A1 books is the most ridiculous company, as is there shipping practices. On Dec 11th I ordered a book, they quickly charged my card, then almost a week later recieved a email stating the following:
Dear Customer,
As our site is not live sometimes it may take up to 72 hours to update our inventory in regards to the availability of a product. Generally orders are shipped within the specified time. However, sometimes we encounter delays due to excessive amount of orders. Your order was an exception to our normal ship schedule.
Regrettably, the item you ordered sold out and our expected reorder has been delayed. Your order should be dispatched in approximately 2 to 3 business days and you should receive it within 4 to 14 business days. (Non US orders take between 7 to 21 days.)
NOW at no point did they ever tell me when ordering the book, that they in fact had sold out. But they still took my money. I proceeded to email them back, ALL I wanted to know is would it be here before christmas? That simple, and here is what they said:
Unfortunately I cannot guarantee a delivery date and I would not want to promise you it will arrive before the holiday if I cannot guarantee it. I am very sorry for any inconvenience due to the delay.
3 days later on the 19th: I asked if my order had even been shipped yet? They responded with:
The expected delivery time is 4 to 14 business days.
If you need further assistance, please let us know by
clicking on the Reopen Request button below.
* Please Note: Shipping times are estimates based on the
carriers' services and cannot be guaranteed.
I then asked if they had a tracking number. Here is there response:
All orders are shipped from New Jersey via Standard shipping which do not provide us with the tracking information and the expected delivery time is 4 to 14 business days. Kindly wait within this timeframe. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
On Dec 25th I wrote them this:
Okay well it's Christmas morning and sadly the book I ordered is not here, NOW I undertand the concept of 4-14 days— as ridiculous as it is. Seriously, is it being walked to Ohio from NJ??? I noticed when I "tracked" it, that it took 6 DAYS from the 18 to the 23 just to get from point A NJ to point B NJ!!! It is such a dissappointment, your company, and it's beyond unrealistic shipping service! You should be ashamed of yourselves.
Really 4-14 days, oh and I love that I read further for it to say it could take 21 days! That is INSANE. And simply no excuse for your pathetic company's shipping policy. You should strive to do better, to improve, so you don't continue to loose customers, cause you have lost this one.
They responded:
We truly apologize for all the hassles faced by you due to this purchase. We can very well understand your concern. Unfortunately, the item ordered by you went out of stock and there was a delay in getting additional inventory from thesupplier. So, your order was shipped slightly late.
As your order was shipped on 18-Dec-08, it would be delivered to you within the standard delivery timeframe of 4-14 business days. Kindly wait within the timeframe for your order delivery as we have no control over the shipping practices of the carrier service.
Here is my response:
One more thing, Your tracking system, is as pathetic as your company. Really, Do you to make sure packages are being updated frequently, MINE hasn't been updated since the 23rd. Acccording to that site, it's still in NJ, no doubt still being walked to Ohio. It's Sad, really sad.
Here is there response:
We really apologize for the inconvenience caused. Unfortunately, we have no control over the shipping practices of the carrier service. Therefore, we request you to kindly wait within the time period of 4 to 14 business days as mentioned in the previous mail. We again apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
I am so done dealing with them... But I will continue to wait for my book, now it's game. Let's how long it will take.
BTW, I ordered this through buy.com, won't be doing that again. A1books was a authorized seller. I will taking this a higher level. I will take my complaint to the BBB as well as consumer advocate in Essex County NJ. They should not be able to get away with this behavior.
Kathrine
Beavercreek, Ohio
U.S.A.
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