Author
Message
mupdan
Boot
Joined: 04 Aug 2005 Posts: 22 Location: Bath, UK
Warning to Firebox shoppers I don't like complaining, but here is an email I felt I had to send to Firebox this morning:
Quote:
Hi,
I'm writing to complain about an order for Perplex City cards that I ordered from you on 25/11/05, order BLAH.
I ordered these cards as you are advertising the availability of Wave 2 cards. Having spent £70 already collecting the wave 1 cards (I have all but 2 of them), I was keen to start my wave 2 card collection. However, when the cards arrived this morning, all 8 packs contained wave 1 cards.
It may just be coincidence that all my packs were wave 1, but since the probability of this (using the 3:1 ratio of wave 2 to wave 1, as you state on the website) is 1 in 65536, I find it highly unlikely. More likely is that the cards were shipped from a wave 1 box.
I understand that you do not refund or accept returns on opened packs, but I wanted to express my anger over this matter. I find myself now unwilling to spend any more money on the cards, which is a shame since I've thoroughly enjoyed collecting them, and up to this point found the service from you to be excellent.
This may be an isolated incident, of course, but I post this as a warning to any body excited about getting wave 2 cards. I have 48 extra wave 1 swaps and no desire to buy any more cards....
Dan
Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2005 8:09 am
Hunting4Treasure
Unfettered
Joined: 06 Aug 2005 Posts: 385 Location: Tampa Bay Area, FL USA
Oh no, Dan! I'm so sorry!
And now, I'm so scared!
_________________
E=MC²
Energy (Power) = Mind Candy's Cube
PerplexCityTrades - Hunting4Treasure
Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2005 8:30 am
Gibbet
Veteran
Joined: 07 Aug 2005 Posts: 121
Not wishing to further spread panic, I also have just received 4/4 wave 1 packs in my latest order (thankfully 2 were ones i needed, but its still another 22 low colour duplicates).
On the flip side of this, my previous order contained 4/4 wave 2 packs (although 2 were identical), so i think that it is not Firebox trying to get rid of wave 1 cards so much as a general lack of randomness in their selection.
If it were the case of wave 1 and wave 2 cards in separate boxes then one would expect them just to pick 3 of one and 1 of the other. I suspect that Firebox themselves may get them mixed together. This would explain why they can't be sold as separate waves and also why the randomness is not really working.
But obviously I don't know this for a fact and will wait for their response expectantly before I order any more this weekend.
_________________"And I would have got away with it if it wasn't for those pesky cards!"
The OK13DTFC is but one of the things i'm ashamed of being associated with!
Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2005 8:59 am
Juxta
Unfettered
Joined: 28 Aug 2005 Posts: 675
Agreed Gibbet, my own order this week was 7 wave 2 packs, 5 wave 1. I think that it's not a case of there being wave 1 packs left, and they are attempting to shift them, but more likely that Firebox/Mind Candy don't necessarily know themselves exactly what you'd get if you picked out 10 packs at random - apart from the assurance that the ratio is 3:1, which I'm guessing came from their printers.
Pure [SPEC] only, but I don't think that there is some evil corporate capitalist scheme in place here...get thee along to PerplexCityTrades.com and lets get this show on the road
J
_________________zzzshusoharuxpfrp
Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2005 9:09 am
MrsMonkey
Kilroy
Joined: 26 Nov 2005 Posts: 2
Same think has happened to me - got 4 packs today off Firebox, all wave 1. I've e-mailed to complain as well - just have to wait and see what their response is I guess.......
Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2005 9:26 am
Hunting4Treasure
Unfettered
Joined: 06 Aug 2005 Posts: 385 Location: Tampa Bay Area, FL USA
A member on the PerplexCity forum also placed an order yesterday, and all of her cards were wave 1, too! My luck hasn't been very good in the past (very few blacks and only 2 silvers), so I hope my luck turns around this time!
Out of curiosity, were the silver wrappers different for wave 1 and 2? I bought *several* packs of wave 1, and always got the same 2 wrappers (coffee cup and parking meter), although I've heard there were more. I'm just wondering if the packaging may be a clue?
***edit***
Speak of the devil... Were your ears burning, MrsMonkey?
_________________
E=MC²
Energy (Power) = Mind Candy's Cube
PerplexCityTrades - Hunting4Treasure
Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2005 9:36 am
locqust
Unfettered
Joined: 14 Oct 2005 Posts: 545 Location: Gloucestershire UK
I can't really remember what was on my packs design wise but I know there wasn't any visible difference. Out of 8 packs ordered only 1 was 1st wave, so pretty happy bout that, however already have swaps for wave 2!
Btw if anybody is interested in swapping them let me know and I'll tell you what I have, I have all of wave 1 though.
_________________"If you'd been listening you would know that nintendos pass through everything." Col. Jack O'Neill
Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2005 11:20 am
chichiri
Decorated
Joined: 31 Oct 2005 Posts: 207
I ordered 8 packs on wednesday that were 6 wave 2 and 2 wave 1, but then I ordered another 4 packs yesterday and they were all wave 1!
the likelyhood of this happening to so many people is not huge, there must be something wrong!
no fair!
no da!
Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2005 11:31 am
mupdan
Boot
Joined: 04 Aug 2005 Posts: 22 Location: Bath, UK
My guess is that wave 2 boxes of cards contain, as they say, a 3:1 ratio of wave 2 packs to wave 1 packs, but they still have some wave 1 boxes and have been using them to fulfill orders. I don't really expect them to do anything (they don't have to given the disclaimers on the website), but if they have been using wave 1 boxes by mistake, they need to mix them up with some wave 2 ones.
Although I did get 2 winter catalogues, and both of the codes on the back were 5 pounds off. Must resist ordering until they respond to my email....
Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2005 11:54 am
timair
Boot
Joined: 13 Dec 2004 Posts: 46 Location: Cambridge-UK 69/333
Arrgh - I ordered a bunch of things (to get the starter pack) including several packs of cards.
I'll be looking very closely at the packs to see if there's a difference between wave 1 and wave 2.
I'll wait to hear what Firebox say before opening any of them.
If they are unopened they may possible take them back and resend once they've sorted out their randomisation.
_________________
69/333 The cards I have/need
Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2005 1:29 pm
Juxta
Unfettered
Joined: 28 Aug 2005 Posts: 675
Bad news I fear, there is no outward difference between the packs for wave 1 and wave 2 - trust me, I looked darned hard at them, but there really doesn't appear to be any way of discerning between them without actually opening them.
J
_________________zzzshusoharuxpfrp
Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2005 1:51 pm
amliag
Veteran
Joined: 27 Oct 2005 Posts: 90 Location: Wolverhampton, UK
oh no everso worried about today's order now. Altho I do still need lots of wave 1 but don't want to miss out on the wave 2 fun.
But thinking about it - couldn't this still happen if you went to buy cards from a shop if there's no difference in the packaging? You could ask for 4 packs from the assistant, open them and they still could be all wave 1 and no refund as you'd opened the pack.
Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2005 3:03 pm
European Chris
Unfictologist
Joined: 19 Jul 2005 Posts: 1264 Location: London's trendy Whitechapel
amliag wrote:
oh no everso worried about today's order now. Altho I do still need lots of wave 1 but don't want to miss out on the wave 2 fun.
But thinking about it - couldn't this still happen if you went to buy cards from a shop if there's no difference in the packaging? You could ask for 4 packs from the assistant, open them and they still could be all wave 1 and no refund as you'd opened the pack.
They would have no legal basis to deny you a refund merely because you open the packaging. If you have received all wave one you would perfectly reasonable grounds to claim you've been missold them-because you have.
btw Vote Brenda
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Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2005 3:27 pm
Curlytek
Veteran
Joined: 30 Jul 2005 Posts: 112 Location: Melbourne, Australia
Ah, but the 3:1 ratio would probably come with a disclaimer saying "Actual ratio may vary", and unless you bought a whole box (or more than 25% of a freshly opened box) then they could argue that you were just unlucky.
Nevertheless, this sucks hard. They had better make damn sure that the next release uniquely comprises Wave 3 cards....otherwise they may possibly lose a large number of PPC players.
Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2005 4:05 pm
European Chris
Unfictologist
Joined: 19 Jul 2005 Posts: 1264 Location: London's trendy Whitechapel
Curlytek wrote:
Ah, but the 3:1 ratio would probably come with a disclaimer saying "Actual ratio may vary", and unless you bought a whole box (or more than 25% of a freshly opened box) then they could argue that you were just unlucky.
Yes, but 1 in 65536 is statistically impossible, you are are so far beyond the 3:1 ratio there is a clear missell. It's probably a genuine mistake as this is such a new product but that's not to say that consumers shouldn't be compensated.
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Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2005 5:28 pm
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