I thought potential customers should be warned, particularly international customers. I placed an order on the 19th of June which has still not shown up, and after contacting the owner, it now transpires that the order was shipped to Canada. Now, I've been ordering online for what - 10 years? - and I don't choose Canada as the shipping address because, well, I don't live there. I have no idea what has gone wrong... my copy of the order doesn't have Canada listed as my address. I ordered from this online shop 4 years ago and that order went missing, never to arrive to me or apparently back to the owner, who refused to issue a refund or apologise for this incident.
Fast forward 4 years. I only ordered from this shop because it carries many older fabrics and I couldn't find the 1930s reproduction fabric I was after at any other shop. I think two orders going missing is a sign of something fundamental going wrong at the store, and I thought you people might like to know. The shop is: The Spider's Web and the addrss is:
formatting link
I suspect that I will not receive any refund, so I'm contacting my credit card company now to see what options are available to me. I think I'll make a big "avoid" list of shops as well, to be placed next to the computer lest I forget this valuable lesson.
ack!!! twice to the same customer is really bad service. that alone should be worth an apology of some kind as well as replacing your order to the right address this time. just went to see what they have on their shipping info. it says they are not responsible for lost packages after they leave their building. they have a responsibility to get it right and someone clearly f'd up on this one. who found it had gone to Canada? i dont really care who is at fault. i would dispute payment when the order clearly shows UK and the package ends up in Canada. if they value their customers return service they ought to make more of an effort to track down the package and see it gets to you, tout suite. take no prisoners, Jo. slack shop i will never use, that is for sure. thanks for the heads up. hugz to all of you in Scotland, j.
"Jo Gibson" wrote ... I thought potential customers should be warned, particularly international customers. I placed an order on the 19th of June which has still not shown up, and after contacting the owner, it now transpires that the order was shipped to Canada. Now, I've been ordering online for what - 10 years? - and I don't choose Canada as the shipping address because, well, I don't live there. I have no idea what has gone wrong... my copy of the order doesn't have Canada listed as my address. I ordered from this online shop 4 years ago and that order went missing, never to arrive to me or apparently back to the owner, who refused to issue a refund or apologise for this incident.
Fast forward 4 years. I only ordered from this shop because it carries many older fabrics and I couldn't find the 1930s reproduction fabric I was after at any other shop. I think two orders going missing is a sign of something fundamental going wrong at the store, and I thought you people might like to know. The shop is: The Spider's Web and the addrss is:
formatting link
I suspect that I will not receive any refund, so I'm contacting my credit card company now to see what options are available to me. I think I'll make a big "avoid" list of shops as well, to be placed next to the computer lest I forget this valuable lesson.
. I am just so surprised that you have had trouble with them. Their fabric is lovely, the staff very helpful and the shipping careful and prompt. Wonder if the post master in Ohio is still running some kind of feud with a Scottish enemy? I just don't understand. Polly
I have no idea, but to be so unlucky twice smacks of, well...
I'm glad you've had good service. I think the problem is with international orders. The owner says that so far, she has only ever had international orders go missing, one was in England and one was my order of 4 years ago. Well I guess that's THREE international orders gone missing now.
This is a problem with ordering from US suppliers to the UK. In British law, the supplier has an *unconditional* responsibility to get the goods to the purchaser - they can't simply wriggle out of it and blame the postal service. That doesn't apply in the US (or, as a friend of mine found the hard way, Romania) - the supplier can simply shrug it off and say "take it up with UPS".
I wouldn't order anything expensive from the US unless the supplier accepted UK-style responsibility in their terms of sale.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- e m a i l : j a c k @ c a m p i n . m e . u k Jack Campin, 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU, Scotland mobile: 07800 739 557 Twitter: JackCampin
Coincidence. Unfortunate, perhaps, but coincidence - nothing more.
Three orders gone missing in 4 years? Out of how many thousands, or tens of thousands, or... (I have no idea the size of this business). Most mail order businesses WISH they had a record like that, and if it's only been international orders, they must be truly blessed or something.
Honestly, if it's undisputed that they sent your order to the *wrong country*, I don't understand their alledged attitude. And I'm not suggesting to just forget about it or keep doing business with them. The whole situation sounds... well, bizarre, but I wouldn't read a lot into it that just isn't there. Yes, contact your credit card co. - I'd be amazed if they don't credit your acct. under the circumstances described. Stuff happens. Better luck next time!
Yes and no. I ran a mail order business for ten years, and had customers in the UK, Australia, Canada, and others. All the carriers I dealt with insured packages, or I could purchase additional, and I think anyone that doesn't arrange for it is assuming the risk themselves (and rather foolish - like I said, stuff happens.) I never had a problem shipping to any foreign countries, and the worst (well, only) problem I had with shipments at all was (domestic) getting UPS to pay a claim on insurance I paid extra for. (They eventually capitulated.)
As a matter of good business, I always took care of the very few problems I had, and dealt with the carrier from my end, which made sense because I had all the paperwork and paid all the shipping/ins. costs. With so few actual shipping losses, NOT making a customer whole just doesn't make sense to me, *unless*... they get so many bogus claims of undelivered merchandise that they've taken a policy of denying everything the first time to dissuade fraud.
I find that sometimes when people want to complain about bad service at a LQS or an online store on this forum they are very coy and write something such as, "contact me if you wish to know which store it is". Why is this? Do they fear libel from the company in question? I think the exception to this rule is JoAnn's, TSWLTH, which everyone happily slags off. I just wanted to put my experience out there as a warning to people about this shop. I understand Polly has had great service, but my tale of woe is about this company's response to an *international* order, which Polly's of course are not.
Years ago, I had a big order from Bighornquilts go missing. I contacted them and you know what, they believed me and credited me for the missing order. It was so large it had been broken down into 2 global priority envelops. About 6 months after I had ordered it, it turned up at their shop. We have no idea where it had been all that time, but I sent them money for 1/2 of the order to be posted out to me, and they sold the other half in the shop.
About the same time, I purchased my first order with The Spider's Web. That order went to some parcel depot out in the middle of nowhere, I had no car and no time free from work to collect it and when I did get up to the depot, they had sent it back to the US before the "we will hold it here for 3 weeks" time had run out. The owner of The Spider's Web became annoyed by my emails asking if the order had been returned. One was along the lines of, "it's been 6 weeks since you placed the order. It's not here. If you don't have it, what do you expect me to do about it?" Well, it takes time for a parcel to go *back* through US customs and be returned to sender, after it cannot be delivered in the UK. So I was just trying to follow up and see if she had received the parcel back, as Bighorn Quilts had done. You see, I had experience at this point of what to do, and how long it might take.
Fast forward 4 years. I've nothing bad to say about Bighorn Quilts, and their generosity and belief in me led to be returning to their store again and again. I thought I might try The Spider's Web once more, because I believed that the first incidence might have been my usual bad luck, etc. However, to have the second parcel sent to Canada (?!?) and to be told there is nothing the owner can or will do about it doesn't make me terribly happy. The order cost me $80 and I am unlikely to ever see the merchandise. I asked at my local parcel depot today what I can do about this parcel which went to New Brunswick, Canada and was advised to keep contacting The Spider's Web and asking if/when it was returned to her, since it will be *eventually. Well, I know what response I am likely to get. Something along the lines of, it's been weeks and weeks since you placed that order, it went missing, get over it, there's nothing I can or will do to help you.
So there you are. Well done to all who have had a great experience with this shop. To those who have not (like me) or who are thinking of ordering from this shop, well - buyer beware!
I always contact my credit card for any dispute with any merchant. I have never had to pay for something I never received, poor service or poor quality. That is another reason to always use your credit card when making purchases.
I don't think it's a perfect way to buy on the internet, sometimes it,s really cheap, compared to the store or the supermarket, but the quality of the product is the problem, and don't forget the services after you buy it. So next time think it twice before you buy.
With all due respect 'mensjeans' in many cases it is much cheaper to buy item in America and have them shipped to the buyer in other countries.
I know I have seen Australian fabrics advertised for approx half price in the USA. So it works out cheaper to buy these from USA and have them shipped to Australia than buy locally.
The problem wasn't the quality of the item, it waas the quality of the service for a customer who never recieved her order and not for the first time.
Go ahead and mention the shop by name. After all, you're offering us a "Warning" (sez so in the subject line), not ordering a curse on them.
All shipping concerns aside (and really, it's such a gamble, shipping), it's the shop's response that helps me decide whether to keep them or toss them.
Last month I opened a new bag of Hobbs Thermore batting, spread it out on the floor, ready for the quilt sandwich, to find a large chunk cut out of one corner. Huh? I briefly wondered if I'd cut a piece out for a baby quilt (just the right size), then reminded myself that I'd just opened the bag, so: it wasn't me! I emailed Hobbs Bonded Fibers immediately, told them of the condition of the batt, fussed about the inconvenience (I was sandwiching this quilt NOW, would have to run to the store NOW in the 100* heat of June in Texas!), and said I was disconcerted as a long-time Hobbs batting fan and supporter. Within a few minutes I had an email response, an apology, and a promise to make reparations. 2 days later I received a box w/ 3 Thermore batts in it, from Hobbs Bonded Fibers in Waco, Tx. (100 miles from here), at no charge. Now THAT'S service.
formatting link
Good luck, Jo!
R/Sandy - more than happy to name names, the good and the not-so ...remembering my rant over H-of-P several years ago; good store to shop as a walk-in, terrible online service 3 times: Strike Out!
p.s. I use the Thermore w/ cotton flannel for quilts for cancer patients; it makes a lighter quilt, super cuddly; easy to wash, quick to dry
InspirePoint website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.