Inquiring readers named Kurt want to know: If a buyer from Canada buys something from someone in America on eBay, pays for it, including shipping, and then it shows up with a $50 C.O.D. charge for imports and customs, is that kosher? Discuss…
SHIPPING
Amazon Ships "Ready To Ship" Box… Inside Another Box
By 9.2.08
On one hand, the mere existence of such a thing as a “ready to ship” box at Amazon leads us to believe that there may be hope for them after all. Sadly, the fact that they packed the “ready to ship” box inside another box before they shipped it does leave us with some nagging doubts.
UPS Randomly Delivers Unordered, Damaged TV, Charges You For The Pleasure
By 8.30.08
Matt didn’t order a broken 42″ plasma TV, and he didn’t ship one either, but that didn’t stop UPS from plopping a big box with a broken TV on his porch, a service for which they charged $120.12. UPS explained that the TV Matt didn’t ship was being returned to him by the recipient because it was damaged, and it was now his responsibility to arrange for re-delivery. “If I was the shipper,” asked Matt, who lives in Ohio, “why would the package have come from Ontario, CA, not Medina, Ohio?” The TV sat in the rain overnight, and it wasn’t until Matt reached the local depot, where his father worked for 27 years, that he convinced someone to take back the mystery box. Two weeks later, a bill arrived…
Movers Turns Musicians' New Zealand Adventure Into Fiasco
By 8.28.08
Ah, New Zealand, the land of kiwis and hobbits. Daniel and his girlfriend went there to set up a studio and get paid to do recording sessions. They’re musicians. They hired Morton Van Lines to ship their equipment from LA to NZ, but after over seven months of struggle, they got it, or their money back.Turns out the equipment was shipped to the wrong country and then returned to the USA. Maybe if Morton Van Lines ever returned a phone call or an email it could have been straightened out. But nay. Here’s Daniel’s story…
Amazon Ships 8 Plates In 13 Boxes
By 8.26.08
Reader Gibson ordered 8 plates from Amazon, and they arrived in 13 boxes. We’re sure the operations research management scientists at Amazon shipping have an answer as to why, in the context of the entire shipping infrastructure, this was the most cost-effective solution, but it escapes us mere mortals. Full pic inside.
This Battery Shipment From Dell Was Packed Efficiently
By 8.11.08
Our inbox is overflowing with links to the above photograph from the Daily WTF.
J. Crew's Notoriously Awful Website Charges You $9,208.50 To Ship The Wrong Shirt
By 8.7.08
J. Crew has a problem with their website. Whatever the problem is, it isn’t small. Meet Per, a J. Crew customer who tried to order some polo shirts and not only did he get the wrong shirts, the bill came with a shipping charge of $9,208.50. Per would like to return these shirts and not pay $9,208.50 in shipping, but he can’t manage to log on to J. Crew’s website.
FedEx Turns Shipment Of DVDs Into Can Of Old House Paint
By 8.4.08
John at Needcoffee.com writes that he’s come to expect the occasional “damaged in transit” theft of items from packages he ships or receives, at least through the U.S Postal Service. With private carriers, however, he notes that he’s always had better luck. But last week he opened a box of DVDs shipped to him via FedEx to discover a rusty can of $5 house paint.
J.Crew Apologizes For Bad Website, But That's All They Do
By 7.30.08
A dozen readers (and probably a couple of PR flacks) must have forwarded us J.Crew’s email today, in which the CEO and president of the company extend a mutual apology for the non-workingness of their “enhanced” website and call center. Oddly, the email simply asks customers to “bear with us” but doesn’t offer any discount or sale. Well, maybe they figured driving more traffic to a broken site would only make things worse.
J.Crew's New Website Does Everything Except Fulfill Orders Properly
By 7.14.08
Kimberly, a frequent J.Crew online customer, placed an order on June 30th for five items from their newly revamped website. In the past, writes Kim, “it usually takes 2 days at the latest for me to receive any shipment that is not backordered.” This time it’s been 2 weeks, and not only has nothing arrived, but the UPS tracking number they’ve assigned her order is invalid (it doesn’t even follow the UPS numbering style). The unhelpful J.Crew customer service rep told Kim that they had her correct address and to wait 10 days before calling back. In the meantime, one of the items has already been returned and refunded to Kim’s credit card—although about $200 worth of merchandise has still been shipped to some as yet undiscovered location.
The Post Office Will Pay Out Your Insurance Claim… If Their Employees Admits To Abuse
By 7.12.08
The post office won’t pay Alauna’s insurance claim for a damaged Hewlett-Packard laptop unless one of their employees admits to intentionally abusing her package.
Boy, This Tiny Microfiber Cloth From Amazon Sure Is Packaged Efficiently
By 7.3.08
Yes, folks. It’s time for everybody’s favorite post: Stupid Shipping Gang! In this episode, Amazon demonstrates how to package a tiny microfiber cloth efficiently.
Revealed: Apple's Secret Membership In The Stupid Shipping Gang
By 6.22.08
Apple may have Al Gore on its board of directors, but that won’t stop them from shipping teeny tiny remote controls in cartoonishly large boxes.
My Night Stand Came Packed In Spray Foam Insulation
By 6.4.08
Here’s something to break the monotony of your day. Reader Jim sends these pictures of the night stand he ordered from Amazon.com. It came packed not in peanuts, but covered in spray foam insulation. He says it took him half an hour to hack through the sticky stuff to get to the furniture. Weird, yes, but the item did arrive intact… so maybe they’re on to something.
Kinko's Is Dead, Long Live "FedEx Office"
By 6.3.08
FedEx announced yesterday that they would be renaming Kinko’s “FedEx Office”
AT&T Shipped Me An Empty Plastic Bag Instead Of An iPhone!
By 6.2.08
David ordered a refurbished iPhone from AT&T. What he received was a brand new empty plastic bag. Apparently, AT&T has 500 backorders for refurbished iPhones, so for some completely unknown and nonsensical reason, they’ve decided to start shipping empty plastic bags. Let’s join David as he tries to track down the iPhone he ordered…
UPS Can't Find Your Lost Computer, So They'll Honor Their Insurance Policy
By 5.25.08
Remember Nick? UPS smashed up his insured computer and then refused to provide any compensation, even after mysteriously shipping it to a stranger. UPS’ public relations folks reached out to us after we posted his story and recently sent us an update: “…after a search of all UPS’s facilities we were not able to recover his computer.” Bummer, but all is not lost.
