Shipping Update

[jj_j]

Everyone who has ordered through 3-20 is out!

You're amazing; Beth - thanks for the update! Thanks to Brian and the "new little helper", too.

 

[shriekingviolet]

I can't help but worry if this new little helper is going to have the stigma of having inspired a thread on midget porn for as long as this board exists.

[jj_j]

 

If you have to be known for something, that's as good a notoriety as any.

[lorajc]

Does that include people like me with more than 1 order? I have one dated prio to 3/20 and 3 after 3/20, so will I get my one order, or do I have to wait?

 

Just wondering...........since CC-Now has me watching the mailbox cuz they say my stuff shipped 4/1/04.

[ipb]

"we're so swamped, its almost impossible for me to combine orders right now. =( " <- beth in an email a few weeks ago

 

since they're still busy, i'd say that it's probably still the case.

[lorajc]

I'd be happy with one now and then it will be no problem waiting for the additional ones. Only probem is that I tend to place more order while I wait............Poor BETH!!!! I know I'm not the only one doing this!! (right jj_j)??

[Red_Hot_Mama]

Beth,

 

I received my package today. My CCNow order number is 60-6355, ordered on 3/18. Everything arrived safe & sound. Thank you for the extra Imps. Great choices for me!

 

 

Christine

[Fulltiltredhead]

Woo hoo! Got my order today, which was placed (I'm almost positive) 3/16.

[RogueFeenix]

i'm still waiting on my order , so far people that ordered after me are getting there orders.

 

I ordered on 3/17 and still haven't gotten it.

 

I hoping that nothing happened to my order, i will be so sad if it got lost. I'm crossing my fingers it comes tomorrow casue i was needing it for easter.

[with coffee spoons]

i'm still waiting on my order , so far people that ordered after me are getting there orders.

 

I ordered on 3/17 and still haven't gotten it. 

 

I hoping that nothing happened to my order, i will be so sad if it got lost.  I'm crossing my fingers it comes tomorrow casue i was needing it for easter.

I've not yet received my 3/14 order, so perhaps ours are just taking the slow train in...

 

Here's hoping for tomorrow!

[jj_j]

Only probem is that I tend to place more order while I wait............Poor BETH!!!!  I know I'm not the only one doing this!! (right jj_j)??

 

No, Lorajc, you must be thinking of someone else ... I'd never place three orders for myself, one for friends, and have another one waiting until things slow down a bit for Beth, during the recent BPAL dry spell!

[TygherRayn]

My order from 3/19 arrived today, so I would imagine the rest of you should be getting yours soon too. have hope! *hugs*

[dryadfemme33]

I also got my package today (with 4 free vials!) . I ordered on the 17th, if that helps anyone.

[invoke13]

Actually. I had a business that used CCnow and that company does not arbitrarily assign things as shipped. The business (BPAL) goes into the CCnow account and marks things as shipped themselves. CCnow will not charge a card until the order is marked as shipped. So sorry, but it is someone at BPAL that is marking these things as shipped in CCNow, not CCnow itself. As it says on CCNow's website

 

"Upon receipt of each valid customer order, CCNow will send Client a Customer Purchase Order via Internet E-mail, and CCNow will also post the order on the Client's "Pending Orders" screen. Client will deliver the ordered product(s) to the Customer on behalf of CCNow, and will promptly acknowledge the shipment using CCNow's Client Administration functions.

 

 

Client will not acknowledge an order as "Shipped" until after the merchandise has already been shipped."

 

Now, BPAL usually ships things pretty close to when they mark them as shipped in CCnow, so it really isn't that big of a deal, but it isn't CCnow doing it. I am tired of hearing people complain about them when it isn't their fault.

[carolsag]

.my order was shipped on 4-08-01 will let you know when i get mine it should be mon. or tues. yhe order was placed on 03-19-04 cc/now said it shipped on 04-01-04 go figure?

Edited April 11, 2004 by carolsag

[TygherRayn]

Actually.  I had a business that used CCnow and that company does not arbitrarily assign things as shipped.  The business (BPAL) goes into the CCnow account and marks things as shipped themselves.  CCnow will not charge a card until the order is marked as shipped.  So sorry, but it is someone at BPAL that is marking these things as shipped in CCNow, not CCnow itself. As it says on CCNow's website

*snip*

Regardless of that, I'd rather more of my money be going to Beth, and not to a third company.

 

And to be honest, I don't think anyone said that CCNow 'arbitrarily' marked things as Shipped. But I do think that' their system is rather impractical. Considering they're not shppiing anything it'd likely be better for them if they marked things as 'Sent to Seller' or something.

 

*shrugs*

[invoke13]

That's when I ordered mine, and my CCNow page says it has been shipped, but I know CCNow was arbitrarily assigning inaccurate shipped dates before, so I don't want to get my hopes up yet. 

 

Paypal charges fees too. Regular merchant accounts for credit cards charge fees. If you really want to save on fees to a third company, send a money order.

 

I am not bagging on BPAL. I think they do a remarkable job considering the volume. I think people need to be more patient, esp. when they say right on the site that it may take 14 days to get the stuff, they send free stuff to people all of the time and it is a small company. Good stuff takes time to make.

 

All I was saying is that it is not CCnow's fault. Their system doesn't say shipped until BPAL tells them to, so I don't see how that is impractical. It is ment to prevent credit card fraud. It is a safegaurd put in place to help you, the customer, out.

[entropy]

Hi! Delurking to put in my two cents. Though it's not my full time gig, I've helped quite a few small businesses get started online in the past and CcNow, while being fairly easy to set up and low in price compared to most other third party processors, still has its flaws. We (meaning my clients, who had subsequently complained to me as their consultant) have had problems in the past with orders being cancelled without authorization, orders not being forwarded to the company owner's email, and shipping / cancel tags going onto orders without authorization. The service was much worse before Digitial River took them over. For a while it was near-impossible to get halfway decent customer service from them. But that's neither here nor there. They do charge the 9%, which I consider extortion, and if someone uses a stolen credit card or cancels their order, the small business that uses them does get hit with a very high fee. I think its something around $30-$40 per cancelled transaction. The seller has almost zero protection against fraud, and has no control whatsoever over the charging process. The payout schedule is ridiculous, and the seller receives no income from their sales until (correct me if I'm wrong in this, as I haven't dealt with them in a while) two weeks after the actual sale is made. If the seller sells more than $1000 then the difference defers to a payment months later. Honestly, I don't know how a company can thrive using a credit card system like the one CcNow has in place. My advice to Elizabeth and the crew would be to take back control of their money by putting a direct charge system in place, such as a Verifone system, as quickly as possible.

[entropy]

Paypal charges fees too.  Regular merchant accounts for credit cards charge fees.  If you really want to save on fees to a third company, send a money order.

 

I am not bagging on BPAL.  I think they do a remarkable job considering the volume.  I think people need to be more patient, esp. when they say right on the site that it may take 14 days to get the stuff, they send free stuff to people all of the time and it is a small company.  Good stuff takes time to make.

 

All I was saying is that it is not CCnow's fault.  Their system doesn't say shipped until BPAL tells them to, so I don't see how that is impractical.  It is ment to prevent credit card fraud.  It is a safegaurd put in place to help you, the customer, out.

My beef is with the amount CcNow charges. I understand why they have to do it, I just think its in BPAL's best interest to take control of their shipping info and credit cardpayments. And the fee that CcNow charges is much higher than PayPal's, and yet offers them less protection.

 

I agree that people do need to be patient, as my mother makes soaps and hand-dipped incense at home (my crazy hippie mommy!) and I know how long these types of things can take to get right! The quality of BPAL perfumes is like nothing I have ever experienced, and maybe I'm a fool for saying this, but I'd wait months for a perfect bottle of Snake Oil!

[ipb]

Paypal charges fees too.  Regular merchant accounts for credit cards charge fees.

most merchant account systems anymore charge between 2 and 5 percent. this includes paypal, systems for primarily offline business, and MOST systems for online business.

 

the only ones i know that does NOT do this is discover - they pay the full amount - and ccnow - which carges almost 10%. i think american express pays in full too, but to be honest, most of the clients that gave the accounting firm i worked for in hs either don't take am ex or people don't use it very much there.

[lorajc]

Only probem is that I tend to place more order while I wait............Poor BETH!!!!  I know I'm not the only one doing this!! (right jj_j)??

 

No, Lorajc, you must be thinking of someone else ... I'd never place three orders for myself, one for friends, and have another one waiting until things slow down a bit for Beth, during the recent BPAL dry spell!

Sorry I must be mistaken. I thought you were the one that mentioned you keep ordering while waiting for your order. Must have been someone else.

[jj_j]

Only probem is that I tend to place more order while I wait............Poor BETH!!!!  I know I'm not the only one doing this!! (right jj_j)??

 

No, Lorajc, you must be thinking of someone else ... I'd never place three orders for myself, one for friends, and have another one waiting until things slow down a bit for Beth, during the recent BPAL dry spell!

Sorry I must be mistaken. I thought you were the one that mentioned you keep ordering while waiting for your order. Must have been someone else.

You're a sweetie for remembering ... it was me. I apparently didn't do as great a job making fun of my ridiculous ordering craze during the postal spell as I thought I had in that post.

 

Actually. I had a business that used CCnow and that company does not arbitrarily assign things as shipped.

I think I'm the one who unintentionally caused the confusion with this.

 

I posted a while back that, based on my experience with the timing of orders being charged to my form of payment and actually delivered vs. the CCNow notes, I guessed that CCNow sent notices to a retailer and perhaps charged the orders when they were pulled by the Lab to be fulfilled.

 

I'm glad Invoke13, who has used the system before, was able to accurately explain the process to us - thanks, Invoke! - so we all know more about when to expect packages from the Lab and what we can do to help Beth save on transaction fees.

[byrdie]

*whew* I only just now read this thread, wondering where my order is. I got in just under the wire - 3/20 - and CCNow told the that my order was shipped on 4/1. It was charged, however, on 4/2.

 

I've read from somewhere that you'll receive an e-mail that tells you when your item is shipped?

I've ordered twice now and have never received a shipping confirmation, so I've just been guestimating how long it should take priority mail to travel between California and Washington. According to USPS:

• Now you can have delivery of documents and packages made in an average of 2 to 3 days.
   
  -

http://www.usps.com/shipping/prioritymail.htm

This is weird. If Priority Mail only takes about 3 days, and I'm only a state away from California, why has it been over a week with no sign of my stuff? It sounds like the shipper is dropping the ball, though it'd be nice to get one of those new-fangled confirmations that seems to be all the rage these days. It's not as if I didn't get an email confirmation of my order. I really can't tell if it's safe to email Elizabeth, yet. I know that there have been email problems, and that she's probably swamped. But still, it'd be nice to know what's happening.

 

What is the CC that everyone is on about?

According to the FAQ:

• Credit card payments show up on your statement as 'CCNow'.
   
  Our credit card processing service, CCNow, is a member of the Better Business Bureau, and has a proven record of reliabilty, intergrity, and honesty. Both CCNow, and the gentle folks here at the Lab are dedicated to protecting your personal information and guarding against fraud.
   
  -

http://www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com/faq.html#order

and where do I go to track my order? and how?

From the Shipping section:

• Can I track my shipment?
  Yes. Upon shipment, we will email you with your delivery confirmation code. It can be tracked at the US Postal Service web site. If you have any questions regarding your order, please email Elizabeth.
   
  -

http://www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com/faq.html#shipping

sorry not been logged on for a while and I've obviously missed a lot.

can we order via the website yet I'm in the UK

From the same section:

• Do you sell internationally?
  Yes, but we have very specific requirements for international purchases. International orders cannot be processed through this web site. You must contact us via email prior to ordering, and all payments MUST be remitted using PayPal. All prices are in US dollars, and thus: all payments must be made using US dollars. I apologize for any inconvenience.
  

I expect that Elizabeth will update this section if the situation changes.

[TygherRayn]

I've read from somewhere that you'll receive an e-mail that tells you when your item is shipped?

I've ordered twice now and have never received a shipping confirmation, so I've just been guestimating how long it should take priority mail to travel between California and Washington. According to USPS:

• Now you can have delivery of documents and packages made in an average of 2 to 3 days.
   
  -

http://www.usps.com/shipping/prioritymail.htm

This is weird. If Priority Mail only takes about 3 days, and I'm only a state away from California, why has it been over a week with no sign of my stuff? It sounds like the shipper is dropping the ball, though it'd be nice to get one of those new-fangled confirmations that seems to be all the rage these days.

I got an email notification from USPS that my package had shipped on the 7th, and it was recieved on the 9th. This was my first order, and this fits with everything everyone else has been saying about getting an email when their order is actually shipped. From what I understand, CCNow only shows an order as 'shipped' when the lab 'requests' the order, or receives the order, or however it should be said. That only seems to indicate that the order is then in BPAL's hands, rather than in CCNow's, and is not an indication of the actual shipping date. It confused me too.

[Dispatcherbert]

I'm patiently waiting for my order (placed 3/24). It shows as having been shipped on 4/1 (the same day that my credit card was billed).

 

I'm hoping that since people through 3/20 have received their shipments that I can't be too far behind.