SmartPost here too. Boo!!!

It's one thing when it says it's smartpost, it's another when it was supposed to be ground and it's shipped smartpost anyway...

Again, I'm a long time customer and I know how this all works, love Woot and am not going anywhere...it's just frustrating.

smartpost shipped - no coupon used. Hope it gets here by xmas...

This was my first Woot purchase. Can someone explain what smartpost is?

FourSqChamp wrote:This was my first Woot purchase. Can someone explain what smartpost is?

FedEx describes SmartPost as a cost-effective means for online retailers and such to ship low-weight packages to residential customers. What seems to happen, based on my experience, is that FedEx ships your package to a USPS hub somewhere near you (could be another state), at which point it enters the USPS system and eventually reaches your mailbox. More info at the FedEx site, like, transit times are 2-8 days within the contiguous US depending on zip code.

great, i guess i won't get this in time for my Friday flight.

I didn't use a coupon, but also got SMARTPOST.

Got the shipping confirmation for my order yesterday. Guess I'll have my cans later this week.

One issue people have is that the item isn't shipping quickly.

For me, that's not the issue. For me the issue is that credit card rules clearly state that a merchant cannot charge for an item prior to shipping unless expressly granted permission to do so.

My card was charge early last week, or that's when the charge appeared. By credit card rules, this should have indicated that the item was in the box and labeled for shipping. Instead it just meant that Woot had my money for several days longer than the really had a right to it.

Am I pissed? Sort of, simply because I know the rules. If I didn't know the rule I probably wouldn't care so much and would just be patient.

Will I report them to Visa for the issue? Nah, but it is frustrating.

What would be the box size for two of these headphones ? I have bought two.

Since woot has messed up my one of my 4 orders - i would like to know it beforehand so that I can be sure of headphones are there inside the package before opening it (and keep a video for dispute :-)

Thanks

I don't know why everyone is getting upset. From my past woot experiences, it normally takes at least 2 weeks to receive the purchased item. It may be a bit of an inconvenience but you have to look at the cost of what you are getting it at as well. Not to mention, they had a giant woot off days prior. I love woot and will continue to purchase items from them because I know what a great deal they are giving us and the products are great.

Well I got a response from Woot re: Smartpost vs. Ground:

Hello,

I apologize for the confusion. Yes, your order will ship SmartPost. I'm not quite sure why we advertised it to ship ground, but your package is set to ship and should show movement on it soon. Please keep an eye on your tracking and let us know if your package encounters any problems.

-DK

Pretty lame. "Whoops! Sorry about the false advertising! Our Bad!"

here's the reply i got from my email

"With those they are shipping Ground if two or more were ordered otherwise they ship smartpost."

why don't they just say that in the description, rather than promising one thing, and delivering another?

As long as Woot stays away from organ transplant shipping the world will be safe, calm down guys.

kdylan wrote:"With those they are shipping Ground if two or more were ordered otherwise they ship smartpost."

This is a bunch of marmot. It's true, but still marmot.

I am protesting woot until an item comes up that I want... That'll show them.

With Post Offices closed for Labor Day, those of us who don't get our headphones via SmartPost by or on Sat. 8/4 will not get them till Tues. 8/7 at the earliest. (And my posting this is not evidence that I need to "relax." It's my first purchase from Woot! and I am merely observing the progress and process of Woot! shipping and communication with customers.)

jimkevinc wrote:With Post Offices closed for Labor Day, those of us who don't get our headphones via SmartPost by or on Sat. 8/4 will not get them till Tues. 8/7 at the earliest. (And my posting this is not evidence that I need to "relax." It's my first purchase from Woot! and I am merely observing the progress and process of Woot! shipping and communication with customers.)

Well, it doesn't help that these were on sale the day after a 3-day wootoff ended...

From the Federal Trade Commission:

"By law, a merchant should ship your order within the time stated in its ads or over the phone."

"If the merchant is unable to ship within the promised time, it must notify you by mail, telephone, or email, give a revised shipping date and give you the chance to cancel for a full refund or accept the new shipping date."

Source:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre28.shtm

pkushal2010 wrote:From the Federal Trade Commission:

"By law, a merchant should ship your order within the time stated in its ads or over the phone."

"If the merchant is unable to ship within the promised time, it must notify you by mail, telephone, or email, give a revised shipping date and give you the chance to cancel for a full refund or accept the new shipping date."

Source:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre28.shtm

Woot did not make any promises to ship the order within 5 business days. They say the products typically ship within 5 business days. Doesn't mean they always will. Considering they just had a 3 day woot-off, I tend to cut them a little bit of slack.

And yes, I'm pissed that my headphones weren't shipped, but Woot doesn't say you will have your order shipped in 5 business days, it's just an estimate. So in this case, they have to ship the item within 30 days (not deliver in 30, just ship).

hackman2007 wrote:Woot did not make any promises to ship the order within 5 business days. They say the products typically ship within 5 business days. Doesn't mean they always will. Considering they just had a 3 day woot-off, I tend to cut them a little bit of slack.

And yes, I'm pissed that my headphones weren't shipped, but Woot doesn't say you will have your order shipped in 5 business days, it's just an estimate. So in this case, they have to ship the item within 30 days (not deliver in 30, just ship).

According to credit card merchant agreements, they aren't allowed to charge prior to packing it and having it in the shipping que. Essentially they are allowed to charge when it ships. That's NOT what Woot does. They charge pretty much straight away, giving on the impression of it actually shipping at that time when in reality shipping can occur at any time after they charge, up to and including what, 10 days for these headphones?

If I were vindictive I would contact Visa about this, but the reality is I don't care. I'm getting the headphones cheap. If I don't like them, I'll stick them on eBay and STILL likely make my money back.

jnevil wrote:**Shipping Update**

Able Planet Sound Clarity Noise Canceling Headphones has completely shipped. All tracking will be emailed by the end of the day to members who purchased this item. If you would like to find your tracking information sooner, please click the following link and use your ORDER NUMBER as the reference number.

FEDEX TRACKING

Hmm... well, you guys know me well enough by now. And I'm totally cool with -whenever- they come (as long as it's before my October 14th trip!)

But... following your directions above still gives me "Not Found
No information for the following shipments has been received by our system yet. Please try again later or contact Customer Service."

Considering neither method (order # or tracking #) gives any results at all, I'm thinking to prevent future hullabaloo, maybe your system should hold the shipping confirmation emails, at least until after a weekend. My email came at 9:42 Sunday morning. I know darn well FedUp wasn't hanging outside your warehouse at that particular time just waiting to soothe my aural plight.

slerch666 wrote:According to credit card merchant agreements, they aren't allowed to charge prior to packing it and having it in the shipping que. Essentially they are allowed to charge when it ships. That's NOT what Woot does. They charge pretty much straight away, giving on the impression of it actually shipping at that time when in reality shipping can occur at any time after they charge, up to and including what, 10 days for these headphones?

If I were vindictive I would contact Visa about this, but the reality is I don't care. I'm getting the headphones cheap. If I don't like them, I'll stick them on eBay and STILL likely make my money back.

I would guess the reason they do this is the type of sales model Woot is running.

Many other DOD sites do similar things.

But I agree, Woot shouldn't charge until the actual ship date, but I don't think that is going to change.

hackman2007 wrote:Woot did not make any promises to ship the order within 5 business days. They say the products typically ship within 5 business days. Doesn't mean they always will. Considering they just had a 3 day woot-off, I tend to cut them a little bit of slack.

And yes, I'm pissed that my headphones weren't shipped, but Woot doesn't say you will have your order shipped in 5 business days, it's just an estimate. So in this case, they have to ship the item within 30 days (not deliver in 30, just ship).

From the order status page:

"If you don't see a tracking number after 5 business days, check the community forum for this product to find out about a potential delay."

This implies that the order will be shipped in 5 days.

And I completely understand that delays happen. But what frustrates me is that there is no communication from Woot staff explaining the delay. Or even an email simply saying that there will be a delay.

My headphones are now at the Fedex facility in Irving TX so there's finally hope I will get these by week's end. Good luck to everyone else on receiving your purchases!

So I also bought the Samsung camera right after this. Both shipped today but the camera is ground while the headphones are smartpost. I will get the camera 5 days sooner. There's the difference.

Big difference for me since I'm catching an 8HR flight Thursday and will not have the headphones. Looks like I may get the camera for my trip though. I hope.

"Estimated delivery: Sep 4, 2010"
So... next monday at the earliest.

dopamino wrote:"Estimated delivery: Sep 4, 2010"
So... next monday at the earliest.

What part of the US are you in?

dopamino wrote:"Estimated delivery: Sep 4, 2010"
So... next monday at the earliest.

Yeesh. I've got an estimated delivery of Sep 8 and I'm up here in Idaho. Which is even more annoying as I'll have left for college by then. :\

Well.. 9/4 is still Saturday so you might have it by then. I have an est. delivery of 9/3 and I'm in upstate New York for school right now...weird..

kdylan wrote:here's the reply i got from my email

"With those they are shipping Ground if two or more were ordered otherwise they ship smartpost."

why don't they just say that in the description, rather than promising one thing, and delivering another?

I just sent a reply back about their response

"88% of the people who bought this bought one. that means that 88% of the people who bought this did not get their item shipped the way they thought it would. next time you want to ship things ground only on multiple orders, describe it as smartpost shipping, and give the multiple order people a nice surprise. it's much better to give a nice surprise to a small amount of people than to disappoint the majority of customers.

look at the forum for this product. i'm not the only one upset that you promised one method of shipping, but gave a slower method."

swuster wrote:Well.. 9/4 is still Saturday so you might have it by then. I have an est. delivery of 9/3 and I'm in upstate New York for school right now...weird..

Wow lucky. I'm out in Long Island and my estimate is Sept 8th...

kdylan wrote:I just sent a reply back about their response

"88% of the people who bought this bought one. that means that 88% of the people who bought this did not get their item shipped the way they thought it would. next time you want to ship things ground only on multiple orders, describe it as smartpost shipping, and give the multiple order people a nice surprise. it's much better to give a nice surprise to a small amount of people than to disappoint the majority of customers.

look at the forum for this product. i'm not the only one upset that you promised one method of shipping, but gave a slower method."

I totally agree with you. This was my first woot and with it came a very long wait for the package to ship and it turns out shipping that was advertised is false. I will receive my pack almost three weeks from when it was ordered. The deal you receive is good but if you are not keeping the customer happy it just doesn't drive me to come back.

FedEx tracking (so-called SmartPost - smart for the shipper, not so much for the customer) this AM shows that it finally left Dallas this morning. Apparently, FedEx has a fleet of armadillos, onto the back of which they strapped my package - it's not due to me in Florida until September 7. That's a full week to get here from only halfway across the country. On the other hand, I just ordered some stuff from a vendor out of Ohio (not much difference in distance); they sent it immediately via UPS ground and it's due here on the 2nd. For those of you so willing to accept any kind of misleading information, premature credit card charges and lack of adequate status information from Woot just because they're cheap, the deal from that other vendor was a much larger discount than these headphones. And, they did everything right! There's no necessary connection between low prices and lousy service.

Wow...this place has turned into a bitchfest :\

Estimated arrival time for my texas shipment (houston) is September 3rd.

I am disappointed that they stated it would be fed ex ground instead of smart-post, but my life will go on.

There may not be a connection between low prices and "lousy service," but there is usually a connection between low prices and how much time and manpower a retailer can devote to customer service, and therefore to the amount and quality of customer service customers receive.

Unless the problem is inefficiency and/or disorganization, improved customer service will cost the retailer more money and that cost will be passed onto the customer.

jimkevinc wrote:There may not be a connection between low prices and "lousy service," but there is usually a connection between low prices and how much time and manpower a retailer can devote to customer service, and therefore to the amount and quality of customer service customers receive.

Unless the problem is inefficiency and/or disorganization, improved customer service will cost the retailer more money and that cost will be passed onto the customer.

Woot!'s customer service is great, the problem is that this item was on sale the day after a 3-day wootoff ended. They had a TONNNNN of items that needed to be shipped, so they got backed up. It happens.

As for the ground/FartPost, it was a simple mistake that almost never happens. I am disappointed, but oh well, it's not a big deal.

acdawg wrote:Woot!'s customer service is great, the problem is that this item was on sale the day after a 3-day wootoff ended. They had a TONNNNN of items that needed to be shipped, so they got backed up. It happens.

As for the ground/FartPost, it was a simple mistake that almost never happens. I am disappointed, but oh well, it's not a big deal.

I doubt it's a mistake if they shipped ground for everyone who ordered 2+.

My estimated date of delivery is 9/8, and I live in California. That's making me wait an additional 6 days (Shipping to California is an estimated 3 days via Ground) which is actually a big deal. Really disappointed in Woot for straight up lying.

OK. I'm about 2 hours from Woot and mine said estimated delivery date of September 2nd. Mine were delivered today.

Xylitol wrote:I doubt it's a mistake if they shipped ground for everyone who ordered 2+.

My estimated date of delivery is 9/8, and I live in California. That's making me wait an additional 6 days (Shipping to California is an estimated 3 days via Ground) which is actually a big deal. Really disappointed in Woot for straight up lying.

Probably a miscommunication between the shipping department and writers.

I say blame the writers!

But to be honest, you are only paying $5 for shipping. I know Woot has a shipping contract with FedEx, but they would probably lose money shipping Ground to everyone.

Xylitol wrote:I doubt it's a mistake if they shipped ground for everyone who ordered 2+.

On Twitter:

@WootService wrote:@ACDawg we do it fairly often, but usually put up SmartPost instead of FedEx when we do. So that's totally our bad and it won't happen again

Doghnut wrote:Wow...this place has turned into a bitchfest :\

Yes, indeed it has. And, for good reason. Woot earned the comments here. Why isn't the forum instead full of comments about how people love their new headphones? Easy - almost nobody has them yet! Why? Because Woot shipped them late and shipped them using a slow delivery service.

Let's cut through the supportive comments (are you guys hoping that Woot will appreciate your positive comments and give you a freebie?) and get to the meat. The biggest complaints on this forum relate to things that would have cost Woot nothing more to have done right. There's no additional cost to honestly tell buyers that shipping is via SmartPost versus FedEx Ground. There's no additional cost to have put a note on the listing page that they just finished a Woot-Off so shipments may be delayed a couple days. So, for those of you who defend Woot by saying that costs would rise if they listened to the complaints, you're as full of crap as the famous bags sold here.