Dan & Phil Part 99: OnlyPhans

[alittledizzy]

This is a whole thread but it's about how IRL Merchandise has been giving Russian fans the runaround. It's an interesting read and I really do hope Dan, Phil, and Martyn end up seeing the problem and sorting it out. At the end of the day this business is on their shoulders and this is really poor treatment of customers.

[inanerat]

I am NOT allowing you two to get my hopes up with this, but I am curious, what are people's thoughts/guesses/expectations for a new AP video any time soon? Timelines? Topics/activities?

I couldn't understand what AP meant and my first thought went to April's Fool for some reason, which I am now curious to see ahah Have they been doing something for April's Fool after all that terrifying but hilarious Craft stuff?

I have also been curious what they might do for april fools this year!

DNPC was 2015, 2016 and 2017.
2018 had pigeon fest
2019 tweet about pigeonfest 2.0 but it was actually a rickroll
2020 was norman fest

2021 ????? who knows what chaos could or could not await us??
tbh I wouldn't be super surprised not to get anything, but at the same time, Phil loves being a troll and if they still aren't moved by the end of the month I imagine he might be a little bored and frustrated so he may cook something up

Since steve is not around at the filming flat it seems and norman is gone (may he rip) idk... maybe rainbow shrimp stream?? something completely different?? tbh it's kind of hard imagining them wanting to stream the shrimp tank for like 4+ hours since they don't have a lot of other spaces in that apartment atm.

[onceinaugust]

I am NOT allowing you two to get my hopes up with this, but I am curious, what are people's thoughts/guesses/expectations for a new AP video any time soon? Timelines? Topics/activities?

I couldn't understand what AP meant and my first thought went to April's Fool for some reason, which I am now curious to see ahah Have they been doing something for April's Fool after all that terrifying but hilarious Craft stuff?

I have also been curious what they might do for april fools this year!

DNPC was 2015, 2016 and 2017.
2018 had pigeon fest
2019 tweet about pigeonfest 2.0 but it was actually a rickroll
2020 was norman fest

2021 ????? who knows what chaos could or could not await us??
tbh I wouldn't be super surprised not to get anything, but at the same time, Phil loves being a troll and if they still aren't moved by the end of the month I imagine he might be a little bored and frustrated so he may cook something up

Since steve is not around at the filming flat it seems and norman is gone (may he rip) idk... maybe rainbow shrimp stream?? something completely different?? tbh it's kind of hard imagining them wanting to stream the shrimp tank for like 4+ hours since they don't have a lot of other spaces in that apartment atm.

My vote is that that they're going to do a stream from the new house, but it's just going to be a camera aimed at a wall watching paint dry for 4 hours. (And honestly? I'd watch it.)

[kavat]

This is a whole thread but it's about how IRL Merchandise has been giving Russian fans the runaround. It's an interesting read and I really do hope Dan, Phil, and Martyn end up seeing the problem and sorting it out. At the end of the day this business is on their shoulders and this is really poor treatment of customers.

The way they've handled this is not great. People have the right to be upset and disappointed. Here's my little insight in how shipping in ecommerce works:

Shipping is expensive. A small shop with presumably low volumes to a country like Russia will have a hard time negotiating decent rates. Some shops bake in a chunk of the shipping cost into the product prices instead, but that's not fair if you want to sell it for the same price in every country. My guess is that prices also went up and contracts changed after brexit.

Now I'm pretty sure they use a fulfillment center, or at least they have in the past. This is a third party company who handle the warehouse, packing the orders and sending them out. A fulfillment center usually have a bunch of different shops to pack and ship for, and therefore have higher volumes to use for negotiating with carriers. But if they don't have a contract for Russia that's not much help.

So my very uninsightful guess is that prices shot up/contract changed after brexit so they had to cancel that carrier, and finding a new carrier and negotiate prices can take months. It absolutely sucks.

[glitterintheair]

I’ll be honest, I am shocked that IRL merch is still operative. They often mess up orders, the shipping is extremely expensive and communication is basically nonexistent. I understand that’s a small company but the lack of professionalism is embarrassing.

[alittledizzy]

This is a whole thread but it's about how IRL Merchandise has been giving Russian fans the runaround. It's an interesting read and I really do hope Dan, Phil, and Martyn end up seeing the problem and sorting it out. At the end of the day this business is on their shoulders and this is really poor treatment of customers.

The way they've handled this is not great. People have the right to be upset and disappointed. Here's my little insight in how shipping in ecommerce works:

Shipping is expensive. A small shop with presumably low volumes to a country like Russia will have a hard time negotiating decent rates. Some shops bake in a chunk of the shipping cost into the product prices instead, but that's not fair if you want to sell it for the same price in every country. My guess is that prices also went up and contracts changed after brexit.

Now I'm pretty sure they use a fulfillment center, or at least they have in the past. This is a third party company who handle the warehouse, packing the orders and sending them out. A fulfillment center usually have a bunch of different shops to pack and ship for, and therefore have higher volumes to use for negotiating with carriers. But if they don't have a contract for Russia that's not much help.

So my very uninsightful guess is that prices shot up/contract changed after brexit so they had to cancel that carrier, and finding a new carrier and negotiate prices can take months. It absolutely sucks.

I appreciate this insight. They have said multiple times (not just in this case but to other customers) that they do not make money off of shipping, and I actually believe them. I don't think they'd have any incentive to lie about that when it's clear that they are also very comfortable just ignoring questions.

But god, the lack of communication is appalling? From the second they lost that carrier they should have refunded Russian customers their money and offered them some sort of deal or put them on a contact list for re-purchasing if they find a new carrier. And leaving it open for people to still place orders until it was pointed out to them?! That's so wild. I'm guessing they were taking people's money hoping they'd find someone before the people asked but given that it stretched on over two months, just a horrible way to go about it.

[inanerat]

This is a whole thread but it's about how IRL Merchandise has been giving Russian fans the runaround. It's an interesting read and I really do hope Dan, Phil, and Martyn end up seeing the problem and sorting it out. At the end of the day this business is on their shoulders and this is really poor treatment of customers.

The way they've handled this is not great. People have the right to be upset and disappointed. Here's my little insight in how shipping in ecommerce works:

Shipping is expensive. A small shop with presumably low volumes to a country like Russia will have a hard time negotiating decent rates. Some shops bake in a chunk of the shipping cost into the product prices instead, but that's not fair if you want to sell it for the same price in every country. My guess is that prices also went up and contracts changed after brexit.

Now I'm pretty sure they use a fulfillment center, or at least they have in the past. This is a third party company who handle the warehouse, packing the orders and sending them out. A fulfillment center usually have a bunch of different shops to pack and ship for, and therefore have higher volumes to use for negotiating with carriers. But if they don't have a contract for Russia that's not much help.

So my very uninsightful guess is that prices shot up/contract changed after brexit so they had to cancel that carrier, and finding a new carrier and negotiate prices can take months. It absolutely sucks.

I appreciate this insight. They have said multiple times (not just in this case but to other customers) that they do not make money off of shipping, and I actually believe them. I don't think they'd have any incentive to lie about that when it's clear that they are also very comfortable just ignoring questions.

But god, the lack of communication is appalling? From the second they lost that carrier they should have refunded Russian customers their money and offered them some sort of deal or put them on a contact list for re-purchasing if they find a new carrier. And leaving it open for people to still place orders until it was pointed out to them?! That's so wild. I'm guessing they were taking people's money hoping they'd find someone before the people asked but given that it stretched on over two months, just a horrible way to go about it.

Is people making money on shipping (especially small businesses) something that people think happens??? 'Cause I can at least say from where I work (small manufacturing, sells all of our stuff direct online) shipping is not a place people are likely to be making money. It is true, that sometimes the shipping charged on one order will be slightly more than the actual cost which may feel somewhat unfair to that specific customer but that gain will be immediately eaten up by someone who was undercharged for shipping (and usually the undercharge ends up being more than the overcharges, although where I work if it's a substantial amount over or under we'll contact the customer about it)

But yeah, on the communication side, from what I know of shopify (the service the IRL shops are run through, last I was aware) it shouldn't be super difficult to find all outstanding orders to Russia and send the emails associated with the orders some sort of notification/heads up of what is going on. At least after a couple of customers have already contacted individually about it.

[Megancita75]

I am waiting patiently for my Sunday piano content.

[obvsly]

Almost a month ago when I started to see Russian friends on Twitter post about their orders, I got worried about mine so I emailed IRL. Took a few days for them to reply, saying oh sorry we thought we have already contacted you(?!) Turns out they put my order on hold (?!) because they oversold an item and needed me to pick something else (?!?!)

There’s something seriously wrong about how they do their business lately. This is not about shipping, which might be out of their control. This is pure inventory management and communication.

[alittledizzy]

Almost a month ago when I started to see Russian friends on Twitter post about their orders, I got worried about mine so I emailed IRL. Took a few days for them to reply, saying oh sorry we thought we have already contacted you(?!) Turns out they put my order on hold (?!) because they oversold an item and needed me to pick something else (?!?!)

There’s something seriously wrong about how they do their business lately. This is not about shipping, which might be out of their control. This is pure inventory management and communication.

jfc!

They literally have a group of people not only willing but actually eager to spend money in their small business and they still aren't doing the bare minimum to maintain that relationship. How often is good will and essentially a fanbase for your business handed to you on a silver platter?

[Becky.rigby]

Almost a month ago when I started to see Russian friends on Twitter post about their orders, I got worried about mine so I emailed IRL. Took a few days for them to reply, saying oh sorry we thought we have already contacted you(?!) Turns out they put my order on hold (?!) because they oversold an item and needed me to pick something else (?!?!)

There’s something seriously wrong about how they do their business lately. This is not about shipping, which might be out of their control. This is pure inventory management and communication.

Exact same thing happened to me with the Norman socks, I ended up getting a refund. I had to message them first as I was concerned I hadn’t even received a shipping email. I must say once they replied and I asked for a refund they were quick to give me my money back. However, like you said it shouldn’t happen, they should be aware of how much stock they have and how much they can sell. I guess there’s just so many people trying to buy their stock, especially when the price was reduced. I just hope it gets sorted.

[rizzo]

I’ve also definitely had my (comparatively unimportant) speed bumps with IRL. They didn’t ship me a candle I had ordered until I emailed and then suddenly I got a shipping confirmation 2 days later and no response on the email... ever. Incredibly transparent what happened there.

Almost a month ago when I started to see Russian friends on Twitter post about their orders, I got worried about mine so I emailed IRL. Took a few days for them to reply, saying oh sorry we thought we have already contacted you(?!) Turns out they put my order on hold (?!) because they oversold an item and needed me to pick something else (?!?!)

There’s something seriously wrong about how they do their business lately. This is not about shipping, which might be out of their control. This is pure inventory management and communication.

jfc!

They literally have a group of people not only willing but actually eager to spend money in their small business and they still aren't doing the bare minimum to maintain that relationship. How often is good will and essentially a fanbase for your business handed to you on a silver platter?

This this this really deeply bothers me about the whole situation. It feels a bit like we’re being used? Like, they know that we love Dan and Phil (and I guess the other creators?) enough to deal with the BS and buy the stuff - ‘cause obvs we can’t get it anywhere else. But the least they could do is show a little respect for the people lining their pockets with money.

[Phanshy]

I really agree they take the fact that we're fans for granted because other than the books and the DVD we either buy from them or miss out. How the Russian fan have been treated is unacceptable they shouldn't have to be chasing them up, frankly they should eat the cost of shipping with a different company, I've dealt with companies that bend over backwards to rectify mistakes, the fact they're a small business isn't an excuse, plenty of smaller businesses with less resources have much better customer service because they rely on you being satisfied to leave positive reviews and on you becoming a repeat customer, rather than the parasocial relationship between us and them.
I find the shipping expensive for the speed in the UK to be honest it's always been slow to the point I worry it's lost, most complaints about shipping costs I've seen are about them separating the shops which has inflated the cost if you want to order from both shops at the same time, I get they did it to separate the brands but surely they could have a IRL shop that allows you to purchase from all their separate shops together as well as saving customers money it would also cut down the packaging waste and the carbon footprint of the delivery.lost
I don't know how hands on they are with that side of things but it's their name's on the shops and their fans they're disappointing.

[Morganaa]

this is not only Russia they have issues with, it seems. US here(Detroit, MI to me exact). i placed a big order back in December, almost $190 total. Payed the money straight away, received a payment confirmation... aaand thats it, i could probably end it here. Two week in, no package, no further contact, no money nothing, so im waiting. a month in, nothing changed. im sending an e-mail, no response. im calling, no answer. almost 2 months in, im starting to boil a little. my attempts of contacting them have increased, but still went unnoticed. halfway through February hits in, i lose my patience and leavinvg them one last message - and i wasnt so nice in it anymore - i left a few words of despair behind, then stating im giving them one last week to sort this out and after that, i'll be calling, but a different number, one made of only three digits - 911(no idea what the pd number is in the uk, but surely going with ours'd work as well). yes, basically i threatened them with filling a report and having authorities giving them a knock at the door, because like i said - i was put out and very disturbed at that point (by the lack of my money or order, but mostly, by the lack of any contact of their side and ran outta patience big time). And yes, i am aware of the fact that shipping overseas takes time in itself, and in the "covid infused" reality we live in, may take even longer, but for fuck's sake, a response is the least you can expect when you give somebody your money.
Only after that, it seemed to work and i FINALLY got an email, basically word in word what others claim they've gotten: "sorry, we're out of stock, we thought we've already informed you about this. your refund has been made, you should get the money in a few days, please contact us for any further questions", blablahblah shit on the rah, like my grandma likes to say. i got this refund in the end, but not planning on being their"customer" again anytime soon. the whole situation was infuriating and ridiculous at the same time,no matter how small of a "business" we're talking about. Quotation marks, because that aint no business son. you get a far better treatment getting a 50-cent postcard at a gift/souvenir stall at a fair. and i ain talking about the rapper here.

sorry for all this venom and negativity - im just talking about my experience, which was far from positive as well.

[obvsly]

It’s so disheartening to see that we have all had pretty much the same experience with IRL. And in almost all incidents, we were willing to wait weeks or even months without complaints. If only they could be better at communication, I’m sure we would be happy to let a lot of smaller issues go as well. *sigh*

It’s true that covid makes everything harder for their business. But I hope they realise how lucky they are that people still want to give them money for nonessentials in the midst of a pandemic. Probably not for much longer though if the service goes on like this.

[alittledizzy]

Apparently IRL replied this morning telling Russian customers that they will get their signed copy of YWGTTN but still can't get actual merch.

[liola]

This whole IRL situation is as frustrating as embarrassing. But I'm not surprised that their flaw is communication, and thats all im saying

[fruitcriminals]

Can't really add to the IRL merch chat but after the femboy/catboy references last Thursday I was tickled to rewatch the PUBG gaming video this evening and at 17:14 back in ye olde 2018

Dan: We’ll be... like...cosplay gamers that wear schoolgirl outfits and maid outfits while streaming
Phil: Yes
Dan: Whilst also serving the pro gameplay, which is the niche that not many other people have managed to get in
Phil: Totally

Maybe this has been part of the master plan all along

[Levitating]

Can't really add to the IRL merch chat but after the femboy/catboy references last Thursday I was tickled to rewatch the PUBG gaming video this evening and at 17:14 back in ye olde 2018

Dan: We’ll be... like...cosplay gamers that wear schoolgirl outfits and maid outfits while streaming
Phil: Yes
Dan: Whilst also serving the pro gameplay, which is the niche that not many other people have managed to get in
Phil: Totally

Maybe this has been part of the master plan all along

So when Phil said he plays as a catboy, does he mean an actual video game where his character is a cat boy? Are these things similar to Dungeon and Dragons? Or is it like Fornite?
I am totally ignorant on videogame stuff!

[fruitcriminals]

Can't really add to the IRL merch chat but after the femboy/catboy references last Thursday I was tickled to rewatch the PUBG gaming video this evening and at 17:14 back in ye olde 2018

Dan: We’ll be... like...cosplay gamers that wear schoolgirl outfits and maid outfits while streaming
Phil: Yes
Dan: Whilst also serving the pro gameplay, which is the niche that not many other people have managed to get in
Phil: Totally

Maybe this has been part of the master plan all along

So when Phil said he plays as a catboy, does he mean an actual video game where his character is a cat boy? Are these things similar to Dungeon and Dragons? Or is it like Fornite?
I am totally ignorant on videogame stuff!

I've got no idea what he meant in the stereo show, as with everything IRL Phil invented catboys circa halloween meet-up 1 but there's games where you can have your character simply wear cat ears like among us, to ones where you dress up as one in the game to ... well a lot of saucy roleplaying games online re cat boys.

It just made me chuckle that In the 2018 PUBG game it was referenced as them both dressing up IRL and streaming wearing the outfits playing games as the new DAPG.

[alittledizzy]

Dan's gonna Dan.

(I'm still so glad to have him back.)

[alittledizzy]

And here is Phil's contribution... yet more older photos?! And one more for the 'Dan taking a picture of Phil while he looks into the distance' collection.

Verified
I was sat at a window don’t worry I know I can’t be trusted with a precarious ledge

I’m missing doing things today so I’m living though Phil of the past in my camera roll! Excited to get vaccinated and see a wild kangaroo again ..or maybe just go to the cinema either is cool

[Levitating]

They must feel so limited in what they can share being stuck at home!

London is about to open (April), so we may see other kind of content! Although, I wouldn't mind domestic photos ;_;

London has also been recently touched by the tragic death of Sarah Everard (women walking in the evening disappear and then found dead) which has provoked such a conversation around women's safety, while the discourse should move into male violence, which would tie so perfectly (in such a powerful manner) to Dan's femboy discourse.

For what I understand, it is about boys adopting "feminine" traits, right? "Feminine" things are always seen as inferior and negative etc.

[kavat]

Dan's gonna Dan.

(I'm still so glad to have him back.)

Funny how this tweet follows Phil being practicly offline for a week. What a coinkydink.

[ukhon]

lol it's so transparent that their online presence increases every time there's a stereo show but i'm here for it... if i'm not mistaken they get paid based on how many people show up (?) and the boys are getting their bag $$$