Issue with Giantoy?

Hi everyone,

I just thought I'd provide an interesting update and and some questions about Giantoy.

I pre-ordered a Super Duck Set055 (Tifa Lockhart) head sculpt from Giantoy_Shop on UK eBay back in April. Which I believe is directly linked to Giantoy. Under the terms and conditions of eBay, they couldn't send the actual item in the specified time period. So as clearly stated on their listing they sent a guarantee certificate to meet eBay's terms and conditions of sale. Being a reputable company I was happy with this and received my promise certificate with a view to receiving my head sculpt when available.

I sat back quietly expecting a looong wait while they were awaiting stock...

However, at the end of June I abruptly received a full refund from eBay saying my order had been cancelled although without any explanation. When I went into my purchase history I noticed that the item had been completely removed. Thankfully with me receiving the full payment I thought about contacting Giantoy to see if they could provide any additional information and what I could do about placing another pre-order...

...only to find that they had no listings and are shown as being no longer a registered user!!!

I went to their main website, which is still trading. So I'm guessing eBay have deleted their account for breaching their terms and conditions (effectively circumventing their dispatch process by not sending the actual item but a promise to do so). With the head sculpt being out of stock I've thankfully been able to source one from a different supplier that I've now received.

So much so, I'm now looking for a body for my character (and from my previous post along with all the kind advice from my replies have decided to opt for the TBLeague S33B). Where, the best price I can find is from... surprise... surprise.... Giantoy!!!

So, my questions are:

1) Has anyone noticed any issues like this with Giantoy or placed an order recently? and
2) Do you think my assumption is fair and is most likely an unintentional issue purely with eBay so is worth ordering directly from their website?

I really would be so very grateful for any comments or advice and if I should continue to place my order?

With very kind regards
Paul

Well their dedicated UK eBay user profile still appears active (giantoy_uk) as of today so might be a unilateral action by eBay for some infraction but that's a total guess. I never buy from them on eBay - far cheaper to go direct and I'm expecting a parcel from them tomorrow.

In general I have to say I'm seeing a lot less activity from the 1/6 sellers I track and occasionally buy from on eBay such as luck_day2005 and sweetpig1022 and many others which makes me think they are winding down their eBay businesses (Covid/VAT impact?). If Giantoy is similarly minded it could be they've decided to ditch eBay and focus on the main site which I suspect generates most of the business.

Thank you so much for your very thoughtful and objective reply, where you raise some really good points. Especially about it often being cheaper to buy direct and that some businesses may have reduced sales so are consolidating due to covid etc.

I think it is definitely worth me looking to purchase direct from Giantoy, and if I pay with Paypal I also have some buyer protection too

I truly am very grateful, where I really do appreciate your time and help.
Paul

I ordered a Super Duck Tifa (SET055) and a S10D body for it from Giantoy when it was in stock a couple of days ago, and it shipped the next day.  I’ve bought from them a few times during the past year and haven’t had any problems.

There are a few things going on here.  One is that governments around the world are bearing down on platforms like eBay and taking away a lot of the advantages of buying and selling on there.

I’m currently clearing out everything in my collection that I want to sell on eBay, because starting next year, if you’re based in the United States and sell more than $600 on eBay in a calendar year, you’re going to get a 1099 form.  For those of you outside the US, that means that if I sell $1,000 on eBay, it’s going to be reported to the government as income, and I’m going to be taxed on it.  Now I can deduct the cost of the items I sold, but if I get audited, I’d better have those receipts.  It’s just not worth the hassle.

eBay is also being forced to charge and collect sales taxes soon.   So if I buy a $200 figure from an eBay seller that’s also based in the US, I’m soon going to have to pay $14 in sales tax that I haven’t had to pay in the past.

With respect to your specific issue, it may be that the owner of the intellectual property (I believe in this case it’s Square Enix) may be cracking down on unlicensed “bootlegs” coming out of China.  They can’t do much about the manufactures in China making them, but they can do something about resellers or platforms like eBay in countries like the US and UK where copyrights are much easier to enforce.

I’m leaving some of the more subtle details out, and there are some detail I don’t know, but that’s the gist of it.

The more popular this hobby gets, the more products we have to choose from, but the downside is that when we reach a point where the money changing hands becomes substantial enough, everyone is going to want their piece of the pie, especially if they have a legitimate claim to it.

I suspect the issue may have something to do with the new European and UK tax laws. I recently received a notice from Giantoy regarding changes to their tax collection policies for the UK and Europe. Unfortunately, as I am not in the UK or Europe, I deleted the message.

As near as I recall, Giantoy is trying to keep the tax hit as low as possible. There was something to do with quoting a "deposit price" rather than the full sales price, or something like that, to reduce the amount of tax due. I don't recall the specifics, it was somewhat convoluted, but it sounds like Giantoy is doing what they can to reduce the impact on their European customers.

eBay, I suspect, collects tax on the entire amount of the sale, or reports the entire price of the sale. My guess would be that the process is becoming extremely cumbersome for UK and European eBay sales, to the point where the effort is no longer justified for Giantoy, particularly as they try to keep prices reasonable and offer free shipping.

As for Tifa, I had the full Tifa figure on pre-order through Giantoy for a number of months. As you know, the figure was briefly in stock and was shipping. It sold out, but was again listed as a pre-order. When the figure was not released by the end of June, I decided to cancel the order. A polite email to Giantoy with the invoice number and the item was all it took. They processed the refund promptly and the pre-order purchase price was refunded to my card within three business days, even going through PayPal.

I have found Giantoy to be reputable and professional, offering fair prices (not always the lowest, but never the highest either), a good selection, and prompt shipping. Actual shipping time, of course, is out of their control once the items leave their hands, but they provide tracking on the parcels so it's always easy to see where things are.

I followed up my order cancellation (I cancelled two pre-orders, actually) with a purchase of in-stock items, and they were shipped out promptly (and are now sitting in postal limbo here in the States).

So in short, from our collective responses, Giantoy good, taxes bad.

Xavion2004 wrote:I ordered a Super Duck Tifa (SET055) and a S10D body for it from Giantoy when it was in stock a couple of days ago, and it shipped the next day.
. . .
I’m currently clearing out everything in my collection that I want to sell on eBay, because starting next year, if you’re based in the United States and sell more than $600 on eBay in a calendar year, you’re going to get a 1099 form.  

Ha! Doesn't that just figure that the Tifa fig is restocked the week after I cancel my pre-order!

Wow! I did not know that about eBay! Thanks for the tip! This means I need to decide if I want to sell the items I've been on the fence about selling.

Buyers in several states, including where I'm currently living, have been paying state sales tax on purchases for a year or more now.

davidd, are you thinking of the VSToys Tifa by any chance?  I still have a preorder with Giantoy for that version as well, and she’s a complete figure that comes with two headsculpts. The one I ordered a few days ago is the Super Duck version that comes with one head sculpt requires an additional TB League body to be purchased.

Xavion2004 wrote:davidd, are you thinking of the VSToys Tifa by any chance?  I still have a preorder with Giantoy for that version as well, and she’s a complete figure that comes with two headsculpts.  The one I ordered a few days ago is the Super Duck version that comes with one head sculpt requires an additional TB League body to be purchased.

Yes, my pre-order was for the VSToys version.

I purchased one for a friend when they were in stock. Once it arrived and I saw how good it looked, I went back online to get one for myself, by which time it had gone back in to pre-order status.

I'm in the USA and Giant Toy has been very good to me, actually I'm very impressed by them. Just last week, I decided to buy Poptoys Hitler and Super Duck Tifa. Poptoys Hitler arrived yesterday, Tifa arrives tomorrow. Last night, I was sent an invoice for my War Story Tifa which I immediately paid. I kinda regret paying Fedex delivery for War Story Tifa now after my good experience with Giant Toy lol! I mean it only takes 7 to 12 days for my orders to arrive from Giant Toy, so the Fedex delivery would only shave off a few days.

Funny story, I bought some Godzilla toys last week from within the US. It took the same amount of time for the Godzilla toys to arrive as from the time Giant Toys shipped out and got my Poptoys Hitler delivered to me. Can you imagine that? How in the world can Giant Toys get my orders to me so quickly while sellers within the US take the same amount of time is quite interesting.

Ebay, yeah I hate what they're doing with Ebay here in the US. Selling used items that you don't need anymore is just gonna be a burden now instead of something that will help you during times of need. That's why I stopped selling on Ebay last year. PLUS, Ebay now requires you to link them directly to your real life bank account if you want to get paid as a seller!!! In the terms of service, it's noted that Ebay will have the power to take money out of your bank any time they want. That's just horrible! In the past all they required was a Paypal account, but not anymore! I don't trust Ebay to take money from my bank without my consent. Another effect of this is that money doesn't get added to your bank account right away. Sometimes, money goes into the bank after 3 or 5 days!!! That's a long time especially if you are selling a lot of stuff! This is troublesome for sellers who need to ship out multiple items, or even single heavy items because it will have to come out right away from their pockets instead of the payment of the customer.

Anyway for Europe, Giant Toy has this to say about the taxes -> https://giantoy.com/pages/new-eu-vat-rules-and-how-do-we-deal-with-tax-from-july-1-2021

Adeno wrote:I'm in the USA and Giant Toy has been very good to me, actually I'm very impressed by them. Just last week, I decided to buy Poptoys Hit....

Anyway for Europe, Giant Toy has this to say about the taxes -> https://giantoy.com/pages/new-eu-vat-rules-and-how-do-we-deal-with-tax-from-july-1-2021

That's the tax notice I was referring to. Thank you for finding and posting the link. "Pre-paid partial tax," that's how they're handling it.

Ohhhh.... they have two versions of the Devil King in stock! And I've already way overspent my hobby budget for the month!

UPDATE: So... I kinda "borrowed from myself." I'll pay it back, honest!  Because... how likely is it that we'll ever see a fig like "Devil King" again?

So, yeah, the real "issue" with Giantoy? TOO MANY TEMPTING TREASURES!

Lol have fun with "Devil King" Not a lot of companies have the courage to make him

Giant Toy sure has become one of my favorite stores when it comes to these kinds of stuff. Great customer service, fast shipping, quick delivery plus they care about taxes that customers pay and provide solutions for the best value!

I haven't had any issues ordering directly through Giantoy on their website the past couple of years. Only time I bought something through their ebay site was because I had an ebay coupon when they used to do those things. My last couple transactions were good. I grabbed the green vigilante that arrived in a couple weeks, and I had a small issue with my miss spetsnaz where the manufacturer forgot to include a tiny decal. GT reached out to them and mailed it to me! Great CS, just reach out and they'll help you if they can.

I think GianToy is usually considered a staple of reliability and good service among forum members. Certainly my orders with them have been fulfilled smoothly so far.

There's nothing wrong with Giantoy. I actually first discovered them through their ebay store. Then started dealing with them directly. In all honesty, the issue probably stems more from ebay than Giantoy. EBay has changed a lot and the changes are not looking good to both buyers and sellers. Sellers may charge a bit more in their eBay store probably to offset the ridiculous fees and taxes paid after selling. I'm still looking at other methods to sell my collectibles. I might start posting in the sales thread. I have a ton of stuff I need to offload and downsize. Lol

doodlehobby wrote:There's nothing wrong with Giantoy. I actually first discovered them through their ebay store. Then started dealing with them directly. In all honesty, the issue probably stems more from ebay than Giantoy. EBay has changed a lot and the changes are not looking good to both buyers and sellers. Sellers may charge a bit more in their eBay store probably to offset the ridiculous fees and taxes paid after selling. I'm still looking at other methods to sell my collectibles. I might start posting in the sales thread. I have a ton of stuff I need to offload and downsize. Lol

You took the words right out my mouth. Ebay is going downhill, fast. I'm so frustrated. I, too, still have quite a few things I want to sell, but these days it seems more hassle and expense than it's worth to sell there. Ugh.

I’m hoping to be done with eBay or close to it by the end of September.   I sent five packages out Thursday, three this morning, and I’ve already had two more sales this afternoon. It’s a royal pain, but it’s freeing up space and allowing my new 1/6 collection to multiply like bunny rabbits.  

Also might be worth considering the account is piggy backing off Giantoy and isn't the real Giantoy? I've found the real Giantoy to be one of the best shops out there.

PLUS, Ebay now requires you to link them directly to your real life bank account if you want to get paid as a seller!!! In the terms of service, it's noted that Ebay will have the power to take money out of your bank any time they want. That's just horrible! In the past all they required was a Paypal account, but not anymore! I don't trust Ebay to take money from my bank without my consent.

Easy fix for this. Most banks will ( in the US at least) let you set up more than one savings account for free. So you set up an eBay only account, give them that account number and only ever keep $5 (the usual minimum) to keep the account open. Set up alerts or notifications so that anytime any money goes into the account, you immediately transfer it out to your regular account. That way eBay can only ever get $5 out of the account if they try that and eBay can't take money out of an account that they don't have the account number for.

Adeno wrote:I'm in the USA and Giant Toy has been very good to me, actually I'm very impressed by them. Just last week, I decided to buy Poptoys Hitler and Super Duck Tifa. Poptoys Hitler arrived yesterday, Tifa arrives tomorrow. Last night, I was sent an invoice for my War Story Tifa which I immediately paid. I kinda regret paying Fedex delivery for War Story Tifa now after my good experience with Giant Toy lol! I mean it only takes 7 to 12 days for my orders to arrive from Giant Toy, so the Fedex delivery would only shave off a few days.

Funny story, I bought some Godzilla toys last week from within the US. It took the same amount of time for the Godzilla toys to arrive as from the time Giant Toys shipped out and got my Poptoys Hitler delivered to me. Can you imagine that? How in the world can Giant Toys get my orders to me so quickly while sellers within the US take the same amount of time is quite interesting.

Ebay, yeah I hate what they're doing with Ebay here in the US. Selling used items that you don't need anymore is just gonna be a burden now instead of something that will help you during times of need. That's why I stopped selling on Ebay last year. PLUS, Ebay now requires you to link them directly to your real life bank account if you want to get paid as a seller!!! In the terms of service, it's noted that Ebay will have the power to take money out of your bank any time they want. That's just horrible! In the past all they required was a Paypal account, but not anymore! I don't trust Ebay to take money from my bank without my consent. Another effect of this is that money doesn't get added to your bank account right away. Sometimes, money goes into the bank after 3 or 5 days!!! That's a long time especially if you are selling a lot of stuff! This is troublesome for sellers who need to ship out multiple items, or even single heavy items because it will have to come out right away from their pockets instead of the payment of the customer.

Anyway for Europe, Giant Toy has this to say about the taxes -> https://giantoy.com/pages/new-eu-vat-rules-and-how-do-we-deal-with-tax-from-july-1-2021

Also have the same issue with EBay wanting a bank account as a term for selling. I used PayPal because it is a go-between, and I can use a credit card to cover possible issues instead of having my checking account tied up or debited at a bad time. However forum marketplaces come with their own set of problems as well.

It’s actually gotten to the point where selling in general is becoming too high risk no matter where one does it. I told my wife to either have a garage sale or trash this stuff when I die. She’ll probably just get a dumpster, though, since it’s much easier.

davidd wrote:I suspect the issue may have something to do with the new European and UK tax laws. ...

As near as I recall, Giantoy is trying to keep the tax hit as low as possible. There was something to do with quoting a "deposit price" rather than the full sales price, or something like that, to reduce the amount of tax due. I don't recall the specifics, it was somewhat convoluted, but it sounds like Giantoy is doing what they can to reduce the impact on their European customers.

eBay, I suspect, collects tax on the entire amount of the sale, or reports the entire price of the sale. My guess would be that the process is becoming extremely cumbersome for UK and European eBay sales, to the point where the effort is no longer justified for Giantoy, particularly as they try to keep prices reasonable and offer free shipping.

...

I have found Giantoy to be reputable and professional, offering fair prices (not always the lowest, but never the highest either), a good selection, and prompt shipping. Actual shipping time, of course, is out of their control once the items leave their hands, but they provide tracking on the parcels so it's always easy to see where things are.

....

fully second all of that.
All platforms (ebay, AliExpress, etsy...) now charge the additional taxes for European customers directly and the parcels arrive with the declaration "taxes prepaid" (which actually saves some additional DHL fees that apply when taxes have not been prepaid. This is esp. helpful for low priced items as the DHL fee is a flat 6 EUR in Germany for example...). Giantoy prefers to manage this themselves - and not quite in the same way ebay does (without me saying that ebay does it badly! not at all. It is just the new EU laws...) - so, I guess it makes sense for Giantoy not to sell on different channels anymore to avoid confusion.