posted on August 18, 2001 06:10:12 AM new
Hi- I ordered a book from half.com on August 9th. I have yet to have any notes from the seller about shipping. Last night I checked the status of the order on half.com... it said shipped, expect it by September 11th.
Is a month to get my book really acceptable by half.com standards?
I am so disgusted, I am an Ebay seller, and I thought we were all held to the same shipping standards.
If I started telling my customers that it takes 32 days to get their items, I'd be broke with a terrible feedback rating...
posted on August 18, 2001 06:25:02 AM newkyms: If you read the pages on half.com regarding shipping, you will note that they state that it can take up to a month to receive your item via media mail. You will not receive any kind of notice from the seller stating that your item has been shipped. In fact, the seller doesn't even know how to contact you. However, once the seller confirms the sale, you should get a confirmation on that and an expected ship date from half.com. They put the 30 day media mail ship time in because that is what the post office says to expect. If you want faster service, you should look for a seller that will ship via priority mail and pay the extra. Of course, we all know that priority mail doesn't guarantee fast delivery.
In my personal experience, I have never had an item shipped from a half.com seller that took over 2 weeks for me to receive.
posted on August 18, 2001 06:25:41 AM new
Hi, kyms - things at Half.com are done quite differently from eBay - you are not likely to hear from the seller; all communication comes from Half.com, and they give an estimate on the shipping time that should allow for it taking an unusually long time.
The seller is required to ship within 24 hours (except for weekends and holidays) of confirming the order; I buy quite a bit from Half.com and most of my orders arrive within a week to ten days. If you want it faster, you have to pay for Priority Mail (if that is an option offered by the seller).
posted on August 18, 2001 07:35:49 AM new
I buy and sell on half.com and concur with the previous posters.
I believe these things are pretty clearly spelled out on the half.com site if a buyer takes time to read their tos and ordering screens. Perhaps they should improve them to make them um, harder to miss?
posted on August 18, 2001 10:06:28 AM new
I've had 2 Half.com book orders take a month to arrive. One was clearly the fault of the Post Office as the book was postmarked the day after the order was confirmed. The other one was the fault of the seller. I had to use the Report a Problem feature and finally received my book.
posted on August 18, 2001 10:14:39 AM new
There are any number of poor and amateur sellers on Half--you need to check feedback. I confirm quickly and ship next business day. On Friday, the weekend adds a couple of days. If you buy something from a slowpoke, you could order on Wednesday, get confirmation on Friday, and it won't ship till Monday.
With Media Mail, if you do not use Zip+4 and Barcode, you have a long wait. (The Barcode is even more esential than the +4) My average ship time is 5-7 days. The technology makes an amazing difference.
posted on August 18, 2001 01:12:25 PM new
Is a month to get my book really acceptable by half.com standards?>
Well, you know what they say you get what you pay for. Media mail is cheaper but can take the post office a few weeks to deliver. It also can take a few days but as half.com states it is media mail.
If you paid for priority no it shouldn't take that long. That is also stated on Half come some where.
posted on August 18, 2001 01:48:22 PM new
I sell on half.com.
I ship the next day that the PO is open, always.
But I had a book take well over a month to arrive. I received a req for status from my buyer via HALF & I replied with shipping staus as well as other info, as I had filed missing a missing package report and another box mailed the same day (to a different state) was also missing.
I was very annoyed to find out that not only does half.com keep buyer & seller from EVER communicating directly by routing ALL e-mails through them, they censor it as well. I could not tell my buyer what I wanted them to know, as I could tell by the 2nd very upset & truncated comminique I received from him via HALF. I can't believe those weasels at HALF censor the e-mails.
I hope they get hemmoroids(sp?)
So if you think your seller is blowing you off, it may well be the bleeps at HALF doing it themselves.
posted on August 18, 2001 05:25:36 PM new
Contact Half.com. & have them contact the buyer. Half.com does not allow direct contact. This way you can at least find out if the seller says he shipped it. This wiil not be quick. Half. takes 2-3 days to respond to email(heavy on the 3 days). Then you need the seller to respond to Half. It will then take them another 2-3 days to get back to you with their response. Media mail SHOULD only take about 10 days to go coast to coast. Weird things do happen. Please do not judge all Half. on this bad deal! We ship every day!
posted on August 18, 2001 07:42:00 PM new
I saw one seller's listing saying that it could be six weeks from their location in HI. Having dealt with one seller there, I don't really buy that excuse, but it did take a bit longer than usual.
posted on August 19, 2001 02:42:04 AM new
I know Half.com could suspend my ass for this, but I usually enclose the following note on my packing slip to the buyer: "Problems? Email me at xxxxxxxxx".
Folks, we've got to get back to the human touch. That would solve a LOT of these communication problems.
