The other day we told you about an unhappy Sephora.com customer whose expedited order was not delivered on time, and who was stuck with the expedited shipping charges. Sephora now explains to Consumerist that the customer doesn’t understand Sephora’s peculiar take on the definition of “two days.” [More]
SHIPPING
Nexus 4 And 10 Purchasers Just Want To Know Where Their Devices Are
By 11.19.12
Google announced a fresh assortment of Nexus mobile devices last week, so regular readers know what that means: a fresh assortment of reader complaints about the experience of ordering from Google. As we’ve noted pretty much every time the company releases a consumer-facing product, the company makes great products that consumers want, but still aren’t all that great at dealing with those customers. Tuesday’s release of the Nexus 4 (phone) and Nexus 10 (big tablet) worldwide were no different. Many customers whose orders got through before the Nexus 4 sold out (or did it?) aren’t sure when their phones are coming…if they’re coming at all. [More]
Amazon's 1-Day Kindle Shipping Takes At Least A Week
By 8.3.12
Reese had this strange idea in her head. She thought that because she paid Amazon $20 for one-day shipping on her Kindle, it would take one day for the Kindle to be delivered to her. Maybe two, if she placed the order really late that day. Not so fast! Amazon’s site helpfully told her that it would take anywhere from six to eleven days for her order to show up, because the Kindle was evidently on backorder. Wait, that’s not what she paid extra for! [More]
UPS MyChoice Feels More Like A Protection Racket
By 4.25.12
The UPS MyChoice program is supposed to be a good thing – it lets customers tell the company in advance whether to deliver packages without a signature or deliver them right ot a UPS store. But Holly ends up clicking in circles trying to find out how to sign up for the (free) program. The useful options, like redirecting packages to a UPS store or getting a delivery window, cost extra money. [More]
Change Payment Card On Amazon Pre-Order, Lose Your Shipping Date
By 3.7.12
It’s too late for Jared, who won’t get his copy of Mass Effect 3 until Friday, the poor thing. (Other people who placed pre-orders got theirs yesterday.) But he wants everyone else to learn from his mistake. If you pre-order an item from Amazon, but change your method of payment for the order before it ships, you’ll lose your spot in line and your release-day shipping. Sure, this usually doesn’t matter all that much, but we’re talking about a game here. [More]
UPS Plays Blame Game After $5,000 Package Gets Damaged
By 2.1.12
Mike owns a small business, and he ships a lot. He mostly used UPS, and says that he probably spends $12,000 on shipping annually. Of all of the company’s items to get damaged in transit, it had to be the one worth more than $5,000 that was insured, but not for the full value of the package. That’s just how the world works. UPS claims that the item was damaged due to improper packaging, which is interesting because the item had been packaged at a local UPS Store. But loyal Consumerist readers know that UPS Stores are franchises, not owned by UPS. This means that UPS can blame the damage on Mike, since he’s the one who paid someone else to package the item. [More]
UPS: Pay Up And We Might Not Make The Same Delivery Error Twice In A Row
By 1.5.12
Keith’s brother gave him an old desktop computer as a Christmas gift, but this gift came with a catch. He had to ship it to himself, a few thousand miles away. Since packages can’t be delivered to his door at his apartment building, he sent the package to a nearby UPS store, flagged as “hold for pickup.” Naturally the UPS store refused the package and sent it back. Now UPS wants Keith to pay the shipping fee again. For that, they might actually deliver it to his house this time. Or they might send it back. Isn’t the suspense exciting? [More]
EECB Scores Hit On T-Mobile, Saves Customer $400 Charge For Phone UPS Lost
By 12.30.11
When Jeffrey received his replacement smartphone from T-Mobile, he packed up his old one, used the enclosed prepaid UPS label, and dispatched it using a UPS drop box. From there, the phone disappeared. One customer service rep after another assured him that the lost phone situation would be resolved…and then a $300 charge for the phone appeared on his bill. It was time to escalate. It was time to use a powerful tool he learned about from this very site: the executive e-mail carpet bomb. [More]
Only The CEO At Cuisinart Has The Power To Send You A Shipping Label
By 12.22.11
Jennifer bought the Cuisinart coffeemaker at right about a month ago. It lists for $145.00, and you can get it from Amazon for, as of this writing, $75.45. Unfortunately for Jennifer, her appliance just plain stopped working, and nothing she did at home would fix it. Cuisinart agreed to send her a new one, and even waived the shipping fee, but they want her old coffeemaker back. This wouldn’t be a problem, but the cost to ship the large and heavy machine is $47.62. That amount would put Jennifer more than halfway to just buying a new machine. [More]
UPS Knows Where Misrouted Package Is, Shrugs
By 10.28.11
Claire, the manager of an apartment building, went above and beyond the scope of her job duties to attempt to re-route a package destined for a former tenant. UPS didn’t really do anything wrong in this case: the wrong address was the shipper’s fault, or maybe the former tenant’s. But since too many days have passed since the box showed up on the wrong person’s doorstep, it’s no longer UPS’s problem. The package, we assume, will just be written off as “lost.” [More]
Apple Makes Me Stalk The UPS Guy At My Old House
By 10.13.11
Samantha has moved since registering for an account on Apple.com. That’s not unusual. Her problem is that Apple is somehow unable to deal with this reality, and she isn’t able to change her address in their system. This means that they can’t ship her freshly ordered iPhone 4S anywhere but her old address. “Maybe I will show up at the house and ask them to please not steal my new iPhone,” she muses. [More]
US Postal Service Swaps Box Of Love Letters For Strangers' Mail
By 9.15.11
David has saved every piece of paper correspondence that he’s received from his wife during their entire life together. When shipping most of their possessions during a cross-country move, the box containing all of these cards and letters was damaged, and the contents lost. They were replaced with an awful lot of random items that don’t belong to David at all. So where are David’s letters? And who are the random people whose mail was stuffed in the box? [More]
Report Your iPhone Stolen, Get A Visit From The FedEx Thugs
By 8.19.11
Apple shipped Dianna’s iPhone via FedEx to her apartment, but an unknown neighbor signed for it, and the phone never reached Dianna. She filed a police report on the missing phone, which earned her an early-morning visit from three men she calls FedEx’s “thugs.” [More]
50% Off Amazon Prime Renewals For Students
By 7.14.11
Students who signed up last year for a free year of Amazon Prime are getting close to their expiration date. So, Amazon is offering them a renewal for $39, 50% off the regular price of $79. [More]
Ensenda Not Entirely Sure Where The Mailroom Might Be
By 6.29.11
Rob is an Amazon Prime customer who lives near Chicago. He likes Prime, but isn’t thrilled with his last three shipments that came through a lesser-known delivery company, Ensenda. The comments on a previous post about Ensenda’s inability to actually deliver things indicate that he’s not alone. But his packages are: abandoned and alone, lost somewhere in the system. Or dumped on the first flat service the delivery person could find. This is not the quality of service that anyone should expect from a company paid to provide overnight shipping. [More]
Why I Will Never Ship With UPS Again
By 6.3.11
Reader Tyler shares the list of reasons he will never use UPS again on purpose. A shot-putted package, $1,000 of computer parts left outside the wrong house with no signature, customer service shenanigans and finally, a smooshed box. That’s it! He’s had it! Brown is no longer welcome in Tyler Town. [More]
Rolex Mails Precious Inherited Watch To Wrong House, Never To Be Seen Again
By 5.31.11
When Ali’s father passed away last year, one thing that he inherited was a Rolex watch. Ali wanted to wear the watch in memory of his father, but it hadn’t run in years. He writes that he sent the watch off to Rolex for a repair estimate, but found a less expensive repair option and asked for the watch back. Having moved in the interim, he double-checked with Rolex to make sure that they would send the watch to his new address. They promised that they would, then promptly mailed it to his old address. The watch disappeared. [More]
Shipping Rates And Info For Over 50 Online Retailers
By 4.15.11
Here’s a handy to the shipping rates and free shipping info for over 50 top online retailers. From Amazon to Zappos, they’ve got it all so you don’t have to go digging through the site or go through the entire checkout process just to see what you’ll get charged. Consider it a candidate for your bookmarks list. [More]
