Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Marvel Collector Corps - 2016 - Box 1 - Deadpool

Heya, peeps! Mike here, and WOW, this is one very late review of a Marvel Collector Corps box! I don't know what happened, but while most people got their boxes in February, mine only arrived a few days ago. Weird. Thankfully, I'm patient, so I wasn't upset when this awesome-looking box arrived at my door:


Before I move on to describing what was inside the box, here's some vital pricing info if you're new to this program by Marvel Comics and Funko Toys:

Bi-Monthly Subscription
$31.95 USD to the US / $39.00 USD to Canada (Shipping Included)

Yearly Subscription
$191.70 USD to the US / $234.00 USD to Canada (Shipping Included)

As you may have noticed above, this isn't a monthly subscription. Instead, Funko sends a box out every 2 months, thus the higher box price compared to programs like Loot Crate and Nerd Block. If you get the yearly subscription, you get an 8" bonus figure each year on the anniversary of your subscription.

Alrighty! Now that we have business out of the way, let's take a look at what I found when I opened my Deadpool box.


Looks nice, yes? Here's a list of the items themselves, along with approximate Canadian pricing:

- Collector Corps Pin ($5.00 CAD)
- Collector Corps Patch ($5.00 CAD)
- Deadpool T-Shirt ($18.00 CAD)
- Deadpool #001 Comic ($5.00 CAD)
- Deadpool Dorbz Vinyl ($15.00 CAD)
- Deadpool Mopeez Plush ($13.00 CAD)
- Deadpool Pop! Vinyl ($15.00 CAD)

Collector Corps Box


Normally, I love the design on the inside of Collector Corps boxes, but this Deadpool design seems a little less dynamic. I mean, it's still nice, but there's just something... missing.

Collector Corps Pin


Like the box design, there's just something a little off with the pin. I love Deadpool and the pin does capture his likeness well, but I like this pin less than most of the other pins. It's better than the Iron Man one, though.

Collector Corps Patch


Here's something interesting - This patch design kicks the crap out of all other patches that have come before it. I'm surprised since the box and pin were kind of "blah". Good job, Marvel / Funko!

Deadpool T-Shirt


Oh, boy! Another black T-shirt! LOL Despite my preference for receiving non-black shirts, I like this one overall. It's not as good as the other shirts I've gotten from Collector Corps, but it's still a shirt I'm happy to wear.

Deadpool #001 Comic


I absolutely love the variant cover design on this comic. Plus, it's a #001 issue, so I can start at the beginning. This is especially important since Marvel recently "rebooted" their comics universe.

Deadpool Dorbz Vinyl


I don't collect Dorbz and I feel Funko is going a bit overboard with its multiple collectible vinyl figure lines, but this Cowboy Deadpool Dorbz is too adorable to criticize. I love it. On the side of the box, there are 2 other designs - a pirate and a chef. I'm not sure if other subscribers got one of those instead of the cowboy, so if you did get one of them, please comment below!

Deadpool Mopeez Plush


Now, Funko also has plushies?! Oh, geez! I've seen the regular Deadpool Mopeez on Amazon.com, and although it's cute, I much prefer this Reverse Deadpool one. Still, I'm not really all that excited about getting this plushie. Maybe it's because the overall design is a little boring?

Deadpool Pop! Vinyl


A Deadpool-themed Collector Corps box wouldn't be complete without a Pop! vinyl. The one I received has Deadpool jumping. I would have preferred some of the funny designs shown on the back of the box, but Jumping Deadpool is still good. Did you get a different Pop! vinyl? Comment below if you did.

OVERVIEW

Deadpool has long been one of my favourite Marvel characters, and with the movie coming out, I was expecting big things from an official Marvel subscription box. Instead, Marvel and Funko delivered products that were great, but inferior in comparison to what was given to subscribers of other programs like Loot Crate. Go have a look at the reviews. Seriously, Collector Corps dropped the ball here.

On top of that, I need to mention something that happened to my good friend Ryan. Back in January, he contacted me because he had not received his Guardians of the Galaxy box yet and he wanted to know if I had. I told him that my box had already arrived, so he should contact Collector Corps, which he did. What he discovered was that due to his decision to subscribe using PayPal instead of a credit card, an error occurred where although Ryan was charged for the box, an order was never actually created. The solution? Collector Corps gave him a refund. Normally, that would be a happy ending, but the story didn't end there, unfortunately. See, Funko told Ryan that in order to receive the Guardians of the Galaxy box, which had items his family really wanted, he would have to order the Deadpool box and buy the Guardians box as an add-on. Here's the thing - Ryan did NOT want to get the Deadpool box. He was in fact going to cancel his subscription after receiving the Guardians box. When he informed Funko of that, they refused to allow Ryan to order the Guardians box on its own. Frustrated, he asked why Funko couldn't have just sent him the box instead of refunding. They said that because an order was never created, they couldn't send anything. When asked why they couldn't just create an order, they said that their system just "couldn't do that". Seriously. Funko, the world's current leader in collectibles, has such an antiquated order system that they can't just create a new order not attached to a subscription? Really? I find that hard to believe. What I do believe is that they have horrible customer service. I already dealt with them myself when I encountered billing problems early on in my subscription. Did you know that Funko and their Collector Corps division operate in the same building, but their customer service departments are completely different? You can't call Funko to get help. You have to call... Oh, wait! Did you know that Collector Corps only handles customer service requests over the Internet? That's right. If you call Funko's customer service department, they cannot help you with Collector Corps! They'll help you with any other Funko product, but NOT Collector Corps. They will, however, direct you to the Collector Corps web site and tell you where to find their e-mail. Wow. Just... WOW...

With that said, I am not surprised that the Deadpool Collector Corps box was a bit of a let down. I get the feeling that Marvel and Funko have kind of given up on this program. Sure, they're happy to make money, but they're lazy about putting things together. So, I can no longer recommend this program. Other subscriptions like Loot Crate and ZBox are just so much better. Of course, if you still want more info on Collector Corps, you can find it at their web site HERE.

And, that's it for now. More will be coming soon, so stay tuned!

~ Mike

Saturday, March 5, 2016

MeUndies - February, 2016

Hi! Mike here, and this is going to be a somewhat odd review. Why? Because it's going to be about underwear. No, you didn't read that wrong. I said "underwear". More specifically, MY underwear. 

Now, don't run away screaming. Give me a chance here! Last month, I was Googling comfortable underwear when I was directed to the web site of a company called "MeUndies". I liked the designs they had and decided to look up some reviews. As it turned out, their products are supposed to be some of the best on the market. Plus, they have a subscription service that sends 1 pair of underpants per month for $16.00 USD. My usual brands cost more, so I went for it.

Fast forward to a couple of days ago and here is what I got in the mail:


When I first signed up for MeUndies, I was expecting my deliveries to arrive in plastic shipping bags like the T-shirts I order from Ript Apparel or Tee Fury. What I wasn't expecting was a box. But, it was a blessing in disguise since it met the box criteria for this blog, so now I'm here reviewing it for you. LOL

Here's what I found when I opened up the box:


Ooooookay... Is that a baseball cap?! Yes, it's a baseball cap. And, it has the MeUndies logo on it. Here's a closer look:



I am definitely not going to be wearing this hat, but at least the quality is nice.

What's more shocking than getting a baseball cap with an underwear order is what was under the hat. Have a look:


THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID!

*Cough*

Moving on. Here's what I found once I stuck my finger in the hole and pulled:


Man, all this packaging for a hat and a pair of boxer briefs. Here's what they look like in all their underwear-y glory:


I personally love the cartoony design. The material is very soft and feels like it's pretty high quality. After having worn them, I can confirm that the reviews on other sites are correct - These boxer briefs are extremely comfortable.

All in all, I'm very happy to have ordered from MeUndies and can't wait for the March pair, which will probably arrive in early April. If you're interested in buying a pair of comfortable underpants, go to www.meundies.com and see if anything suits your fancy.

And, that's it for now. Stay tuned for more In Box with Mike & Jess coming soon!

~ Mike