Topic: On-line Stores & Sellers

[k a rl h e nn i ng]

I've placed four orders with them over the past year or so, Alan, and they've been reliable.  And that entails shipping by inflatable dinghy, too!

[KeithW]

On Amazon UK Marketplace there's a seller called zoverstocks. I ordered a CD from them back in January that never arrived. I waited till the last of the delivery estimate dates before notifying them, and fair enough, they refunded my money, observing that it must have got lost in the post. Well, I thought, these things happen - I suppose.

In April I gave them another shot and placed two orders a couple of days apart. As before, they apparently shipped promptly. But here I am, on 9th May, still waiting. It's possible they may turn up in the next few days before the latest delivery estimate is exceeded; but it all seems very odd, and I'm already anticipating two more 'lost in the post' explanations - despite the fact that in the last ten years no package addressed to me has ever been knowingly lost (zoverstocks excepted). But why should items posted here in the UK, even at 2nd class, take so long to reach a UK address?

Does anyone have any experience of this seller? Curiously, there's very little negative feedback on their profile.

I've had positive experiences with them, delivering to me here in the US and previously to me in Australia.  I have had a couple of instances recently where things from other sellers have not arrived, though, and I have attributed it to the vagaries of the USPS.

[Elgarian]

I've placed four orders with them over the past year or so, Alan, and they've been reliable.  And that entails shipping by inflatable dinghy, too!

I think that explains it Karl. On land, those inflatable dinghies move ever so slowly.

[Elgarian]

I've had positive experiences with them, delivering to me here in the US and previously to me in Australia.  I have had a couple of instances recently where things from other sellers have not arrived, though, and I have attributed it to the vagaries of the USPS.

Thanks Keith.

So it seems I have every reason still to be hopeful.

[k a rl h e nn i ng]

I think that explains it Karl. On land, those inflatable dinghies move ever so slowly.

I think there are lanes dedicated to the inflatable dinghies on Mass. Ave in Cambridge.

[Elgarian]

I think there are lanes dedicated to the inflatable dinghies on Mass. Ave in Cambridge.

No such luck over here. On the whole, the postal service inflatable dinghies keep to the inside lane on motorways, but they keep getting gridlocked with snails, slugs, and the slower-moving caterpillars. It can't be easy for them.

[Gurn Blanston]

No such luck over here. On the whole, the postal service inflatable dinghies keep to the inside lane on motorways, but they keep getting gridlocked with snails, slugs, and the slower-moving caterpillars. It can't be easy for them.

It's the driving on the wrong side that done for them....

[kishnevi]

I ordered from them a couple of times, because they seem to offer the cheapest price on many items.  My problem is not the transit time per se, but the time they seem to take to ship the item--several days, it seemed, almost a week in one case.  So no more zoverstocks.  And don't forget, the "shipment date" is the date they tell Amazon they shipped it, and putting it in the mailbox on Saturday afternoon counts as shipping it, even if the mailman doesn't pick it up until Monday afternoon--and they may have told Amazon they shipped it on Friday afternoon....

Others who seem to either be slow to ship or to use inflatable dinghies are MovieMars and marvelio, which can take up to a week longer than other Marketplace vendors to get to me.

[KeithW]

No such luck over here. On the whole, the postal service inflatable dinghies keep to the inside lane on motorways, but they keep getting gridlocked with snails, slugs, and the slower-moving caterpillars. It can't be easy for them.

Maybe you can argue for a dedicated Olympic lane for the dinghies.  I was in London last week, and a taxi driver was giving me his unbiased opinion on what they'll do for traffic flow.

[eyeresist]

I think that explains it Karl. On land, those inflatable dinghies move ever so slowly.

Might be easier to deflate the dinghy and attach it to the leg of a passing crane or other waterbird?

[Elgarian]

Might be easier to deflate the dinghy ...

Which reminds me of the story about the Inflateable Headmaster of the Inflateable School who was telling off the naughty Inflateable Boy: 'You've let me down; you've let the school down; and you've let yourself down!'

[KeithW]

Which reminds me of the story about the Inflateable Headmaster of the Inflateable School who was telling off the naughty Inflateable Boy: 'You've let me down; you've let the school down; and you've let yourself down!'

No reaction from anyone?  I guess it fell flat. 

I suspect this correspondence should now cease.

[Elgarian]

Would you believe it? One of the dinghies from zoverstocks has arrived this morning. Quite how they arrived at the decision that the condition of this CD is 'very good' remains a mystery, but it did at least arrive. So there's hope for the other one yet.

[k a rl h e nn i ng]

Dinghy ahoy!

[eyeresist]

"Very good" = has not actually disintegrated into dust (just yet).

[kishnevi]

I mentioned I have ordered from Marvelio, and found their shipping less than satisfactory.  To illustrate--they shipped an item (Handel-Caldera Carmelite Vespers on DHM--Erato has posted it on the Purchases and Listening threads) on May 1.  I'm pretty sure they are located in the US, where I live.  Prestoclassical sent me an order in multiple packages, the last one being sent on May 3.  It arrived today--just a week to cross the Atlantic, rather swiftly in fact--while the Marvelio item still is in transit (and of course no way to track it!).

[eyeresist]

I should commend Amazon UK, that their recent deliveries were NOT packaged so as to fall apart during transit, as happened several times earlier this year.

[KeithW]

I had a bizarre packaging situation with amazon.com today.  I had ordered the latest in the Naive Vivaldi series which was released this week.  A single CD arrived in a packing box roughly 12" x 6" x 4" in size, surrounded by lots of good packing paper.  Well protected, but overkill.

[eyeresist]

I had a bizarre packaging situation with amazon.com today.  I had ordered the latest in the Naive Vivaldi series which was released this week.  A single CD arrived in a packing box roughly 12" x 6" x 4" in size, surrounded by lots of good packing paper.  Well protected, but overkill.

It probably gave the packers a laugh

[k a rl h e nn i ng]

I mentioned I have ordered from Marvelio, and found their shipping less than satisfactory.

Hm, a shame!  I've ordered two items from them in the past six months (both Haydn, curiously) . . . I hadn't observed any especial delay.