Weta and their distributor for europe.

[FrodoEyes]

And thus people go back to ordering direct from Weta, which is good for them I suppose as they must give a discount to distributors.

[Enelyë]

Just wonder what that could change for us.

so... Weta is a he ?

[Plat]

Just wonder what that could change for us.

so... Weta is a he ?

I hope nothing but i´m afraid about the prices of the items and shipping costs.

[Anubis]

My local distributor in the UK uses Heo, so for me there is no issue. As far as I'm aware, we have never had any issues ordering from Heo, they have great customer services and ship really well. So I have no issue.

[pocketreef]

I think it may end-up being something good also. The pieces have price defined by Weta and the shipping may finally lower since these folks may have a better idea of what they are doing.

[cwfox9]

It will likely help as Weta will send a single shipment to Heo rather than multiple to each retailer.
Heo then also have a lot of European office including in the UK so likely they will use their own transport to move the shipment around to each of these alongside the non-weta items they also distribute and when ship the pieces to the retailers from a closer location (or use their own logistics to do it themselves).

In my brief period here and recently ordering some Weta pieces I've seen that the shipping is one of the biggest nails in the price mark so the fact it is a singular shipment to one location and then likely the company will do most the moving of the product themselves alongside other items before either shipping to retailers at a greatly decreased distance or delivering themselves this is likely to drastically reduce shipping cost.

As mentioned yes each party will add a mark up for their own profit however due to the reduced shipping cost for the retailer, the less logisitics work Weta will need to do (just put X in the Heo shipment rather than X to here, X to here) and the fact Heo will have the full contract so they'll have quantity which means need less individual mark up it means each party should have something positive to avoid a price hike compared to current.

I think this will in general reduce EU shipping cost which in turn should either keep the price the same or even cause a slight decrease

[efraga]

I think it may end-up being something good also. The pieces have price defined by Weta and the shipping may finally lower since these folks may have a better idea of what they are doing.

I think this will in general reduce EU shipping cost which in turn should either keep the price the same or even cause a slight decrease

[Minuialwen]

I've tried to stay out of this conversation, as it does not apply to me, and I feel I really don't know much about it ...
but I keep thinking and I apologize if my thinking is wrong;
My thoughts are the Heo is a distribution center, you still purchase from Weta, or your own retailer, and instead of the item being shipped from the Weta EU, Netherlands warehouse that it is now shipped from Weta's 'new distribution center' which just happens to be a company that is already selling Weta collectables.
If the above is correct then Weta no longer has to pay for the Weta, EU, Netherlands warehouse storage space, nor do they have to pay employees to work at this location. Thus Weta's costs are decreased when it comes to EU warehouse storage and personal. I'm sure at least some of this money will go to Heo as they will need to increase their personal and storage space.
If my first thoughts are correct, and essentially all Weta has just changed where their 'warehouse is', being part of a larger retailer 'Heo', their shipping costs to individuals may be reduced as Heo may be able to get better shipping rates due to shipping so much more than just Weta collectables. (This is the hopeful side of me thinking.)

I can see Weta deciding to go this route in which the 'company' they choose to do their distribution has places in both EU and UK, as this company 'Heo' are better inclined to understand the ins and outs of the shipping in these two areas. After all it is a major part of what distributors and online retailers need to know.


If I am wrong and EU and UK are no longer able to purchase through Weta directly and have to purchase through Heo or a local retailer than, yes I can see why you are all so concerned about customer service, price increases, cost of shipping etc.

If only Weta would better explain this whole situation so that all those effected know exactly what is happening.
(I wonder if Weta has not 'completed' the deal yet and is waiting to 'cross all the 't' and dot all the 'i' before making a statement.)

I wish only the best outcome from all of this, for those of you that receive their Weta merchandise from the EU, Netherland's, warehouse.

[Dave Mac]

Are these replacing Seabourne as the shipping company or am I mixing them up?

[jrjhoe]

Are these replacing Seabourne as the shipping company or am I mixing them up?

Not sure I understand correctly, but I think they would not even replace the warehouse, only the distribution to local sellers. So the warehouse would remain the same then.

[Minuialwen]

Not sure I understand correctly, but I think they would not even replace the warehouse, only the distribution to local sellers. So the warehouse would remain the same then.

So I was the one to mix things up, my apologies. This seems strange. I understand your concern now. Why have another 'party' involved in the distribution of the collectable?

[Stig]

It would be nice if Weta could come with an official statement about this. But it could be as you mentioned, Min, that everything about this isn't finalized yet.

[jrjhoe]

It would be nice if Weta could come with an official statement about this. But it could be as you mentioned, Min, that everything about this isn't finalized yet.

Indeed, at lot seems to come down to interpretation at the moment. Getting the complete picture would be nice.

[Magnus]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to jump in and provide you with some clarity on this.

We are now underway with our new exclusive partnerships - Heo (based in Germany and serving Europe) and Alliance Entertainment (based in the USA & AUS).

These partners are well equipped to fulfill the needs of retailers, providing excellent service. We're streamlining our workflow which will gain efficiencies, ultimately giving everyone involved a smooth experience buying our products.

In this instance, we didn’t make a public announcement to our direct customers because the changes are purely from a business to business side of things.

We will of course continue to sell via wetanz.com, shipping from our warehouses in Seattle, Amsterdam and Wellington. And we have every intention for our existing retailers to continue selling Weta Workshop products by working with Heo and Alliance Entertainment. There are no changes there.

While we can’t comment on your remarks made about price increases (because this is ultimately the retailer’s choice, as it always has been), rest assured, we have every intention to make this new partnership work for everyone.

We hope that clears things up, because we're really excited about the future of Weta Collectibles. We're looking forward to a big 2021, bringing you figures that highlight our passion and artistry for the world of Middle-earth and beyond!

[Plat]

Hi Magnus

As a thread starter, I would like to thank you for the clarification.

[FlyingFool]

Thanks Magnus for clearing things up!

So that means that every EU retailer from now on has to get their Weta stuff through Heo, correct?

As Germany has a relatively low sales tax (19%) compared to other EU countries, as well as moderate shipping rates using DHL, that should help a little bit with pricing, I hope.

[Marda7]

Thanks for clarifying Magnus

[Magnus]

Thanks Magnus for clearing things up!

So that means that every EU retailer from now on has to get their Weta stuff through Heo, correct?

As Germany has a relatively low sales tax (19%) compared to other EU countries, as well as moderate shipping rates using DHL, that should help a little bit with pricing, I hope.

That first statement is spot on correct!

VAT, however, is something all retailers collect on behalf of their government, so if you as a customer buy from a retailer based in Germany, you pay 19% German VAT and the retailer passes that on to Olaf Scholz.

It matters less where Heo as a distributor is based. They serve retailers all over Europe and each retailer then has to collect the VAT due in their jurisdiction - exactly like before. Nothing has changed in that regard.

If you buy direct from us, you pay 21% Netherlands VAT as that's where our warehouse operator is based. They also function as our tax agent in Europe and helps the Dutch government collect the VAT from us. We don't get to keep any of the VAT. Just like other retailers. It's a tax that goes straight to the government.

[FlyingFool]

Yes, I was referring to buying from a German retailer as a private customer.

As you said, when a retailer from another EU country buys from a German retailer, they'll get the goods tax-free and have to tax them with their own corresponding sales tax. This applies to all B2B business within the European Union.

However, for a private customer buying from a retailer in Germany, they have to pay the German tax only. So that could be a slight advantage for someone from, say, Denmark with a sales tax of 25%

[Valkrist]

So that could be a slight advantage for someone from, say, Denmark with a sales tax of 25%

Translation: Europe is about to undergo a second Viking invasion? Well, it's been nearly 1000 years since Stamford Bridge so I guess they're overdue. Now I get Magnus' 'Olaf reference.