[ohioriverrailway]

I ordered a large quantity ($200+) of doors and windows from one of the larger on-line hobby suppliers here in the East.
The order -- or about 20% of it -- shows up with the notation that the rest of the items were back ordered.
An email to them was answered with the response that the stuff would get shipped when they got their stock, unless I wanted to cancel the order.
So I returned the email on a Sunday to tell them to cancel the order.
On Monday they shipped it anyhow.
When I told them again that I no longer needed the items they said since there was no customer service available on Sunday, they didn't see my email until after they'd shipped the order (again, only partial) on Monday.
If I want to return it, I'll have to pay return postage plus a 15% restocking fee.

Now, wouldn't it be reasonable to LOOK AT THE WEEKEND EMAIL before you shipped anything on Monday?
And why would you expect the customer to pay for return freight and restocking FOR YOUR ERROR?
And is it too much to ask that YOUR WEBSITE actually reflect what's available and what's not?

There's another vendor added to the %^it list.

 

[altterrain]

I do see both sides of this. The order was probably put through to shipping already and shipped out before the folks in customer service had their morning coffee and read your email. A 15% restocking fee in this circumstance is unreasonable though. You could try and take it up with your credit card company.

-Brian

 

[wchasr]

some of it comes down to vendors being middle men and drop shipping things. How likely was your order shipped from someplace else other than the vendor? now if you return it it will be going back to the vendor who now has to stock the itme he was never intended to personally handle.

Broken communications is what this comes down to. From anmufacturere to wholesaler to retaielr to customer. It's a problem in this hobby much worse than some others. Getting even worse with the advent of the internet and forums such as this.

Chas

 

[Guest]

this problem goes back to what ive been telling you guys... don't send a email for a order, your just looking for trouble. call verify what you want with them see if it is in stock then order. don't trust there web sites to be accurate .. /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/w00t.gif
Nick.

 

[Guest]

Posted By nick s. on 02/19/2008 12:56 PM
this problem goes back to what ive been telling you guys... don't send a email for a order, your just looking for trouble. call verify what you want with them see if it is in stock then order. don't trust there web sites to be accurate .. /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/w00t.gif
Nick.

Nick you are correct, so much so I believe it needs to be repeated, maybe a little larger-pay attention guys!

  "don't send a email for a order, your just looking for trouble. call verify what you want with them see if it is in stock then order. don't trust their web sites to be accurate"

I know this all flies in the face of modern web shopping, but trust me guys, a phone call will solve alot of this mess...I know, it only took me about 3 screw-ups to figure it out...(I never claimed to be the brightest bulb)....Now I Always call-no matter what!

 

[wchasr]

"Now I Always call-no matter what!"

And even then sometimes it gets screwed up.

I stop in the store in person and it still gets screwed up. 

Time to give up on the hobby?

maybe.....

Chas

 

[blueregal]

Yea real good advice i'm still waiting on at least 3-6 /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/unsure.gifmajor (in this hobby and you would all know theyre names) retailers, to even get back on my questions let alone an order.  Ive already had my questions and ordered my products from someone else, (retailers that actually took the time to answer a couple of questions) and i paid a higher price to do so so phone calls dont always work either!!! Its a crap shoot out there, and im a salesman all of my life, and I know what a minimum standard of acceptance for customer service is and i even give them a little extra there to hang themselves, and they did.  Ill steer clear of them in the future.  "Fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on me!"

 

[MarkLewis]

Personally, I will not buy from any vendor who drop ships. If you get something that was shipped from a location other than the vendors, then it was probably drop-shipped. Most of us are familiar with the no-name large scale website, who is also a dealer. I ordered from them and received a shipment that was lost. It was drop shipped from Aristo Craft, who received a refund from the carrier and told me they refunded it to the seller. I had quite a battle getting the refund sent to me until Mrs. NoName got the idea that I was a lawyer (I don't know where she got that idea -- I had nothing to do with it).

Beware of any vendor who boasts about "direct from the factory," because that is a tacit admission that the drop ship; the odds are that they are not the factory.

Mark

 

[ohioriverrailway]

As usuall, lots of good suggestions. This stuff definitely wasn't drop shipped. UPS didn't pick it up at the store in Downers Grove until 6PM -- a full business day in which they could have read their email. Fortunately, I found another vendor in California that has good prices on Grandt Line stuff. They'll be getting my business from now on.

 

[N.S. Rob]

My new rule is don't buy it unless it is in your hand. I have been burned too many times. And in this hobby the customer is always wrong. I recently been trying to get a part form Aristo and have been told two different stories about it. When I told Aristo they said I was lying. The funny thing is what would I gain by lying to them. I can cancel my credit card and forget about the whole thing if I wanted to. It is amazing.

 

[Dr Rivet]

Gentlemen

There are a couple of reasonable exceptions to the NO drop ship rule.
First, track in bulk from dealers that supply Llagas Creek, Sunset Valley, or similar. The cost of shipping 75 pounds of rail twice comes out of your pocket.
Second, locomotives from Aster and Accucraft. Unless the dealer wants to inspect it first , or you want it inspected first (a major unpack / repack ), it is not worth it. You as the customer will usually end up paying almost double on the shipping.

Remember that the BIG BOX mail order / internet guys usually just stack it in the warehouse until it gets a new shipping label on it. So it is hardly better than a drop ship except that they burn you on shipping charges.

I have had stuff drop shipped to me from places like USA T, but I purchased it through a dealer. I had an agreement that he didn't get a nickel (or dollar) until the product was in my hands. He wasn't invoiced until it was shipped, so as long as I was trusted to pay up, it works fine. If you can find a local dealer to work through, use them. If they don't have to stock it, you can often negotiate a reasonable (not necessarily the lowest) price. But what good is the "lowest price" if you get lousy service or bad product with a worse return policy.

Cheers

Jim