After opening two days ago, The International’s Dota 2 Secret Shop has already closed.
The shop, which sells exclusive merchandise in the lead-up to the TI7, was met with initial excitement, but things quickly went south. Sure, the stuff sold at the shop is pretty neat—there’s plush toys and apparel among the Dota 2 trinkets—but there were far too many issues to ignore.
Shipping rates were a major issue for international Dota 2 fans, with no shipping at all to certain countries. The company in charge of the shop, WeLoveFine, also had a history of poor customer service, and that didn’t help anything, either.
“We want to apologize for the roll out of the Secret Shop, we know fans are disappointed,” Valve said in a statement “It is our responsibility to make sure we offer a good experience to our players, and we did a poor job of that. The shipping costs are too expensive all around and make it hard for fans to get the merchandise they want at an affordable price.”
While Valve works on a solution, the Secret Shop is closed. Anyone who placed an order already, however, will receive it—unless they want a refund.
Valve hasn’t said when it will open the online Secret Shop again. TI7 begins Aug. 2 with the 18-team group stage. The main event continues Aug. 7 at the KeyArena in Seattle. Those in attendance, at least, will be able to check out the onsite Secret Shop.
