Problems with Cafe Press ???

Just curious, has anyone else had any problems with Cafe Press?

I got my Volume 2 order today--half of it anyway. On one order, I ordered a quantity of two Volume 2's, but I was only shipped one. Their service line is not 24 hours, and I got home late, so I will have to wait until tomorrow to call them and ask for the 2nd book.

Hopefully getting the 2nd book I paid for will not be a hassle. Has anyone else had to deal with their customer services before?

Quoted from another thread...

BTW, for those interested, the books were nice and safely packed. Wrapped in plastic, wrapped in two layers of big bubble wrap and in a big box. I was very pleased to see that.

Jan

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I was equally pleased to see both of my Volume 1's come shipped that way too. However, on top of receiving only half my Volume 2 order, the shipping medium seems to be downgraded too...

Volume 2 did come in a plastic bag, but the open end was unsealed. No bubble wrap this time. And instead of a big box with the company logo, it was wrapped in a plain, basic cardboard box barely bigger than the book itself. The seams of the box flaps were taped, but there were some small gaps around the corners and the top flaps. Luckily, I have a covered porch, and it wasn't raining today, but on a rainy day, someone with an exposed front door could have potentially had their book ruined (unless the UPS guy is smart enough to not leave it under those conditions).

My book is okay, and maybe the customer service will be understanding, but overall, the service on my 2nd purchase is a big disappointment compared to the first.

I'm a forgiving person, because I make mistakes on my job too, but I just wanted to compare notes and see if bad service from Cafe Press has been a trend or if my case is an isolated incident.

You're the second person I know of who only got one of two books-I'm the other one. I called, the rep apologized and took down some numbers from the packing slip and told me that my second book would be here within the week. From the UPS slip on my door when I got home today, it was sent out second day air.

Another person I've read was pleased with the smaller box rather than the first. In neither of my packages was the plastic bag sealed. It's still more protection than I expected. Both of mine were nicely wrapped in bubble wrap.

From what I've seen, Cafe Press has had some troubles but they do seem to make good on their mistakes.

Jan

I'm getting mine through a friend who is ordering for both of us. He got his copy of volume 1 ok, but mine never turned up. When he enquired, they said it had been lost in transit and they sent another copy out, but when it arrived there was an extra £8 customs tax added to it!! Oh well, I guess that's not Cafe Press' fault. I don't think we've received volume 2 yet, so we'll have to wait when it arrives. I'm sure it will. I think if they're having any problems its perhaps because they've suddenly got a lot more customers for these books than maybe they realised they would have. I'm sure they'll iron out any problems. I've not seen the packaging (or the copy of my book!) yet, so I can't comment on that.

Everything has been smooth on this end too. Although I live across the pond, their shipping was relatively fast and it took only about one week 'till the book arrived. This time I could get my hands on it straight away, thanks for the smaller packaging that is.

I've never even heard about whole CafePress before this B5 script book thingie, and I must commend a job well done!

[quote When he enquired, they said it had been lost in transit and they sent another copy out, but when it arrived there was an extra £8 customs tax added to it!! Oh well, I guess that's not Cafe Press' fault. I don't think we've received volume 2 yet, so we'll have to wait when it arrives.

[/quote]

You may want to touch base with them about that tax or try to ask for a refund if books aren't taxable. There was an issue with them labeling things too vaguely that JMS has said is fixed now.

Jan

From what I've seen, Cafe Press has had some troubles but they do seem to make good on their mistakes.

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And, for my money, that's really all you can ask (unless it just gets silly where there are mistakes in virturally every order). If they are responsive and quick about fixing their own mistakes, then they're doing everything that you can really ask. I mean there are always going to be some mistakes here and there.

For a book, the bigger box and bubble wrap don't really do much of anything. A book wrapped in that reasonably heavy cardboard is already pretty tough. As was pointed out, the plastic bag wasn't sealed the first time either, so even in the first volume packaging it was still vulnerable to getting soaked on the front porch.

I have mine delivered to me at work precisely so they won't get left on the porch (which is covered, but not very big; so if it's windy the porch still can get soaked). I am prone to doing things like going straight from work to a recreational volleyball league, and then from there to a sports bar & grill for dinner and a beer or two with the people that I play with. If a package is delivered to my porch in the morninng, it could easily be 10 or 12 hours before I get home and get it out of the elements. For something that can be damaged by water, it's not worth the risk.

I called Café Press today, and with no hassle, they agreed to send me the 2nd book. If I remember correctly, the operator said it would be shipped by 2nd day air.

Just curious, has anyone else had any problems with Cafe Press?

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No, I've had no problems whatsoever with Cafe Press. I ordered one copy of Vol. 1, and it arrived in perfect shape. Next, I ordered one copy of Vol. 2, and it arrived in perfect shape today. Couldn't be happier.

Out of curiosity, have they stated their number of books shipped? Perhaps they've been geting more orders that expected?

No, we don't have any word as to numbers but they *definitely* got a lot more orders than they expected! Word is, they didn't pre-print any of Volume 1 (as is usual with this type of publishing) and got snowed under. They did pre-pring some of Volume 2 and still ran out quickly. They'll be pre-printing even more of Volume 3.

NObody expects the Babylon 5 fans!

Jan

NObody expects the Babylon 5 fans!

Jan

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Does that mean we have a lot in common with The Spanish Inquisition?

Got it in one, Mr. KoshN!

Jan

Does that mean we have a lot in common with The Spanish Inquisition?

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Only when I offer someone a comfy chair.

Out of curiosity, have they stated their number of books shipped? Perhaps they've been geting more orders that expected?

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I've even wondered if that's why my Vol. 2 came in a plain white box barely bigger than the book itself. I can't help but wonder if we've wiped out their supply of bubble wrap and Cafe Press logo boxes.

Holy crap! I just got my 2nd Vol. 2 book!!!

I'm home today (the fact that I asked for a day off work today and today being the release date of King Kong are certainly coincidence), and the UPS guy just dropped off the other book. It's not even 10:00 AM yet, and I didn't even call Cafe Press until yesterday after lunch to tell them they only sent me 1 out of 2 books.

Wow, that's fast. I'd still prefer the nicer box and bubble wrap, but at least they correct their mistakes almost instantly.

Does that mean we have a lot in common with The Spanish Inquisition?

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Only when I offer someone a comfy chair.

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Now, to me, the phrase "comfy chair" (especially in an Inquisition / torture context) is a Farscape reference, not a B5 reference.

Does that mean we have a lot in common with The Spanish Inquisition?

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Only when I offer someone a comfy chair.

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Now, to me, the phrase "comfy chair" (especially in an Inquisition / torture context) is a Farscape reference, not a B5 reference.

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Well, Farscape used it more. In B5, it refers to Intersections in Real Time, and possibly that one episode where Bester interrogated a fellow teep to death.

I can see that.

It's just that I don't recall the phrase "comfy chair" being used to describe either in B5, whereas it was used to refer the Aurora Chair in Farscape.

I can see that.

It's just that I don't recall the phrase "comfy chair" being used to describe either in B5, whereas it was used to refer the Aurora Chair in Farscape.

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Oh, I wasn't taking Jade Jaguar's use of "comfy chair" as a literal use of those exact words in the series, just that he was calling something a comfy chair when in reality it was the exact opposite.

There, now I've explained it to death. Couldn't reduce it to fewer words.

In Monty Python they did mean a comfortable chair, the joke being that is a totally inappropriate thing to use as a torture device.