Issues with Black Tree Design - ongoing

[Atheling]

I’ve always been lucky & got everything within 2 to 4 weeks from them.
I’ve not ordered from them for a couple of years though.

It’s always made me laugh when they ‘find’ some Dr who stock in the warehouse! How big do they think we all think that bloody warehouse is?

Thinking about it, it must be f###### massive if they keep getting lost for months picking people’s orders 

From everything I've heard then I really dodged a  bullet as I was going to order some mini's from their Islamic Crusades range to fill out some units, add variety. All this including painting etc has to be done by Partizan in May! I might have been waiting until next year and May!

[nicknorthstar]

Sorry Katie, I be clearer. There wasn't a single Doctor Who casting left at Harlequin Miniatures.

They bankrupted Harlequin, moved all the moulds into new premises and started casting Doctor Who miniatures again, and when the BBC wrote to them they spun the tale they had bought the stock from Harlequin.

[Wachaza]

Sorry Katie, I be clearer. There wasn't a single Doctor Who casting left at Harlequin Miniatures.

They bankrupted Harlequin, moved all the moulds into new premises and started casting Doctor Who miniatures again, and when the BBC wrote to them they spun the tale they had bought the stock from Harlequin.

I'm astonished they've been able to keep on selling the Who miniatures especially now Warlord have the official licence.

[Wyrmalla]

Tsk, I just placed an order - even having read this thread - having not noticed whom I was buying from. Which places me in the "fingers crossed" camp.

Hopefully PayPal's refund system is robust enough that I can look into that a month or so from now if it doesn't work out (and I really can't be waiting longer than that for the figures I ordered as they're due for a game in the New Year ...besides obviously most orders should have arrived by then anyway).

[Shahbahraz]

Tsk, I just placed an order - even having read this thread - having not noticed whom I was buying from. Which places me in the "fingers crossed" camp.

Hopefully PayPal's refund system is robust enough that I can look into that a month or so from now if it doesn't work out (and I really can't be waiting longer than that for the figures I ordered as they're due for a game in the New Year ...besides obviously most orders should have arrived by then anyway).

Good luck, and in all fairness to BTD, some people do report getting the right figures in a reasonable amount of time. So fingers crossed for you.

I really want a third BTD Heer motorcycle combo to go with the two I picked up second-hand, but I am simply not brave enough to order one and deal with the their bullshit. I mean, if they were at least honest, but they just keep making excuses, and then saying they will make it all up, etc. But nothing.

[Wyrmalla]

Hmn, nah I think its better to just ask for a refund now instead of becomming involved at all. That frees up and dread over if things will show up in time, and leaves me to just source the figures from elsewhere.

At this stage if a company's not delivered a product within a month I'll now ask for a refund and use the money elsewhere. I'm sitting with two orders which will never show up from other companies that are outside the PayPal refund window as I gave them the benefit of the doubt.

[Harry Faversham]

Got mi' money back off the bastards... RESULT!!!

 

[katie]

I don't really think they're competing with Warlord. I buy BTD Dr Who stuff because I already have a bunch (I bought a load yonks ago at a Fantizan in Newark in the 90s when they were, I think, still Harlequin) and don't want to switch scale: apart from anything else, all my terrain is 28mm too. (I'm just putting up with the 'adventurous' sculpting of some of the figures).

I don't think I'd be buying Warlords version because I just don't like the figure style. OTOH, I have just ordered loads of plastic sprues from Warlord in their sale to use for historical characters... so they're both winning out.

[Shahbahraz]

I don't really think they're competing with Warlord. I buy BTD Dr Who stuff because I already have a bunch (I bought a load yonks ago at a Fantizan in Newark in the 90s when they were, I think, still Harlequin) and don't want to switch scale: apart from anything else, all my terrain is 28mm too. (I'm just putting up with the 'adventurous' sculpting of some of the figures).

I don't think I'd be buying Warlords version because I just don't like the figure style. OTOH, I have just ordered loads of plastic sprues from Warlord in their sale to use for historical characters... so they're both winning out.

Not really the point, Warlord would have paid a decent sum for the rights to use the Dr Who intellectual property, and BTD are essentially ripping them off with cheap knock-offs. I know that 'business ethics' isn't much discussed, but I don't want to be giving my hard-earned to a bunch of spivs and chancers.

And yes, I didn't pay much attention to their ethics before the mess I had with trying to purchase from them, but when I did start reading about it and hearing other people's stories, it's not pretty.

[Duncan McDane]

All the casting is done by contractors.

That might be the biggest problem. So I guess they are taking orders without checking if the molds still are ok, the casting quality is ok, stock is balanced and the shipping from their contractors to the customer is on time?
Doesn't sound like a good business model to me. If they don't want any hassle with casting & shipping, why not license their ranges out to well established manufacturers and get a small % for every model sold? Free money, no hassle, nothing...

[Shahbahraz]

That might be the biggest problem. So I guess they are taking orders without checking if the molds still are ok, the casting quality is ok, stock is balanced and the shipping from their contractors to the customer is on time?
Doesn't sound like a good business model to me. If they don't want any hassle with casting & shipping, why not license their ranges out to well established manufacturers and get a small % for every model sold? Free money, no hassle, nothing...

Yep, in an ideal world I would like to see their ranges available from a more reliable retailer.

Ah well.

[Woody]

I can vouch for everything Nick says. I was sculpting for them during the Harlequin/Icon/BTD transition period. Getting paid was always "interesting". I remember I mostly had to deal with John as Dean was always in bed and I think Vaughan was given pocket money to keep away. There are many stories that would be worthy of an episode of "Only Fools and Horses".
Looking back it was funny, but at the time it wasn't!

Don't order from them!

[sir_shvantselot]

I’m still chasing up a 100 quid plus order from
Xmas 2018. And they keep issuing new Kickstarters! So annoyed.

[Shahbahraz]

I’m still chasing up a 100 quid plus order from
Xmas 2018. And they keep issuing new Kickstarters! So annoyed.

Good luck with that, I'm still waiting for them to correct an order from the same period.

[Atheling]

Good luck with that, I'm still waiting for them to correct an order from the same period.

I'm lucky in that the only Black Tree mini's I have bought were from a shop in Glasgow.

I've never ordered from them even when they were based in the UK where I live.

I do feel quite sorry for the folk who have been ripped off or have been waiting for orders for months/years.

It's simply not on. I wonder if there's any sort of complaints recourse in the US?