The owner of Miniature Market is a nice man named Steve who sponsors the Axis & Allies FORUMINI.  He sent me a private message (PM) on that forum letting me know he read my review and he also took the time to reply to the review.

I try my best to provide accurate information and a complete picture.  I don’t always succeed but I keep trying to do better.  I’ve always tried to share information from companies, publishers, authors, etc when they make it available to me.  If I’m in the wrong I admit it.

To provide a more complete picture I am sharing Steve’s remarks unedited (I’d never edit them) and in their entirety.  I feel it is important for companies to have the option and capability to respond to reviews of their products and services.  I encourage all companies, whether they’ve been reviewed or not, to create a FREE account on this blog and use this to discuss their products.  I made this offer to Steve and it is my hope that he will take me up on it.  Until then I am taking the opportunity to share his remarks on his behalf.  Before we get to that I need to say that Miniature Market is a great company to order from and I am proud to recommend them to my friends and fellow gamers.

After his remarks I will also share my response to him.  I stand by all my writings.  If anyone wishes to discuss them I am more than happy to do so.  The best way is through the comments field at the bottom of each article.  Alternatively, you may e-mail me at cwfgamecast [at] wargamingforums [dot] com (just replace the [at] with @ and [dot] with .).

Hello, I just took a few minutes to read over your critique of our site and service and I appreciate the feedback.  I am going to speak with my shipping department tomorrow to take care of the CCG card issue.  That was our fault and we will try to come up with some other way to ship singles with booster cases.

As for the $.75 fee.  Our site says “Handling & Delivery Confirmation Fee” for $.75.  No where on the site do we state that our free shipping will cost $.75.  Shipping is free over $75.  We add the $.75 to every order regardless of the items on the invoice or the invoice total.

As for the miniatures inside the case being bent there is nothing we can do about that.  We have zero control over the quality of the miniatures inside the case.

The promotion for $5.00 off was very straight forward.  It was posted as $5.00 off any order over $125.  You assumed that by buying a case you would get $5.00 off.  You were wrong and you held that against us.

Next time you write a review please get your facts straight first.  If we do something wrong I am open to changing things but I hate getting blamed for something we didn’t do.

We try to provide top notch service and will continue to try to make things better.  I’m sorry you weren’t 100% satisfied.

Steve – Owner of Miniature Market

It seems that he is less than pleased with the review.  I can understand that because although I gave them 82% and recommended them I did encounter some problems.  It is good to see an owner fight for their company as Steve does.  That shows they care and anyone who cares enough to do that is someone who cares enough to provide quality service to their customers.  That speaks volumes in my book.

Here is my response to him.

Hello Steve,

I am sorry you are unhappy with the review I wrote of my experience purchasing from Miniature Market.  Regarding the discount I received the information from one of your staff.  I did not assume anything and I resent your remarks on this issue.  As you said, “…get your facts straight first.”  I stated in my write-up that I received the information concerning the details of the discount from your staff member.

Consequently, I’ve been planning to e-mail you tonight to say how incredible your customer service is and how grateful I am that Erik Peterson provided stellar customer service.  He is why I ultimately ordered from Miniature Market.  Since you PMed me to unjustly chastise me I can tell you via PM that I think you have some of the best customer service I’ve ever encountered and that Mr. Peterson deserves all the credit for the sales Miniature Market has made with me.

I am more than happy to share remarks from companies about my thoughts.  I did so when Mr. Litko from Litko Aerosystems contacted me to thank me for my remarks.  I will happily do so with your remarks to provide a fuller picture for people who read my blog.  But, you are also encouraged to leave your own comments if you so choose.  Please go to http://wargamingforums.com/wp-login.php?action=register if that is your wish.

I endeavor to provide information that is accurate to the best of my ability.  If you look back at my article you will see that I never state that Miniature Market says “free shipping will cost $.75.” as you infer I did.  Similarly I never stated that Miniature Market has “control over the quality of the miniatures inside the case” as you infer I stated.

I will happily post for you or you can post yourself any remarks or rebuttal you wish.  I am also happy to speak with you over the phone about this if you’d like.  I am not an unhappy customer and am sorry that you are unhappy with my article.  I am perfectly willing to work with you on this so that we can better understand each other and to be positive that accurate information is revealed.  Like you I “try to provide top notch service and will continue to try to make things better.”

I think Miniature Market does a good job and that is why I am happy to recommend your company to my friends and to those who read my blog.

Thanks,
Jonathan

Steve’s PM got me thinking about my review so I re-read it a few times.  I still stand by it but there are a few things I wish to clarify.  I received my information about the ForuMINI discount from a Miniature Market employee who told me “As far as the coupon code, it is valid until the release date. The code gives $5 off if you buy at least one case of Flank Speed” (I keep all communications in case something like this comes up).  There was no assumption on my end about that.  I was explicitly told by the employee who later said they were incorrect.  I am quoting the employee in this paragraph on this issue.  If I was at fault for this I would admit it but I am not and it is actually a misunderstanding, which the employee rectified as part of the superb customer service they provided.

I also never state in my review that the 75 cent charge on orders is the same as free shipping.  In fact I don’t state any of the things that Steve refers to in his PM.  But, I can see how a reader could interpret parts of my review as inferring some of that information.  For that I must and do apologize to Steve, Miniature Market, his employees, and each of you readers.

In my review I state “One odd thing is that the company charges a nominal shipping charge but then charges 75 cents on top to cover “shipping and handling.” I was put off by this.”  I failed to say that I was not charged a shipping fee on ordering the case.  I only had to pay the 75 cent Handling & Delivery Confirmation Fee.  I greatly regret that error.

It was never my intent to infer that free shipping equates the 75 cent charge.  When I see that shipping is free on an order I never expect there to be added charges relating to shipping.  For me based on my experience ordering online for over a decade this includes charges pertaining to shipping AND handling.  I still believe that it is more customer service friendly if Miniature Market rolls the 75 cent Handling & Delivery Confirmation Fee into a single shipping and handling charge.  In the scheme of things an additional 75 cent fee is no great tragedy and certainly should not stop people from shopping at Miniature Market.

Additionally, I need to stress that shipping is FREE on all orders of $75 or more.  Just pay the nominal 75 cent “Handling & Delivery Confirmation Fee” and you’re good to go.  Steve is also correct that Miniature Market, and in fact no retailer, has control over the quality of items inside a booster box.  Responsibility for that ultimately rests at the feet of the manufacturer, in this case Wizards of the Coast.  However, blame for the condition of my contents must also rest with the shipping company so UPS shoulders some of the blame in this situation.  I regret any remarks that may have inferred Miniature Market had control over that.