I really cant wait for these!
They are track to be here november 15th, also on a side note. i’m used to getting pms about these daily…now that the order is placed, i miss having something in my inbox everytime i sign in…lol
Hey everyone,
Just got an email from the company, and they just received the troikas from Russia. They are currently in South Carolina and will be sent to me via UPS tomorrow! I’m hoping to receive them this weekend.
I have ordered some 5 in x 5 in x 5 in boxes to ship these out to everyone. I’ve done this for a few reasons…
- I don’t have 10+ small boxes laying around my house
- It will be easier to quote shipping when everyone has the same box size and weight
I paid about $0.50 per box and this will be added to shipping cost. Hope everyone understands that it’s part of shipping.
Also, the Troikas are here a little early, so I have a little more time to get them out. I’m facing a busy week (I have to work a 30+ hour work week at Target next week, along with 16 school credit hours). I’m going to attempt to get these out by the end of next week, but based on my busy schedule, I might not be able to. I ask that you be patient if I cannot get them out next week, but I assure you they will be out by the next week.
The way I’m going to quote shipping is as follows:
-
going to pack one troikas in the 5 x 5 x 5 box. Going to go to the post office and get a quote from my home in Indiana to Oregon (which is about the farthest location from me). This will give me the price of USA shipping. If you live closer to me, you might pay a few cents more than the exact cost on your package, but it will be very, very close. It’s easier to just weigh one, than to get 8-9 quotes for the USA that vary by +/- 10 cents
-
If you are international, I will send you a PM with the price. I will do the same thing as above, except I will get quotes for the individual countries like Australia, Scotland, France, etc.
I can also post price per country in the thread if you wish.
One note, I will be shipping these as CHEAPLY as possible. Which means they will go US First Class mail. Now, the troikas will be less than a pound when they ship, so they will ship just as fast as First Class mail, than it will priority mail. However, if you personally want your troikas to ship Priority Mail, or have tracking, please let me know, but you will be responsible for the extra fees. For non-US people, if you upgrade to Priority Mail, you should be able to track the customs number. However, it will probably be a large bump in price (I can let you know when I know). If you want some kind of special shipping, please let me know via PM or my email address: bashford427@yahoo.com
You will not be shipped the troikas before postage is paid to my paypal. I will try to PM everyone as a reminder, but don’t be upset if you read this late and you get your troikas later than promised.
Any other questions, feel free to PM
Thanks Everyone!
SLINK
Troikas will be here tomorrow, expect pics tomorrow night when I get home from work…
sometime after 7 cental time
Can’t wait!
<3
Me too!
Me 3 lol
Hey everyone, just got home from work and the TROIKAS ARE HERE!
I’m currently sorting through them, checking to make sure they are all good, so far they look AMAZING. I’m VERY VERY HAPPY
Expect Pictures within an hour or so!
SLINK
Hello Everyone,
My giant box of Troikas arrived today. Once again, thanks to all who have ordered. I believe everyone will be very, very pleased. As I mentioned before, there are some subtle differences between them, each is slightly unique. However, it is very difficult to distinguish them, they are all very, very close.
The troikas look better in person than they do in any photo (including the ones I’ve taken). Its hard to catch the vibrant colors on film. They actually are sturdy like wood, but look and feel pretty “plasticy”. My sister actually thought they were plastic when I opened them. They are truly great. Below are some images as well as a youtube video.
By bashford_photo at 2011-11-11
By bashford_photo at 2011-11-11
Video Review:
youtube.com/watch?v=pAnvjyB24qo
Troikas are much more vivid in person…tried three cameras, couldnt get a good pic of em
Hurrah. They’ve cost me a damn fortune though. As feared I’ve had to fill all sorts of holes in my collection that I didn’t know existed until these appeared. haha Look forward to recieving them.
Really cool pics to see…
I just wait like my friend emma to the PM with the shipping cost to France.
Really good job on this Troikas, i’m impressed. 
Thanks Slink for all. <3 <3
Slink, this might be a dumb question, but seeing your YouTube video threw me off for a second. Their mouths do open, right?
LOL yes, well except the ladybug of course, but they were all shipped to me inside of each other lol
Hey Everyone,
For some reason, the boxes were slightly delayed. I have the troikas, but the boxes are scheduled to be here on Tuesday. So hopefully, I can get a price by wednesday to everyone, shipping can be paid by Sunday and I can start shipping the following Monday!
Thanks again everyone!
Brian
yeah…those pics are lookin pretty rough. Its not the camera though I can pretty much guarantee you that. Just takes practice. Your probably not going to get a good photo on auto mode in low light like that. Thats your problem. Try using something like Manual or Aperture priority mode, that should do the trick, with the right settings. Loose the flash and use a slower shutter speed to let more light in, that will remove the flat look from your photos without making it too dark. Gotta keep the cam steady this way though, the slightest movement will blur the image. As for focusing, if it wont do it automatically you could try the camera’s macro mode or do it manually.
But Im sure this is more advice than you ever wanted on taking pics. 
I’m just into photography and thought I’d try to help.
Cool to hear the quality is consistent enough. I wasn’t sure how good their quality control would be.
Yeah, I’m not a great photographer, that is no doubt. I definitely had lighting issues because it was already pitch black by the time I got home from work. I could try to take some good pics, but honestly, I think everyone will be impressed enough when they arrive (i tried several times, I honestly was using my sister’s camera, because I don’t even own one anymore. Any imperfections from set to set, in all honestly, is only because I was being hypercritical. I have a few extra sets, so I was separating what I felt were the “worst ones.”
I based the worst ones on which ones had slightly noticeable lacks of symmetry, because as they are hand made it is impossible that they are all perfect, but some were slightly more noticeable than others. This morning, I was looking through my “worst” pile and thought to myself “If I saw these at a craft show for $70, I would be blown away”. There is one set that has a scratch on the ducks bill and small mark on the dog (Which i won’t be sending out, giving to my small cousin who won’t care). I mean are they all 100% perfect? no, but Thinkway couldn’t even make all their products 100% perfect and they are manufactured. These are hand made, and have even a larger chance for errors.
Based on that, I think the job they did was AMAZING, and I highly doubt anyone will be upset with their sets (which I will inspect again before I send out to each person)
Hi everyone, boxes should be here tomorrow, sorry for the delay with shipping costs!
I hope you all understand. In the mean time, I have SOLD OUT of even the extra sets I’ve ordered.
So if anyone is still interested, I may be able to order them but they’ll be more expensive. Sorry. Please do not ask me about them, unless you are ready to pay. I do not want to bother ordering anymore with the IOU system.
Boxes have arrived! Shipping quotes by noon CST tomorrow!
Slink
Shipping Cost Structure:
Hey Everyone,
Just went to post office and quotes for everyone. Turns out international shipping was pretty consistent and won’t vary from country. Remember that the price of shipping includes expenses such as the boxes (it’s minimal but a slight add on, divided evenly between everyone). Also, the package is less than 1 pound, so First Class US mail should be just as fast as priority.
*REMEMBER TO SEND THIS AS A “GIFT”, OR ADD $1 TO SHIPPING IF YOU CHOSE “PAYMENT”, MANY FORGOT LAST TIME
Price Breakdown:
USA
First Class Shipping: $5.00
First Class Shipping w/tracking: $5.80
Priority Mail: $8.00
Priority Mail w/tracking: $8.70
INTERNATIONAL
First Class Mail : $12.00 (cannot be tracked)
Priority Mail: $31.00 (I know this is ridiculous, but I posted it just in case)
*REMEMBER TO SEND THIS AS A “GIFT”, OR ADD $1 TO SHIPPING IF YOU CHOSE “PAYMENT”, MANY FORGOT LAST TIME
Don’t forget my paypal address is:
bashford@purdue.edu
If you pay by Sunday, your troikas should be in the mail Monday morning. Anything after Sunday and I’ll send them my next available day
Also, I personally am SOLD OUT of troikas. However, the company, ordered a few extras and has some in storage in South Carolina. I can have the company send you a set directly for $70 if you are in the USA, if you are international, you’d have to contact me and work something out. However, the ordered a limited amount of extras, and to order any more in the future, I must go thru Russia again for production. It won’t be worth the hassle for me for 1 or 2 in the future. If you still want these, you should act soon.
Any other questions, feel free to PM, or use my contact email (not my paypal email) or bashford427@yahoo.com
Thanks again everyone,
SLINK