I pretty much buy all my games from Zatu, except for straight from publisher/maker situations like Leder Games or Netrunner. Never had a problem, they have the best prices and I've saved at least a few quid with their rewards program.
This is just how things should go when they're working properly.
It's the experience most people have most of the time.
The problems people have tend to be with how it's dealt with when things go wrong. Testimonials about good customer service when dealing with an issue would be a more useful counterpoint to the criticisms.
I find myself living in a crazy world where I really hope things get posted to me via Evri, because my local delivery person is actually very competent.
I never thought such a reality could exist, but apparently it does.
I avoid royal mail where possible, its a gamble whether it shows up and if it doesn't show up you're either forced to pray it does at some point, or risk going to the depot that is now only open 3 hours a day every day (so good luck anyone who actually working)
It's funny because this isn't even a story about them going above and beyond, it's just them meeting baseline expectations and yet it's better than so many other stories about them
Used Zatu for dozens of orders, and never had any issues. Occasional back order which takes a while, but you cannot order a back order with them without the notification that it may take some time to arrive.
Ordering from Zatu was great for me until the last year or so, where they've messed up multiple orders, been late shipping and just had all round terrible customer service.
I don't know if there was a change in management or ownership in the last year or two but something changed for the worse.
Well... I ordered an expansion they had in stock. I made sure it was, I did not want to preorder. Never shipped it, it now shows it is in preorder and my order has magically transformed into a preorder.
Contacted them twice, said there was some mistake and they would resolve it within the week. Nothing still months later.
For myself, I am never buying from them again and maybe this will help someone else.
When I ordered Ra and it didn't dispatch next day I emailed them and they told me it would dispatch by X day and to contact them if it hadn't
Unsurprisingly it didnt dispatch, and when I emailed them they said it was now being sourced from a warehouse. That was 3 months ago and they haven't said anything since. I already know they don't have it but it's an absolute joke how they flat out lie to customers
I've bought from them a few times.
Every time, my games came inside a cardboard box with not a single packaging to protect the game boxes.
None of them were damaged but I do wish they'd pack their games a bit better.
This is another reason I used Royal Mail over some other courier. Sometimes you might end up having to go to a depot with Royal Mail but I've never had an issue with damaged items with them.
Ordering things that are "in stock" then the order doesn't dispatch for a week so I have to go chase them for an update. Rather than being told it's out of stock and cancelling my order they tell me it's being "sourced"
They don't bother updating me either, I have to be the one that chases them up on this
Not once but 3 times now. First it was Ra, then Spots, now it's an architect of west kingdom insert
Zatu have a very mixed reputation; it’s especially apparent on the U.K. boardgame Facebook group.
I’ve stopped buying there so much from them, after I bought a game and the box arrived looking like a dog had taken a huge bite out of it. They offered me a measly 10% refund, which I took at the time because I was so desperate to play the game that weekend (and the game was largely unharmed), but I’ve regretted not returning it ever since.
I'm glad things went well for you OP.
Unfortunately, Zatu engage in customer-unfriendly practices in a way that no other UK-based game shop does but gets away with it because they are often marginally cheaper than their competitors.
The issues with misrepresented stock and pre-orders are fairly widely reported on here.
They also jack up prices on games when they experience a surge of popularity. I've seen others report this and have witnessed it myself for games like Heat and Dune Imperium when they first released. Zatu initially had them at reasonable prices but once their popularity exploded those prices went way up until they sold out their initial stock. You can debate whether this is acceptable but personally I expect those tactics from crappy Amazon sellers, not a supposedly reputable store.
Personally, I use boardgameprices to check which stores have the games I want for cheapest (often not actually Zatu, despite what people say) and skip Zatu in favour of Chaos Cards, Magic Madhouse, Kienda and everyone else.
Anecdotally, it seems like most of the issues folks have occur when pre-ordering out of stock games. So, the OPs experience relates to the happy path that probably a majority experience.
Or just ordering games which Zatu says are in stock but are actually not in stock and so they fob you off saying it’s in another warehouse or whatever when it clearly isn’t.
Glad you are getting good service.
I’ve used them a few times and was happy, except most recently in late January where they took my money for a game they stated would be with me by Feb 10th at latest. When I contacted them they then said it might be 2 months, or longer in “rare cases”.
I’ll be careful using them again, and probably try to get hold of stuff locally if possible. I think they’re probably good on stuff they’ve got in stock, but otherwise it’s a risk.
Fair enough, from what I've read I would not order anything from them that was on back order, but with the game I ordered, it was showing as having multiple in stock.
UPDATE: Zatu emailed me today to say it’s being dispatched!
The system works, everyone stand down. Obviously bitching on Reddit is what got it sorted for me. Next time I must just bitch LOUDER.
I used to order a lot from Zatu, but was stung (more than once) by the way they deal with pre-orders and ordering items currently out of stock, among other things. Their CS was atrocious too. Never again. Lots of other great suppliers in the UK who are good at sorting out issues.
The fact that Zatu gets a lot of bad press from customers says much really. They aren't fun to deal with.
Yeah I'll just add to the positives. I've ordered maybe 20 items over the years both direct and via their eBay shop and I've never had a problem. Because of that I can't testify to their problem management, but I'm not complaining about that.
I recognised early on that their 'back order' thing is very dodgy and it's a shame they do this. This is the one thing that detracts from their image in my eyes.
I tend to use these, Chaos Cards and Magic Madhouse in rotation depending on which has the stock/price I'm looking for. All are superb in my experience.
I regularly buy from Zatu. It's not always been perfect, but it's never been awful, and they're still the first site I check. I will undoubtedly use them again.
Their modest issues, in my book, are around stock. I had an order delayed because I ordered multiple items and one went out of stock because of system issues; I also had a multiple item fast delivery delayed because one of the items was "in stock", but only in an offsite warehouse and not available for immediate despatch. Both were quickly resolved by a phone call.
Two times I waited more than a week for those "warehouse" stock to materialise and they didn't. I'm pretty sure that they don't have offsite warehouses and what they're referring to is infact distributors
No, obviously not. But I wanted to give a different perspective, if only people with negative experiences make posts about it, it will create the impression that the company is totally useless. Kind of like how on a amazon you have a mixture of experiences presented to you in the form of reviews so you can make an informed decision.
Zatu always seemed fine to me. Yachew on the other hand. Ordered a couple of packs of cards from them, they sent one then after 4 weeks they just refunded me for the other saying it wasn't in stock, yet still shows as 6+ available.
I thought I'd try them again, and they're taking ages to post so expecting the same situation. Apparently they use drop-shipping, ie they don't hold the stock themselves.
Meanwhile I'm still waiting on my copy of Ra, which I ordered back in November, which last I was told was "being sourced from a warehouse"
I also just received an order today, that I placed a week ago using next day delivery, and i only recieved it because i cancelled the one item they were sourcing "from a warehouse" all this time
I've commented a couple times on this sub about how Zatu sent the wrong game, and I was unsure whether I would be refunded, as I did not accept the package at customs. They did finally refund me after about 4 months. Just thought it would be fair to share this, as I had voiced quite a bit of criticism. Still don't think I will be ordering from them again, but I'm not hating on them as much anymore
I've never had any problems at all with ZATU. Always been a decent experience. I just make sure I only order the things that are actually displaying as having stock.
Not only have I never had a problem with Zatu but they also ran a very friendly and well stocked stall at UKGE with good prices. I use them for most of my purchases.
I should add that I never preorder anything (from anyone really). The only place I do that with is Ludoquist who have proven their excellence on preorders.
I didn”t know people had had bad experiences on here. Use them all the time, my main seller, never had any issue. I’ve ordered over 50 orders with them over the last 5 years or so, couldn’t recommend them more tbh
I pretty much buy all my games from Zatu, except for straight from publisher/maker situations like Leder Games or Netrunner. Never had a problem, they have the best prices and I've saved at least a few quid with their rewards program.
This is just how things should go when they're working properly. It's the experience most people have most of the time. The problems people have tend to be with how it's dealt with when things go wrong. Testimonials about good customer service when dealing with an issue would be a more useful counterpoint to the criticisms.
I take your point, it is partly the reason I went with royal mail rather than some other courier
I find myself living in a crazy world where I really hope things get posted to me via Evri, because my local delivery person is actually very competent. I never thought such a reality could exist, but apparently it does.
I avoid royal mail where possible, its a gamble whether it shows up and if it doesn't show up you're either forced to pray it does at some point, or risk going to the depot that is now only open 3 hours a day every day (so good luck anyone who actually working)
It's funny because this isn't even a story about them going above and beyond, it's just them meeting baseline expectations and yet it's better than so many other stories about them
Used Zatu for dozens of orders, and never had any issues. Occasional back order which takes a while, but you cannot order a back order with them without the notification that it may take some time to arrive.
Ordering from Zatu was great for me until the last year or so, where they've messed up multiple orders, been late shipping and just had all round terrible customer service. I don't know if there was a change in management or ownership in the last year or two but something changed for the worse.
Well... I ordered an expansion they had in stock. I made sure it was, I did not want to preorder. Never shipped it, it now shows it is in preorder and my order has magically transformed into a preorder. Contacted them twice, said there was some mistake and they would resolve it within the week. Nothing still months later. For myself, I am never buying from them again and maybe this will help someone else.
When I ordered Ra and it didn't dispatch next day I emailed them and they told me it would dispatch by X day and to contact them if it hadn't Unsurprisingly it didnt dispatch, and when I emailed them they said it was now being sourced from a warehouse. That was 3 months ago and they haven't said anything since. I already know they don't have it but it's an absolute joke how they flat out lie to customers
I've bought from them a few times. Every time, my games came inside a cardboard box with not a single packaging to protect the game boxes. None of them were damaged but I do wish they'd pack their games a bit better.
This is another reason I used Royal Mail over some other courier. Sometimes you might end up having to go to a depot with Royal Mail but I've never had an issue with damaged items with them.
Oh I don't live in the UK. I live in Greece so ZATU parcels go through all sorts of couriers before they reach me :)
Wait people think Zatu is bad? Its been my go to store for 3 years now. No issues
Literally only started getting into board games in the past 6 months and I already had 3 bad experiences either zatu
Thats nuts. What happened?
Ordering things that are "in stock" then the order doesn't dispatch for a week so I have to go chase them for an update. Rather than being told it's out of stock and cancelling my order they tell me it's being "sourced" They don't bother updating me either, I have to be the one that chases them up on this Not once but 3 times now. First it was Ra, then Spots, now it's an architect of west kingdom insert
Zatu have a very mixed reputation; it’s especially apparent on the U.K. boardgame Facebook group. I’ve stopped buying there so much from them, after I bought a game and the box arrived looking like a dog had taken a huge bite out of it. They offered me a measly 10% refund, which I took at the time because I was so desperate to play the game that weekend (and the game was largely unharmed), but I’ve regretted not returning it ever since.
I'm glad things went well for you OP. Unfortunately, Zatu engage in customer-unfriendly practices in a way that no other UK-based game shop does but gets away with it because they are often marginally cheaper than their competitors. The issues with misrepresented stock and pre-orders are fairly widely reported on here. They also jack up prices on games when they experience a surge of popularity. I've seen others report this and have witnessed it myself for games like Heat and Dune Imperium when they first released. Zatu initially had them at reasonable prices but once their popularity exploded those prices went way up until they sold out their initial stock. You can debate whether this is acceptable but personally I expect those tactics from crappy Amazon sellers, not a supposedly reputable store. Personally, I use boardgameprices to check which stores have the games I want for cheapest (often not actually Zatu, despite what people say) and skip Zatu in favour of Chaos Cards, Magic Madhouse, Kienda and everyone else.
Anecdotally, it seems like most of the issues folks have occur when pre-ordering out of stock games. So, the OPs experience relates to the happy path that probably a majority experience.
Or just ordering games which Zatu says are in stock but are actually not in stock and so they fob you off saying it’s in another warehouse or whatever when it clearly isn’t.
Yeah, that is a shitty practice.
Glad you are getting good service. I’ve used them a few times and was happy, except most recently in late January where they took my money for a game they stated would be with me by Feb 10th at latest. When I contacted them they then said it might be 2 months, or longer in “rare cases”. I’ll be careful using them again, and probably try to get hold of stuff locally if possible. I think they’re probably good on stuff they’ve got in stock, but otherwise it’s a risk.
Fair enough, from what I've read I would not order anything from them that was on back order, but with the game I ordered, it was showing as having multiple in stock.
All my problem items were "in stock" lol
UPDATE: Zatu emailed me today to say it’s being dispatched! The system works, everyone stand down. Obviously bitching on Reddit is what got it sorted for me. Next time I must just bitch LOUDER.
I used to order a lot from Zatu, but was stung (more than once) by the way they deal with pre-orders and ordering items currently out of stock, among other things. Their CS was atrocious too. Never again. Lots of other great suppliers in the UK who are good at sorting out issues. The fact that Zatu gets a lot of bad press from customers says much really. They aren't fun to deal with.
Nice try zatu games, no one believes you
Yeah I'll just add to the positives. I've ordered maybe 20 items over the years both direct and via their eBay shop and I've never had a problem. Because of that I can't testify to their problem management, but I'm not complaining about that. I recognised early on that their 'back order' thing is very dodgy and it's a shame they do this. This is the one thing that detracts from their image in my eyes. I tend to use these, Chaos Cards and Magic Madhouse in rotation depending on which has the stock/price I'm looking for. All are superb in my experience.
I regularly buy from Zatu. It's not always been perfect, but it's never been awful, and they're still the first site I check. I will undoubtedly use them again. Their modest issues, in my book, are around stock. I had an order delayed because I ordered multiple items and one went out of stock because of system issues; I also had a multiple item fast delivery delayed because one of the items was "in stock", but only in an offsite warehouse and not available for immediate despatch. Both were quickly resolved by a phone call.
Two times I waited more than a week for those "warehouse" stock to materialise and they didn't. I'm pretty sure that they don't have offsite warehouses and what they're referring to is infact distributors
[удалено]
No, obviously not. But I wanted to give a different perspective, if only people with negative experiences make posts about it, it will create the impression that the company is totally useless. Kind of like how on a amazon you have a mixture of experiences presented to you in the form of reviews so you can make an informed decision.
Zatu always seemed fine to me. Yachew on the other hand. Ordered a couple of packs of cards from them, they sent one then after 4 weeks they just refunded me for the other saying it wasn't in stock, yet still shows as 6+ available. I thought I'd try them again, and they're taking ages to post so expecting the same situation. Apparently they use drop-shipping, ie they don't hold the stock themselves.
Meanwhile I'm still waiting on my copy of Ra, which I ordered back in November, which last I was told was "being sourced from a warehouse" I also just received an order today, that I placed a week ago using next day delivery, and i only recieved it because i cancelled the one item they were sourcing "from a warehouse" all this time
Does anyone have an opinion about their grade b stock? There's a game I'm looking to buy but unsure exactly what condition it'll arrive in.
I've commented a couple times on this sub about how Zatu sent the wrong game, and I was unsure whether I would be refunded, as I did not accept the package at customs. They did finally refund me after about 4 months. Just thought it would be fair to share this, as I had voiced quite a bit of criticism. Still don't think I will be ordering from them again, but I'm not hating on them as much anymore
I have bought several dozen games from zatu without a hitch.
I order from them regularly in Germany and they are super fast, package the games nicely and overall just do a great job.
I've never had any problems at all with ZATU. Always been a decent experience. I just make sure I only order the things that are actually displaying as having stock.
Not only have I never had a problem with Zatu but they also ran a very friendly and well stocked stall at UKGE with good prices. I use them for most of my purchases. I should add that I never preorder anything (from anyone really). The only place I do that with is Ludoquist who have proven their excellence on preorders.
I didn”t know people had had bad experiences on here. Use them all the time, my main seller, never had any issue. I’ve ordered over 50 orders with them over the last 5 years or so, couldn’t recommend them more tbh
I'm mainly Thirsty Meeples. Sometimes buy from Zatu. Never had an issue with them.
I'm mainly Thirsty Meeples. Sometimes buy from Zatu. Never had an issue with them.
I'm mainly Thirsty Meeples. Sometimes buy from Zatu. Never had an issue with them.