It has been my unfortunate experience that ordering online can be both a blessing a curse. Sometimes it works out great, sometimes not so much. I hate, detest, and abhor shopping in stores. I haven't been shopping in a regular store in years, except for a couple unavoidable emergencies. I go to the grocery store, and when absolutely necessary the local Rite Aid, and that's it. I order everything else online. Including every bit of my Christmas shopping. When I can start ordering groceries online, I may never leave the house again.
I try, whenever possible, to order from well known, reliable companies like Amazon. Especially when I've procrastinated holiday shopping and need to get stuff in 2 days. Like this year. Actually, that isn't entirely true. I did all my Christmas shopping online two weeks ago, and have long since received everything I ordered ... except for one thing.
Onions to Lakeside Collection. I ordered two things for my boyfriend's 4-year-old on Tuesday, December 11. I didn't figure I'd have to pay expedited shipping on anything to get it by Christmas, ordering on that date (and I didn't, every place else I ordered). This place didn't even offer any expedited shipping, and indicated a 7 to 14 day order delivery time, which is a little excessive - but Christmas Eve was exactly 14 days away on that date, and since I usually get packages within a week from most places, I figured it would be safe.
When I hadn't received any shipping confirmation a week later, this past Tuesday, I checked my order status on their website. It indicated that it hadn't even shipped yet. I figured by then I wasn't going to get the stuff by Christmas, and called (long distance - no toll free number) to cancel the order, so I could get something else that I could have delivered by Christmas.
This company told me that my package wasn't even scheduled to ship until today, Friday, December 21 - and that I could not cancel it. I said, "You're telling me that the package is still there, in your warehouse, in your control, and isn't even scheduled to ship for 3 more days - yet you won't let me cancel the order?" Yep. That's what they were teling me. "Unfortunately," they said. Unfortunately for me, that's to be sure.
So on Wednesday, December 19 I found myself online trying to find replacement gifts from any place where I could get them with 2-day shipping, so I'd be sure and have them by Christmas Eve. (You try opening presents with everyone, and telling a 4-year-old "Sorry, your stuff didn't get here on time because the evil little dark elves at Lakeside couldn't be bothered to ship my order for ten days"; and I wasn't willing to postpone Christmas for all of us until the stuff arrived).
I often order from Amazon, especially when I'm in a time crunch, because I know I can get the stuff by whatever expedited shipping method I choose, reliably. So I found a replacement gift there, paid extra for 2-day shipping, it arrived in 1 day - yesterday - and I was happy. When the crap from Lakeside shows up, I'll return it, make them credit my Visa, and put them on my 'naughty' list for future Christmas ordering.
But, while I was browsing around on Amazon, I found something I simply had to, had to, had to get for someone for Christmas ... and Amazon didn't carry it themselves, it sold through a third party who offered no expedited shipping and couldn't get it to me by Christmas.
I went on a quest to find another website where I might be able to get this thing by Christmas. It wasn't easy. I was surprised at the number of places who weren't offering any guaranteed holiday delivery as late as December 19. What is wrong with these people? Don't they know that some of us are slackass procrastinators, and will pay any amount of money for something we decide we just have to have 4 shipping days before Christmas?
But I did finally find a web site called Fair Play Games. They had what I wanted. Their prices were the best I'd found. They didn't offer 2-day shipping, but they use UPS - very reliable, especially around the holidays - those guys work insane hours, but they get people their Christmas stuff. They're like little Santa's Elves. Their uniforms should be red, not brown. The web site shipping information indicated that if I ordered on December 19, I would probably get the package on December 24. They didn't guarantee it, but I know UPS, and decided to take a chance.
I appreciated that they were up front about that - no misleading information, no hidden delays ("2 Day Shipping Only $15 - but we're not going to process your order until spring. But once we do, slam bang, you'll have it in two days!").
I placed my order at about 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 19. According to UPS tracking it's scheduled to be delivered today. December 21st. Two days later. Oodles of time before Christmas. I found that not only amazing, but pretty darn good customer service. UPS is good, but what made this work is Fair Play Games actually shipped my order within a few hours of receiving it.
So - huge orchids to Fair Play Games. And if you're in the market for any gaming type paraphernalia, I highly recommend this place. Awesome service.
Now I just have to worry about the CD I ordered for my brother this past Monday - I didn't reqest expedited shipping, figuring Amazon would get it to me in a week ... and the tracking information is extremely vague, it didn't ship till yesterday and is somewhere in Pennsylvania. And isn't coming by UPS. I thought I was safe on that one, but ... maybe not.
I swear ... next year I'm going to have my Christmas shopping done by Thanksgiving. Really. And the knitting too. Honest.
Speaking of which ... I finished the second pair of socks last night, and started the third and last. Here's the thing. It took me one full month to make the first pair. Of course, I didn't have the fire of imminent deadline heating things up. It took me three weeks to finish the second pair (when the fire of imminent deadline began to crackle ominously that last week or so). Now I have four days to make the third pair. That's interesting. Accordingly, I have to have one whole sock completed by Saturday night to be on track. (I'm not knitting this pair two at a time - we'll save that adventure for another time).
So ... we'll see how it goes.
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