Jenson's and Arts' vague shipping terms
#1
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Jenson's and Arts' vague shipping terms
Apparently these vendors ship using UPS but forbid package pickup at a UPS access point or/and at a UPS station.
So here is my story with Jenson: I live in an urban area (Harlem in New York). When I first purchased parts from JensonUSA, they got shipped using UPS. I was signed up for UPS' free Access Point service, which means they leave the package at the specified Access Point of my choice and I can pick it up from there. However this did not work and the tracking info showed that the package redirection was not allowed by the shipper. I contacted Jenson, and they said they could not change the security settings after shipment. Anyway, I was able to get the shipment.
After my second purchase from them I wrote to their support right after placing the order asking to change the security settings and allow pickup at an Access Point (which I chose to be a UPS store). They responded to me saying I should have shipped to the UPS store directly. Anyway, I was able to get the shipment.
After that I called the customer service and asked the question about pickup at a UPS Access Point. They told me to ship to a UPS store directly. I asked whether I should specify the address of the UPS store as a shipping address, and they said yes. I did this on the third order, and the UPS store charged me 2*$10 pickup fee (Jenson sent the items in two packages from two warehouses). I contacted the UPS support, and they said the fee was at the UPS store's discretion. I pointed them to the page regarding the free UPS Access Point program and asked to honor the terms. In response they told me the package was not shipped conforming to the UPS Access Point regulations for shippers, so the $20 charge I had to pay for allegedly free shipping is the shipper's fault.
My point is: I understand that the retailers may get some bulk shipping discounts, and the carriers may cripple delivery options for this. There is nothing wrong with this. However, the customer needs to know those terms. If the delivery options are crippled to get some shipping discount, the customer service should say so; otherwise they (at best) are incompetent or (at worst) lie. If restricting delivery options is their initiative, it needs to be stated as well. At the very least they should have said pickup at an Access Point was not possible in principle.
And I forgot to say, when those orders were placed I lived in an area which was serviced by a UPS hub located in a rather bad neighborhood (South Bronx).
I remember experiencing similar problems with Newegg where I bought parts for my computers (I build my computers myself and do mechanical work on my bikes myself). At some point they used LaserShip which people had horrible experience with. At a later point they added explicit name of the shipping carrier at checkout (e.g., Fedex Smartpost, Fedex, UPS etc.). Even Newegg which is "too big to fail" saw the need for this and responded.
I think some people are actually willing to pay for shipping as long as the terms are clear. Anyway, parts we are buying are often deeply discounted from MSRP.
Same story with Art's Cyclery: shipping is $5, but the shipment is ineligible for UPS Access Point pickup and pickup at a UPS hub (I moved 10 blocks south and my new UPS hub is not in a bad neighborhood) was restricted by the shipper.
This is not the case with all sellers. For example I was able to pickup a UPS shipment from Niagara at an Access Point. When I purchased a wheel set from Velomine, they contacted me and suggested to hold the shipment at a FedEx store of my choice saying it was a safer option for the city. I paid something like $15 for the shipping of this wheelset.
I am not trying to compare/review carriers, just saying that the customer has the right to know the shipping terms; and some people are willing to pay some amount for a proper shipping.
So here is my story with Jenson: I live in an urban area (Harlem in New York). When I first purchased parts from JensonUSA, they got shipped using UPS. I was signed up for UPS' free Access Point service, which means they leave the package at the specified Access Point of my choice and I can pick it up from there. However this did not work and the tracking info showed that the package redirection was not allowed by the shipper. I contacted Jenson, and they said they could not change the security settings after shipment. Anyway, I was able to get the shipment.
After my second purchase from them I wrote to their support right after placing the order asking to change the security settings and allow pickup at an Access Point (which I chose to be a UPS store). They responded to me saying I should have shipped to the UPS store directly. Anyway, I was able to get the shipment.
After that I called the customer service and asked the question about pickup at a UPS Access Point. They told me to ship to a UPS store directly. I asked whether I should specify the address of the UPS store as a shipping address, and they said yes. I did this on the third order, and the UPS store charged me 2*$10 pickup fee (Jenson sent the items in two packages from two warehouses). I contacted the UPS support, and they said the fee was at the UPS store's discretion. I pointed them to the page regarding the free UPS Access Point program and asked to honor the terms. In response they told me the package was not shipped conforming to the UPS Access Point regulations for shippers, so the $20 charge I had to pay for allegedly free shipping is the shipper's fault.
My point is: I understand that the retailers may get some bulk shipping discounts, and the carriers may cripple delivery options for this. There is nothing wrong with this. However, the customer needs to know those terms. If the delivery options are crippled to get some shipping discount, the customer service should say so; otherwise they (at best) are incompetent or (at worst) lie. If restricting delivery options is their initiative, it needs to be stated as well. At the very least they should have said pickup at an Access Point was not possible in principle.
And I forgot to say, when those orders were placed I lived in an area which was serviced by a UPS hub located in a rather bad neighborhood (South Bronx).
I remember experiencing similar problems with Newegg where I bought parts for my computers (I build my computers myself and do mechanical work on my bikes myself). At some point they used LaserShip which people had horrible experience with. At a later point they added explicit name of the shipping carrier at checkout (e.g., Fedex Smartpost, Fedex, UPS etc.). Even Newegg which is "too big to fail" saw the need for this and responded.
I think some people are actually willing to pay for shipping as long as the terms are clear. Anyway, parts we are buying are often deeply discounted from MSRP.
Same story with Art's Cyclery: shipping is $5, but the shipment is ineligible for UPS Access Point pickup and pickup at a UPS hub (I moved 10 blocks south and my new UPS hub is not in a bad neighborhood) was restricted by the shipper.
This is not the case with all sellers. For example I was able to pickup a UPS shipment from Niagara at an Access Point. When I purchased a wheel set from Velomine, they contacted me and suggested to hold the shipment at a FedEx store of my choice saying it was a safer option for the city. I paid something like $15 for the shipping of this wheelset.
I am not trying to compare/review carriers, just saying that the customer has the right to know the shipping terms; and some people are willing to pay some amount for a proper shipping.
#2
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Have you talked to people at Art's about this? They have always treated me very well, and seem to be reasonable people.