Ordering Issues from APE Games

[Castamir]

The Voice of Mod: This thread is for discussion and resolution of issues relating to ordering books from APE Games. Post your comments/problems here, and Kevin from APE will hopefully be able to address them. This message is being edited in so it appears at the top of the thread.

We now return you to your regularly-scheduled posting...

Two issues with the order form:

1. A cosmetic one: the character "?" renders as ń -- the page is restricted to Windows1252 characters and fails to deal with anything else. Sure, I can write "n" and have it delivered ok, but imagine a poor schmuck from Russia who tries to write his address...

2. The form requires a State/Province for non-US addresses. I'm not sure how that address verification thingy will work if I put some made-up trash in that field. I didn't check it yet as my card good for international use is at home, but I somehow don't see that going fine.

[Freelance Henchman]

Oh please, please, please think about electronic distribution! :-(

[stoffe]

2. The form requires a State/Province for non-US addresses. I'm not sure how that address verification thingy will work if I put some made-up trash in that field. I didn't check it yet as my card good for international use is at home, but I somehow don't see that going fine.

Unless you have PayPal (which I don't trust anymore) you can only place orders if you are the US, Canada or UK anyway, since they use AVS to verify credit card payments which only seems to work if you live in those countries.

A real shame, I was looking forward to getting this book. :smallfrown: Sounds very interesting.

[The Giant]

Darn :smallfrown: If I may ask, is it the copying problem that stops you or something else?

It's the fact that I have a few thousand print copies on order that are less likely to sell if an electronic version is available, especially given the ease with which an electronic version can be copied. But it's more because every electronic copy sold means a paper copy sits in my warehouse costing me money to store, and the number of people who will only buy electronic is too small to take that financial risk.


Unless you have PayPal (which I don't trust anymore) you can only place orders if you are the US, Canada or UK anyway, since they use AVS to verify credit card payments which only seems to work if you live in those countries.

A real shame, I was looking forward to getting this book. :smallfrown: Sounds very interesting.

The book will still show up on bookstore shelves around the globe, assuming you have a local gaming/comic/specialty shop you buy from. In a few days, try going to your local store and asking them to order it.

[Morty]

I think I'll cry. Yet another OOTS book I'll have no chance of buying:smallfrown:

[Freelance Henchman]

It's the fact that I have a few thousand print copies on order that are less likely to sell if an electronic version is available, especially given the ease with which an electronic version can be copied. But it's more because every electronic copy sold means a paper copy sits in my warehouse costing me money to store, and the number of people who will only buy electronic is too small to take that financial risk.

Oh, I see. Just out of curiousity, would you or have you considered any other type of electronic distribution for the books rather than sending out PDFs? Something like a "Members Section" of the website maybe?

[Mr Teufel]

Unless you have PayPal (which I don't trust anymore) you can only place orders if you are the US, Canada or UK anyway, since they use AVS to verify credit card payments which only seems to work if you live in those countries.

A real shame, I was looking forward to getting this book. :smallfrown: Sounds very interesting.
AVS works for Australians.

[Paladine]

Unless you have PayPal (which I don't trust anymore) you can only place orders if you are the US, Canada or UK anyway, since they use AVS to verify credit card payments which only seems to work if you live in those countries.

A real shame, I was looking forward to getting this book. :smallfrown: Sounds very interesting.


AVS works for Germany too
even with the umlauts in München

[Justin_Bacon]

Unless you have PayPal (which I don't trust anymore) you can only place orders if you are the US, Canada or UK anyway, since they use AVS to verify credit card payments which only seems to work if you live in those countries.

A real shame, I was looking forward to getting this book. :smallfrown: Sounds very interesting.

Their AVS system is apparently busted in any case. I just tried ordering the book using my Discover card and got an AVS mis-match on my address. So I immediately went to Discover's webpage and confirmed that, in fact, my address was a match.

So then I went back to APE's store and tried again, this time matching not only the address but the capitalization shown on Discover's webpage, just in case this was some wacky new AVS system that didn't just rely on the zipcode. Still didn't work.

The exorbitant shipping charges had already made me wince once before placing the order. (No option except Priority Mail? Really? So I have to pay half the cost of the book to ship it to me?)

If the book ever gets to Amazon, I'll order it there. If not... Oh, well. Guess they'll just have to chalk it up as a sale lost due to their own incompetence.

Justin Alexander
http://www.thealexandrian.net

[SPoD]

I think I'll cry. Yet another OOTS book I'll have no chance of buying:smallfrown:

Can't you buy it from whatever store you get your D&D stuff from? Or from another online store? There are like a billion online places selling the other OOTS books, you're just paying middlemen instead of Rich directly.

I like ordering from Ape because then I know all my money goes to Rich, not half to a random website owner, but if you can't order from Ape then you might as well get it any way you can.

EDIT: My Discover card worked fine at the Ape store, so it's not busted for everyone.

[Morty]

Can't you buy it from whatever store you get your D&D stuff from? Or from another online store? There are like a billion online places selling the other OOTS books, you're just paying middlemen instead of Rich directly.

I like ordering from Ape because then I know all my money goes to Rich, not half to a random website owner, but if you can't order from Ape then you might as well get it any way you can.

EDIT: My Discover card worked fine at the Ape store, so it's not busted for everyone.

Pfft. I doubt I can find any OOTS book in any gaming shop where I come from, not to mention I'll have to go to some bigger town to find any gaming shop. And shipping costs from USA will be huge.

[SteveMB]

Pfft. I doubt I can find any OOTS book in any gaming shop where I come from, not to mention I'll have to go to some bigger town to find any gaming shop. And shipping costs from USA will be huge.
Yeesh, that bites. Any chance of getting together with friends for a joint order to bring the shipping costs down to the merely large?

[Morty]

If I knew anyone who read OOTS beside me, that might work. Sadly, I don't.

[The Giant]

This thread is for discussion and resolution of issues relating to ordering books from APE Games. Post your comments/problems here, and Kevin from APE will hopefully be able to address them.

(Due to a glitch with the "Move Post" function, the boards order moved posts chronologically, meaning that my "introduction post" is now here in the middle of the thread. Oh well.)

[apegamer]

Hey all, this is a good thread. Let me mention a few things:


We've gotten orders from lots of different countries in the last 12 hours since the SoD pre-order went up, so there are not any country-specific problems that I'm aware of.
I've just now changed a couple of AVS settings on the site, so if you got AVS errors before, please try again.
If you persist in getting AVS errors, let me know via private email, and we'll work through it with you.
Note that PayPal is an alternative form of payment - just select it from the payment type drop-down.
We absolutely need AVS verification on the site, as we get people trying bogus CC numbers ALL the time. Right now it looks like the failure rate is less than 1% for valid customers, but we'd really like to reduce that without allowing in bogus orders.

[JT]

Mr APE man... ;)

Longer term, it would be nice to have other options for getting the book shipped. I decided to order a second copy for a friend (boy will *he* be surprised) to get the per-book cost of shipping down to merely outrageous. (Of course, that said, I'd probably insist on having it shipped as quickly as possible, and to heck with the high cost, so....)

Also, it would be really great (I don't know if it's feasible) to get an estimated shipping cost prior to putting in all the information. I started ordering one book, put in my information, found out how much it would cost to ship, and decided to go back and change my order to two books. Then, I had to re-enter my information, and re-check what the shipping cost would be. This wasn't a show-stopper by any means, but an easier method would have been nicer.

Other than that, just... please please please get the books on time. I'm already getting impatient. ;)

[xanin]

Not so much an issue as a comfort thing - I can't seem to find a way to view any sort of order status page or anything, and the lack of email message confirming my pre-order make me a little queasy that I just handed you my CC number...
Not to be mean, but if you weren't the Giant's chosen distributor, I would never buy anything from an online store setup the way yours seems to be - its purely a matter of comfort. As a consumer, I want to see that I didn't just provide my information to a black hole, I want to be able to go back in a week and see my order still happily sitting there waiting for the big big day...

[xanin]

oooo, disregard on part of the last one. I DID get an email, gmail just happily filed it as junk-mail. First time it has done that to me...

[CardinalFang]

Is there any chance of an option to ship books via Media Mail instead of the more expensive standard shipping? If you're shipping from Texas (which is your location on the boards), it's less than $2 to ship a 1 lb. book to pretty much anywhere in the continental US, from what I can figure out by the USPS site.

Edit: I take it back. It appears that a 1 lb. book can be shipped ANYWHERE in the US (Alaska and Hawaii included) for a rate of $1.59.

[Pantler]

If someone from Poland that will be visiting the US after the book is released is reading this, please contact me. Paying double the cost of the books on shipping is unfeasible for me.
I hope that what I had written isn't against the rules.

[The Giant]

Is there any chance of an option to ship books via Media Mail instead of the more expensive standard shipping? If you're shipping from Texas (which is your location on the boards), it's less than $2 to ship a 1 lb. book to pretty much anywhere in the continental US, from what I can figure out by the USPS site.

Edit: I take it back. It appears that a 1 lb. book can be shipped ANYWHERE in the US (Alaska and Hawaii included) for a rate of $1.59.

Media Mail is only an option if you don't care what condition the books arrive in, which, we find, is not a sentiment most customers share. We tried Media Mail for the first Dungeon Crawlin' Fools release back in 2005 (before APE was involved) and had hundreds of books returned to us, with hundreds more reported damaged in the mail (and who knows how many not reported). Media Mail is for catalogs, phone books, etc., not books printed on high-quality paper that are meant to sit on your shelf forever.

While I don't have any personal control over APE's shipping choices, I would have strongly urged them not to even consider Media Mail as a viable option should they have included it.

[CardinalFang]

Media Mail is only an option if you don't care what condition the books arrive in, which, we find, is not a sentiment most customers share. We tried Media Mail for the first Dungeon Crawlin' Fools release back in 2005 (before APE was involved) and had hundreds of books returned to us, with hundreds more reported damaged in the mail (and who knows how many not reported). Media Mail is for catalogs, phone books, etc., not books printed on high-quality paper that are meant to sit on your shelf forever.

While I don't have any personal control over APE's shipping choices, I would have strongly urged them not to even consider Media Mail as a viable option should they have included it.
Huh. I've never had a problem shipping books around with Media Mail, but I have the feeling you've shipped a LOT more books than I have, so I'd definitely rather pay more and have the pages still attached to the spine when I get the book. :D

[Castamir]

Hah! It worked now. Cool!
So whatever was changed, the address verification now works for Poland as well (Visa card issued by Millenium).

For the other Polacks: while I live in Starogard Gdański, the savings by ordering two books together are just $3 per book, probably not worth the hassle.

[stoffe]

I've just now changed a couple of AVS settings on the site, so if you got AVS errors before, please try again.That seems to have done the trick, this time the order was accepted. Thanks. Sometimes it's good to be wrong. :smallsmile:

[apegamer]

If someone from Poland that will be visiting the US after the book is released is reading this, please contact me. Paying double the cost of the books on shipping is unfeasible for me.

As a hint, Airmail Letter postage is available for our international customers if your order is under 4 lbs. This is usually MUCH cheaper than Global Priority, though is also much slower to arrive.

[Pantler]

Actually, the only options I can see are Airmal Letter and Airmail Parcel. Oh well, I guess I'll have to settle with that. I gave up smoking recently, so I should be able to raise the needed sum somehow :smallsmile:

[Jink]

I noticed when I pre-ordered mine yesterday that it mentioned not billing until the item was shipped, but my paypal account was billed anyways. I also ordered The Origin of PC's as well, could that have affected my pre-order billing status?

[apegamer]

Oops, it says that you will be charged when the order is placed, not when it ships.

I should add that this is not because we're greedy, money-hungry, capitalistic pigs, but rather that this is how our store works.

[Jink]

Oops, it says that you will be charged when the order is placed, not when it ships.

I should add that this is not because we're greedy, money-hungry, capitalistic pigs, but rather that this is how our store works.

Huh, well, it is possible that I may have misread it in my excitement to get ahold of a copy.

I offer my most sincere apologies :smallfrown:

[Straylight]

I'm a little confused. This shop doesn't seem to work for me. I can put products in this basket-thingy. I can click on that basket button to see all products I want to order. But I can't order anything at all (only thing I can do is to remove things from the basket and change the quantity of things in the basket ...). Furthermore there is no overview of shipping costs anywhere on the APE-website.

[apegamer]

Did the checkout button in the top right corner not work? If not, or if that button is missing, then please provide information about your system (i.e. what browser you're using.)

[Straylight]

Nope, it did not work ... I'm using Firefox (and I think I have the latest version).

[nadira]

can the airmail post be tracked?

[apegamer]

The store's down!

We're working on it now and hope to have it resolved very quickly.

[apegamer]

Store's up!

Problem was disk space errors. Feel free to order away.

[apegamer]

can the airmail post be tracked?

Not really. The only form of international shipping that can be tracked is Global Express, and that's ludicrously expensive, so we don't offer it.

We get a customs number with orders, but that's not very useful, as it will normally say that it's sitting in customs until the day the package arrives at your doorstep.

[apegamer]

Paladin Blues showed out of stock last night on the store. Rest assured it's not - this has been remedied.

[nadira]

:smallconfused: We get a customs number with orders, but that's not very useful, as it will normally say that it's sitting in customs until the day the package arrives at your doorstep.

that's way more than enough, it helps understand the reasons of delays. thanks for the info!

[JMFD]

Is there any way to check that an order has gone through - last time I got a confirmation email from you, this time I only got a Paypal one. (or is this just because I used paypal this time?)

[apegamer]

You should get a confirmation email from APE Games. If you get me your order number I'll get you a tracking number.

[phlip]

On Monday, I bought both SoD and OtOoPCs (I leant my previous copy to a friend, and never saw it again)...

(1) Will OtOoPCs be shipped first, or will I get both when SoD comes out?
(2) It said that shipping costs would be "determined later"... it's been a few days and I've heard nothing, how long does it usually take?

[apegamer]

If it said that shipping costs would be determined later, then you did not order from the APE Games site. :(

In that case I don't know when shipping costs will be determined - probably when the weight of the book is known.

[Kidbored]

I live in the UK, and was wondering if anyone can tell me if the delivery cost on Ape's website includes Tax + Duties or not
Thanks in advance

[JMFD]

You should get a confirmation email from APE Games. If you get me your order number I'll get you a tracking number.

Thanks! See PM :)

[The_Losar]

I'm currently experiencing a problem with the store's checkout. I can proceed to the checkout through the top-right button. After signing in, the forms come up with the billing/shipping information. I hit continue and the next page takes a very long time to load.

On the next page it restates my shipping/billing information and provides a box to input a coupon code, a button to apply that code, and a scroll-down box labeled "Ship Via".

The 'Ship Via" box has no options available. There's no button available to continue or any other box for information. This problem was experienced on both Firefox 5.0 and IE7

Image of page. (http://genericlosar.net/images/problem.jpg)

Is there something I might have missed? This happened on two separate computers. This is also not the first time I've made a purchase from APE, though that was a few months back.

Help?

EDIT-Problem resolved by trying again later, it seems.

[phlip]

If it said that shipping costs would be determined later, then you did not order from the APE Games site. :(

In that case I don't know when shipping costs will be determined - probably when the weight of the book is known.

Are you sure? I'm certain I ordered it from the APE Games website... it says "APE Games" on the confirmation email and everything...

In the "Ship Via" dropdown, it said it didn't know who it was going to have to ship with, and the shipping would be added on later, or something like that.

The order number's 6936 if you want to look into it.

[Scaramouche]

Really excited to get the books. Ordered all (including pre-order of SoD) last week.
Got the confirmation email, but no info on when I could expect arrival or tracking #. Little help, mates? My order number is 7104.


"He was born with a gift of laughter, and a sense that the world was mad."
--Scaramouche, by Raphael Sabatini

[apegamer]

Are you sure? I'm certain I ordered it from the APE Games website... it says "APE Games" on the confirmation email and everything...

In the "Ship Via" dropdown, it said it didn't know who it was going to have to ship with, and the shipping would be added on later, or something like that.

The order number's 6936 if you want to look into it.
Our store (as do many others) pings usps.com with your address in order to determine shipping cost to your location. You'll get the message saying that you'll be contacted for shipping costs if we're unable to contact usps.com.

Rather than preventing you from ordering, it instead says that you can order, but that we'll contact you later. If this has happened to you, we have either contacted you, or will contact you before we ship.

If you see this message, and would rather wait to place your order, then try again every few minutes.

[apegamer]

Really excited to get the books. Ordered all (including pre-order of SoD) last week.
Got the confirmation email, but no info on when I could expect arrival or tracking #. Little help, mates? My order number is 7104.


"He was born with a gift of laughter, and a sense that the world was mad."
--Scaramouche, by Raphael Sabatini
You'll get an email with tracking information once the order ships (in May.)

[EricDerKonig]

I ordered Dungeon Crawlin' Fools and Paladin Blues on the 22nd, and I've gotten the confirmation email, but nothing saying its shipped.
Order #7332

[burrie]

Mmm, I'm currently having some problems with ordering the OOTS books. Upon trying to finish my order, I get the following error message..

"Unable to authorize payment: There was a problem processing your transaction. Please contact us for assistance."

I already sent a message to the folks at APE Games, but I'm just curious, is anyone else experiencing this?

[Scalenex]

As much as I like Order of the Stick, I will not buy Start of Darkness until the shipping costs can be done cheaper. I don't think shipping should cost half the book. My dad has an expression: "You can get something done fast, done cheaply, or done well" Pick two out of three. I'd prefer cheaply and well which is how media mail has been for me in the past.

[Maulem]

Hello,
On 4/13, I placed an order for On the Origin of PC's and the new book as well. I used my bank card, and the amount of $37.80 was charged and posted on 4/13. I did not receive a confirmation email, and, it now being almost a month later, have not received the books. Can someone look into this for me? I don't have an order number, but I do have the details from the bank card transaction from my account. I'll post here and sanitize it a bit.

Description: CHECKCARD 0412 ADVANCED PRIMATE ENTER 281-527-7114 TX

Posting Date: 04/13/2007

Amount: $37.80

As shown, the transaction should be on or around 4/12. Also, the phone number listed in the transaction comes up as disconnected, fyi.

**Edit, after digging through my junk mail box, I found the order number as 6405. I assume it hasn't shipped because SoD is not ready yet?

[captainwhimsy]

Another shipping question - if one happened to Live in Houston, TX as well - can we come by and pick up the book when its in instead if shipping it?

Also does APE Games have a storefront location?

[apegamer]

Hello,
**Edit, after digging through my junk mail box, I found the order number as 6405. I assume it hasn't shipped because SoD is not ready yet?

Right - orders that contain Start of Darkness will not ship until that book is available later this month. Our store mentions this, but we get a lot of emails asking about this, so apparently it's not mentioned prominently enough!

[apegamer]

Another shipping question - if one happened to Live in Houston, TX as well - can we come by and pick up the book when its in instead if shipping it?

Also does APE Games have a storefront location?

Yes, we supply various stores in Houston with the Order of the Stick books. If there's not a game store near you that carries it, contact me privately and we can work out how to get you the products you're interested in.

APE Games has a warehouse in NW Houston, but not a storefront.

[lacesmcawesome]

Yesterday, I ordered On the Origin of PCs, probably somewhere around seven o 'clock. It's now nine o clock (this is all eastern standard time), and we haven't received a confirmation email. I know that someone had a similar problem, and you said to get the order number, and you could find a tracking number. I don't know how exactly I can get the order number. I tried bringing up the invoice, but it's not there. (I only got there through my browser history, I hadn't expected it to be still up).

So is there any way to get the order number? I haven't an account on APE.

Am I sort of stuck just waiting, now?

*edit*
Nevermind, I just got the confirmation email.

[Fawkes]

I don't have an APE account either, and I never got an order confirmation. How can I find out if my order went through?

[MrUgly]

Would it be possible to cancel the entire order and wait until the books are ordered? This is completely my fault, but I didn't realize that the order I placed in the end of April would not ship until over a month away.

Having the charge sit on my credit card and having already paid the bill but not getting the merchandise is a bit grating to the financially responsible side of me.

Order 7517

Thanks,
Derek

[MrUgly]

I am going to assume the answer would be a resounding "No, you can't cancel the order you paid for but have not received."

Thank you for the reply.

[apegamer]

I am going to assume the answer would be a resounding "No, you can't cancel the order you paid for but have not received."

Thank you for the reply.

We value your business, but we can certainly cancel your order, if that's what you prefer. However, note the following:

1) Shipping has increased since many of the pre-orders were placed - USPS rates increased on 5/14 - especially for international orders.

2) If you cancel now and re-order when Start of Darkness is available (in just a couple weeks - I hope) then you will lose your place in the pre-order queue.

If you would like us to cancel your order, please send me a private message and we'll take care of that for you.

There is only one way for our store software to operate, and that's to charge cards immediately upon purchase. I'm evaluating alternate store software, but even if we settle on something better, that will take a long time to get in place. Also, we won't be doing pre-orders as much moving forward for this reason, and because it's hard for us to predict when product will be available from the printer.

Kevin

[The Unshaven]

Quick questions:

1) Will there be emails sent when orders containing Start of Darkness ship?

2) Does APEGames have any access to tracking numbers for flat-rate postage?

Thanks for your time.

- The Unshaven.

[apegamer]

Quick questions:

1) Will there be emails sent when orders containing Start of Darkness ship?

2) Does APEGames have any access to tracking numbers for flat-rate postage?

Thanks for your time.

- The Unshaven.

Yes and Yes. You'll get an email when we ship your package. This email will contain your tracking number IF you are in the U.S.

If you're international, you'll still get the email confirming your order has shipped, but alas, no tracking number.

[Beittil]

Hi there,

I ordered myself a copy of the Origins books and about 5 minutes later i found out (after telling a friend about it) that he ordered the same book. For me. For my birthday.

So... my question is, can this order of mine be cancelled before you process it? I already replied to the address the confirmation came from as well as your info@ address with the details of the order...

So this is pretty much a 'reminder' to make sure you hopefully see it before you get to the processing of orders part.

ps. really sorry about the inconveniance...
pps. if i cant cancel it, then i got an Origins book for sale in the Netherlands (or other euro countries) soonish :P

[apegamer]

Good News: We've added an Order Status tracking page to the APE store.

Bad News: It's only for orders placed after June 4 of this year. Unfortunately the module doesn't have record of orders placed before then.

Either way, though, you'll still receive an email when your order ships. If you live in the U.S., that email will contain a tracking number. We're working on having the email sent for international orders also contain the customs number, which is often completely worthless, but all that we have to work with right now.

[xanin]

So........

News on the when the book will actually ship?

[apegamer]

Nope, sorry. I can say that I HOPE we get them in the next two weeks.

One important thing to note, and I'm going also put this on the store's site - we're going to start printing shipping labels with tracking numbers on the BEFORE we get books. This means that many of you will get confirmation emails well in advance of when the orders will actually leave our warehouse. The confirmation email will explain this.

We're doing this so that when the books actually get here, all we need to do is drop the book in the box and send it on it's merry way. We've got gillions of pre-orders and are doing our best to get them all in the mail within a week of the book arriving.

A second important thing to note is that we have a new order tracking system set up on our site BUT this site will only work for orders placed AFTER June 4. This means that most of you that pre-ordered won't see your order there. The aforementioned email, however, will have your tracking number.

And speaking of tracking numbers, we can now include customs numbers in confirmation emails for our international friends. In the past, confirmation emails to international customers didn't include any tracking information. Don't get your hopes up, however. Historically, customs numbers weren't tracked all that closely by the customs agencies.

[xanin]

Nope, sorry. I can say that I HOPE we get them in the next two weeks.

Well, I've waited this long, I can stomach another week or 10.


We've got gillions of pre-orders and are doing our best to get them all in the mail within a week of the book arriving.


I don't suppose they're going to be shipping in the order that you received pre-orders by chance? (IE: those of us who ordered on the day of the announcement will be towards the front of the queue?)

[Ranek the Bold]

So we are now looking at end of June for Start of Darkness? Will there be notice posted when there is positive confirmation that a date is set, or is this a hope and a prayer?

T-shirt idea- last panel of #446

[Fawkes]

And I STILL never got an order confirmation email...

[apegamer]

I don't suppose they're going to be shipping in the order that you received pre-orders by chance? (IE: those of us who ordered on the day of the announcement will be towards the front of the queue?)

Yes, they'll ship roughly in the order they were receieved.

[apegamer]

So we are now looking at end of June for Start of Darkness? Will there be notice posted when there is positive confirmation that a date is set, or is this a hope and a prayer?

Yes, closer to end of June.

I'm pretty sure the pre-orders will ship before there's a formal announcement that the book is available. We'd like to get caught up with the pre-orders before the next deluge of orders from people that waited until SoD is in-hand.

[apegamer]

And I STILL never got an order confirmation email...

Can you log into your account on apegames.com and confirm your email? You'd be surprised, but maybe 1 in 5 emails bounce back to us. A lot of those are probably on purpose, I guess.

[Fawkes]

Can you log into your account on apegames.com and confirm your email? You'd be surprised, but maybe 1 in 5 emails bounce back to us. A lot of those are probably on purpose, I guess.

I ordered without an account.

[Jano Fistialli]

Well, i'm waiting for more than 45 days now, guess now it's just a matter of.. waiting some more.
Didn't want to do anything with paypal like deleting orders or smt, too much stress for Apegames and for me either, since we had A LOT of problems placing the original order... sigh. I wanna read them! :smallbiggrin:

[Roland Steedlam]

You should get a confirmation email from APE Games. If you get me your order number I'll get you a tracking number.

I ordered Start of Darkness way back on 4/14, and haven't heard anything about anything.

Order# 6690. Please let me know my order status. Thanks!

[Blueflame]

Yes. I ordered my copy on 04/17/2007, Order #7031. I am not too worried after reading your previous posts (I was wondering what was going on with this), but, as you did state about receiving emails prior to shipping, and the end of the month is at hand (I usually stand on street corners proclaiming that), I have checked thrice and my Inbox is sorely missing a confirmation email.

So, after June 30th, is it alright to go on my Barbarian Rage Killing Spree caused by an absence of Sod (I have enough ice cream to hold me off til then), or are we looking at another SoonTM with this shipping date as well?

[apegamer]

Orders with SoD will start shipping very, very very soon. We're sorry for the delay.

[Girdag]

Orders with SoD will start shipping very, very very soon.
SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

[cripple]

Orders with SoD will start shipping very, very very soon. We're sorry for the delay.

Good luck, Kevin! I'm sure this has been more stressful for you then anyone else.

[Fawkes]

Well, what about my order? They never gave me an order number! Did it go through? How can I find out?

[Corvec]

What do I need to do to change the shipping address? I would try and do something by logging into my account on apegames.com, but I didn't have an account when I made the order. Or else I forgot my password.

The order number is 6300. I placed the order on 4/12, assuming that I'd get the book before the end of the semester at college. Due to the delay, that isn't happening - and I'd rather not have to drive 200 miles to pick up the book. (Though I know I'll end up doing so if I have to.)

I just now sent a PM to apegamer and sent an email (over a month ago) from the email address that I made the order with, but haven't received a response yet.

[Jano Fistialli]

Ohhh finally =) Thanks for your kindness Kevin!

[WildBill]

I just checked through my email, and I can't find any confirmation email from APE about my preorder (I'm guessing my spam filter grabbed it). Is there any way to resolve this? I have the card number the order was placed with, and my bank statement shows that a payment was made on 4/12/07 for an order placed on 4/11/07.
Thanks

[Fawkes]

I have the same problem!

What can I do?

[Ragemanster]

Mechafox and I have exactly the same problem as he described it in his posts.
Is there anything that we can do to solve the problem? I appreciate APEGAMES response and help but it seems as if our orders were never made.
I would really appreciate a solution to this because I am certain that there are more with the same problem.
Thanks for hearing me at first place.

P.S.: I made a second order today for the:
The Order of the Stick Adventure Game:
Dungeon of Dorukan

and already got a confirmation mail and of course I can check the order status.
All this is said to point out that the order system works just fine for orders made after the upgrade of the on-line store of APEGAMES but it seems to be some problems with the orders made before this update and especially if there was no account before the order was made.

[apegamer]

Confirmation emails get sent automatically when orders are placed. Reasons you might not get the email are:

1) it gets caught in your spam filter
2) you provided an incorrect address

We estimate that may be 1 in 5 emails bounce back to us as invalid. As mentioned before, this is often likely intentional, so that customers don't potentially get added to spam lists. (Note that we do not add emails to any lists, or sell them, bend, spindle or mutilate them in any way.)

Our shipping people read the email at address [email protected] if you need to check the status of your order.

And remember, orders placed after 6/4 can be tracked right from the site.

[GrayMatter]

Got my SOD Shipped email! Thank you Ape Games!

[Ancalagon]

Question:
How long takes it for the thing to get from US to Yurop? Around 14 days or what is reasonable?

[Fawkes]

Confirmation emails get sent automatically when orders are placed. Reasons you might not get the email are:

1) it gets caught in your spam filter
2) you provided an incorrect address

We estimate that may be 1 in 5 emails bounce back to us as invalid. As mentioned before, this is often likely intentional, so that customers don't potentially get added to spam lists. (Note that we do not add emails to any lists, or sell them, bend, spindle or mutilate them in any way.)

Our shipping people read the email at address [email protected] if you need to check the status of your order.

So what do I do about it? You're telling me the problem, and not giving me a solution. I've emailed apegames before about it, and I always get the same response! Am I getting a book or not? Will I be charged for one? Either send me the book or cancel my order!

[Ezlo]

Same here, I never got a confirmation that I pre-ordered, or that I sent. It isn't in my spam folder, and I gave my correct address.

[Dragonclaw23]

edit: ok all cleared up, my package is on it's way to germany, order #6506 joy! :smallbiggrin:


taken from the mail i got:

"[...] I believe I know why you received the multiple confirmation emails.[...] At the time your order shipped, I was manually sending some of the confirmation emails because the automated system was unable to keep up."

Thanks for clearing that (and the stuff i left out) up! <3

[Ranek the Bold]

Just got my confirmation e-mail from APE. ( order # was 6252) Looking forward to it getting here soon. Houston to Fort Worth shouldn't take long.

[SheraCat]

Was I the first person to actually get my hands on the books?

I got the first confirmation that my order would ship on Tuesday. Got a knock on the door yesterday (Wednesday) with a box from APE Games. Then got another e-mail last night saying the order had shipped...a bit late, but ok.

Shera Cat

[Archaicwonder]

Recieved my confirmation email for order #6083 this morning. I'll edit the post when and if I get my package today. I hope I can pay attention during my guilds Karazhan raid tonight!

edit: So no books today, here's to hoping for tommorrow. I'm in Missouri btw, for those keeping track at home.

[Ezlo]

Never mind, I got my order confirmation.

[Jink]

So I got two emails, pretty self explanitory, APE Games tried to ship to my address, and there was a problem on their end, and so they are shipping it to me again (hopefully with the right address) and are sending a $2 refund for the inconvenience. How is this going to come? Through Paypal or through the actual item shipped?

[WildBill]

I just got my (2?) confirmation emails for order 5952. They say the same thing, so I am hoping it is just because I ordered two copies of the book.

[Fawkes]

Well, I finally got some word back from APE. Looks like they're just now shipping it out, so it won't come until I'm already of out town. :smallmad:

[Archaicwonder]

Recieved and read the two books I ordered SOD and Origins today.

Wow
Thanks

[Fawkes]

It came! It's a miracle!



And I got myself all worked up to be angry, too...

[Omnipotent_One]

I still haven't received order confirmation for my Start of Darkness book, order number 8757, let alone receive the book itself.

I'm afraid to so much as browse the forums without getting spoiled.

What's up? Is there any way to track my order??

edit: nevermind, i received my confirmation a couple hours ago. Thanks APE Games!!

[Jano Fistialli]

I'm still waiting... =\

[WeAreOuttaHere]

Dear Mr APEgamer,

Ordered all 4 books and got a confirmation e-mail saying they had been shipped (to the UK, order no, 7598).

Got a tracking number and kept checking up every few days.

Checked today to find that they tried to deliver it friday just gone when I was out. The UK post office cant help and no note was left.

What happens now? Tried to e-mail USPS but the form can only be filled in with a valid US postal address (Zip code?).

Will they try to re-deliver of just post it back to the US? If it gets re-delivered then can they do it some time when I'll be in? (weekends would be best).

Happy to pay to have it delivered again but only if I can sort out a time (or they just shove it through the post box / leave a note / tell me where I can pick it up myself - within reason :) ).

Hope to get this worked out soon.

[Hazelnut]

When was your order shipped WeAreOuttaHere? Mine has a later order no. than yours and was apparently sent on 29th June - so it's probable several days after yours, but still no sign of it. The usps tracking says nothing more than:


The U.S. Postal Service was electronically notified by the shipper on June 29, 2007 to expect your package for mailing. This does not indicate receipt by the USPS or the actual mailing date. Delivery status information will be provided if / when available. Information, if available, is updated every evening. Please check again later.

So, I'm getting a bit worried now that it's been 12 days. Have they tried to deliver it and not left a note? If that happens to me, like it's happened to you, then I WILL NOT be happy to pay for a re-delivery. I would expect a note that provides details on how to arrange free re-delivery or picking it up from a depot somewhere.

[Vargtass]

Hazelnut, I have the same problem. The usps FAQ says indicates that the message we both got will not be updated until delivery has been made or tried. They also recommend that you use their website to report a lost delivery if needed, but not before 14 days.

I still hope for a successful delivery...

[WeAreOuttaHere]

Hi Hazelnut,

Got the e-mail from APE saying my order had shipped on the 28th.

I didnt get any note when they tried to deliver it (which seems a bit odd).

Managed to get in touch with APE games from their web site and they seem puzzled as well and say there looking in to it.

Looking through the USPS web site I dont know if they'll try to re-deliver the package or ship it back to the US.

If you have your packages tracking number then you can go to the USPS web site and ask them to notify you of 'Future updates'. I didnt do this but I may have got a bit of a warning if I had (or not, but its worth a try).

Fingers Crossed.

WeAreOuttaHere.

[Beittil]

Hey, i got a question. On July 7th i got an email from APE saying they had shipped my order (SoD) and it included a USPS customs tracking id.

But ever since, that ID on the USPS site says nothing more then "Status: Electronic Shipping Info Received". What does this mean? We're they just told to expect my package, did they actually receive it and is it on its way now? help :(

Edit: A few replies up i see that this note basically means that they wont change this message until the package has been delivered (or offered for delivery). But how would USPS know about that when the package goes to the Netherlands? Shouldn't it update as soon as it is on a plane out of America?

Also, why would a comic book be sent with Delivery/Signature confirmation (thats what the usps faq says what it means)... All i want is to come back from work some day and find a nice comic book in my mailbox :D I dont have time to sit at home without knowing a day of arrival to sign for it :P

[WeAreOuttaHere]

Dont know how USPS tracks orders, but if it has a bar code or something similar on it and they scan it when it moves into the country?

The signature / delivery thing; it helps make sure the package gets there, no sig no delivery, if you can afford it you could probably get almost any thing sent like that.

What exactly happens will depend on exactly how USPS delivers the package in each individual place, I would think they use a local delivery service. Either that or some poor posty in the US just got a large stack of OoTS books for every from the UK to the Netherlands and back again.

Just think of all the air miles.

[APEGames Help]

I am following up several questions on the GITP forums.

There are a few people in this thread who have questions regarding tracking status and the lack of change in the status. I know it is frustrating, and it actually has my concern as well. I will be making inquiries with the USPS within the next 24 hours on packages that have not changed in tracking status, and I will post an update tomorrow when I have an explanation from them.

My goal has been and continues to be getting the goodness that is OOTS into the customer's hands as quickly as possible without compromising quality. So please know that I am working to get any information that I can about your orders.

If there is anything that requires further assistance other than this issue, please contact me at [email protected] and I will do my best to help you.

Amy
APE Games Shipping Dept.

[apegamer]

Also, why would a comic book be sent with Delivery/Signature confirmation (thats what the usps faq says what it means)... All i want is to come back from work some day and find a nice comic book in my mailbox :D I dont have time to sit at home without knowing a day of arrival to sign for it :P

Delivery/Signature Confirmation is kind of two things lumped into one. We don't require signature confirmation, but the status WILL be updated upon delivery.

[Beittil]

Ok, i guess everything is alright then. It's been like 6 days, i know shipping from US -> Europe takes some time trough regular channels (non UPS, DHL, etc). I guess it will drop in one of these days.

[Vargtass]

I received my order today!

It took from June 29 to deliver to Netherlands, but what do I care! I got it before my 4-week vacation trip (starting tomorrow)!

Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthank... breathes... you!

[apegamer]

Ok, i guess everything is alright then. It's been like 6 days, i know shipping from US -> Europe takes some time trough regular channels (non UPS, DHL, etc). I guess it will drop in one of these days.

I will say that international shipping through USPS is way, way, way, way WAY better than it was last year. Some of you who ordered the OOTS game before the shipping types changes can remember waiting 60-90 days for your order to show up in the mail.

[apegamer]

I would like to introduce APEGames Help who'll be posting replies to this forum probably more than I will moving forward, since she's responsible for shipping at APE and knows more about all that than I do. (I'm an executive in the company and therefore have no idea what's happening anywhere.)

[APEGames Help]

I said that I would have an update in 24 hours.

The update I currently have is that I will be able to talk with someone on Monday who can answer the questions about status. So for now, I can say that I continue to be excited when people e-mail me to say "IT ARRIVED!!!!" and I continue to wish that MORE of you were able to do just that.

More information Monday....I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Amy
APE Games Shipping Dept.

[Beittil]

It is here baby :D w00t all the way!

7 days sending to arrival, not bad :D OMG, its so many pages... awesomeness...

[ChopSticks28]

7 days? Oh come on, I'm waiting for a lot more and nothing yet.... How long does it suppose to take? (I'm from Israel if it changes anything.)

[Hazelnut]

Amy,

My books arrived yesterday, thanks!

:D

[WeAreOuttaHere]

No word from USPS on order no. 7598 yet, fingers crossed for good news soon.

Good Luck Amy.

WeAreOuttaHere.

[APEGames Help]

I have called in inquiries for several International Priority shipments, and they will be contacting me on those within the next 16 days. *sigh* That is the good news.

A few people who have voiced questions about their order were those who used International First Class mail. What I am being told at the moment is that it is too soon to make an inquiry for any First Class shipments, based on when they were mailed. Unlike Priority Mail, which has a delivery time window, First Class International has no set delivery time expectation. So I am told I have to wait at least another week. Possibly longer, for those who did not ship the first two days.

So at this point, if you want to let me know that your order has still not arrived, I will ensure that you are on my list of orders to watch, and if eligible I will file an inquiry on your shipment. If I have put in an inquiry on your shipment, I will email you to let you know that I have done so.

Once again, I wish there were more I could do, but unfortunately customs and mailing procedures Internationally often require patience.

Amy
APE Games Shipping Dept.

[Mighty]

Right, so many many months ago I preordered Start of Darkness from the APE site and figured, oh well might as well get Dungeon Crawlin' Fools, while I'm at it so I ordered both. Then there were all the delays etc etc and then today I come home (I live in Denmark) and see a slip from the postal service that there's a package waiting from Amy Pike. Being I already have "On the Origin of PCs" I think yay! and rush down to the postal office and get the package. Then I come home, open it, looks at the included ordering recipe where it says

"Order of the Stick: Start of Darkness"
"Order of the Stick: Dungeon Crawlin' Fools"

Then I look in the box and what do I find..

"Order of the Stick: Start of Darkness" aaaand
"Order of the Stick: On the Origin of PCs"

So basically now I have two copies of On the Origin of PCs and no Dungeon Crawlin' Fools. I feel I've been patient with all the delay of Start and Darkness and I appreciate receiving that book but it's just really dissapointing to then find out that my order was screwed up and that I paid for the order AND customs on a book I already had.

My order number is 6709 and I'll be happy to take a picture of the two books and the order slip if you dont believe me.

[Seeker]

I have a similar problem to Mighty's...

I ordered Start of the Darkness and On Origin of the PC's. It got here yesterday, but for some reason when I opened the box/envelope, only SoD was there, but the receipt said that I had got both.

However, I got the lowest cost shipping available, and it only ships 1-2 items, so I'm hoping that they shipped differently and it just hasn't arrived yet. But could I have this cleared up? Order number is 9752.

I really hope someone didn't screw up and forget to package OootP... :smallmad: I've been waiting in suspense, and while SoD is awesome, I need some more greyscale action!

[APEGames Help]

I have addressed the issues Mighty and Seeker had by e-mail.

If either of you has any further concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me via e-mail at [email protected] for additional assistance.

Amy
APE Games Shipping Department
[email protected]

[WeAreOuttaHere]

Ha ha ha ha! Got my OotS books today!

More exclamation points for all !!!!!!!

*Phew* Took a bit of work and a lot of information from APEGamesHelp, but it all got sorted in the end.

Many thanks to Amy for her sterling work and help.

Must go read more now,

WeAreOuttaHere.

[apegamer]

*Phew* Took a bit of work and a lot of information from APEGamesHelp, but it all got sorted in the end.

Many thanks to Amy for her sterling work and help.

Isn't she the best?!

I want to let folks know a couple other things:

1) Those of you that have tried to order the Start of Darkness from apegames.com will have noticed that we'd sold out. We've got more books coming in a few days, so I've turned that product back on again in the store. Feel free to order away.

B) If you've not already seen it, note the new Shipping Questions link on the bottom of all store pages. I noticed the number of emails for shipping questions decrease dramatically since I put the link up, but in case you've not seen it, I wanted to point that out. Amy has done a great job getting additional information put together regarding how to track shipping internationally if you're in Canada, the UK or Australia (some of our biggest international buyers.) It appears that international tracking sucks far less than tracking on usps.com. I'll be putting those links into the Shipping Questions section over the next few days.

[tremodian]

Got my books today (yipee!) all the way down under in Australia. Order# 9683, ordered on the 11th of July. The delivery itself was quite fast (Priority Mail International) but it took six days (4 working days) to process and ship my order. It seems I must have ordered just as things were getting busy at APE. I had similar tracking problems to everyone else, my tracking status stayed on "electronic notification" for the better part of 5 days.

My biggest concern was the state of the books when I got them. All of the books were damaged in some way. I'm not entirely sure the polysterene bead/bubble things used to pack the books were sufficient to protect them from transit damage. One corner of the delivery box is dented with corresponding damage on the corner of the books. The damage looks like someone gripped the corner between thumb and forefinger and bent the book corner. Also one of the books has a 5cm long gouge out of the back cover (stripping off all of the glossy colouring).

I've had similar problems with other orders placed through USPS. All of the packages in the last six months that I received via USPS have been damaged in some fashion with corresponding damage to the goods inside. The damage never looks fresh so it can't be the fault of the local delivery agent (Australia Post).

Strange as I never had damage or tracking problems when I ordered the Oots boardgame.

By the way all of the Oots goods I have bought so far have been excellent quality (except for the cafe press t-shirts which had less than stellar quality colouration and fabric strength as compared to shirts from say Thinkgeek.com)

Thanks.

T.

[apegamer]

All of the books were damaged in some way.

Well, we carry insurance for many types of international orders. You should contact our shipping department at [email protected] for more information. It wouldn't hurt to send pictures of the damage.

[tremodian]

Thanks, but I'm not entirely sure it is worth the effort. I presume that if the damage was deemed sufficient I would have to send the books back for replacement? This is hardly ideal given how long it took to get them here (which effectively means I would need to wait double that time).

Thanks.

T.

P.S. I'll contact them anyway just in case.

[Girdag]

My order of Start of Darkness and Dungeon Crawlin' Fools was apparently dispatched on the 29th of June. Over 5 weeks later, and still nothing, the tracking sites don't show anything. Getting a bit ridiculous now.

[APEGames Help]

Girdag,

If you want to email me and provide me with an order number, I will see what I can find out for you.

It has been frustrating that there have been delays of this length for some of our customers, but I want to do whatever I can to help get your order to you.

One of the most common reasons at this point has been returned packages due to customs issues or address problems. These are handled on an order-by-order basis, but most have been taken care of with a fast turnaround to get a new shipment back out in the mail.

I would be happy to research your order and see what more I can tell you. My email address is below.

[tremodian]

Hi Amy,

I've sent you two emails (from Bryan Paton) in regards to the status of the damaged order (mentioned a few messages up) but have not received any reply. It has been two weeks since your email regarding your investigation of the claims process. What exactly is the status?

Thanks.

T.

[Train2nowhere]

I've placed an order for Dungeon Crawlin' Fools, and No Cure for the Paladin Blues a couple of days ago (order #10407), and I still haven't received an update or a tracking number.

[apegamer]

I've placed an order for Dungeon Crawlin' Fools, and No Cure for the Paladin Blues a couple of days ago (order #10407), and I still haven't received an update or a tracking number.

Please let us know if you've still not received anything for this order. Sometimes email addresses bounce on us.

[APEGames Help]

I have addressed Tremodian directly, in regards to his damaged order, but I want to be sure that there are no other concerns that remain unaddressed.

At this point my records show that all damage or printing issues have been addressed via email. If you still have an outstanding issue, please email me so I can help provide information to you.

[AlfonZ]

Hello.

I have couple of questions.

I was trying to create APE account. I selected "State/Province" "Outside US" and left "Other State/Province" blank.
Although it is in italic (=optional), system was complaining about blank field (both "State/Province" and "Other State/Province" became red).
So I just entered some random characters instead.
But apparently this field will get into address. As I am from Slovakia (which is not quite big country, you see), I can see no usage of this field for me.
What should I enter into it?


Can you log into your account on apegames.com and confirm your email? You'd be surprised, but maybe 1 in 5 emails bounce back to us. A lot of those are probably on purpose, I guess.
As apegamer recommends, I wanted to confirm my email address, but I couldn't find any confirmation link. So I just subscribed to newsletter and got email all right. I guess this makes my email sort of confirmed :smallsmile:

I am thinking about ordering all 4 books and game.
Would you recommend to order all together or to split them into more orders?

Thanks.

[APEGames Help]

If you will email me directly at [email protected] that will allow us to look at everything you are asking and find the best way to order for you.

I am always happy to confirm address information and email addresses before an order is sent to ensure it gets where it is going. By emailing me we can look at your information privately and answer all your questions.

As for whether ordering once or placing separate orders would be best, I would have to look at postage information based on your address as well. It is best that I do that BEFORE you do any ordering.

Please email me at your convenience and I will help with placing the order.

[Laros]

I ordered SoD & OoPCs around 2 weeks ago and recieved a tracking number. According to the shipping agency, they've been told to expect the package but that it isn't yet being shipped.

I was just wondering how long it might take before the books are on their way.

[APEGames Help]

Without knowing more, it is hard for me to make a general statement because shipping times vary based on where it is going, and what method is chosen. I can tell you that if you are in the US, then two weeks is longer than usual. If you are intenational, the delivery times vary a lot more, but 2 or even 3 weeks is not unusual because of customs processing.

If you give me an order number I can look at your specifics, tell you when it was delivered to USPS, and possibly dig a little further.

You can post here or email me directly at the email below and I will be happy to help all that I can.

[Laros]

The order number is 11065

[APEGames Help]

The good news is that I show the package was scheduled for delivery to you on 10/24, which was Wednesday. I got that information from Canada Post's tracking system. You can enter the tracking number we sent you and see the message showing it was sent out for delivery. If you need that number again, email me. Canada actually gives me the best tracking information of all the countries I deal with. The link to that page is:

https://em.canadapost.ca/emo/basicPin.do?language=en

The link below is a page with how to contact Canada Post, and near the top center of that page is another link to their tracking system.

https://ssl.postescanada-canadapost.ca/personal/corporate/about/contact_us/default-e.asp

If you inquire with them about whether they attempted delivery, they should have an answer for you. If not, contact me again here or via email.

[Laros]

Thanks. I was checking the United States Postal Service site that the Tacking # button links to. It says that they still have yet to recieve the package.

Thanks for clearing that up :)

[APEGames Help]

No problem at all. I apologize for what USPS shows, but unfortunately they are not required to scan any package until delivery. So while some post offices or customs stops in between do show a scan, it is not always the case.

If you do not have the package in a day or two, let me know.

[Threeshades]

around the middle of september I ordered Start of Darkness and OtOoPCs. Except for an email i recieved on the 15th of september i didnt hear or see anything of it so far.

This is what the email is:


APE Games would like to apologize for the delay in shipping your order. The delay was due to technical problems beyond our control. We hope you enjoy your Order of the Stick products!


Your order 10746 will be shipped to you on 09/14/2007 via U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail Intl, Flat Rate Env to the following address:

[...]

The package's Customs ID is LJ551633748US



This package is trackable at www.usps.com.


Amy Pike
APE Games


I'd justl ike to see if i can get any information on that.

[APEGames Help]

I will look into your order by Tuesday at noon and get back with you, most likely directly via email.

[APEGames Help]

As I posted before, I have also sent you a direct email. Here is the current investigation status:

I have check the records I keep that verify what is delivered to or picked up by the post office, and your package DID go out on 9-14-07. I have gone to the USPS website, but they archive records after 60-90 days. I have made an email request to have the details restored to my email, and that should happen by tonight when I am back in the office. I will also inquire directly with them.

I am extremely sorry that the package has not yet reached you. I am going to do everything possible to find out ASAP what has happened and will email you as I know more.

If you have any questions, or if I can provide further assistance or information, please do not hesitate to let me know.

[AciD]

Woohoo, got my books !

Date of order : 2007-12-10
Date of delivery : 2007-12-24

14 days from US to France is ok.
\o/ just in time for Christmas, thanks !

The 4 books were well packed, but it seems usps don't really take care of their packages : I got all of the 4 books bottom left corner damaged :(

Anyways, reading once more the Order of the Stick (now I know why it's named like this !) adventures is great :>

cu

[Threeshades]

Any info on my order yet? I'm getting desparate.

[APEGames Help]

I hope everyone had a great holiday! I would like to personally thank those customers who sent well wishes my way, and I hope that OOTS helped to bring holiday cheer.

For the last couple of posts:

Threeshades - your order is definitely an unusual one. I will email you off the forums, but chances are that a reshipment will be made pending a few details I need from you. Please reply or email me at [email protected]


AciD - I am happy to hear you received your books. I would like to address the damage to the books. If you will email me directly, we may be able to do something about the fact that your books were damaged during shipment. Please email me, and pictures of the damage will be helpful.

[Muzzafar]

Not sure if this is the right place to ask my question, but I will try.
It says on the APE website that Start of Darkness is not available.
Can you give a rough estimate on when it will be on stock again?
(I live across the ocean so I am really interested in getting everything in one shipment.)

[Crispy Dave]

just now when I went to order the scratch and dent version of On the origen of the pcs at the end of my order I had both the scratch dent and the new version on my invoice so I sent a email to ape and im waiting for a repy

[APEGames Help]

I have obtained information regarding your interest in the availability of OOTS: Start of Darkness.

It is temporarily out of stock, but the book is being reprinted, and we expect it to be back in stock in early February.

An alternative to waiting is tht you can purchase a scratch and dent copy, which is available now. Please check out the Scratch and Dent section in the store at APE Games.com for more choices.

http://apegames.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=SD

[APEGames Help]

Crispydave,

I show by now that you should have received an email reply, but I also want to reassure you that the error has been corrected. Your order will ship out today and only includes the scratch and dent copy.

I apologize for any delay in getting back to you about your question.

[Crispy Dave]

thanks so much ape games rocks most other companies wouldov said some bull like give it to a friend its too late to do anything

[APEGames Help]

I just wanted to let everyone know that Start of Darkness is back in stock. Order away!

You can still also purchase a scratch and dent copy while they last. Please check out the Scratch and Dent section in the store at APE Games.com for more choices if interested.

http://apegames.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=SD

[Haruki-kun]

Excuse me.... I ordered Start of Darkness a long time ago and it never came. :smallfrown: What should I do about it?

[APEGames Help]

I apologize for the delay in getting an answer to you, but we are just returning from the holiday weekend here in the US.

The easiest way for me to investigate why you have not received your order is for you to email me with the name that was used to place the order. Other information (the order #, date of order, your address) may be helpful in determining what has happened.

I can look into things and have a reply (with what I know as I start the inquiry) to you within 24 hours of receiving the information about your order.

Please email me at the address below and provide your name as it appeared on the order.

[Joeliejubba]

What payment options are available? i live in australia and my mum wont use her credit card even if i give her the money so is there a money order option? thanks, email me at [email protected]

[APEGames Help]

I have also emailed you at the address provided, but wanted to post the information for others who may have the same question.

Unfortunately at this time we only accept credit cards or PayPal payments.

[Tistur]

Not sure if this is the right place to ask this....

I pre-ordered War & XPs in late July, and was billed for it. Will it be shipping soon? (Along with my Elan magnet?)

Thanks,

Tistur

[APEGames Help]

War and XPs is still in pre-order status. The books and magnets are scheduled to arrive soon, so shipment of pre-orders will happen as soon as they are here in the warehouse at APE Games.

You can also watch for an announcement to be made on the APE Games home page or GITP once we receive the books and begin shipping. You will also receive an email showing the date your book ships.

I appreciate your wanting to stay informed, and if I can provide further assistance or information, please do not hesitate to let me know.
_____________________________

Amy Pike
APE Games Shipping Department
[email protected]

[Yoritomo Himeko]

War and XPs is still in pre-order status. The books and magnets are scheduled to arrive soon, so shipment of pre-orders will happen as soon as they are here in the warehouse at APE Games.

You can also watch for an announcement to be made on the APE Games home page or GITP once we receive the books and begin shipping. You will also receive an email showing the date your book ships.

I appreciate your wanting to stay informed, and if I can provide further assistance or information, please do not hesitate to let me know.
_____________________________

Amy Pike
APE Games Shipping Department
[email protected]

Thank you, Amy, for keeping us up to date on War and XPs.

[Uzraid]

I received my pre-order on Tuesday. Thanks, APE! Thanks, Rich! Thanks, Mom!

[IndyPendant]

I just thought I'd mention: ordered from APE all five books currently available. I was a little nervous because of the problems I kept reading about.

No problems whatsoever. Books arrived last week, well-packaged, every book in pristine condition. And I ordered from Canada, so it did have to go through customs.

So, thanks to Giant and APE. Reading through them again now!

--IndyPendant.

[chilepepper]

I ordered Start of Darkness on the tail end of your post hurricane power outage. I just received the book in pristine condition, as I did On the Origin of PCs last year. APE Games seems to have recovered quickly from the wrath of nature. Thank you very much.

[caeruleus]

Heya, I placed order# 16908 and received confirmation a week ago, but have not heard anything since. Is there a tracking number I could get?

[generic_guy]

Hi! I don't have an issue (yet) but I am kinda worried. :smallsmile:
I placed order #17003 on the 21st of october and still didn't get the tracking number. This order is going to be a present to my friend and that's the reason why I am worried. Please could you tell me how long it is going to take you to handle the order to USPS guys?

Thanks!!!

[generic_guy]

I already got a reply! Wow, it was really quick :smallbiggrin:

[jazzjr]

I'm concerned on if I'll ever see my copy of War & XPs, I placed the order on August 1rst so I'm also looking forward to adding the magnet to my collection.

However I recieved a shipping notice on 8/30 with a tracking number link that when followed, the post office shows they never recieved this package.

Add the fact that ten e-mails later and still no responce from APE, and I'm more than a little concerned.

Any help would be appreciated.

[jazzjr]

Finally got an e-mail back, problems solved. These guys are great.

[oots-rus]

Dear APE Games! I placed my order #16419 on 09/04/2008, get an e-mail with confirmation, and... That's all what I've got. USPS tracker says, that they are still waiting for this package. I've sent you 3 mails, but there was no reaction at all. Please, explain me, what the problem is?

[oots-rus]

HEELOOOUU!!! Do someone from APE Games read this thread, or what?

[APEGames Help]

oots-rus,
I wanted to let you know that we have filed an inquiry with USPS now that the time they require for lost packages has passed. (an email with that information was sent to you in October, but if you did not receive it let me know.)

I have also emailed you to let you know the current status of your order with us. If there are further questions, please do not hesitate to email me.

[rollfrenzy]

Is there a solid release date for the OOTS: The Shortening? ookoodook.com has it listed as June, but there isn't much June left.

[apegamer]

Is there a solid release date for the OOTS: The Shortening? ookoodook.com has it listed as June, but there isn't much June left.

The book hasn't arrived in the warehouse yet. We'll be at Origins for a week starting in just a couple hours, so it's not looking good for orders to get out before the end of June, even if they do arrive.

Sorry.

[kingpain]

I have sent three e-mails over at ookoodook.com and have not heard a reply at all. I ordered Snips, and snails, and dragon tails and the shortening separately. The book was supposed to be out in May, the Shortening in June. The book was supposed to be a gift, it isn't anymore.
Well, when the book was pushed back, that screwed things up for me. I only placed them as separate orders to get the book in time for Mouse's birthday. I tried to contact the retailer to see about combining the shipping and refunding the difference. The site said I should hear back usually within 24 hours. No e-mail after the first. No reply after the second. Placed the third today.
I am so far, unimpressed with their sites customer service. I saw this thread, and at least there are some responses here, but as I can tell from other posters, ookoodook seems to have a problem answering their e-mails through their own website. Here's hoping.

[FujinAkari]

If you scroll up slightly you'll see they're at Origins this week, so they likely won't be in the office to receive your email until Monday :)


I am so far, unimpressed with their sites customer service. I saw this thread, and at least there are some responses here, but as I can tell from other posters, ookoodook seems to have a problem answering their e-mails through their own website. Here's hoping.

This is probably the furthest thing from the truth I have ever read. Ookadook has some of the best customer service I have ever seen from a 1-person company :p

((Ok, so I have no idea how many people work there, but I know it isn't many!))

[kingpain]

Origins notwithstanding, my e-mail went out before their post. A delay is a delay, and delays happen, it's true. That being said, if a company does not have a reliable way to interact with their customers, then their customer service is lacking, or in better words, sub-par. Perhaps they are forthcoming and personable when they deal with you, but so far, when complaining or seeking answers from their website the common thread seems to be of slow response time.

Are their products worthwhile? Yes, indubitably. I have all the OOTS books and the game. T-shirt wise, the screen printing is still not as good as other sites such as Think Geek, but I still wear them as they are my favorite gifts from my gaming group. I have never had a problem with the condition of my purchases, and have also received them promptly. These are all separate areas. The one I believe needs work would be their customer service.

[kingpain]

Well, I received a reply, and as expected, as polite as they could be. They are willing to combine the order, but now the Shortening isn't expected to ship until sometime in August. Two months after it was said to ship. Sigh. Sadly, the website does not have this update posted...yet.

Thank you Kevin for getting in touch with me, I appreciate it.

[apegamer]

I'll post replies here and on Ookoodook.com's homepage as I get more information.

It's true, we've been at Origins since Tuesday and have been working the booth all day and running events all night. That left us little time for email.

At this point all I can say is that you have patience. Yes, the book and the games are delayed from their original date and I apologize for that.

We got production sets of the OOTS games back and found that they weren't right. They're working to correct the issue and the games should leave the printer next week. That will put them in the U.S. sometime during the first week in August.

I learned an important lesson about pre-orders, and we'll probably not be doing them again anytime soon.

[Dakaran]

There is nothing wrong with pre-orders and I fear the "lesson learned" is the wrong one.

The problem here are not the issues with the products that got delayed but with the communication about that problem. We all understand we are dealing with small companies here and that issues can happen. What cannot happen is there's no openness about it because we are dealing with small companies that do not have a wide, wide circle of customers but customers who are tied to two websites (the shop and this one).

The lessons learned should be a) do not promise optimistic dates and b) communicate early if there is stuff instead of waiting week after week. That works if everything works out but it bites your behind if some other delay happens.

That said: I'd preorder again. Simply because I do know we are dealing with a small business which gets helped by the money to get the stuff going that I like.
Preorders are probably the thing to get War and XPs back in print. If I had not already in my shelf, I'd preorder it (and pay for it) should that become an option.

Why would I preorder again? Because I already bought six books from Rich Burlew and he never ran away with my money without giving me what I paid for. That's what "past experience" is doing in my head and therefore it is as important as it is - and it is why I do not get how all this "let's not tell people anything" here went how it went.

Now that we got the update this thread here is probably somewhat pointless.

This is a quote from the "SS&DT update?" thread on the Order of the Stick Comic sub-forum which is in response to the previous post. I obviously can't speak for others, but this adequately describes what I think. Despite the delays and setbacks I would also absolutely pre-order one of Rich's books again. I love this series as do a lot of people and we want to support Rich. If pre-ordering helps alleviate some of the weight of whatever up-front cost there is to print a book then I'm all the more for it.

[Skavensrule]

I learned an important lesson about pre-orders, and we'll probably not be doing them again anytime soon.

Please allow pre-orders on future products, I have no issues with the fact that unplaned difficulties happened with the printing/distributing/delivery of this product. But as others have pointed out when this does happen a quick note as soon as it is apparent that the deadline will be missed would have solved most of the complaints.
If a thread can be set up this way; perhaps a locked/stickied thread that only you can post in so that no flames get posted.
I ordered two copies of this book for me and a friend and I plan to pre-order any future books just to ensure that I don't miss out. In the past I have waited till books from other publishers have been printed to order and then wound up having to buy them from e-bay at twice the price because it was too late.

[Fawkes]

So, wait, things are delayed again, but do we have a new expected ship date for the books?

[Ancalagon]

@Apegamer

You might want to read this thread as well:

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=204251

Read the entire thread. And then please clean up your (company, nothing against your person!) mess. I like OotS too much to see it takes damage from unnecessary, mind-boggling botches as this. This project here (self publishing of an awesome comic) is a very cool thing that I'd like to see working out.

---

And when all this is done in a few weeks or months, I strongly suggest (but it's totally your business to drill holes in your own boat) you people all sit down in a silent moment and really reconsider your PR strategy in regard to delays, communication, and checking out the official forums of your main (and basically only?) customer.

edit: Oh, and the "Hey, what's up with the orders?" was a lingering issue before you all left to the convention.

[pendell]

If there's one lesson I would ask ApeGamer and Ookadook to take from this fiasco, it would be the importance of timely communication with customers.

I can wait quite a long time; I understand that we're dealing with small companies who have too much to do and too little time to do it. Just a one paragraph, or even one sentence, update about once a week or so on the status would go far towards quelling speculation and helping us be patient.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[Ancalagon]

Just a hint that will show you the massive amount of neglect that play a role here (put that on your list to talk about): Even with all the fuzz going on for... I have to say... months...

This link still lists "May 2011" as release date. It also still says "We want to see how many preorders we get to determine how many we need to print."
In all honesty... but ... d'oh?
http://www.giantitp.com/GIPOTSDr.html

Disclaimer:
I'm as honest and open here as I am not because I want to mock you or something or because I want to kick a fallen man but I honestly want you to learn from this and be made aware of all the things one should be aware of if one is trying to run a professional business.

One could call this nitpicking but personally I really do not think this are "unimportant details". Especially as it, as I think, is actually symptom for the actual cause. What is that cause? That's really not my (or anyone but yours) judgment to make.

[Gullintanni]

If there's one lesson I would ask ApeGamer and Ookadook to take from this fiasco, it would be the importance of timely communication with customers.

I can wait quite a long time; I understand that we're dealing with small companies who have too much to do and too little time to do it. Just a one paragraph, or even one sentence, update about once a week or so on the status would go far towards quelling speculation and helping us be patient.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

This. I get the feeling that we're dealing with a company that has very limited resources, and at the very least, the company seems intent on getting one thing right above all else: The Product. Given that, I'm okay waiting.

If they're having trouble with manufacturing and printers, all we can really do is be patient. I work in purchasing, specifically in printing, and delays are almost universally the result of the printing companies, rather than the distributors...and usually then the problems tend to be logistics related (press malfunctions, card stock coming in late etc).

This is the reality of working without a buffer, and without having the weight of a larger corporation to throw around. That being said, I have to advocate in favor of patience. And, really...updating the website as developments occur. That's a business decision to make though. Answering individual e-mails probably takes more time than updating the website, but I don't have the experience to speak to that.

As long as the company keeps answering my e-mails and readily communicating (which they've done a great job at in my experience) then I've got no gripes.

[Ancalagon]

Another lesson to learn: Don't lock threads with valid concerns. They did it again. In all honesty and without much friendlyness left: now I am getting angry about all this.

It feels a bit like getting punched in the stomach.

edit: I pondered it a bit. I actually am not getting angry, I am it.

[Shahadet]

Another lesson to learn: Don't lock threads with valid concerns. They did it again. In all honesty and without much friendlyness left: now I am getting angry about all this.

It feels a bit like getting punched in the stomach.

edit: I pondered it a bit. I actually am not getting angry, I am it.

I concur with a big +1. It's almost the grown up equivalent of "I don't like what I am hearing, so I'm going to stick my fingers in my ears". I mean really, they locked one of 2 new threads, saying "go look at the other thread". And now, they have "MOVED" the other thread, so all you get is "you are not authorized to look at this" messages. Really, people? :smallmad:

The thing that REALLY bothers me is the fact that people like FujinAkari, (and the perception that GitP/Oook) seem think we are all childish complainers who are upset that the stuff we ordered is late.

Some small quantity of people are upset its late.

The large majority are Disappointed the stuff is late, but understand that in real life, things happen to cause delays. And we've all seen it, in popular books, movies, video game releases, etc ad nauseum.

The large majority are upset BECAUSE there is the perception that it's beyond/beneath GitP/Oook's time and energy to simply post a 2-3 line "Product Update" post on their respective websites saying "We have had some unavoidable delays on our latest products that have pushed back delivery dates - when we have some solid info or product in hand to ship, we will send it out. In the meantime, we will try to keep everyone updated every couple of weeks".

It shouldn't take almost one hundred people (or more!) spamming K.Brusky's email box with "Where are my book?" questions to get him to post a 2 line update on his Oook website - that should have happened WAY sooner.

And we still have no info on the GitP site.:smallconfused:

Frankly, it's a PR disaster and a textbook case in most business schools of how NOT to do PR for a small business. And if GitP/Oook are going by the premise of "once they get their stuff, this will all blow over", they may be in for a bit of a rude surprise.....

[apegamer]

This is the topic that I normally post to. Which one has been closed?

I'm planning to send out a bulk email later today with release dates as best we know them today, for both the book and the games.

I'll also post that information here, and on the Ookoodook.com home page.

By the way, I don't have access to the GiantITP news page, so any posts that I do will be to one of these locations, unless someone can point me to a better forum.

[pendell]

This is the topic that I normally post to. Which one has been closed?

I'm planning to send out a bulk email later today with release dates as best we know them today, for both the book and the games.

I'll also post that information here, and on the Ookoodook.com home page.

By the way, I don't have access to the GiantITP news page, so any posts that I do will be to one of these locations, unless someone can point me to a better forum.

Thank you, APEGamer.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[Wanda V'Orcus]

I'm planning to send out a bulk email later today with release dates as best we know them today, for both the book and the games.

Thank you.

This is the sort of information that people have been clamoring for (and IMHO, rightfully so), and I look forward to reading this update with interest.

Cheers, JohnH / Wanda

[Shahadet]

This is the topic that I normally post to. Which one has been closed?

2 different topics were opened in the OotS forum (of which this is a sub-forum). There was some small amount of heated-ness involved from a few parties but, by and large, it was a civil discourse which is why Ancalagon & I find their closing to be disappointing.


I'm planning to send out a bulk email later today with release dates as best we know them today, for both the book and the games.

I'll also post that information here, and on the Ookoodook.com home page.

By the way, I don't have access to the GiantITP news page, so any posts that I do will be to one of these locations, unless someone can point me to a better forum.

Thanks for the info AG. Your website is a perfectly fine forum for posting this information. Perhaps if GiantITP has a person who's title is "Web Site Manager", you could email this information to that person so they could post it up on their own News page - that would be great.

Or, at the least, let that person know when you are posting up your info on the Oook.site, so they can put a message on their News page of "Ape Games has new information - here's the link."

And the Bulk Email is a very nice "customer service" touch. I look forward to reading mine in the near future.

Thanks again! :smallbiggrin:

[Amy]

I want to add my thanks for your concern, Apegamer. I would like to see more updates on GitP's news site, but I certainly understand that since you don't run GitP, that's not something you can do. I'm going to check my email right now.

[Ancalagon]

{{scrubbed}}

[apegamer]

Please see the new topic here:

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=11310792#post11310792

for future book/game updates.

And please post friendly - I'd like to continue using that topic for posting updates, but cannot if it gets locked down.

[kingpain]

I have yet to receive a confirmation tracking code. With one of your staff recently in the hospital, and your mailbox filling up with emails, I figure'd I'd drop a line here. I have 2 books on pre-order and the expansion, all separate orders. #7247, 7249, and 10429. Thank you.

[apegamer]

We're back to full staff and people should receive notices within the next 4-5 days.

[Spider76]

Any update regarding the OOTS expansion ?

[TheRiov]

I have to say I'm really kind of disgusted with Ookoodook. I went in and figured the price of ordering the book by itself and the game by itself.
Total savings for ordering together vs ordering separately? : $1.00

Considering I pre-ordered both 4 months ago, and paid for shipping at the time (premium ship... because I need it in 3 days after its been on pre-order for 4 months, vs 5 days) and Ookoodook has had my money for that long, I figure the interest alone pretty much covers separate shipping costs of sending them separately.

What if the game is delayed again? (damaged in shipping, another printer error, etc) Will you be holding our other shipments until the error is corrected?


This is NOT standard practice--
If Ookoodook doesn't have the 'bandwidth' (corp speak for "We don't want to hire enough people to meet our business obligations.) they need to actually increase staffing.

[apegamer]

This is NOT standard practice--
If Ookoodook doesn't have the 'bandwidth' (corp speak for "We don't want to hire enough people to meet our business obligations.) they need to actually increase staffing.

Sorry for the inconvenience. Actually, even the 800 lb gorilla of shipping Amazon will charge you extra for shipping items separately. Our added cost will be $5 per item to ship them to you separately, and trust me - on a $15-$20 item we're not making money if we do that for everyone. There may be some shipping combinations where the increases cost is less than that, but you get the idea.

If you want the books shipped right away, the best thing would be to cancel your order and place separate orders for each product. Then products will ship as they're available. If you'd like to do that, email [email protected] and we'll take care of it.

The product pages on Ookoodook specifically say in bold red text that your order will ship when all products are available.

We had 6 people in the warehouse filling pre-orders, so we don't have a bandwidth problem, either.

[TheRiov]

From the email we received:


You ordered the OOTS game or expansion. These orders will ship when the games arrive in our warehouse in 2-3 weeks. We can no longer split orders out and send your books separate. We simply don't have the bandwidth to do this."


Uh huh. Which is it?

I guess I'm confused. When I put in an order for both together:

Subtotal $76.90
Shipping $16.90
Tax $0.00
Total $93.80

When I put in the game alone:

Subtotal $54.95
Shipping $11.95
Tax $0.00
Total $66.90


When I put in the Book alone:
Subtotal $21.95
Shipping $5.95
Tax $0.00
Total $27.90

Now, if your math is correct, the total for them separately should be ~10 dollars more? So I should see something like a 5$ savings on both? Yet 27.90+66.90=$94.80. Even if this statement meant to imply that each additional item added 5$ to your cost to ship if it was done separately the math STILL doesn't add up. Net difference: $1.00.


Your own emails+Your board statements+your own website are completely inconsistant.

I FULLY understand mechanical delays, accidents, both in printing and the physical injuries of personnel. All those I am quite happy to forgive. c'est la vie.

This on the other hand, is bordering on outright lying to your customer base.

Furthermore, you're penalizing the customers who order MORE from you? How does that work? Wouldn't you want to better serve your better customers?

[TheRiov]

And just to clarify, when you preorder from Amazon, if there IS a delay in production they'll go ahead and ship the rest of the pre-order.

[apegamer]

Point taken about the postage. That combination of products bumps shipping up so flat rate shipping cannot be used. We can take a look at outstanding orders and see which it makes sense to ship separately.

Point not taken about lack of bandwidth. We have many thousands of orders, and that manpower is spent getting those orders out the door.

I'd also suggest that you be more civil on the forums. If you would like to privately email me with your issues, then feel free to vent at will.

[kingpain]

Okay. I made three separate orders. One book as a gift. One book for myself. One expansion for myself. All pre-orders. I was charged shipping and handling three separate times. The books came together. That means I was double-dipped for shipping and handling for the books. I've sent an e-mail requesting a refund. I did not mind paying extra for the shipping when they were coming in separate packaging. USPS has flat rate shipping for packages and two books weigh 26.2 oz. That's 5.8 oz. less than a needed upgrade in flat rate.
I'm awaiting a reply from the shipping manager, but I wanted others to see this. If you pay for something, it should be delivered as ordered, not however the retailer likes. I'm expecting a refund of $5.95 U.S. dollars, and will let you guys know how it works out. If my posts are deleted again, I'll just repost. I hate to escalate things, but my understanding has worn away, and I just want what is right. I'm not being mean or vindictive, but I paid in good faith, and I'd really just like what is owed to me.

-Originally posted 4:57 pm Eastern time

[kingpain]

Point taken about the postage. That combination of products bumps shipping up so flat rate shipping cannot be used. We can take a look at outstanding orders and see which it makes sense to ship separately.

Point not taken about lack of bandwidth. We have many thousands of orders, and that manpower is spent getting those orders out the door.

I'd also suggest that you be more civil on the forums. If you would like to privately email me with your issues, then feel free to vent at will.

And I'd say that was pretty civil. Riov didn't swear, curse your lineage, or make threats. He concisely pointed out glaring contradictory statements. I understand that this is your livelihood, and that you're feeling stressed over the crunch here. Nobody likes to feel persecuted. Right now though, he's upset, and he vented responsibly. Sometimes, it's better to take your deserved lumps in silence, instead of damaging an already perceived tarnished reputation.

[apegamer]

Okay. I made three separate orders. One book as a gift. One book for myself. One expansion for myself. All pre-orders. I was charged shipping and handling three separate times. The books came together. That means I was double-dipped for shipping and handling for the books. I've sent an e-mail requesting a refund. I did not mind paying extra for the shipping when they were coming in separate packaging. USPS has flat rate shipping for packages and two books weigh 26.2 oz. That's 5.8 oz. less than a needed upgrade in flat rate.
I'm awaiting a reply from the shipping manager, but I wanted others to see this. If you pay for something, it should be delivered as ordered, not however the retailer likes. I'm expecting a refund of $5.95 U.S. dollars, and will let you guys know how it works out. If my posts are deleted again, I'll just repost. I hate to escalate things, but my understanding has worn away, and I just want what is right. I'm not being mean or vindictive, but I paid in good faith, and I'd really just like what is owed to me.

-Originally posted 4:57 pm Eastern time

Yes, it's our policy to refund shipping if we combine orders. If you already mailed [email protected], then it should be in the pipeline to be refunded.

We also refund shipping if we find that we can ship orders for less than USPS charged when they placed the order (if the refund is >= $5). This normally happens for international orders.

[kingpain]

Yes, it's our policy to refund shipping if we combine orders. If you already mailed [email protected], then it should be in the pipeline to be refunded.

We also refund shipping if we find that we can ship orders for less than USPS charged when they placed the order (if the refund is >= $5). This normally happens for international orders.

Yup, here we go...Again. Ok Just got another email from Ookoodook. This time claiming that they just switched my combined book and expansion order with my just plain book order. That, Tina Baumgarter claims, is why I'm not entitled to a refund.


I did not have a single combined order. Not one. Nope. Nuh-uh. Absolutely not. Nada. I have three separate order numbers, and paid shipping and handling three separate times. I have kept my e-mails as proof, as I always do when ordering online. I was sent an e-mail inquiring whether I'd meant to order two books. Orders 7247 and 10429. I also ordered the expansion, 7249. I ordered the book and game separately for myself, and then ordered another book for my best bud. I ordered them separately so that I'd receive the books in May, and the game in July.


Then came the delays.


Now, I'm restating my case over and over trying to get back money that I was double dipped for because someone sought to make an easy $5.95 by combining two of the orders and pocketing the difference.


If, and I mean a really big friggin' if, I order anything else from them, I will continue to watch their practices like a starving man eyes a crusty piece of bread that's just out of reach.

[kingpain]

With the threat of involving the Better Business Bureau, and copies of my receipts, I have been given an apology and a promise of a return of my $5.95. Amazing the hoops you have to jump through to get what you should have gotten with just a polite reminder of a mistake. Unless I can only get it from them, I will, in the future, stick with buying my OOTS related gear from a local retailer. And no Kevin or Tina, no apology or words from you can change that opinion. Your company was too small and not adequately equipped to handle this situation well. There is now stress and bad feelings all around. It may just be growing pains on your side, but I'm left exhausted just to get my hobbies entertainment fix. As I said before in a post that was deleted for no good reason, their reps tend to be very polite, but the service is substandard.I give the service no stars out of five. Their products are 5 out of 5.

[apegamer]

I'd feel remiss if I didn't stick up for my shipping manager here, who went above and beyond to help you, was always very polite, and received only swearing and condescension from you.

Weeks ago, when she noticed you had placed two book orders, she emailed you about whether you wanted the books sent ahead of the game, since you'd paid multiple shipping costs. You said to ship the books, so she did.

So you got your books before the game, we're returning you $5.95 in extra shipping and you still can still only complain?

[kingpain]

{{scrubbed}}

[kingpain]

I'd feel remiss if I didn't stick up for my shipping manager here, who went above and beyond to help you, was always very polite, and received only swearing and condescension from you.

Weeks ago, when she noticed you had placed two book orders, she emailed you about whether you wanted the books sent ahead of the game, since you'd paid multiple shipping costs. You said to ship the books, so she did.

So you got your books before the game, we're returning you $5.95 in extra shipping and you still can still only complain?

Misrepresentation. You combined the orders. I was always supposed to get the books before the games, I don't know in May perhaps. The whole reason to order them separately was to avoid a delay. HAH! There were two book orders as one was a gift, and I don't like wrapping. So I paid $5.95 to have it come on it's own so I could just give it to him.


Above/beyond. Where is that? By sending me books I'd paid for? By charging me shipping 3 times and keeping the extra? The not returning it on your own and having me jump through hoops? It wasn't extra shipping. If I hadn't complained, are you saying you would have returned it yourselves? No. Because you then said that I'd had combined orders.


I am not happy because after all of the delays, which I can understand, but to then top it off with trying to get what was mine by having to argue was it. Last straw. I asked about it, and got turned away at first. She didn't read/bother to look up my orders. It was stated in the e-mails attatched to her reply. She wasn't thorough. If she was offended by my condescension, well, she should be. They were insults. After 12 emails, 3 months, and misappropriated funds, my response stands.

[LibraryOgre]

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