Packaging, Shipping, Refunds and Replacements - Share your Experiences!

[zaboraviti]

still no sign of the Uncle Scrooge slipcase from Amazon, it was shipped on 30 October (!) and the estimated delivery date was yesterday. i contacted the CS, they refunded the shipping and asked to wait till 17 December. never even had to wait till the estimated delivery date before... meanwhile, i received from them two books shipped much much later - the deluxe edition of Saga (shipped on 25 November) and the deluxe edition of Solo (shipped on 1 December). the box Saga was in had one rather wet and torn corner and a crushed side, so I was afraid it would be like it was with the first copy of Deadpool & Cable omnibus i got from Amazon DE, but thankfully, the book appears fine. either book was attached to a piece of cardboard with sturdy plastic sealed tight, which is i think the most protection Amazon ever provide for their books. i wish they used this kind of packaging more often, as the few books i've received packaged this way so far arrived undamaged.

[danmar85]

So, I finally got my package from mycomicshop.com after a two month wait. Everything fine, but they might need to discontinue shipping to Mexico since they had quite some trouble with recent shippings.

I'm thinking about ordering from IST next, but I want to get some opinions. Has anyone here ordered internationally from them? I'm thinking about getting an Absolute and an Omnibus (the Young Avengers one, which is really more of an OHC), so I want to make sure there's no big risk of damage.

Not an international buyer; I will say that IST packages their items as well as humanly possible. Not only that, but the boxes they use are the thickest I've seen any vendor use. Two to three times as thick as Amazon. My only complaint is they sometimes place foam on top of the books, but not underneath. It'll keep it snug, but the bottom is prone to possible damage if your luck is bad. STILL, Amazon and B&N do not come close to comparing to IST.

[Stormcrow]

I can almost promise you that it is NOT mycomicshop's fault your order took as long as it did to get to you.
I can almost promise you it got held up in customs.

Once a company ships off a product, it's out of their hands. They have no control over what happens to the package once it leaves their facility. If people are going to order from companies outside of their country, you should request a tracking number. Even if it costs extra. But even then, once a package leaves the USA, other countries are not required, by law, to follow our tracking laws/practices. So, a lot of time packages are not scanned once they leave the states. This happens to me all the time when I mail international packages. Even USPS priority packages.

Yeah, I'm sure that's what happened but they said they were having a lot of issues with delivery times over here lately. They might discontinue shipping to my country, and honestly I don't feel like going through it again...

Not an international buyer; I will say that IST packages their items as well as humanly possible. Not only that, but the boxes they use are the thickest I've seen any vendor use. Two to three times as thick as Amazon. My only complaint is they sometimes place foam on top of the books, but not underneath. It'll keep it snug, but the bottom is prone to possible damage if your luck is bad. STILL, Amazon and B&N do not come close to comparing to IST.

I order from both IST and mycomicsshop. IST's packaging is by far superior especially for big items like an omnibus.

I really appreciate that, thanks! I will give IST a try then, I've heard nothing but good things about them.

[danmar85]

I really appreciate that, thanks! I will give IST a try then, I've heard nothing but good things about them.

Btw, some of the earliest posts have great examples of IST packaging.

[Cold Water]

Yeah, I'm sure that's what happened but they said they were having a lot of issues with delivery times over here lately. They might discontinue shipping to my country, and honestly I don't feel like going through it again...

I understand.
I just didn't want to see a business blamed for something that most likely was not their fault.
They probably have no idea why their packages are having delivery time issues. I'm glad you finally got your order, though!

[FiveGhosts]

Did you talk to CS or ask for replacements? Did they let you keep the damaged copies? Was this your first return with them this year?

No, I just marked the box for damaged books and returned it. I haven't had the best experiences with customer service in the past. All I wanted were undamaged books.
I think this was my first return I've had to do with them.

[kodave]

No, I just marked the box for damaged books and returned it. I haven't had the best experiences with customer service in the past. All I wanted were undamaged books.
I think this was my first return I've had to do with them.

I'm pretty sure you needed to talk with CS if you wanted to get replacement copies. If you just send them back and mark them as damaged, they're just going to refund you, not automatically send you another shipment.

[canadianaidan64]

I'm so relieved, my first order from B&N arrived here in Canada undamaged. They shipped them via expedited shipping even though I only paid for standard.

Ordered placed: November 28
Order shipped: December 4
Order Delivered: December 15

This has been a MUCH better experience than the last time I ordered from them, when my packages arrived after more than a month, and with significant damage.

[Azrael]

I just received the Animal Man Omnibus from Amazon and, though the box was heavily damaged, the book itself was in pristine condition. It came with the piece of cardboard attached to it. It's the first time I got something from Amazon in such a good shape.

[zaboraviti]

Amazon just shipped my order by UPS Worldwide Saver and according to the tracking i will get the book in three days. that's a first. i don't understand how they choose carriers, really... it wasn't even a heavy one.

[Wollodrin]

First time I ordered from amazon.com - the book (saga deluxe hc) came in perfect condition, was sealed to a cardboard and put in the box like that.
So it couldn't move.

Packaging from amazon.de and amazon.co.uk is almost always terrible so I was pleasently surprised with amazon.com - will order more from them now I guess if the price is right.

[Joyus]

First time I ordered from amazon.com - the book (saga deluxe hc) came in perfect condition, was sealed to a cardboard and put in the box like that.
So it couldn't move.

Packaging from amazon.de and amazon.co.uk is almost always terrible so I was pleasently surprised with amazon.com - will order more from them now I guess if the price is right.

Dealing with Amazon.de at the moment for the Deadpool/Cable omnibus. They sent it internationally in a thin cardboard mailer..... They might as well just put a label in the book and ship that as it's about the same.

[FiveGhosts]

I'm pretty sure you needed to talk with CS if you wanted to get replacement copies. If you just send them back and mark them as damaged, they're just going to refund you, not automatically send you another shipment.

But why aren't replacements the first option?

[kodave]

But why aren't replacements the first option?

Because some people don't want to deal with the company again if they screwed up the first time. Other people may have gone and purchased the books elsewhere already. Some people may have time deadlines for purchasing things and can't be bothered to wait for replacements to arrive. That's why if you want a replacement you have to talk to CS first. I can't think of a single company that would just send you a replacement without a CS conversation first. If you just return something and there's nothing explicitly saying "Replacement" or "Exchange" or whatever, then everyone is just going to refund you. It likely isn't the warehouse worker's job to input replacement requests. They just get the returns, verify the contents, scan them, and repeat for every box coming into the warehouse. It's the dedicated CS reps that can figure out if replacements are available and authorize sending those to you.

And did you pay to return it too? Usually you have to contact CS to get a pre-paid shipping return label as well.

[Cold Water]

Not an international buyer; I will say that IST packages their items as well as humanly possible. Not only that, but the boxes they use are the thickest I've seen any vendor use. Two to three times as thick as Amazon. My only complaint is they sometimes place foam on top of the books, but not underneath. It'll keep it snug, but the bottom is prone to possible damage if your luck is bad. STILL, Amazon and B&N do not come close to comparing to IST.

How is IST's shipping in the states, though?
I'd love to order from them, but I get free two-day shipping through Amazon, and I haven't had an issue yet with the condition my books arrive in.
But there are those rare occasions where Amazon won't have a book I am looking for.