Cider In My Ear

Pulsegleaner

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Well, I think it's happened again, I have screwed up vis a vis customs.

To go over the facts.

A week or two ago, I ordered those Australian Herbs from Melbourne Bushfoods. At the time, I assumed they were located in the U.S., based on their site. It wasn't until I'd placed the order they told me they were actually sending it from Melbourne (big problem) by conventional airmail (bigger problem). There was also a panic the next morning trying to sort out the payment with the credit card company (Since they don't take discover, I used the Visa, which Dad forgot I know the secret code for. I come down the next morning to find out that, while I was asleep, the Visa company had called an alert on the charge, and dad, assuming it must be fake, had already canceled it and the card. So we had to spend several hours trying to contact the credit card company to tell them the charge was legit.)

According to the Post Office, the package arrived as customs in LA on the 22nd. And.....that's where it still is.

So now I have two worries. One, obviously, is that they assumed I had taken care of customs rules when I had assumed they had if they were selling in the U.S. so I won't get the herbs at all.

The second is that, even if I DO get the herbs, they'll have spent so long sitting in customs that they will be totally dead by the time they get here (I actually did lose some expensive herbs due to the fact the Mailman realized he had forgotten to deliver them, decided to do it the next day instead, and so left the package in his truck overnight......outdoors, in the middle of the winter.)

Maybe it will work out, but I'm not banking on it.

P.S. Link to those who don't get the title reference.

 

Carol Dee

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I ordered a pendant from an artist in Australia. It made it to customs in the US and sat there for WEEKS. Finally, I got it yesterday.
 

Pulsegleaner

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I ordered a pendant from an artist in Australia. It made it to customs in the US and sat there for WEEKS. Finally, I got it yesterday.
Yes that is a pain, but at least a pendant isn't perishable. I've had things like that happen with books and beads.

Speaking of those, I may have another problem brewing. I placed two orders with a glass company on the same day a bit over a week ago (they were having a BOGO sale, and the way the prices of what I was buying split combined with the way the checkout worked* meant it was actually cheaper to break the order in two and pay two shipping fees than combine it) . One arrived on Monday. The other, apparently has yet to ship. Certain events one the site have made me think it is possible they were already out of one or both of the things I ordered in the second order, and that is part of the delay.

If they refund me, that is fine. If they issue me credit for a replacement, that is also fine.

My concern (based on some stunts they have pulled before) is that they will count the items they aren't sending against the amount I would have gotten for free in the sale, and claim that, therefore they owe me nothing. (in other words, if I bought ten items, and was owed ten free, and they didn't have ten, they'd claim that all ten of the ones they couldn't send were to be counted as the ten I would have gotten for free, so they basically pocket that money for nothing).

*While the sale is "equal or lesser value" the discounting system is programmed to always choose "lesser value" in that equation. I had two $29 items and a bunch of $12 ones. If I had done it as one, the system would make sure that all free ones were the $12 ones. Split, it has to make one of the $29 ones free. Shipping per package is about $5.50, so even paying it twice, I came out ahead that way.
 
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Pulsegleaner

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Yes that is a pain, but at least a pendant isn't perishable. I've had things like that happen with books and beads.

Speaking of those, I may have another problem brewing. I placed two orders with a glass company on the same day a bit over a week ago (they were having a BOGO sale, and the way the prices of what I was buying split combined with the way the checkout worked* meant it was actually cheaper to break the order in two and pay two shipping fees than combine it) . One arrived on Monday. The other, apparently has yet to ship. Certain events one the site have made me think it is possible they were already out of one or both of the things I ordered in the second order, and that is part of the delay.

If they refund me, that is fine. If they issue me credit for a replacement, that is also fine.

My concern (based on some stunts they have pulled before) is that they will count the items they aren't sending against the amount I would have gotten for free in the sale, and claim that, therefore they owe me nothing. (in other words, if I bought ten items, and was owed ten free, and they didn't have ten, they'd claim that all ten of the ones they couldn't send were to be counted as the ten I would have gotten for free, so they basically pocket that money for nothing).

*While the sale is "equal or lesser value" the discounting system is programmed to always choose "lesser value" in that equation. I had two $29 items and a bunch of $12 ones. If I had done it as one, the system would make sure that all free ones were the $12 ones. Split, it has to make one of the $29 ones free. Shipping per package is about $5.50, so even paying it twice, I came out ahead that way.
Well, ONE bit of good news, the other glass pieces are supposed to come in today's mail, so that at least is probably OK.
 
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