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

[richmond282]

Even if the online store has a no-return policy, I can do this?

Yes, you can. What are they going to do? Re-ship it to you? I did this with the thirty-one outlet sale a couple of years ago. I attempted to place an order but the system crashed. I never received an email or any shipping notification or anything, so a few hours later I placed another order. Well, guess what? Both orders went through apparently. I certainly did not need double of everything. I only figured it out when I opened the package and it wasn't what I thought I ordered (since several things were out of stock the second time). I emailed them and was told too bad. They didn't care that it was their error or anything. So I looked up the tracking number for the 2nd package, contacted UPS and told them I didn't want the package and to return to sender. It didn't even make it to my house. UPS sent the package back and my credit card was refunded.

 

[ZoeBell]

Zappos!! I ordered my daughter's Uggs yesterday at 1:30pm. At 4pm today they were on my doorstep. No shipping charges either way.

 

[mommy2twingles]

Adding ThinkGeek to mylist of stores I am not impressed with. Ordered something on 12/10. Shipped out via ecomony shipping on 12/13. It is currently bouncing back and forth from my local post office in Lehigh Valley, PA to Maryland and now to North Carolina. Doesn't look like it will be here by Christmas and when i called the person could care less stating there is nothing they can do and that is why it shouldn't be shipped that way.

 

[Princess_Meghan <3]

Companies I've been impressed with:
American Girl
Amazon
American Eagle

All of my orders shipped quickly (I think AE was the quickest- got my jeans in 3 days!)

 

[anelson81993]

Yes, you can. What are they going to do? Re-ship it to you? I did this with the thirty-one outlet sale a couple of years ago. I attempted to place an order but the system crashed. I never received an email or any shipping notification or anything, so a few hours later I placed another order. Well, guess what? Both orders went through apparently. I certainly did not need double of everything. I only figured it out when I opened the package and it wasn't what I thought I ordered (since several things were out of stock the second time). I emailed them and was told too bad. They didn't care that it was their error or anything. So I looked up the tracking number for the 2nd package, contacted UPS and told them I didn't want the package and to return to sender. It didn't even make it to my house. UPS sent the package back and my credit card was refunded.

Thanks! While the school mailroom is still closed, according to FedEx, USPS still delivered the package earlier this week, so I won't actually be able to stop the delivery, but when I get back to school I will refuse it and ship it back to them.

On another note, adding FedEx to my "not impressed" list. Paid for two-day shipping last Friday. Estimated delivery was Tuesday. I had been tracking the package, so when the package still hadn't left the warehouse in New Jersey early Wednesday morning, I emailed them asking why my package wasn't shipped. When I hadn't heard back Wednesday evening, I emailed again. The package finally shipped out late Wednesday night (four days after the two-day delivery order was submitted)--but my state (and the entire Midwest) got hit with a blizzard yesterday and today. With flights cancelled and the roads snowy and icy, I'm just hoping it will arrive in time for Christmas. On the completely opposite hand, I purchased an item from Amazon Wednesday morning (with two-day Prime shipping), and despite the blizzard, it was still delivered this morning, by a UPS guy kind enough to bring it directly to the door (and me) instead of leaving it in the snow, where it would likely have been ruined. Thanks, UPS and Amazon!

 

[momof2gr8kids]

Impressed with all my ebay purchases. Prices were great, shipping was fast!

Not at all impressed with Kohls and I will be sending an email to complain.

I placed an order Nov. 29. Stated order should be received by Dec. 12th. (I live in Canada and have to drive approx. 45 min. to the border to pick up packages). Part of order was shipped. Noticed the main part of order (DS' stuff from Santa, which is hard to get in Canada and super expensive here) was not shipped.

Sent e-mail Dec. 9th. No reply. Called Dec. 11. Was reassured it had been shipped, just not updated in system due to back log, blah blah blah. I specifically said I needed to know if I had to go find another one somewhere else and she reassured me it was on it's way.

Called a couple of days ago. Had not been sent out, and now out of stock. I was so ticked. Then the "customer service" agent told me she could probably get one of the items and send it out. I said, with expedited shipping? And she said, uh, not for free! Are you kidding me???? Kohls screwed up, they should be sending it expedited!

Anyways, hubby ended up running around last night to the only store that had one of the items we wanted and paid 5X the price I had ordered it from Kohls!

 

[Teresa Pitman]

Continuing to be very pleased with Amazon - I ordered something on Tuesday, free shipping, and it arrived yesterday! I think next year I will do all my Christmas shopping with Amazon!

TP

 

[elgerber]

I was scared to order from Kohls last weekend, after reading all your posts, but for 30% off a Keurig at the last minute, it was the only option. I am happy to say, I ordered it from my phone on Saturday and it arrived yesterday!!

 

[slriver]

Very impressed with Amazon Prime, Zappos, and ship to store for Meijers. Enjoyed shopping from home this year for many gifts.

Tracy

 

[Liberty Belle]

I've had good luck with everyone I've ordered from (amazon, yoyo, think geek, lolshirts - they took a while, but customer servce was good, think geek, Hollister -tad slow, Macys-very fast) except for Bealls. They screwed up my order, sent me totally different items, when I called was on hold twice for over 15 minutes and got disconnected (all I got was a "sorry 'bout that"), then they said I would have to return the items and sign an affidavit before they could refund my money. Of course I had to supply the packng tape and gas to get to "any mailbox location, they're all over the place" to return the package.

Never ever ever will I shop from Bealls again. HORRIBLE customer service!

 

[sunshinehighway]

I'm adding Amazon to my unimpressed list. I ordered something Saturday morning. It sat until Wednesday before it was shipped and its coming Smart post. I know it said guaranteed by Christmas and It is supposed to be here Monday but that's really cutting it close.

Saturday they still had a few days left of guaranteed delivery by Christmas so its not like it was totally last minute.
This is the only time I've gotten an Amazon order Smartpost and not UPS. Its annoying me.

 

[KSL]

Goodness, I'm making a mental note about Kohls.com! They are one of my favorite stores and I got my order from them fine, but I usually go to the store in person and will definitely think twice before ordering from them on-line again!

This thread got me thinking about all my purchases this holiday season and I can't believe how many places I ordered from! I have had good experiences all around:

Overstock.com
Zappos.com
Uncommon Goods
Amazon.com
Disney Store
Gababellainmotion.com
Kohls.com
LLBean
American Girl
Harry & David

Special plugs for the last two:

American Girl - three of the items I ordered were back-ordered. Two estimated to arrive before Christmas, one not until January. It was for my 12yo, so I figured she'd be OK unwrapping a picture of the item and knowing it was on the way. Lo and behold -- it is here already! Came yesterday -- three weeks before original estimated delivery date. Yay! What a nice surprise.

Harry & David: I had an order shipped to the completely wrong address (my friends haven't lived there for over a year, oops!). I called to see if I could change it but it had already been delivered. I was getting out my wallet to pay for a new order when the rep said that since it was an honest mistake and the intended recipient never received their gift, Happy Holidays - they would send it out again to the correct address free of charge. WOW! I was thrilled. Can't say enough good things about that! And my friend emailed the other day to thank me, so I know they made good on it! Yay!

 

[sunshinehighway]

Goodness, I'm making a mental note about Kohls.com! They are one of my favorite stores and I got my order from them fine, but I usually go to the store in person and will definitely think twice before ordering from them on-line again!

This thread got me thinking about all my purchases this holiday season and I can't believe how many places I ordered from! I have had good experiences all around:

Overstock.com
Zappos.com
Uncommon Goods
Amazon.com
Disney Store
Gababellainmotion.com
Kohls.com
LLBean
American Girl
Harry & David

Special plugs for the last two:

American Girl - three of the items I ordered were back-ordered. Two estimated to arrive before Christmas, one not until January. It was for my 12yo, so I figured she'd be OK unwrapping a picture of the item and knowing it was on the way. Lo and behold -- it is here already! Came yesterday -- three weeks before original estimated delivery date. Yay! What a nice surprise.

Harry & David: I had an order shipped to the completely wrong address (my friends haven't lived there for over a year, oops!). I called to see if I could change it but it had already been delivered. I was getting out my wallet to pay for a new order when the rep said that since it was an honest mistake and the intended recipient never received their gift, Happy Holidays - they would send it out again to the correct address free of charge. WOW! I was thrilled. Can't say enough good things about that! And my friend emailed the other day to thank me, so I know they made good on it! Yay!

I had a good experience with Harry and David too. I ordered last minute pears Sunday and they were delivered yesterday. I know they are probably busy too because I saw a deal on pears on slickdeals and it was a popular thread.

 

[dakcp2001]

I'm adding Amazon to my unimpressed list. I ordered something Saturday morning. It sat until Wednesday before it was shipped and its coming Smart post. I know it said guaranteed by Christmas and It is supposed to be here Monday but that's really cutting it close.

Saturday they still had a few days left of guaranteed delivery by Christmas so its not like it was totally last minute.
This is the only time I've gotten an Amazon order Smartpost and not UPS. Its annoying me.

Was it being shipped BY Amazon or by a third party? I try to stick with things that are shipped by Amazon, they come much quicker.

 

[queenofthehive]

I really liked dealing with Amazon and Rue La La. Fannie May -was great for sending gifts to friends and family. I would get an e-mail when they were delivered and that was nice because I didn't have to keep up with the tracking or wondering if they received our gift yet.

 

[sunshinehighway]

Was it being shipped BY Amazon or by a third party? I try to stick with things that are shipped by Amazon, they come much quicker.

It was third party fulfilled by Amazon. I have confidence it will be here Monday. Its just nerve wracking because it's for two kids and I don't want to have to explain its in the mail. I just figured because I still had a few days of free shipping left it would be here before Monday.

Of course a few days after I ordered I got a free trial membership of Prime offer. I ordered other stuff yesterday and it should arrive today or tomorrow with Prime.

Its the fact that it sat in processing for days that irritates me and the Smartpost. Any Amazon order I've gotten is always UPS.

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

Impressed:
Amazon - not a prime member, but happy with them many times over - all free shipping!
American Eagle Outfitters - two trapper hats (reduced from 24.99 each to about 10.50 each w/free fast shipping)
Macy's
Kohls
Sephora
TJMaxx - just gift cards, but sent fast
Modcloth - fast and also included a cute little freebie barrett set!
Harry and David - if your item arrives in crummy condition, (I received a smashed Christmas morning loaf last year) they will replace it. I have been ordering from them every year for probably over ten years for my out of state friends/relatives.
Bath and Body Shop - great deals and nice candles
FiXT - ordered band T-shirt
RaveReady - another band t-shirt order
Punk and Pi**ed - another t-shirt

Not Impressed
Philosophy - ordered on 12/11 and tracking says it won't arrive until 12/28. They waited five days to ship. Now the package is being bounced around from one fed ex office to the next and is presently in a fed ex office in the state just north of us. I understand delays due to the snowstorms along the way, but waiting five days to ship is not good. The cute little holdiay cookie bath gift set won't look as cute a few days after Christmas, but really, I am happy that they shipped this set instead of telling me they were out of them as these sets usually go like hot cakes and I would have been a little disappointed if it was out of stock for the season. Good thing I bought the recipient something else to open as well. I will say the product is really nice, though. I ordered the same Philosophy set from Macy's back in November, gave it to DD for St. Nick's Day and she loves it. Lesson learned for next year - order Philosophy holiday sets from Macy's or Sephora early (or Philosophy VERY EARLY), before they run out of them, lol. They are really fun little sets.

 

[kristenrice]

I have to share my Amazon story...VERY IMPRESSED!

I ordered a watch for myself from one of the "lightning deals". I paid $49.99 (regularly $79.99) and got free shipping (I'm not a Prime member). I placed the order on a Thursday evening (around 11pm) and it arrived on Monday. When I tried the watch on, it was a little more masculine than I'd expected. I liked it, but I didn't love it, so I decided to return it. I've never returned anything from Amazon before so I went to the website for instructions. I printed out the return label and packaged everything up as instructed. I dropped off the package YESTERDAY at the UPS store. I expected to pay for it, but the guy said that the label that I'd printed was a pre-paid label so I didn't owe anything. OK, so I assumed that the return shipping would simply be deducted from my refund. TODAY, I got an email saying that Amazon has received my return and my credit card will be credited $49.99! The return has already been processed and I just sent it out yesterday! Amazon has once again amazed me with their customer service.

(A few years ago, I'd ordered a Kindle case with the integrated reading light. About 3 weeks after I received it, my daughter broke off the clip that holds the Kindle in the case and powers the light. I contacted Amazon simply to note my dissatisfaction with the product since it only lasted 3 weeks. They called me THAT DAY and told me that they would send out a new one ASAP and that I did not need to do anything with the broken one! The new one has lasted since then and I am one satisfied customer!)

 

[teacup princess]

Super impressed- Amazon. Love, love, love them.

Not impressed- Pottery Barn. They've twice missed their deadline on some personalized Christmas hats and I still haven't got them. Oh well, I guess we'll wear them next year (if I ever get them).

 

[bpesch]

KMart.com and Target.com both get my "unimpressed" vote. It comes from ordering items and then finding out days later that they are out of stock even though the items are still showing on the website. Then I have CS tell me both times that they will be back in stock in a couple of weeks but they won't honor the sale price at that time. I very much felt like I had been hit with the old "bait and switch" con with both of them.