting several klickys brand new with the "Apollo Syndrome" though
One klicky out of three from 6501 and two out of six from 5393 had it. Unlucky bunch (unluckier than the norm at least), I guess.
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Luckily the slouching aka "the Apollo syndrome" (thank you Tahra, lol!) is easy to fix, but newly bought Klickies should ALWAYS be "firm" when straight out of the box imho.Not all buyers can cope with disassembling Klickies to "tighten" them!
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Luckily the slouching aka "the Apollo syndrome" (thank you Tahra, lol!) is easy to fix, but newly bought Klickies should ALWAYS be "firm" when straight out of the box imho.Not all buyers can cope with disassembling Klickies to "tighten" them!
Of course - it is beyond ridiculous that new klickys need that.
(Apollo is, as most of you know by now UNpoppable)
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I really hate opening a brand new klicky only to find it has Apollo Syndrome. :wall:
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Opened a box this week with the Deathgripper dragon from the licensed Dragons theme and the dragon was missing it's back left leg. Not in the box, completely missing. There's the one big piece in the box and it's missing an entire leg and it got through quality control. They are sending me a replacement of course.
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When we visited the Malta factory a good few years ago, every box was weighed to ensure everything was there and complete.
There have been a good few complaints along the lines of mssing parts or incomplete figures figures on Playmobil Anonymous recently.
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When we visited the Malta factory a good few years ago, every box was weighed to ensure everything was there and complete.
That was in place during the PCC factory tour as well... but it obviously doesn't work all that well... it's getting a LOT worse too... both regarding missing items and defective parts... :(
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That was in place during the PCC factory tour as well... but it obviously doesn't work all that well... it's getting a LOT worse too... both regarding missing items and defective parts... :(
But is it in place now, I wonder.
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Interestingly, whenever I buy one of the Playmobil Series mystery packets, there are always duplicate parts in there i.e. someone puts too many arms, or beards, or swords etc in the packet. One time, seriously, there were three!! pairs of legs. I'm not complaining, but I wonder how that happens ??? ;D
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Interestingly, whenever I buy one of the Playmobil Series mystery packets, there are always duplicate parts in there i.e. someone puts too many arms, or beards, or swords etc in the packet. One time, seriously, there were three!! pairs of legs. I'm not complaining, but I wonder how that happens ??? ;D
Same, I've never had a part missing (that I can think of) but the Mystery Bags often have duplicate items in (though I've never had 6 legs :lol:)
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I just opened some Scooby Doo Ghosts. Carlotta has 2 skirts but no torso, and the Headless Horseman was missing a glove.
Then my Lumberjack from Series 15 had 2 heads, beards, and hair
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I had a Scooby Doo one with the black knight where it had an extra head but was missing the visor for the helmet.
These are filled by machine I think? It's not unusual for small parts to tangle and end up with multiples in a bag. Happens most with beards and bracelets for instance. Unusual to have a piece missing but it does happen. They are weighed to be sure they are full and if it's under ti will kick out, but if it's a little over they ignore it.
Hey just saw this video from the other thread by Janilew. At 11:45 it shows the bag filling machines they use. In this case it's just assorted stuff, but the same process I am sure is used to do the mystery bags.
https://youtu.be/FqT3Qc4wPi4 (https://youtu.be/FqT3Qc4wPi4)
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Unusual to have a piece missing but it does happen.
USED to be unusual... no longer. Missing parts, mismolded parts.. very common in the last few series. Not even going into the printing (a disgrace lots of times)..
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I had a Fairy family 6561 (https://playmodb.org/cgi-bin/showinv.pl?setnum=6561) recently where the girl had the lower part of one leg missing. I added a request for a replacement to my next DS parts order and got a new girl figure. I still have faith in geobra to do this sort of thing and it's one of the main reasons the company runs a parts service (not so collectors can make armies of 200 klickies!).
The other bonus was that the new figure was listed on my invoice with it's official 8-digit part number, which was previously unknown and not listed on PlaymoDB. These sort of mistakes and rectifications can yield such useful information (without a part number, you cannot get spare parts from DS and sets like 6561 have no instruction sheets listing those part numbers).
So if you do request replacements for missing parts (you should!), please check to see if a useful part number shows up in the paperwork when they send you the replacement.
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I have total faith in them replacing parts, and for people like us that's fine, but is an ordinary parents really going to contact Direct Service over a badly made figure? They'll probably just think 'I bought something that's meant to be a good quality product, but it was badly made'.
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I am the sort of parent who DOES contact manufacturers when the quality of what I bought falls below standard. Quite a few never respond. Which is why I think PM is such a great toy. But I expect you are right, Oliver. Most people probably wouldn't bother!
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A visual example of poor printing I thought worth sharing.
(https://i.imgur.com/vvGxQiV.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/m4sFNLg.jpg)
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Quality control is terrible these days... made worse with the cheap painted stuff (like heads) that should be molded...
Also regarding missing parts (or mangled ones) :(
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Poor printing...or poor tailoring?
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Hi, I am new to the forum.
I have been collecting Playmobil for decades, and it is only on the last few years that I found (a) a poorly molded, misshapen part and (b) missing parts.
I am pleased to say that in both cases, Playmobil replaced the parts when I e-mailed them.
I also often find extra pieces in the Figures blind bags, but fortunately never a missing part. :crossed: