Example of a DS spares order

[Martin Milner]

I thought this might be useful as a guide of what to expect from an order of spare parts from Playmobil. This was ordered in the UK so prices are in UK Sterling. This was my first ever spares order, but I already have 2 more in processing, though I expect to calm down a bit after that!

This was the listing of my order as I faxed it in:



and this is the invoice that came with my parts: -





I'm very pleased that this service exists, and I can order spare parts at all. Using this I can create my own knights, cowboys etc from plain figures, or replace parts from items bought on eBay (e.g. Santa will have his hat, sack and boots tonight).

It's a little slow to get through the whole process (not helped by recent Royal Mail Postal Strikes), but that's a minor niggle.

It's a little clunky - I had to fax my orders in, then wait for a posted invoice (without this level of detail telling me what I was getting), then ring with my credit card details, and then wait...and wait.

There are a couple of mistakes - I got 8 picture frames (30 20 1560) I didn't order, but not the 8 system-x wall parts (30 20 6570) that I did - but the 8 frames only cost £1.20 total, so no biggie.

Some parts were unavailable - e.g. the 30 61 0330 violin & double bass set, but that is from an old set and I wasn't really expecting it to be available.

The plain klicky 30 00 3192 I ordered was a rare clown that only appears in one big Hospital set - so I was lucky to get one for £1.65, a very reasonable price for an unadorned new klicky.

I over-ordered some parts - most notable the cleats for my pirate ships. I wanted 8, but got 8 bags of eight at 80p a bag, so I have a lot of spare cleats now. I chalk that one down to experience - a part may be so small that it comes in multiples.

I haven't had time yet to check through all the spares I received, but there's a lot there that I remember ordering, and if there's anything on the invoice and not in the package I'll be suprised.

[Sylvia]

Thanks for posting this, Martin. It could be very useful reference for someone who has never ordered before and also gives other UK members a clear idea of how much they can expect to pay for the specific parts which you listed.

I was surprised at how expensive the cleats were until you mentioned that they were bagged in sets of 8. It certainly would be helpful to know which items come in multiple quantities before placing an order. I've had similar experiences of ordering incorrect numbers of parts that I'll quite likely never need to use. 

You say that you had to fax your order to the DS? I haven't ordered for several months, but I've always been able to email my order directly to the correct department: DirectService_UK@playmobil.de

Up until my most recent order, I always received an answer by email from them within a day or so, giving me the total cost and listing which parts, if any, were unavailable. This really made a difference in the amount of time it took from placing the order to receiving the parts.

Last time, however, I received my invoice from them by post and it took much longer - it was over a week before I was able to phone them with my payment details and complete the order.   I don't know why they changed the system because I much preferred it the other way. Perhaps the size of the order being placed has some bearing. Mine was several pages long.

[playmofire]

I always email my order in the form of an Excel spreadsheet attachment, asking to told the total cost by email.  I then phone up and pay by credit card.  On occasions, I have emailed in my order in the morning and had an answer by the early afternoon.

Delivery time after paying varies - when I paid for my latest order the delivery time was 14-21 days.  In the past I have received an order with 10 days of paying.

When an order arrives, I always email acknowledging receipt and saying thank you.

[sbblabotw]

Guys, I would LOVE to have copies of invoices like this!  It may not say what part goes with what set, but it may well have part numbers I don't have, and can certainly help confirm data.  Clarifications like the 8-piece set of cleats is important to know too - I'm going to update that part page right away.  If I get enough price information, I might be able to keep track of that too.  (What does the column that starts with "L1/16" mean - anyone know?)

In short: If you have emailed or scanned correspondence with The Company that includes part numbers, please add it to my ever-increasing pile of information to put in the database.  Thanks!

Cheers, Heather

[playmofire]

Guys, I would LOVE to have copies of invoices like this!  It may not say what part goes with what set, but it may well have part numbers I don't have, and can certainly help confirm data.  Clarifications like the 8-piece set of cleats is important to know too - I'm going to update that part page right away.  If I get enough price information, I might be able to keep track of that too.  (What does the column that starts with "L1/16" mean - anyone know?)

In short: If you have emailed or scanned correspondence with The Company that includes part numbers, please add it to my ever-increasing pile of information to put in the database.  Thanks!

Cheers, Heather

I can let you have them back to 2003!  They also have on useful information where part numbers change for an item.

I wonder if the references such as L1/16 refer to a storage location for a part?

[Rasputin]

Hi i find it interesting that your invoice shows the Price . on my invoices it has a column for - material & description - ordered quantity - please reorder- shipped quantity - packed quantity- box #.

It was a very time consuming task to confirm what was in the box as i needed to use the data base for every part #  and i had over 8 pages of stuff.

One interesting thing i found was many parts had the most unusual descriptions . Part # 30 23 7350 is called GIRL (BUNNY)  its the GPS . 30 21 6670 is called a WICKER BASKET F. BOTTLE it is a tie down clip. There were more with this type of confusion . it was what i ordered but if you used it for reference it would not add up .

The order went quick and i got it in 2 weeks . free shipping  I do not own a scanner so i will ask around .

the only thing i was disappointed in was that when i placed the order they showed parts as in stock and when it came 13 were in the please reorder column.

[Tiermann]

That happens a lot here with parts being out of stock when they actual pull the order for shipping. There are always at least a couple of those on mine. Here in the US the best way to order is to phone it in and read off your list. I know in Germany they like to have the set number the part is from also. When ordered by phone it's possible to tell them the set number and what part you want and they can look it up. This is useful for unique parts in sets without instructions.

[playmofire]

I've had the same problem with item description and what you get not matching up.  I think it results from changes to item numbers and the description for the item number not being updated or updated wrongly.

[sbblabotw]

Yes, Gordon, I'd love to have them. I OCR'ed Martin's in a couple minutes, so scans aren't a problem if that's how you have them.

I've had the same problem with item description and what you get not matching up.  I think it results from changes to item numbers and the description for the item number not being updated or updated wrongly.

Hm.  OK, I'll keep that in mind.  So do you tend to get the right part but it's described wrongly, or do you get the right description but the wrong part, or things switched around?  You'd think that when the order-taker types in a part number, the description would pop up, but if "dto." (ditto) appears, then I guess not. Weird.

[Martin Milner]

You say that you had to fax your order to the DS? I haven't ordered for several months, but I've always been able to email my order directly to the correct department: DirectService_UK@playmobil.de

Up until my most recent order, I always received an answer by email from them within a day or so, giving me the total cost and listing which parts, if any, were unavailable. This really made a difference in the amount of time it took from placing the order to receiving the parts.

Last time, however, I received my invoice from them by post and it took much longer - it was over a week before I was able to phone them with my payment details and complete the order.   I don't know why they changed the system because I much preferred it the other way. Perhaps the size of the order being placed has some bearing. Mine was several pages long.

I'd rather email them, but I tried (via the playmobil website) twice, and just got a bounceback email, in German, basically saying "we're not listening". My first enquiry via that site did get a response, but it said they didn't sell cowboy gunbelts separately - which they do, because I got them in this order.

I'm not sure if it was the same address, as they don't give an email address on the website. Eventually I rang up and spoke to Caroline, and she suggesting faxing the order over - which at least worked, and I was able to confirm she'd received it and it was being actioned.

I'm still waiting for the postal invoice for my 2nd and 3rd orders...I was quite suprised to receive the order confirmation and invoice by post, as I'd given them my email address, telephone number etc on my order.

Next time I place an order, I'll ring first and see if they have a working email address.