Internet Supply Orders.

Gear & Reviews
1

I recently ordered some materials from a “Supply House” in PA, 3 weeks ago. It took 22 days to receive the shipment (6 out of 22 items out of stock), after 3 emails and a phone call.
I have ordered from several other companies and have never waited more than a week (at the most).
Does 3 weeks seem unreasonable?

2

Yep, I would say they have a serious problem with their ‘shipping department’ if you want to call it that. Next time try one of the sponsors of FAOL, with all the sponsors we have you should be able to find what you want and I bet the shipping time will be greatly reduced.

Larry —sagefisher—

3

I would look at the shipping date. were they slow or was it the shipper. is selling via post there normal form of business or did they do something special for you. I think three weeks is excessive but it would depend on the circumstances.

Eric

4

Thanks for the replies.
It was shipped on 13-April, and received today (only 2 days shipping via USPS)… Their website is set up for internet orders…
This place is only a 2 to 3 hour drive from home… If only I had known…

5

I’ve started to call and talk to someone even when ordering on line supplies from most of the places I do business with. Back orders suck.

6

For the record, I have always get great service from Hook & Hackle (been using them for years.)…
I tried this other company to get some stuff H&H didn’t list in their catalog…

7

UGH!! I am in the same boat, Shop 4 hours away, 3 calls, 1 e-mail, and nothing in the mail box!

8

3 weeks is a little excessive to wait for materials.

the part of not getting a full order (items missing) happens to me most of the time i order from hook and hackle, j.stockard etc etc etc.

9

That’s a pain, three weeks is not acceptable.

Some things I try to look for or to indicate with online ordering that allows me some flexibility.

  1. Where possible, use vendors that show actual inventory levels in the ordering process.

  2. Indicate in the special instructions text box of the order, Do Not Hold For Back Orders / Cancel Back Orders - Ship Partial Order Immediately.
    Or, If you can not fill the entire order, Cancel the Entire Order and notify me via email.
    Or, If Item # - Description is out of stock - Cancel the Entire Order and notify me via email.
    Or, Order Must Be Received by 00/00/2010, if you can not meet that requirement, Cancel the entire order and notify me via email.

  3. Look for vendors that indicate that most orders ship within 24 hours. ( and then hold them to it. )

  4. If they don’t ship in a reasonable amount of time and don’t answer email inquiries via their online web stores " Contact Us " page. Then call your credit card company and ask them to either cancel their order / purchase authorization or issue your account a credit if they’ve gone ahead and charged your card and haven’t yet shipped. No further contact on your part will be necessary and they will have gotten the message.

5 ) If I’m willing to wait for a higher value item that is out of stock, ask the merchant if they can have the item drop shipped directly to you from the manufacturer or distributor. That will cut out one step in the shipping and handling shell game.

My stance with vendors who employ the " We can order that for you " line all to often, for products they are out of stock on, or for product they don’t carry is this. Why would I wait for them to order it ( who knows when ), have it shipped to them ( when their distributor gets around to it ), then unpack it, check it in, repack it and then wait for it to get shipped to me. When I can simply point my mouse at another vendor, make a couple of clicks and order it from a vendor that has the item in stock and have it in a reasonable amount of time.

Loyalty to any given vendor only goes so far.
Best, Dave

10

Now I like that approach.

11

In this day and age, 3 weeks is no where near acceptable. I like Dave’s approach.

12

3 weeks is a bit long to get around to shipping something that’s for sure. But at least you were able to get a hold of them. Reason I say that is because I’ve been dealing with a place the past 2 weeks that I think has the worst customer service I have even seen. Long story short- it’s a place that sells decal paper which I use for rod building. I have called them probably 8 times over the past 10 days, left 3 messages on their machine, emailed them twice, and yet they never evem bothered to call me back or reply to my emails. And I know they are still in business because their websites said "last updated 3/10/10. I finally gave up and found what I needed elsewhere.

Steve

13

Thanks everyone… Great advice… Some of us need to learn things the hard way…I naively assumed that all internet orders would naturally be faster than the way we used to do things…I’m stickin’ with the suppliers I know have good reputations. Best Regards…