I definitely noticed major differences in how my online shopping experiences went, so I thought - why not share them here! Maybe it would help someone make a better choice.
1.) www.Walmart.com : This was actually pretty good! They have a lot of selection online not available in stores. Many things, however, you can have shipped to store for free and it eliminates the need to wander about and find dozens of other things you "need" causing a huge Walmart bill. The shipping (I had it shipped to the office) was quick, everything looked good, nothing was too badly damaged. Even the books, which are easier to dent and ding up, were in good "giftable" shape. Hooray!
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| Really? This is how I received my order from Amazon? And this isn't unusual. |
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| This looks like poop. But I'm giving it anyway. :) - Amazon |
2.) www.Amazon.com : I'm a little frustrated with Amazon. I ordered the absolute most from them, so several boxes came into the office. Every one was CRUSHED. Is that a problem with Amazon or UPS? I think Amazon is using crappy boxes that end up smooshed. We had to send some items back and re-order because the product boxes were so damaged we wouldn't gift it. This requires serious advance planning if you have to do this! In this box above, the product box on the bottom is slightly damaged, but I'll roll with it. Thankfully, the rest were clothes. And for some reason. Amazon hasn't
been speedy like everyone brags about.
3.) www.OfficeDepot.com : I know, Office Depot, who orders from Office Depot for Christmas? I did. And I love them. They had super fast shipping in these great boxes with not a single dent. The packaging inside protected everything nicely. So fast - the fastest of anyone! Thankfully it was the priciest one, too. Go Office Depot!
4.) www.Zulily.com : For the love of Pete, this is the slowest shipping on the planet. I ordered on November 14, 2014, and I still don't have all my stuff. Some of it is in Mississippi. Seriously - today is December 11! Got some super cute things, I feel like we got good deals, but... I WANT MY STUFF. Also some damaged packaging.
5.) www.EasyCanvas.com Got a great deal via Groupon - I'll talk more about this after I give the gift. But their shipping was Super Fast, just a little less than desired. One of my canvas prints was kinda tossing about loose in the box? But it wasn't damaged.
6.) www.CanvasOnDemand.com This is a company that did it right. Took a hair longer for me to receive (also another Groupon deal woop woop!) but they did a great job packaging it up nicely. No damage to the box or product. Wrapped their box and gifted it because it looked good and fit the canvas perfectly.
---- Let me also review UPS for a moment, who delivered my boxes not to the government building I work at, but to the nursing home two doors down. Thankfully the nursing home people are nice - they brought it over to me. I went online to chat with UPS. They said you are not promised a reimbursement if your packages are not received. And when I explained the destroyed boxes and damaged product boxes, I just kept getting "We are sorry. We are sorry." I finally asked where she was located - Pacific Asia. They don't know anything specific about me, so nothing will be done. I'll call my local office tomorrow and make sure someone understands how to read shipping labels. (No, this isn't a snarky remark - I want to make sure the new guy understands what he is doing).
---- Adding to this - FEDEX, who shipped out my package from NV and had it meandered across the country in various random states before dropping at my local post office and my mail carrier delivered it. Interesting concept, but this took an insane amount of time.
I don't know if that will help anyone out there or not. Just my observations on the companies I ordered through in the past 6 weeks or so. :)
Amazon sent me two DVD's and a pair of sewing scissors in a flimsy "bubble" envelope. The envelope was opened on the end and my scissors were missing. They replaced them, but I did complain to them about shipping scissors in an envelope. Seriously? And Zulilly orders are always slow. They don't even process the orders until the deal is over and then it takes forever. Ava's flower girl dress was ordered early in September and still had to be ordered elsewhere to get it 6 weeks later. Not acceptable. I like Zulily, but I never shop with a deadline. I hope you get all your packages ! I'm waiting anxiously for the rest of mine.
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