Online retailers you've been impressed or NOT impressed with this holiday season

[Iforgetmypassword]

Not impressed: OpenSky.com. Placed the order on 12/13, it shipped on 12/20. Tracking says it should arrive "12/24/2012, By End of Day"!! Well, if they'd shipped it sooner, I wouldn't be wondering if it will be here by Christmas.

 

[MichiganKris]

Old Navy. Ordered on the 12th still don't have items, though they did email and tell me one item is out of stock now, maybe if they hadn't gone 10 days so far without shipping it would have still been available. Tried canceling the order can't do that. It's supposed to be here Monday but I still don't have shipping info. Hopefully it won't be stolen before I get back in town after the holidays.

 

[DCbride]

NOT impressed


Sports Authority!!! I ordered 12/3. Never shipped but said in stock the whole time. I called 12/19, 12/20 and on 12/21 got an email order was cancelled by them. I called and was told I could have 10% off my next order. REALLY? How about they show up at my gift exchange on Monday and explain why they have terrible customer service.

 

[gncntry]

Disney Store - not impresssed. I ordered a personalized ornament on 12/5 and called this week and they said it wouldn't make it for Christmas. Then I got an email the next day saying the order had been cancelled.

 

[JoyG]

NOT IMPRESSED:

The Lids.com store. I placed an order with monogramming. They emailed to clarify something about my order. They said if I don't respond in 2 days my order would be canceled. I emailed back the same day. Apparently the person I was emailing with dropped the ball and never passed along my response. So my order was canceled anyway.

The WWE store online. I placed an order on Black Friday that I just received this past Saturday. It took them over a month to ship my order!

 

[cornflake]

Impressed + Not Impessed - Zappos shipped something immediately and it arrived a day or so later - by UPS.

I had no idea because UPS, in its infinite wisdom, delivered three Amazon packages (to the exact same name/address combo) but decided the Zappos package was "missing information."

They apparently did exactly nothing to attempt to clarify, and just held the package for three days, left no notice or anything at all, and then sent it back to Zappos (the UPS tracking shows out for delivery on the first day, then missing information, then nothing for three days then returning to shipper).

I just presumed it was taking a bit to get here, as I'd chosen regular free shipping which said 5-7 days. When I eventually checked and saw what had happened, I called Zappos.

The woman tried to figure out what UPS had been thinking, couldn't, sent out a replacement item with free overnight shipping even though they didn't have the original back yet and none of the delay was their fault at all - AND gave me a $20 coupon because it'd been delayed, though again not through any fault of Zappos. I made clear I realized it had nothing to do with them when I called, I just called because I was like uh, what do I do, they sent you the stuff back?

Impressed, Zappos. Not Impressed, UPS.

Also Not Impressed - Marshall's. I don't know what it would take to get them to open more than 4 registers, but a line of 27 people is not it. Seriously. Four. None moving too quickly either - not like, speed up, but maybe with a triple zigzagged line, it's not the time to stop and discuss with your coworker what you think of the pants someone just returned.

There were at LEAST four people on the floor, one wandering in slow motion reshelving stuff people decided they didn't want - ONE thing at a time. Everyone in line had plenty of time to watch her amble to a cart, stare, pick one thing up, stare at it, look up at the store layout, wander off, come back in five minutes for another item. The manager was just wandering aimlessly, repeatedly neatening the shopping carts. Just like straightening the rows. It's good people here aren't generally armed.

 

[ready123go]

Also Not Impressed - Marshall's. I don't know what it would take to get them to open more than 4 registers, but a line of 27 people is not it. Seriously. Four. None moving too quickly either - not like, speed up, but maybe with a triple zigzagged line, it's not the time to stop and discuss with your coworker what you think of the pants someone just returned.

It's good people here aren't generally armed.

Ditto

Impressed: Amazon - everything ordered arrived in record time.

Not Impressed: Land's End. 6 items available for purchase and placed in cart were missing at check-out. Boo

 

[OceanStateKelly]

Impressed:
Wal-Mart - super fast shipping -- ordered a bunch of stuff for them this year, 1 to 2 days I would have it.. and most of the time it was free ship

not impessed:
OutBack for gift cards, - placed an order Monday the 17th online 3 days later get an email that they shipped really you seat on the order for 3 days--said they would be here for christmas.. so far no gift cards

 

[krcit]

Amazon! Have been ordering for years and always impressed. This year, something marked delivered never arrived. I contacted them and had a refund within the day


Also, I ordered 2 cases from Speck, and only one was in the package. I didn't realize until Friday when I went to wrap. I emaled them and heard back within hours that they would have to check with the shipping department and probably wouldn't get back to me until the 26th but I was happy with the quick response. Hopefully it gets resolved.

 

[ilovejack02]

Semi-Unimpressed: Amazon. Ordered an item this past Saturday and on Sunday the price dropped. Called to have it adjusted and they couldn't do it because the order had moved to the shipping phase. However, they were able to cancel it and I went in re-ordered at lower price. Why they can't just adjust it is beyond me. Now I'll have to wait a couple days to get my money back.

Impressed: Improvements Catalog. Ordered an item knowing full well it wasn't available yet (currently scheduled for shipment on 12/14). They've been great with communication on this. Already had a couple of e-mails on different days explaining what was going on and if I wanted to cancel, letting me know what to do.

They absolutely can change price no matter the time : ) ... I ordered a juicer , two days later it dropped 25.00 in price. I had the juicer already , prime member and they refunded difference. Silly amazon operator , next time just ask to speak to someone else. that was a operator error .

 

[Bowen9475]

Mixed Feelings about Amazon - I have bought a lot from Amazon this year (and in previous years) and have been very happy for the most part with shipping speed. A few orders were split up by Amazon and some items shipped very quickly while others took a while. Everything I ordered was here in plenty of time for Christmas though.

The one thing I am really not happy with Amazon about is the condition of a book I received. I ordered a book that was listed as New and sold by Amazon for what I thought was a great price for an older book, $6.40. When I received the book it was in terrible condition, there was a gouge and a crease in the cover and a black marker line across the bottom of the book pages. Called Amazon the day it arrived and we were told we had to call back a few days later but that they would replace the book. When we called back we were told that it was a bargain book and that was why it was in the condition it was in. We repeatedly explained that it was not listed as a bargain book, but as a new book, when I ordered it even though it was listed then as a bargain book. They would not replace the book, we were told we could return it and get refunded minus the return shipping. In the end they refunded the price of the book and told us to keep it. I was really hoping for a replacement. I was planning on giving the book as a gift but will not be doing so due to the condition of the book.

 

[carebee21]

I did almost all of my shopping online this year, so my list is pretty extensive.

Impressed List:
Crate & Barrel, Sephora, Tervis, Nordstroms, Bath and Body Works:
All shipped my items within a day or two, packed them well and I rec'd my items quickly.

Dicks Sporting Goods:
They had an item that was an obvious price mistake. I ordered it, thinking the worst that would happen is that they would cancel my order. Within a couple of hours, they upped the price, so I awaited my cancellation order. Much to my surprise, they actually honored the price and shipped the order.

Not Impressed, But Not Surprised About it:
Old Navy and Disney Store:
They are both always so slow to ship and use the slowest shipping method possible, so I ordered way ahead of time. However, considering its the holidays, they should have had more staff to get shipments out faster.

Amazon: I received all of my shipments quickly and in great condition, I'm just not as happy about the prices as I have been in the past. They had great deals on toys the last few years, but this year the prices were meh for the most part (at least what I was looking for.)

Not Impressed At All:
Bonton:
My item was shipped in a thin, plastic envelope, rather than a box. The box the item inside was packaged in was completely crushed, almost to the point of being flattened. I was able to salvage the box since it was a gift for my own child and the pieces to the hotwheel track inside don't appear to be damaged. But I would have been embarrassed giving that to someone else, if it had been a gift for someone else.

Godiva:
I have ordered a godiva gift basket for the past five years for my grandparents, as well as for both mothers day, fathers day and their birthday. Each time, it is shipped two day. This time, it was shipped ground. I hope the contents are still good after being tossed around and sitting on shipping docks for 7 days....

Harry & David:
Their shipping charges are beyond excessive. Unfortunately, my mom loves their moose munch and we don't have a physical store here any longer, so shipping from their website is the only way to go.

Victorias Secret:
I placed an order on Black Friday online. I rec'd an email the next day that one item was backordered (it wasn't marked that way when I ordered) but that it would be sent out Dec. 5. It wasn't shipped until Dec 14th and all the while, the item was available in all the victorias secret stores I visited in person. I would have just picked it up then, but then I would lose out on the coupon code I had when I placed the order for that item. Ridiculous that they can't pull it from one of their stores and send it, especially when it wasn't marked as out of stock when it was ordered.

 

[AngieMouse86]

Thoroughly unimpressed with Cost Plus World Market. I placed an order yesterday for a few mini coffees and a shawl. All these items said "In Stock", on their product page and throughout the order process. Checked out, card was charged in full, got me email confirmation. About an hour after that I got a Backorder Notice, that the shawl was not available and they'd let me know when it was, charge my card then and ship it.

Still haven't received the mini coffees and the delivery was guaranteed for Christmas.

Just checked the UPS info, for 3 days it said they needed a correct street address, yet the address I gave Cost Plus is in fact correct (just double-checked), so they must have passed it on wrong to UPS. Oh my, wish the weekend hadn't been so hectic or I would've thought to look at it. Oh well. Says delivery may occur today but 'guaranteed by' end of the day Wednesday.

 

[cookingqueen123]

Not impressed: Elf. My daughter spent her own money and placed an order Dec. 8 for a gift exchange at school. Well, schools out and still no order. She was very embarrassed because the other girl gave my DD a gift and she had to tell the other girls that hers hadn't come.
In addition, they don't answer their phones.

Of course, I had to say told you so to dd because I told her to buy it at Target but she wanted to order online because she had a Visa gc and was so proud to order online.

 

[mjantz]

Even though its a bunch of individual retailers, I love Etsy. Consistently good service & unique products. I ordered something on Monday night & had it by Saturday.

 

[kirstenb1]

Impressed: Lands End, Amazon, and Harry and DAvid. We have 3 family members we send food baskets too, and Harry and David always comes through. They also had multiple coupons/offers.

Not Impressed: Honey Baked Hams, after years of sending a complete meal for 8 to my SIL, and never receiving a single coupon, I skipped them this year, and went with Harry and David.

 

[richmond282]

VERY UNIMPRESSED:
Timberland- I ordered a pair of boots for my DH for a great price. They don't fit No problem, I checked the return policy before I bought just in case. I log onto their website. It says my email address doesn't exist in their system (Yeah right, I've received a bazillion emails from them since I ordered. I KNOW I gave them the correct email address!) OK. so I'll just type in the order number and look it up that way so I can print a return label. "I'm sorry our system does not show an order for that number. Please double check the numbers and retry it." AHHHH! Somebody is going to get an earful when I call them tomorrow. I am BEYOND PISSED. Seriously?? They lost my email address AND my order number?? Interesting how they kept the information long enough to take my $$$, but all the sudden I'm invisible when I need some assistance.

 

[anelson81993]

Not impressed: Elf. My daughter spent her own money and placed an order Dec. 8 for a gift exchange at school. Well, schools out and still no order. She was very embarrassed because the other girl gave my DD a gift and she had to tell the other girls that hers hadn't come.
In addition, they don't answer their phones.

Of course, I had to say told you so to dd because I told her to buy it at Target but she wanted to order online because she had a Visa gc and was so proud to order online.

Had a similar experience with ELF. They sat on a gift of mine for more than a week and then ignored my two email requests to change the address before they shipped it (I had it originally shipped to my school address, which was inaccessible by the time they actually shipped the items). I ended up reordering my items, paying for two-day shipping to get it before Christmas--and not receiving the items for more than a week. Most annoying part is, can't even call ELF to inquire about an order, as they are not answering phones over the holidays. I gave up on ELF once my two-day order came a week after I ordered it. I will never order from them again.

 

[cornflake]

Harry & David:
Their shipping charges are beyond excessive. Unfortunately, my mom loves their moose munch and we don't have a physical store here any longer, so shipping from their website is the only way to go.

Do you have any TJ Maxx, Marshall's, Homegoods, near you?

The ones here at least have had tons of H&D stuff lately, including lots of Moose Munch, because I kept picking it up and pondering and putting it down, heh.

I think it was like... $6 a bag thing? They were cardboard bag/boxes, you know the boxes that taper and fold over at the top with a plastic bag of the popcorn stuff inside (with a window to see) and a moose head on top? About the size of a medium bag of chips.

They also had some of those stacks of boxes of things that seemed cheap but I didn't know what was in them and other snacky things and jams and stuff from H&D.

 

[mbf]

Very Impressed with Amazon - in past years it seemed like they had a lag in the period of time from order to ship but this year all of my items were sent the same day ordered and arrived as promised. Used the heck out of the Discover Free 1 day shipping and DD's Prime 2 day shipping.

Impressed with Sephora, TRU, Forever 21, Nordstrom, Cabelas, Fannie May, Microsoft Store, Vistaprint

Extremely Unimpressed with:
Sears - WHAT A PAIN. Ordered a console table on 11/1 via ship to store. Email received on 11/3 that the order had been shipped and wait for contact for further instructions on pickup. Website said order was still waiting to be shipped. Weeks went by and nothing. Date of delivery kept getting pushed back. Then one day checking the site I see my order for a console table had been changed to a headboard! Called CS and they said I the item was in transit (not according to the site) and that I had to wait for the item to get to the store, be returned to the warehouse, and I would receive a refund 3-5 business days after they received it back. Oh, and per their policy I would not be getting credit back for the $15 in Shop Your Way rewards I had redeemed (in fact the CSR tried to tell me I had not even used any). So I took to their FB with my complaint and low and behold got a response saying to email. After emailing 3 days went by and I was told I would be getting a refund. Refund never came after several days. Called the store and was told I would get the refund by bank check in the mail.

Eventually the check came and I was restored my SYWR as well as sent a $20 E Gift for my troubles. Since I had $35 in credits I took a chance and ordered a gift (shipped to home this time) for my DH (sound bar for the TV). It arrived in the actual box as if pulled off the shelf, not taped at all so not only did DH see what he was getting for Christmas it was also half falling out of the box when it came! Sears has lost my online business for good (as Kohls did last year).

Also never will order direct from Groupon Goods again. Ordered DD a Smartphone in the middle of November. Received an email with tracking info (that was invalid) several days later. A month went by, several emails, several attempts to call, before I was told that sometimes they run out of things they have (and charge me anyway? and provide shipment info?) and cannot send it after all. I was refunded but after having to go to so much trouble and then find the same thing on short notice (Amazon pulled through where Groupon failed) and reading numerous complaints online with the same situations I decided I won't chance that again.

I also find that anything shipped Fedex Smartpost is basically touch and go as far as tracking, shipment time, and delivery accuracy. They called me and asked me where I lived. They were on the other side of town about 5 miles away. My DH gets Fedex shipments for his business at least 4 times a month without issues so I know we do not live out of the range of their GPS.