Sometimes a thank-you cannot adequately convey your satisfaction. The folks at Adventures Underground have proven themselves to be a customer-friendly, competitively-priced and honest store that deserves more than a simple thanks.
Like many people, I tend to shop at online stores I know. When it comes to comics, books and toys, I frequent sites like Amazon, Things From Another World, myComicShop, Maybang and Toywiz. In fact, I was all set to order from Toywiz, but the item I wanted was suddenly out of stock!
To make matter worse, it’s a slightly rare item: the 2009 Smurfs Chess set by Plastoy, an import product from Europe. Toywiz had it for $88 plus $8 shipping, while eBay sellers wanted $125+ plus $15-25 (or more!) for shipping. I couldn’t afford that, so I searched Google for about an hour. I came across this quaint no-name store in Washington state, claiming to have a brand new set for $88 with free shipping. It was Adventures Underground.
Read more after the break, and learn why you should shop there for your next superhero, toy, comic or book purchase…
Now $88 is a lot to spend for a board game, and I planned to display mine in-box when it wasn’t in use. During my Google searches, I came across complaints of damaged boxes, including this image of a box (at the bottom of the page) that looks to have been sat on by a hippopotamus!
I suddenly found myself shopping for an item that was hard to find, even harder to find in mint condition, and with no-name stores as my only possible point of purchase. Because it was supposedly the last one in stock, I placed my order, with an added note declaring my desire to receive a mint condition item with no box damage, and sent in a well-padded sturdy box.
Within hours, I received a reply:
Unfortunately the box has some bumping to the top left corner, and the other corners have some minor rubbing and wear, so it sounds like you will not want this item. Please let us know – I will keep it on hold for you but we will not ship or charge your card unless you approve.
I’m not one of those unreasonable anal-retentive collectors, I just wanted a good display-quality collectible, and this sounded good enough to me. So I replied with:
As long as its just minor shipping/display wear, I’m fine with it. That’s to be expected. I just didn’t want to end up with a set that looked like this one. If you look at the package images at the bottom of the page, he has a set that looks like a hippo sat on it. I plan to display this on shelf in-box, removing it from time to time to play. It sounds like your item will be fine for that, yes? Charge and ship, I approve. Thanks.
But instead of simply charging and shipping, Amanda (of Adventures Underground) sent a photo for one last verification! Not just “a photo” like you’d get at many online stores, but a photo of the very item I’d be getting in the mail.
Just to confirm, I’m attaching a photo of the box – the upper left corner has the most wear (also the front middle right has a glare, not damage)
That looks great! I replied with confirmation one last time, and a few hours later I received a shipping notification. It was sent on a Monday, and it arrived via USPS the following Monday.
I was impressed by their shipping! It was a sturdy box three times as thick as the chess set, with 6 inches to spare on all sides, bubbles wrapped around the box, and foam peanuts padding out all the extra space. It was all I had hoped for, the very definition of safe shipping.
Next time you’re looking for a special superhero action figure, graphic novel, comic, novel or other item, see what they have to offer! There’s a good chance they’ll not only undercut the price of their competitors, but you give you top-notch personal service, too!
You can visit them online at http://www.advunderground.com
and their physical store is located at:
1391 George Washington Way
Richland WA 99354
were is the website
Updated the review with the Web Address (which is in the 2nd sentence) and the physical address.
Their ONLY store is in Richland? I live about (according to google) 1.9 miles away so I have been in the store before.
The store is no exception to the things mentioned in your article. The people are very courteous and are always ready to help. They have a lot of those rare things that you could probably only buy online, and their stuff is generally kept in very great condition as apposed to some other stores I have seen around here.
As an added thing, their store has a large dog that almost looks like a grey wolf. Very friendly and is surprisingly silent. There is also a couch that it sits on when it isn’t by the store lines greeting the incoming or outgoing people.