UK Anime Christmas Sales for 2025 [Anime Ltd's 12 Days of Xmas + More]

[FathersBane]

I think you misread six items as six times

You are correct

 

[Vincentdante]

I'll keep my order but I'm still waiting too

 

[Kite]

This is exactly how I felt with the 2024 Christmas sale which is why I didn't bother buying anything during the latest one. My order from the 2024 sake was delayed pretty badly but it seems even worse this time, I can't believe people with day 2 orders are still waiting on them, that is crazy.

The consumer rights act UK says goods must be delivered within 30 days of ordering unless a specific time was agreed upon at the point of ordering, it is probably worth reminding AL of this. I think I have seen it said a couple of times that AL shut their distribution centre down around the end of the sale and don't reopen until January, if this is true then that is terrible especially considering the amount of oreorders and sale orders placed.

With the vast amounts of money being paid upfront customers deserve better.

Assuming AL had any say in the Christmas closure of their distribution centre.

 

[awadama]

OMG what a twisty rollercoaster of events and posts! is riveted

(I am sincerely sorry your package is damaged, that rly sucks!)

To add to the drama, my Crunchyroll Christmas sale order has also been cancelled (and refunded) by them because they stay it's out of stock...

...but it's still on their website available to order! I think I might have to give up on ordering things!

 

[awadama]

The consumer rights act UK says goods must be delivered within 30 days of ordering unless a specific time was agreed upon at the point of ordering, it is probably worth reminding AL of this.

I don't think it is worth it tbh.

From Consumer Rights Act 2015 - Which? :

There is a default delivery period of 30 days, during which the retailer needs to deliver unless a longer period has been agreed.

If the retailer fails to deliver within the 30 days, or on the date that has been agreed, you can do the following:

• If your delivery is later than agreed and it was essential that it was delivered on time, then you have the right to terminate the purchase and get a full refund.
• If the delivery isn’t time-essential but another reasonable delivery time can’t be agreed, you’re also within your right to cancel the order for a full refund.

The Act only says companies have to give a refund if they fail to deliver within 30 days, but AL are giving refunds when people ask for it anyway.

Unfortunately, I don't think quoting the Act at them will make the people at the distribution centre go into warp speed

 

[ACDStorm]

Indeed, what's the point of quoting consumer law at them? It's not going to get you your order any faster and if the delay is intolerable I'm sure they won't object to offering to cancel and refund you.

I'm waiting on three orders, earliest was 4th December, I appreciate they took the time to inform us there would be delays and my backlog is up to 4 digits so honestly it makes no real difference to me but it does seem a mess it's still dragging on without clear resolution.

 

[RedundantSquash]

I don't think it is worth it tbh.

From Consumer Rights Act 2015 - Which? :



The Act only says companies have to give a refund if they fail to deliver within 30 days, but AL are giving refunds when people ask for it anyway.

Unfortunately, I don't think quoting the Act at them will make the people at the distribution centre go into warp speed

I meant for people to quote it to get a refund, I wasn't aware they were giving out refunds regardless.

There is no need to be facetious, people have hundreds of pounds tied up in these orders, much like I did in the 2024 Christmas sale, with no clear timeframe of when they will get the items they have paid for.

 

[SnowWolf]

To add to the drama, my Crunchyroll Christmas sale order has also been cancelled (and refunded) by them because they stay it's out of stock...

...but it's still on their website available to order! I think I might have to give up on ordering things!

Argh, they pulled an Amazon.

 

[Hanners]

Let me preface this by saying all my orders have been cancelled or dispatched; I no longer have a in this race.

I think some of the discontent over these delays could be ameliorated with a bit of contrition. But the posts from Hanners on this page are indicative of AL's overall handling of the situation: matter-of-fact statements with no hint of apology. Having worked in customer service, you apologise to customers even when their issue is not your fault.

That's the most disappointing thing for me. I'm out. Probably won't be back next year.

Honestly, this is a very fair point, and it's entirely on me - my focus before Christmas and now has been to keep on top of where we are in a factual sense, identify issues and future solutions - as a result you're right, while we've been apologising in one-on-one customer service conversations we haven't in a broader sense. I'm sorry for that, and of course we're really incredibly sorry for the delays people have seen to order shipments. It isn't how we wanted things to go, that goes without saying, and as with every year our Christmas sale has thrown some different obstacles and challenges our way that we'll be learning from.

Genuinely, we can't apologise enough for the hold-ups to orders shipping out, and we know that although it's always a busy period this level of delays in shipments isn't what you expect of us.

 

[Hanners]

Im thinking of doing the same 3 orders totalling £400 and still nothing,ive been ordering from them for near on 9 years now and this is the worst,then again since the takeover they have one of the worst customer services ive come across,big name releases at christmas aswell all at the same time as doing a sale,wonder who’s clever idea that was,surely you would put them on for november release?

The main issues here are twofold:

1. People want big releases as soon as possible - imagine the outcry if we'd delayed Arcane Season 2 into 2026?
2. The initial projections for all of these big pre-orders was that stock would arrive in November, giving us adequate time to clear all (or certainly the majority) of pre-orders in time for the start of the Christmas sale. Unfortunately this didn't prove to be the case, and this was further compounded by other issues with stock incoming that slowed things down considerably, creating the kind of "perfect storm" which led to our original shipping status update.

In short, this was flagged as a risk, and we'd taken steps to mitigate it, but unfortunately those steps weren't sufficient in the end, which is very much one of our takeaways for the future.

 

[Hanners]

The consumer rights act UK says goods must be delivered within 30 days of ordering unless a specific time was agreed upon at the point of ordering, it is probably worth reminding AL of this. I think I have seen it said a couple of times that AL shut their distribution centre down around the end of the sale and don't reopen until January, if this is true then that is terrible especially considering the amount of oreorders and sale orders placed.

With the vast amounts of money being paid upfront customers deserve better.

As others have said, anyone who wants a refund is welcome to contact us and we'll refund them in full, as per consumer law.

Our fulfilment partner closed their distribution centre on December 23rd, so that simply isn't correct at all.

 

[SkwigglesWorth]

@Hanners with your distribution center, do you know what sort of (rough) percent of day one /2nd Decemeber orders have been dispatched?

As this might give people a bit more of an idea when items might be dispatched, but I do understand that might not be the easiest info to obtain as I' m sure you get alot order on the first day (also I wouldn't say no to a rough esitmation of the amount of day one order AllTheAnime get, but I understand if that is not something you can share), and I would guess day 1 order comprise of most of the orders of the entire sale (my guess would be day 1 orders are about 70% of Christmas sales orders).

 

[AlmightyAllan]

Ive had half my total orders shipped. The two remaining, one is from the 2nd Dec and is also the biggest order. So presume for example due to size that's why that one hasn't shipped yet. My other order which was placed on 12 Dec again i presume because of the time that's likely last on the list to ship due to its place in the queue. Just my two cents. Personally im fine with waiting as the items purchased for me, are let's just say far too expensive to buy outside of sales due to currency. (NZ based, iykyk)

 

[SkwigglesWorth]

Ive had half my total orders shipped. The two remaining, one is from the 2nd Dec and is also the biggest order. So presume for example due to size that's why that one hasn't shipped yet. My other order which was placed on 12 Dec again i presume because of the time that's likely last on the list to ship due to its place in the queue. Just my two cents. Personally im fine with waiting as the items purchased for me, are let's just say far too expensive to buy outside of sales due to currency. (NZ based, iykyk)

With you being New Zealand based/ international I think it sounds like a separate team with in the distribution center handles international orders, so dispatch times may vary from the UK, although I assume still going mostly in date order.

 

[Aion]

Indeed, what's the point of quoting consumer law at them? It's not going to get you your order any faster and if the delay is intolerable I'm sure they won't object to offering to cancel and refund you.

Not to be redundant - as I also lack a in this mess now - butt: when I cancelled my Dec 13th order awhile back, it was on the day my Dec 2nd Bleach BOGOFFs were sent. 'Twas likely a coincidence (though many are still waiting for their BOGOFFs) but in my cancellation email I did mention the 30-day thing after my friend mentioned it to me... as well as the fact they were taking the piss. I then promptly had one order sent, one cancelled. Just a fyi, like.

Genuinely, we can't apologise enough for the hold-ups to orders shipping out, and we know that although it's always a busy period this level of delays in shipments isn't what you expect of us.

You know, I can hear the voice in my head. Clear as day. Beggin' me to stop--give you the benefit of the doubt. Sayin' you ain't done nothin' wrong. But... I can't, I just can't, as then who's gonna answer for what happened!?... oh, I know--Andrew! Always Andrew!!

The timing of this, a week after the official 'thank you for waiting' message, dun sit right with meeeeeee. Perhaps I am much too cynical, I know not, but PR only after the countless cancellations rings hollow.

T'would come across more genuine and less a response to losing money if the other, ex-owner Andrew (that has an account here) posted it. I once thought he actually cared, alas~

 

[Hanners]

@Hanners with your distribution center, do you know what sort of (rough) percent of day one /2nd Decemeber orders have been dispatched?

As this might give people a bit more of an idea when items might be dispatched, but I do understand that might not be the easiest info to obtain as I' m sure you get alot order on the first day (also I wouldn't say no to a rough esitmation of the amount of day one order AllTheAnime get, but I understand if that is not something you can share), and I would guess day 1 order comprise of most of the orders of the entire sale (my guess would be day 1 orders are about 70% of Christmas sales orders).

Over 60% of orders from that first full day have shipped - most of those outstanding orders there now are very "complex" orders (i.e. large numbers of items, all of which are different), which are always a slower process to ship as they require a lot more picking, scanning and packing of items than order without many items (or multiple units of one item).

Progress is definitely being made daily there.

 

[Rena Ryuugu]

Yay my BOGOF order has been dispatched ^_^

 

[xp_version1]

Over 60% of orders from that first full day have shipped - most of those outstanding orders there now are very "complex" orders (i.e. large numbers of items, all of which are different), which are always a slower process to ship as they require a lot more picking, scanning and packing of items than order without many items (or multiple units of one item).

Progress is definitely being made daily there.

Just to check how things are being handled, should I still be waiting for my Eizouken CE pre-order from September?

 

[Hanners]

Just to check how things are being handled, should I still be waiting for my Eizouken CE pre-order from September?

There was some Eizouken stock held up at the tail-end of Christmas that was stuck in courier hell - I know this has arrived now, so drop me your order number in DM and I'll check to see what's going on there!

 

[Stiivun]

My Christmas Sale orders of December 2nd and 3rd which if I'm not mistaken are the second and third day of the sale haven't shipped either. But then again I'm an old-timer so patience is something I still know what it looks like, feels like and live by it and that works both ways Says Stiibun with a Frieren grin

They'll come when they come, only thing I hope is that the fulfilment house does a better job with the labels on and inside the package, because my Bleach order which arrived last December was a hassle to deal with UPS and the custom charges that needed to be paid. @Hanners , I've send you an email about this particular order, or at least through the website contact form on December 22nd. This was about the #176224 order. Were you able to look into this?