Forbidden Planet Reviews 1.092

Used the company for many years, I’m now 74 years old and unfortunately I’m becoming increasingly frustrated with the on line pre order system. I collect mainly one marvel character and as such over the last few years these new releases include many variants.
I’ve inquired over the years whether these variants will all be available and have been informed that no “ if it’s not listed it’s not available if it’s listed it is”.
Ok so now I subscribe to forbidden planet for my main comic in a series and then order what they list as pre order and then make sure that the variants I need which forbidden planet doesn’t have are ordered from my excellent supplier in the USA Third eye.
But as with so many times in the past, various comics that I’ve ordered from forbidden planet doesn’t not arrive and shod up as “awaiting stock” even though they have been issued weeks before and available on line.
Many times after that it disappeared from my orders as though it never existed and what’s more frustrating is that they don’t contact you via email( I’m subscribed) to let you know what the problem is or when it will be resolved.
As an avid comic collector who wants to get all the issues and variants, it is really annoying that after ordering months in advance for a comic that forbidden planet says they can supply, they just let you down.
If you want something to fulfill your collecting habits I suggest that you don’t simply rely on them as your main supplier.
Disappointing to write this after many decades of using them as a company to supply my comic needs

Splendid service,

Pre-ordered an item and it kept being delayed a month for basically an entire year before being cancelled.

Don’t pre-order from them.

Excellent service, arrived on the day of release. Thanks very much.

Fast delivery, great products

Very rarely (if ever) has delivery taken more than a week.

Very good prices for both comics and delivery fee.

Items are always delivered in pristine condition.

Only downside is that they put around 5 comics in 1 bag, but for the price that is NOT even slightly a problem.

Oh, Forbidden Planet Online, you sneaky little tease of a website—luring me in with your glossy promises of geeky treasures, only to leave me high and dry like a villain's unfulfilled plot twist. I dove headfirst into ordering a hotly anticipated collectible, marked boldly as "in stock" on your site, visions of unboxing glory dancing in my head. But nope, the order sails through acceptance, and then... crickets. Days turn into weeks, the release date comes and goes like a missed interdimensional portal, and my package? Stuck eternally in "Awaiting Stock" purgatory, as if you've got some secret warehouse goblin hoarding everything just to spite eager fans.
Don't get me wrong, your physical stores are a nerd's paradise—rows of comics, figurines, and merch that make my inner fanboy swoon. But online? It's a chaotic mess of false hope and frustration, like trusting a double-crossing sidekick with your life savings. I've learned the hard way: steer clear of their digital domain if you value timely deliveries and sanity. One star, and that's only because zero isn't an option—consider this my warning flare to fellow enthusiasts: shop elsewhere online, or risk joining the ranks of the eternally waiting.

Ordered three books for 45GBP, didnt get an immediate quote for international shipping, a day later I get an email saying the the shipping would cost 30GBP, in what world does shipping three books cost 30GPB, they need to change whichever company they work with, this was my first time ordering from them, no other online retailer has ever charged me that much, the average is less than 6GPB with 10GBP being on the expensive side (for more books and a heavier package mind you).
The website also decided they would ship the three books in two different packages, when asked if they could ship in two to save a little on shipping, they unfortunately could not.

Edit as of 08/12/25: I originally gave 5 stars but now it's 1.
I've recently bought 4 books (none of which are pre-orders and were all *in stock*) - A WEEK later 2 came and the other 2 no news. At all. Gave it another week and contacted customer service who gave me a speedy, copy-paste reply about how pre-orders date can be changed or cancelled.
"..."
I told them they weren't pre-orders and they gave another reply saying "The 2 remaining books that aren't pre-orders are delayed as our stock delivery is delayed and we do not have a new delivery date at this present time."
WHAT DO YOU MEAN!? WHY WOULD YOU PUT THE BOOKS AS 'IN STOCK' WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE THEM!?
The 2 books weren't even the ones I wanted the most, it was the other 2... the ones that came were js filler bc I wasn't gonna pay £6 shipping for just 2 books for goodness sake...
Even if they come by just this year, I'd be placated, but they. have. no. date. At all! Will it come this week, this year, next year...?! Is it so hard to say what books are in stock and which ones aren't? This would've saved me so much trouble...I've literally never had this problem with any other store before, this is absolutely crazy...

Been to the store regularly, no complaints there.
I decided to pre-order for the first time on their website. Listed as dispatch 20th October. Its now the 29th October and still no sign of it, haven't received any updates or shipping notifications. Bit disappointing.

Every delivery takes longer and longer to dispatch, sometimes it can be over 10 days between order and dispatch, without any notification. Then when I do get a dispatch notice saying it's been sent by Royal Mail 24 Tracked, it shows up over a week later...

great service every time i order. fast delivery.

As I live in the middle of nowhere I have been using Forbidden Planet's mailorder to buy comics with increasing frustration. On the plus side, FP offer good value - mail order books are discounted from the RRP, postage is reasonable and they send your comics in stiff cardboard mailers to protect them from the Royal Mail's brutal attentions.

But, the big problem is that FP never send your books on the release date, often your pre-orders will be sat there and the website will say "sorry, this item is running late" or "awaiting stock" for days, sometimes weeks, before despatch. This has, on occasion, become farcical with FP then amending the release dates claiming that a particular book isn't actually available until the following week when you can literally see it on the shelves of other retailers or see readers all over the world posting photos of their copies on online forums. The best example of this recently was FP having put up "sorry this item is running late" for the 2 or 3 days after a particular book's listed release date, then changing the listed release date to a week hence despite the actual author of the book posting online about how pleased he was that the book was having to be reprinted because the first run had sold out already. When I messaged FP to ask for some clarification they continued to insist the book had not yet been released despite this and people I actually know IRL having copies they had purchased in their local comic shops.

Anyway, that's a long winded way of me saying I've stopped using FP mail order because they suck.

Books arrived on time and in a good package but whoever had been packing the books didn’t take care to put them in the sleeve properly and a corner of one of my books was entirely bent backwards creating a color-breaking bend. Very disappointing for an expensive book I planned to keep

As I live in a comic shop desert, Forbidden Planet Online store is my first port of call for quality Manga and Genre graphic novels. It's great knowing that you're there.

Dispatch takes far too long

All went well, nothing bad to say!

I had an issue with a preorder payment and they were quick to sort it and very helpful.

The Website Customer Support team helped me a lot when I needed it. They were quick, efficient and really helpful! Couldn’t recommend more!

Packages sometimes take a while to ship but I get the impression it isn’t always under their control. They do their best and comics always arrive in perfect condition in appropriate packaging. Great service. Would recommend.