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UK publisher Eaglemoss abuses newsagents with Chess partwork

The DC Chess Collection partwork from UK publisher Eaglemoss is being sold incomplete through our channel.  It turns out that customers who want to complete the collection with the chess board can only do this by subscribing direct.

This is appalling, an abuse of our channel.

The requirement that you can only get the chess board by subscribing through Eaglemoss is disrespectful of newsagents who so strongly support partworks.

That we have a magazine distributor that could allow newsagents to be abused in this way is disappointing.

Unless Eaglemoss recants, this is one partwork I will no longer support.

30 likes
magazine distribution

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  1. SHAUN S

    Only sold 2 so far and they both are going online for the next issues because they say it is the only way to get the board .

    0 likes

  2. Steve Sharman

    Partworks from all publishers have always used the newsagency channel to push subsciptions to their publications by offering the first 2 or 3 parts at a lower price and then reducing supply to make retail copies scarce. Subscibers are ‘rewarded’ with add ons (such as the chess board).
    I explain to any potential subsciber the negatives of that way of buying (payment in advance, damaged delivery, trouble in cancelling).
    Nothing new in this post Mark, I’m not sure why you had to mention ‘UK’ in the introduction, maybe to arouse some jingoistic reaction..

    3 likes

  3. Shaun's

    What is new is that you cannot complete the chess set with out the board , so makes the whole thing a waste of time .

    1 likes

  4. BAZ

    This has been difficult and embarrassing to explain to customers…we won’t be pushing this one.

    3 likes

  5. Ted

    Mark there is nothing surprising in this, the magazine distributors have been abusing this channel for a very long time.

    2 likes

  6. Mark Fletcher

    This is the first time an item essential to completing a artwork has been withheld from the channel. The chess board is not a bonus item or an optional folder, it is the key item.

    As for the UK reference, the partwork is from the UK.

    2 likes

  7. allan wickham

    Just taking it off the shelf mow……

    3 likes

  8. allan wickham

    that should read now…..

    3 likes

  9. Bill

    Got 92, off the shelf ,if they wont them on i need the be able to sell the boards as well ,needs the be out in the next issue that the agent sells the boards time for a stand people

    1 likes

  10. rick

    ive taken all mine off as well, if people ask for them i will explain the situation and leave the decision up to them. very bad form by the distibutor.

    1 likes

  11. allan wickham

    Bill…..92? Where do you keep them?

    0 likes

  12. Peter

    One issue with taking them off and early returning which is a quite deserved action, is the cost of freight 8.80 s box.

    0 likes

  13. Bill

    Hi got 80 how your body works ,we fit them all in some were really pissed off with this .Going to ring the the ACCC re this ,selling somEthing you can not complete

    2 likes

  14. Jim

    Put up eaglemoss or you can stick all your partworks .How about posting something on here telling us why

    0 likes

  15. James

    Going to make some boards out of our fine selection of cardboard and cash in on this….but seriously what an abuse of our retail space and customers.

    2 likes

  16. Brendan

    Ours will be off the shelves as soon as I phone the shop and talk to the staff. (We ar away for a short break)

    1 likes

  17. Steve

    Had a customer come in to get part 1 today so I told them about this and they passed for now. Decided to get some clarification from the distributor. The Eaglemoss website lists Bissett as the distributor so I rang them and they say their not the distributor for DC-Chess. Does anyone know who is the distributor is so we can put the question to them.

    1 likes

  18. Vicki

    This happened with the doll house one too didn’t it? Or am I getting my wires crossed.

    0 likes

  19. Steve

    Vicki

    I had a customer who purchased vic dolls house through me and managed to get the dolls house without paying for it. I don’t think it was easy but you could get it.

    0 likes

  20. Brendan

    Vicki, the dolls house was only available from the publisher but I’m pretty sure that obtaining it wasn’t dependent on being a subscriber so it was different to this case which clearly uses us to get the ball rolling then dumps us. My stock is now off the shelf and only those already agreed to as putaways will be supplied unless the mess is sorted out to my satisfaction. Lets see if collectively the tail CAN wag the dog.

    1 likes

  21. D R

    Can get it from mag shop ,another network stich up, told me not the same company Ihave removed my display ,i am waiting to hear from then as to what they are going to do about it .

    1 likes

  22. Vicki

    Fair enough, we had no sales here for the doll house one so I wasn’t sure of the outcome.

    0 likes

  23. michael

    had 6 customers wanting putaway, all now cancelled once they read about subscribe and get the board, at least i sold the 6

    0 likes

  24. A customer

    I am a loyal customer to my local newsagent and I was going to put this on putaway. But once I found out about not getting a chess board I had to subscribe. It is a joke!
    My money could of gone to a local business supporting the community.

    7 likes

  25. SHAUN S

    Would we have to refund a customer that no longer wants it becasue they do not want to subscribe ,where do we stand on this ?

    0 likes

  26. Lucy

    As a avid Chess and Comic fan I was looking forward to obtaining this through my newsagent (I don’t use credit cards) saw that you must subscribe to obtain the chess board, going to pass on this one now.

    Shaun, as a gesture of goodwill, if someone asks for it you should, otherwise you may loose a customer from your store.

    0 likes

  27. JOHN

    Hi still selling have told people to complain to the Gov dept
    that handles these things
    Most are not happy but will keep going as the will be i think a re think regards the chess board or Eaglemoss will have to handly a lot of unhappy people

    0 likes

  28. Jim

    Has anyone been in touch with these people in the uk in regards the board selling a chess set with on board how silly are this crowd

    0 likes

  29. Martin

    Just took mine off. Won’t even bother early returning. They can sit in the back room till the due date.

    0 likes

  30. Paul

    Just dropped half of mine back at Followmonts this afternoon from what was an absolutely rediculous first supply number for my size of store. Will pull the rest down over the weekend and they can go back next returns run..

    Vicki for the Dolls House partwork the customer just needed a token which was in one of the earlier parts which they then had to send to the distributor to order their dollhouse. Have a couple of that series on putaway and apart from the ususal supply gliche part way through , that one has been reasonably well handled

    0 likes

  31. Jayden

    Sold out of 20 and many customer orders placed …… Must be something in the air over here.

    1 likes

  32. h

    ……… only $100 for the Chess Board for our Putatway customers !
    This is so insulting to newsagents. I wonder if one can subsribe just for the last few parts and still get a “free” chessboard !

    2 likes

  33. ravenmtg

    I am an experienced collector from Malta and I had problems with them lately when I posted my order at my local newsagent in Malta. I am currently living in Malta and I am a serious collector. I have done the LOTR chess and collectors models and I was satisfied with them then last year I started the DC chess collection. I liked the first set but I was disappointed with the material used for the chess pieces. This is just my personal opinion, i feel that Eaglemoss has made the latest figurines with cheap material and they will never rise in value compared to the lead chess sets. The DC chess board looks cheap and if I do a lot of force to assemble it, I may break it. I paid a lot of money for it and it is not worth the price paid for it. I meant no offence with this comment. I feel that I am paying the price for cheap looking stuff and if I give advice to a collector with less experience, the answer would be, “it’s not worth it”. I feel that eaglemoss has screwed up on me. Lately I had a problem with the number 32 and I contacted them by email. I was going to buy them from their website but their shipping costs are rediculous!

    Once again, I meant no offense to anyone with this comment

    0 likes

  34. June

    Talking chess sets I deal with an Italian
    company for chess sets and boxed playing cards and boxed casino chips etc and a couple of weeks ago someone stole
    all the beautiful chess pieces within an hour of us shifting it to the window for better showing.
    It was a $300 item so I am very very aggrieved as the chess board is no use without the chess pieces.
    It had to be a professional who knew the quality of the product, but they were stolen right under my nose at the counter.
    The company concerned will probably replace the pieces (at a cost of course) so that I can eventually sell the board intact.
    Very disappointing but the things that leave my shop are astounding.
    Big pieces of glassware etc and we never see them go even though we are on alert to items being stolen.
    I just sigh and put the price of the next things up to counter the loss.

    0 likes

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