With our Funko Fan base growing in size, the amount of people who want exclusives also grows. We understand the frustration and disappointment when you're excited to get a new item for your collection but aren't able to add it to your set because it runs out of stock in a short amount of time. Many of us at Funko are collectors ourselves, and even we experience this too. With most of our recent exclusive releases, there are more people wanting to purchase the exclusives than there are available to be sold. Which leads to the big question: how can I improve my chances of getting the exclusives I'm looking for? Let's run through some of the best practices for purchasing online so that you, the fans, can hopefully get the exclusives you're most excited to add to your collection.
Preparing for the Release
Most Funko exclusives are released by surprise in order to keep it a level playing field and prevent "bots" from having any sort of unfair advantage. We encourage you to keep a close eye on the site and sign up for our Funko emails, Funko App, and Funko Notifications.
Release is Live
During the release you are able to purchase the exclusive and any other item available for sale on Funko.com. At times, there may be thousands of people adding the same item to their cart at the exact same time. This may lead to you seeing a spinning wheel with a Funko crown in it. If you see this, please note your best bet is to be patient while our site processes people entering checkout (first in, first out) and conducts an initial inventory check on availability. After about 30 seconds try refreshing/reloading the page to restart your session. As soon as the site can get process your request, it will let you through to the next page and advise if there are still available units at that checkpoint. You will be able to checkout with your regular Funko.com account and use any saved addresses and payment methods.
Common Misconceptions
While those that use bots or try and order more than the limit exist, unfortunately; the truth is that the majority of purchases we see during releases are going to regular customers just like you. Attempted bot orders end up being a much smaller percentage of the orders than it may seem when others brag on social media. Our Customer Service and eCommerce teams work hard to put our collectibles in the hands of those that want to add them to their collections. This includes blocking bots from ordering to begin with and also canceling duplicate or suspected bot orders after the fact. Preventing bot usage on Funko.com can be tricky as bots are always evolving, but we share the same concerns as our community and are actively working on new ways to battle the bots.
At present, adding items to your cart in Funko.com does not secure or guarantee that you'll be able to purchase the items you've selected. When you place an item in your cart, the site checks the availability of the product at that moment. Product availability isn't checked in the background while you continue to shop, but instead it is checked a second time just before you complete your purchase. There are most likely a large number of customers who have the same items in their cart at the same time you do. Which means if you continue to shop, whereas others add the same items and check out immediately, the product is likely to run out of stock before you complete your purchase.
How Often is Item Availability Checked?
Our site checks for availability at two times, when you put the item in your cart and then again before your purchase is completed. This means that when you put the item in your cart, it was not sold out, since other Funatics had not completed their purchase yet. If you are unable to complete your purchase because the item is sold out, that's because by the time you reached the end of your checkout process, those people who had started the process ahead of you had completed their purchase and it was at that point sold out.
We know it can be tough to try and get your hands on some of these exclusives and we are working on ways we can improve releases in the future. Funko always collects feedback after exclusive sales and takes those comments into consideration when making improvements to the website and fan experience. If you're curious about what older exclusives are still available, go to Funko Exclusives.
We love to see your collections, and photos as you participate in events and add to your sets. To share your photos with us, post to Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook and tag us with @OriginalFunko!
Thank you to all our Funatics and customers! Good luck on your hunt to collect all of your favorite fandoms.