Keith Nallawalla
Back in September 2022 Mattel Creations launched a crowd-funded project for the Masters of the Universe Eternia playset. A remake of the incredibly fragile and rare Eternia Playset from the 80s, which was released in small numbers in 1986 towards the end of the popularity of the original toy line.
The vintage set is an absolute holy grail for Masters of the Universe fans and due to the low production run, volume of small and easy-to-lose pieces and fragile monorail tracks, a complete set is worth absolutely stupid money.
This is something I figured I’d never be able to own and even if I did ever get rich and buy one, I’d be too afraid to even touch it.
So to see a modern remake of the original set, become a possibility was truly a dream come true and was something I was incredibly excited for.
Being a crowd-funded project, it also included a few unlockable rewards depending on how many people pledged.
You can find out more about it here:
Masters of the Universe Origins Eternia Playset
In order to buy this, I had to sell some other collectables and I got in early to pledge to get the King Grayskull early backer bonus. The campaign exceeded the 5,000 unit minimum to go ahead and ended just short of the final tier of 10,000 for an additional figure.
In early 2024, people in the USA started receiving their King Grayskull figure and then their Eternia Playsets separately. The Eternia Playset was absolutely massive. By late March or early April, the Eternia Playset started arriving for people in Australia so I started checking my tracking daily.
As I work full time, I don’t like getting deliveries sent to my house, especially large or expensive ones. My workplace since 2021 has been on a month-to-month lease, so I never order anything too far in advance to the office. In fact
My whole family (parents and sister) all share a PO Box, which my mum checks daily and gives us any mail or parcels whenever we see her. Despite some people on Facebook’s understanding of how PO Boxes work, you can usually get parcels delivered to them. My family have used the same one since the 80s. I spent the week making sure she checked the PO Box for this every day. Especially in the lead-up to my birthday weekend, as I was hoping to build it on my birthday so I could play with it with my son.
I’d not felt so excited for something since I was a kid. This was something I’d waited 2 years for that I’d previously thought I’d never get a chance to own. I was so excited about it that I wouldn’t shut up about it to anyone who would listen.
But it never came. In fact. It came up as undeliverable and was sent back. It turns out they used a different shipping provider, FedEx for the massive Eternia playset, which makes sense in retrospect. But typically anything from them arrives via Australia Post. I’ve ordered almost every Masters of the Universe item released by Mattel Creations since it first launched and only ever had a few minor issues (wrong Little People set sent, and severely damaged Grizzlor Masters of the Universe figures) and all arrived at my PO Box.
What was disappointing here was that whenever I normally order something that cannot be shipped to a PO Box, the checkout process tells me this and I put in my house address instead and do not accept PO Boxes.
What is also disappointing is that Mattel Creations had my contact details and presumably FedEx also had them and yet neither appear to have tried to contact me about updating my address, despite nearly 2 years passing since I first ordered it.
Getting such a large item shipped to a house rather than a PO Box is apparently common sense according to a lot of Americans on the Masters of the Universe Facebook groups where I complained about my experience, but apparently, this happened to a few people in Australia and other places too.
As such, I’ve had a few people ask to see how Mattel handled the situation.
I have replaced any sensitive info with “xxxxxxx”
Keith
My Eternia wasn’t delivered to my PO Box. Can I update the address to xxxxxxxx Werribee 3030 Victoria Australia?
Genevieve
Hi Keith,
Thank you so much for reaching out to us about the status of order CHP4777xxx. Good news, your order has shipped! If you haven’t received it yet, I have included the tracking information with Fedex:
***tracking removed***
If you have any additional questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out again.
Best Wishes,
Genevieve P.
Keith
Hi there,
I believe this is the shipping back to your warehouse in the US, not to me in Australia. The order number you showed me is the wrong one, it belongs to someone in New York.
I am in Australia.
My order number is CHP1934xxx – I think you’ve got the wrong one.
FXP tracking number:
272504931xxx
Return Tracking Number – 775827183xxx
I think the problem is that I put down a PO Box as my address, I always put my PO Box for Mattel Creations orders and never had an issue. This may have confused FedEx who I think only deliver to houses?
It is now in China.
I am concerned that by the time it gets back to the US, then you send it back to me, it will be damaged. Is there a way you can contact FedEx to change my address?
Keith Nallawalla
(my house address)
Werribee 3030
Victoria, Australia.
I tried to update the address myself, but it said only the sender can do this.
Carla
Hi Keith,
Thank you for placing your Mattel Creations order number, CHP1934xxx. I wanted to reach out to you because our overseas carrier was unable to deliver your package, and it was returned to us. I’m truly sorry for the disappointment this causes.
What I’m going to do is issue a full refund of your purchase amount, including taxes and shipping. That will be credited back to your original form of payment shortly. If you want to place your order again, please verify that your shipping address is correct to ensure delivery.
On the other hand, I see that your King Grayskull was delivered today, April 10, 2024. You are free to keep this item, so it can still be enjoyed. I have provided the tracking link below:
***Link removed***
For order CHP4777xxx, I apologize for the confusion. The FedEx tracking is US tracking information showing that your order has been shipped out and will be forwarded to the international carrier. I kindly ask that you allow more time for our carrier to deliver your package. Once it has been forwarded, you will receive an email with your international tracking information.
I apologize for the inconvenience!
Best Wishes,
Carla O.
Mattel Consumer Services
Keith
Hi Carla,
I do not understand this:
“Thank you for placing your Mattel Creations order number, CHP1934xxx. I wanted to reach out to you because our overseas carrier was unable to deliver your package, and it was returned to us. I’m truly sorry for the disappointment this causes.
What I’m going to do is issue a full refund of your purchase amount, including taxes and shipping. That will be credited back to your original form of payment shortly. If you want to place your order again, please verify that your shipping address is correct to ensure delivery.”
I cannot order it again because this was a crowd-funded project in 2022. It cannot be repurchased.
Are you offering to send it back to me for free? This will be impossible for me to get otherwise as they will cost significantly more on the secondary market, especially here in Australia.
Please send it to
Keith Nallawalla
(my house address)
Werribee 3030
Victoria, Australia
Cheers,
Carla
Hi Keith,
Thank you for getting back to us!
I’m sorry to hear you didn’t receive order CHP1934xxx, as it was returned to us because our overseas carrier was unable to deliver your package. Regrettably, we are unable to reship the order due to international restrictions.
With that being said, a full refund of $750 was issued, which will be credited back to your original form of payment method used on the order.
I’m truly sorry for the disappointment this causes, and I appreciate your understanding.
Best Wishes,
Carla O.
Mattel Consumer Services
Keith
I am happy to pay for it. The only ones on eBay cost literally double the retail price. Can this please be escalated?
Carla
Hi Keith,
Thank you for getting back to us!
I understand how disappointing it is not to receive what you have ordered and wanted to escalate this. Regrettably, as I mentioned, we are unable to reship the order due to international restrictions.
Please know that your experience and feedback will be shared with the teams.
I appreciate your understanding.
Best Wishes,
Carla O.
Mattel Consumer Services
Keith
Hi Carla,
What international restrictions are preventing this? Lots of other people in Australia received theirs.
Here’s one on eBay for double the RRP but I cannot afford this / they are in another state with local pickup only.
Keith (again)
Hi Carla,
Is it possible to get this shipped to a friend in the US and then have them ship it to me instead? I’m happy to pay again for that.
Carla
Hi Keith,
Thank you for getting back to us!
I understand how much this item meant to you. Like I mentioned, we are unable to reship the order, which is why a refund has been issued, as we do not want you to be left empty-handed. I’m truly sorry for the disappointment this causes.
Please know that your experience will be shared with the teams.
I appreciate your understanding.
Best Wishes,
Carla O.
Mattel Consumer Services
I was then sent a survey
The Mattel Family of Brands Customer Satisfaction Survey
Greetings,
At the Mattel Family of Brands, we value your opinion and would love to hear about your recent experience with us. We invite you to participate in a survey as part of our ongoing effort to increase the quality of our services.
Any information you provide will be kept private, and we’ll only use your answers to improve your next experience.
Thank you for your support!
Sincerely,
The Mattel Family of Brands Customer Service Team
I then filled out some very honest feedback, but I don’t have a copy of it.
Keith
I have a friend in Seattle who I can get it shipped to. He can then ship it to me.
Please send me a special link so I can pay for it again once the money returns to my account (it hasn’t yet).
No further replies from Carla or Mattel.
Conclusion
This was a terrible example of customer service. It is clear that Mattle Creations does not regularly use FedEx as they didn’t seem to think it was possible to update my address. Genevieve didn’t see any problem with my order. Carla also seemed to be very poorly trained, giving me someone else’s order number/tracking (possible privacy breach) and telling me to simply order this pre-order-only product again, which was not available to buy. This means she did not understand my urgency. She also kept citing “international restrictions” which didn’t sound like a real excuse as plenty of other people in Australia received theirs.
I posted about this in an Australian Masters of the Universe Facebook group and many were sympathetic. I connected with a great guy called Derek who had ordered two (one was still on its way) and once it turned up, he sold it to me for a better price than anything else I’ve seen online, which was generous of him.
It arrived in good shape and I’ve played with it with my son Charlie and he loves it!
