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The Bryce Mentoring DVD I ordered arrived today, 9-24-12. Not to bad considering the number of way stops needed to refresh the horses. :lol:
On a note as to the shipping charges, the Pitney Bowes stamp says $001.640. A rather fancy way of saying $1.64.
Same here, mine also arrived today and it also had the $1.64 stamp even though I think we live in different states based on you saying the shipping charge they hit you with was $2 less then what they hit me with.
I'm fine with things taking a while and I wouldn't have even commented on the length of time except for the fact that I ordered something heavier and bigger, a day later then I ordered the DVD and it shipped from a state further away from me then Utah and got here earlier. Now I'm not saying that Daz has to speed up there process but, at least for me, that would engender more customer satisfaction then a refund on an overpriced shipping charge.
@Mark: You have to remember, we are dealing with the mechanized pony express here. They've cut back on personal, and likely, services is some areas. So something that would have passed through a place the same day it arrived, a few years ago, it now may sit overnight until business the next day.
UPS and Fed-X don't seem to suffer from this. Except for the weekends around our area, something traveling by way of either carrier does seem to arrive sooner. It may be because these two specialize in this type of shipping. And as we were told, most of the items DAZ sells is downloaded.
Hopefully, you and I are test cases which help get the system fixed. And if not, there are sure to be more tickets opened for adjustments.
Yeah except the company that shipped from further away and a day later but got here three days earlier also unded up using the same shipping service of PSPS, I thought they were using UPS but that was a misreading on my part. So if the problem was the USPS then it should have affected both companies the same. Also I've been dealing with Daz for over 10 years and have bout several items that came on DVD. The store software may be new but Daz is not new to shipping.
Anyway lets not discuss this anymore, I think my blunt, non sugar coated point of view is making some people uncomfortable.
@Mark: Maybe you buy the wrong brand of sugar. :-) There are times, though, that it's necessary to say how it is, without all the preamble. But yeah, I'll agree to let things lie. I think we've made our views known.
Well I'll say this because it's not really about Daz or the shipping issue but rather the 3D world in general. Actually not the entire 3D world but alot of the individuals in it, especially those who buy alot of stuff. I've noticed that a majority of folks seem perfectly content to put up with all sorts of things and not be critical for fear of pissing of companies and vendors. I have a problem with this because if someone gives you a crap sandwich (and no I'm not saying that's what Daz did I'm just making an example) and you smile and say "Oh gee, thank you very much" Then where is the incentive for the seller to do better, to make their sandwhiches less crappy? If you'll gladly accept crap and not complain then why should the people you're dealing with give you anything better in the future? That's why I speak bluntly about things relating to purchases. If a company does things right I'll be the first to step up and say so but if they do wrong then I'll step up and say that too. That's how things get better.
@LordHardDriven and @GussNemo - very glad to hear that you finally got your merchandise and at a postage that is not astronomically high.
It probably took so long because the postman has watched the DVD first :)
After seeing the work you and David do, it's not surprising. Wonder if we'll see any renders?
@Mark: I agree. It isn't out of line for customers to express their displeasure if they find something that doesn't leave them with a pleasant experience. This doesn't mean it has to be an adversarial encounter, but one that provides useful information to the business.
Going in like a bull in a china shop does nothing but further enrage a riled customer and put the business on the defensive. Contact should be polite, as polite as possible, no one should be personally attacked, corporate could have set the policy, and as much information given as possible. It's hard to go this route, but in many cases things are resolved much quicker.
Well the actual postage was not astronomically high but comparatively speaking what I paid for it was because while I followed suggestions and encouragements to do so I did file a "ticket" with zendesk several days ago like GussNemo did and I have yet to hear anything back and I'm not finding anyway to check on the status of said "ticket". Since GussNemo also filed one and said he'd report on the results once there were any but to date he hasn't reported anything more, I'll have to conclude he has not heard back either?
There is a bit of a log jam in Customer Support at the moment, for various reasons.
Still patiently waiting. No sense rocking the rocking horse that fast.
An opportunity for one of my favourite quotes,
"Retribution" is a short poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:
Though the mills of God grind slowly;
Yet they grind exceeding small;
Though with patience he stands waiting,
With exactness grinds he all.
@David: Longfellow certainly got that right.
Well, an update on the excess shipping charges.
I did receive an e-mail from DAZ telling me they gave me a refund as a credit to my account. I had started to let everyone know this when I suddenly had a few questions and reread the e-mail.
Seems the credit went into my DAZ account as Store Credit. Hmmm...not how other sites have handled the matter. When I saw how much I was given as Store Credit another bell went off. I know what I was charged for shipping, I know what DAZ was charged to ship the DVD because it is stamped on the mailing envelope, and I saw what I was given as Store Credit. Something didn't add up.
Getting out my trusty prehistoric calculating tools I discovered there's a bit of US currency unaccounted for. So I followed the link in the e-mail to the help desk and left another message concerning this unaccounted money, and how the refund was given.
Now I'll just let Longfellow run through my thoughts.
Well my guess is they're still trying to charge a handling fee as in "shipping and handling" however handling is a bogus fee, there is no handling charge the post office or UPS or FedEx adds on to things, it's a pure markup for the seller. The problem with handling fees for a company that does such a small amount of shipping is it's not really justified. It's not really justified for any company because there is no value being added, the cost of employees and shipping materials and any other imaginable expense in shipping an item should be covered in a company's operational overhead. It looks especially bad in this case because the shipping was done in the least frills manner possible. No packaging for the disk, just a plastic case the size and shape of the disk stuck in the smallest envelope that could contain it. No special shipping/packing material to add additional protection from improper handling during delivery. So where's the justification for the handling fee? Larger companies might at least be able to point to things like bubble wrap or shipping peanuts arguing it can't be factored in as overhead because it varies with each order and it's not far to average it out over all customers because not all customers require as much due to varying sizes of orders. Again though with as few items as Daz ships this doesn't really apply to them.
This is exactly why I was trying to avoid going ahead and treating it as a private individual problem thru zendesk. Because I knew, just like every other company out there, Daz is more interested in keeping it's handling fees for service that doesn't deserve it then they are in customer satisfaction. The handling was they stuck it in an envelope and gave it to the postman. I'm guessing the handling fees or whatever is larger then the less then the $2.00 postage. To get that disk to me it had to travel 2200 miles and it cost about $1.60 to go international to get to Horo in Europe it cost a little more then twice that. Since Daz gets a 50% mark up on all vendor products that they didn't have to do any additional work for they should be able to keep such small postage fees as being included in the price like David and Horo were told it was back when they first released it.
The store credit aspect though I fully expected that, not that it's right, just that it's not that uncommon for companies to do that. They already tricked you into spending more money then you were wanting to spend so why let it go, just force you to spend it on something else. This might be okay philosophy in a booming economy where everyone is doing well but in a sluggish economy where people are struggling to make ends meet keeping money a company was never entitled to but got accidentally shows absolutely no care or concern for the customers wants or needs let alone their satisfaction. I wonder how Daz would respond if their "Crazy shipping tools" not only overcharged for shipping but caused an over the limit fee?
@Mark: Taking your last statement first. If I were letting it go I wouldn't have gone back and questioned what had been done. And questioned where the floating money was hiding. To date, this is the first time I've been given store credit online when I've paid using a credit card. All my previous transactions have been refunded, or adjusted, to my credit card account.
I don't know the unaccounted money was kept for handling fees, no one at DAZ has said, yet. I'll know more when someone on the help desk responds to the reply I left to the e-mail they first sent.
Until then, anything you or I say more about this matter is pure speculation. And speculation won't answer the questions I put forth to DAZ.
Okay but I didn't say you were letting it go, So I'm not sure why you felt the need to tell me that you weren't. My last statement was to ask what would Daz do if their faulty shipping tools caused an overdraft on someone's credit card? Perhaps you're reading into what I meant? Although if so I still don't see how you come up with I'm saying you're letting it go. If anyone was trying to let it go it was me, but not as in let it go scott free. If you recall I first resisted the idea of putting in a request for a refund saying that I was aware of the price of shipping before I committed and as such could have backed out of the sale if I felt it was too much. I only changed my mind because apparently the shipping tools in their craziness didn't offer all the options there were. I've felt all along that the right and ethical thing to do, if the site's shipping tools are "crazy" and causing improper charges and Daz knows it they should put up an announcement warning about it and they should issue a full refund of the improper shipping charge to all customers affected by the "crazy shipping tools" without requiring the customer to have to file a complaint for it.
As for the refund, yes I'm well aware that some companies will refund back to credit cards but I bet more companies don't then do. You see everytime a company processes a transaction whether it be a payment or refund the store selling the items charged on the card pays a small percentage of that transaction. Companies usually eat that charge for payments because allowing credit card transactions can bring in so much more business because it gives the consumer flexibility in spending. Companies that are small however or that have small margins on their product like dollar stores for example often don't accept credit cards because of these fees and or only offer store credit on returns/refunds because of these fees.
As for what that unspecified amount of money that Daz kept is, yes of course it's speculation on my part but hey it's America, I'm allowed to speculate. As others are also allowed to speculate other possibilities for what the money they hold onto is for. To this point yet I can't think of nor has anyone else offered a better explaination for why Daz held onto more money in charging you for shipping then the cost of actual postage. I've heard of shipping and handling and having worked for whole sale distributors of computer parts for many years I'm pretty familiar with what it is and how it works. I've never heard of shipping and... anything else so I feel handling is a very air assumption on my part. What I find to be the most relevent point in all this is that before the site change, according to the people who created the product in question, shipping was included. If that is/was the case then your refund and mine should be 100% and there should be no outstanding amount for anyone to speculate over. Since you want to wait for Daz to answe I'm guessing you think it might be an oversite on their part but given that this was supposed to be an effort to maintain customer satisfaction it seems highly improbably that Daz would compound one mistake with another.
@Mark: After your laser hit my monitor, I went back and reread that last part. You are correct, I did misread that last part and came up with the wrong meaning. Darn glasses anyway.
I now understand what you are saying about the Store Credit, and while in some cases I wouldn't mind, in this case I do. It's the principal of the thing. I don't like to be told one thing then find out something else. Especially when it hits me in the wallet. If there's a problem with billing of any kind, then it should be taken care of by the seller so this type of problem can we eliminated. Not only does it save time and money for the seller, it saves me time by not having to do a back and forth with the seller. And, it keeps me happy because I'd know I wouldn't have any problems when buying something.
Only allowing Store Credit is not such a good idea, though it's easy to see why it's done. Only, giving out Store Credit assumes that store has what I'm looking for, or that I want to continue buying from them. In this case, what DAZ put into my account is not much, and it would take more on my part to put that Store Credit to use. That isn't something that's going to happen any time in the next few months, as I've other things more important to deal with.
As to speculating, that's as big a past time as baseball. And can get just as deep. But sometimes, with limited information, that speculation can lead one to the wrong conclusions. Sure, we can speculate DAZ kept the unaccounted for money to cover handling, and we could speculate it's for someone to buy a soda at the vending machine; that better be some soda. Or they could come up with any number of other reasons, including that it was overlooked during the refund.
I will continue to wait until I hear again from DAZ, and hope the unaccounted money was an over-site. Since as you said stuffing a jewel case into an envelope doesn't cost the amount of the floating money. This I do know, if I hear that the unaccounted money will not be refunded, it will be the last time I buy anything from DAZ that has to be mailed. And I don't care how badly I want it.
Ah so it was a misread, good, I mean good in that I'm not going crazy. I thought we were more or less on the same page, glad to see we still are. The thing in the back of my mind when I first was objecting to the idea of submitting a ticket was that the result wouldn't match up with what I've been told. Although to be fair what I was told, that shipping was included originally, was dated info I was getting 3rd hand. I just couldn't see any company passing up on the option to insert the totally artificial and in my opinion bogus handling charge in the shipping cost. Virtually every company does it and I've not seen anything that suggests Daz is any different in that respect.
I would say the real issue in the case of store credit, is this, is it restricted credit that can't be applied to certain things in full or at all to things like Platinum Club items? Or can it be applied in full to whatever Daz sells? If the later to me it's no big deal but if it's the former then that's an issue because it forces you to spend more then you were wanting to initially with the purchase that generated the credit.
@Mark: I wouldn't get anything from DAZ at Platinum Club member prices since I'm not a Platinum Member. Another one of those other things more important.
I don't really have an answer as to the application of Store Credit, but I've a feeling it would be applied to whatever they sell. Barring any extra membership requirements. Sure, it something cost more than I was credited, I would have to fork over more to cover the extra. But if something was on sale, below the amount in my account, then I'd pay nothing. Time will tell.
Oh, and sorry about misreading that one post. I sometimes get in too big of a hurry when reading. Actually, I tend to skim as quickly as I can to go to the next post. And usually miss the water along the way.
Store credit applies to everything in the store, works just like spending real money. And it doesn't expire, stays there as long as you want it to.
But if a person doesn't have a Platinum membership it wouldn't apply to the prices given to Platinum members. As I understand it.
Final word on the shipping refund. What has been put into my Store Credit account is it, that's all that will be refunded. The rest went to shipping and handling. So, what it boils down to is that I basically paid the lowest price that is charged for that size item. Pretty much like the postal services' "if it fits it ships" price of $5.19 US. Eh, I can live with that. I just hope no one else encounters the same problem.
Don't feel bad, I tend to type more then most people care to read causing them to skim over much of what I say :)
Thanks for clearing that up, in my years at daz when I've gotten "money" from them it was usually the vouchers they give out which do have restrictions. I wasn't sure if credit worked the same or not. If credit has no restrictions then it's fine by me because I figure if I authorize a purchase then I was planning on spending that much money at Daz anyway. As long as credit doesn't force me to spend more (assuming there is something equal to the amount of my credit) then how can I complain? Especially if it doesn't expire.
BTW, I got my response from Britney and it would appear Daz's intention is to have two flat shipping rates one for domestic within the US and one for international and presumably since it doesn't match the postage printed on the envelope that handling is built into those two rates of domestic and international. It's still a far way from being included in the price but hey nothing stays the same forever. I can't say the rate they're charging is out of line with what other places would charge for a similar shipment. I too will be getting credit which is fine, maybe I'll grab up one or two of Horo's cheaper HDRI scenes while the catch up sale is going on?
Edit: Well that's a bummer, the ticket was deemed solved and a refund issued as of the 27th and yet here we are on the 30th and the store credit on my account page still shows as zero. Since Daz is usually closed on Sunday I suspect it won't get resolved before the sale is over and so I guess I won't be getting any of Horo's HDRI scenes afterall. Oh well so much for customer satisfaction.
Yes, well CS, and in fact DAZ 3D in general have had a troublesome couple or 3 days. It is now fairly general knowledge that they have been suffering repeated DDoS attacks, which is slowing everything down. I can't type out my opinions of the low lifes that do this sort of thing.
Well thanks for that, as I had not picked up on that even though I had been bouncing back and forth between this forum and the commons the past few days. Denial of Service attacks eh? Yeah that's pretty pathetic, on a government site to highlight a statement someone is trying to make okay, I can see that, I still think it's a pathetic way to go, like a small child smashing an expensive vase just to get attention. To do it on a site like Daz's though, well that's so far down the pathetic hole there aren't even words to describe it.
My guess is that it's one of the many losers in the Daz forums that go around acting like Daz and the vendors owe them something just for being interested in 3D. Either that or someone was hell bent on making sure the catch up sale extended thru the weekend.
If you look at http://www.daz3d.com/shop/sales-promotions you find this text: “Catch Up ends Friday, Oct. 1 - Don’t miss it!”
Friday was the day before yesterday, Oct. 1 is on Monday. If I haven’t got it wrong, the next Friday Oct. 1 will be 2021. Quite a long sale. You have ample time to catch up. :)
There are a few my Store Credit would buy. But then what do I do with the $.49 left? I could buy some gum if I actually had it.
I wonder if we can hold them to that, 8 years at 50% is enough time even for me to get everything I want. :)
Sorry to resurrect this thread, but just tried to buy the Bruce Mentor DVD and been quoted a shipping price that more than doubles the cost of my purchase ... My mind is a bit blown and I've cancelled the transaction untill I can understand why shipping is so expensive. Having read this thread, I'm hoping that this is an anomaly:
"Shipping & Handling (United Parcel Service - Worldwide Expedited) $84.30"
I live in the UK and generally when I buy from the US the shipping charges are art most half this for packages containing 10 DVDs, for example, so I'm figuring that this can not be right.
Would it be possible to buy this as a download instead?