Refund Information on the IA 8th & ONE 5th Anniversary Special Figures
First announced during the IA 8th & ONE 5th Special Talk livestream, the IA 8th Anniversary Special Figure and ONE 5th Anniversary Special Figure have been shipped by 1st Place to customers who have purchased them. Costing ¥34,980 JPY each, customers no doubt had high expectations for the figures, and have been awaiting them eagerly.
However, upon receiving them, reactions from customers on social media have been mixed to negative.
“IA-chan’s 8th Anniversary figure is here!”
“Time to check the contents”
…….
“35,000 yen?”
“The feel of the texture,
“As someone who owns an IA Rocks figure, it’s… yeah.”
“What company made this again?”
“Okay, seriously?”
“I had high expectations, but is this actually from 1st Place?”
“Is this really the ONE-chan that we ARIAers have known and loved?”
“Even figures costing less than 12k are at a better quality level than this, no?
“THIS is the first figure I’ve ever bought for 35k in my life?”
“Even prize figures from game centers are preferred over this, no?”
“Please tell me this is a joke.”
“Here are the flaws”
“1. Something resembling painted yarn is used for her hair”
“2. The coating for the arms is spread so thin that it looks just like body paint”
“3. Although it’s supposed to be ONE-chan, she’s got a large rack”
“4. The whole thing looks like something from a 3D printer smeared in oil”
“5. This was a limited-time offer without its prototype ever shown”
“6. It costs 35,000 yen for 1 one these”
More reactions and photos can be seen on this togetter thread.
1st Place’s Response
The negative reaction to the figures must have been in the overwhelming majority, for 1st Place was prompted on July 15th to issue the below statement of apology:
“Dear customers,“
“Thank you for your kind patronage of our products.“
“We have received many different opinions concerning the IA 8th & ONE 5th Anniversary Special Figures.”
“We offer our deepest apologies for delivering products that fail to meet the expectations of fans who have been looking forward to them.”
“These products run counter to our company’s commitment to delivering product value that exceeds our customers’ expectations. The fact that we have disappointed our fans weighs heavily on us.”
“On that note, we are willing to offer those who bought the figures a full refund.”
“Through the 1st PLACE Official Shop -HACHIMAKI- customer support, we will guide each of you individually through the process of obtaining a refund.”
“We apologize for the inconvenience and for making you wait for so long, but we would appreciate the cooperation of all who purchased a figure.”
“We also appreciate your patience and understanding.”
“In order to never repeat a failure like this in the future, we vow to vastly improve the quality of goods and products that we deliver to our customers. We thank you for your continued patronage of our products.”
July 15th, 2020
1st Place Co. Ltd.
CEO and Representative Director Kumiko Murayama and all staff
If you have purchased either the IA 8th Anniversary or ONE 5th Anniversary Special Figures, then make sure to head over to the 1st Place Official Shop -Hachimaki- and contact them for support on how to get a full refund.
