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Doing it wrong: a guide to shipping internationally by crc and parcelforce

otto42

otto42

Chimp
Jul 29, 2009
12
0
CO/NY
Don't know whose fault this screw up is, but I'm definitely becoming slightly irritated. I guess I'll start you all off with a screen shot of the tracking as of this morning, since it speaks for itself:


For reference, the stuff is supposed to go to Colorado... Ireland definitely doesn't look like Colorado on a map. Not to mention they're on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

Anyway, the stuff sat in Portlaoise, Ireland for about 13 days. Only god knows why it went there. I emailed CRC and got a response 2 days later that my package was in fact sent to the Republic of Ireland by mistake. Very good, Parcelforce. It looks like they got a hold of the stuff, sent it back to the UK and then back to Ireland... only Belfast this time (probably going through customs?) and delivered to a man known only as D Davis at approximately 11:30 yesterday.

Who are you D. Davis? I may know what your signature looks like but you certainly are not me. Do you have my stuff?



I'm not in a hurry to get my items (but who likes to get the shaft?); the bike they are going on won't be ready to ride for at least another week. Hopefully Parcelforce/CRC works their crap out and gets me my stuff. Seeing $480 worth of parts d!ck its way around the Emerald Isle isn't that entertaining.
 
4xBoy

4xBoy

Turbo Monkey
Jun 20, 2006
7,207
3,206
Minneapolis
My order was last Friday, I will have it tomorrow, I am in MN.

I have never had a problem, sucks that you have had nothing but problems.
 
otto42

otto42

Chimp
Jul 29, 2009
12
0
CO/NY
definitely not spam, entirely bike related. Used CRC because they had some awesome deals on shimano stuff (saint crank, shifter, cassette, derailleur...) AND actually had the crank in stock

here's the email I got back from CRC:
 
otto42

otto42

Chimp
Jul 29, 2009
12
0
CO/NY
theyre helping, but the initial screw up has definitely wasted a good amount of time. not too convenient...

the stuff, as i'm told, was sent back to CRC and CRC resent the package sometime in the middle of this week, so all should end well!
 
binary visions

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,161
1,261
NC
I have to say, I don't really see why this is in the "bad sellers and scams" section. Maybe a "LOL look at this" thread in the Lounge, but they made a mistake and are working to correct it. How does that fit the category of a bad seller OR a scam?

Sucks that your stuff got delayed but mistakes do happen even to the best of businesses.
 
Sandwich

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,779
7,044
borcester rhymes
No, this belongs here as a warning to others. I had similar issues with my parts order from CRC.

I don't know who Spank'er the SPAM'er is really, but I had bull**** service from them after I ordered, and wasn't happy. I ordered like 450$ worth of stuff. They wouldn't send it until I sent them a ****ing bill with my home address and a bunch of other crap, which I wasn't about to send to some goons in Britain. I sent them an email, as I was in the carribean on vacation at the time, and didn't get any response for like three or four days. I can't recall exactly, but I may have had to wait until I got back to the states (no cell service) to call, because they were too useless to return any of my daily emails.

Finally the stuff got shipped, but when it arrived they had removed all of the packaging...I didn't like seeing my brand new saint spindle poking out of the single layer box they had packed it in. I know they do that to save costs and offer free shipping, but next time I plan on ordering from Jenson or whomever else so that I get my parts on time and don't have to worry about things like this.
 
jonKranked

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
88,636
26,882
media blackout
Sandwich said:
No, this belongs here as a warning to others. I had similar issues with my parts order from CRC.

I don't know who Spank'er the SPAM'er is really, but I had bull**** service from them after I ordered, and wasn't happy. I ordered like 450$ worth of stuff. They wouldn't send it until I sent them a ****ing bill with my home address and a bunch of other crap, which I wasn't about to send to some goons in Britain. I sent them an email, as I was in the carribean on vacation at the time, and didn't get any response for like three or four days. I can't recall exactly, but I may have had to wait until I got back to the states (no cell service) to call, because they were too useless to return any of my daily emails.

Finally the stuff got shipped, but when it arrived they had removed all of the packaging...I didn't like seeing my brand new saint spindle poking out of the single layer box they had packed it in. I know they do that to save costs and offer free shipping, but next time I plan on ordering from Jenson or whomever else so that I get my parts on time and don't have to worry about things like this.
Click to expand...
sounds like user error.
 
Da Peach

Da Peach

Outwitted by a rodent
Jul 2, 2002
13,773
5,198
North Van
jonKranked said:
sounds like user error.
Click to expand...
I was a little let down with my CRC experience. They just forgot half my order. Ooops! It was certainly cheap, but I'd say that anyone that is planning to shop there should just expect slow shipping/errors/PITA dealings with customer service etc...
 
jonKranked

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
88,636
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Da Peach said:
I was a little let down with my CRC experience. They just forgot half my order. Ooops! It was certainly cheap, but I'd say that anyone that is planning to shop there should just expect slow shipping/errors/PITA dealings with customer service etc...
Click to expand...
I don't disagree that it was a frustrating and disheartening experience. Just to play the voice of reason, given the volume of orders they handle, it's not surprising that orders get borked every now and again. I've ordered from them half a dozen times and have never had a single issue *knocks on wood*.
 
IH8Rice

IH8Rice

I'm Mr. Negative! I Fail!
Aug 2, 2008
24,524
494
Im over here now
jonKranked said:
I don't disagree that it was a frustrating and disheartening experience. Just to play the voice of reason, given the volume of orders they handle, it's not surprising that orders get borked every now and again. I've ordered from them half a dozen times and have never had a single issue *knocks on wood*.
Click to expand...
amazon is 1000x bigger then they are, but yet them and their partners usually never have any hiccups at all.
their one partner's warehouse handles 10k shipments a day during holiday season and they have almost 0 errors
 
Da Peach

Da Peach

Outwitted by a rodent
Jul 2, 2002
13,773
5,198
North Van
What bugs me is that they'd included the checklist in the box with the stuff that did arrive. The missing seatpost and cassette showed as "order filled" or whatever, but they were missing. They'd also already billed me for my entire order.

Another item (a hydration bladder) turned up as "on backorder" once my order confirmation arrived in my email. They've billed me for that too. No idea when that might show up. I've paid for it though.
 
jonKranked

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
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IH8Rice said:
amazon is 1000x bigger then they are, but yet them and their partners usually never have any hiccups at all.
their one partner's warehouse handles 10k shipments a day during holiday season and they have almost 0 errors
Click to expand...
source? link?

while I don't doubt that what you posted is true, I'm pretty sure amazon's business model is also different. Being a larger company (actually, 340th largest in the world - http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/global500/2010/full_list/301_400.html) , they also have far more resources to focus and minimize/eliminate errors with orders/shipping.
 
IH8Rice

IH8Rice

I'm Mr. Negative! I Fail!
Aug 2, 2008
24,524
494
Im over here now
jonKranked said:
source? link?
Click to expand...
dont have a link, the owner of said company told me and my old company. they are one of largest computer/CE distributors in the world and their 5 warehouses cover over 2.5mil sq ft. its a private company so no info like that would be available to the public.
most people who have ordered from amazon, have gotten products from them. customers just dont know that
 
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syadasti

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
jonKranked said:
while I don't doubt that what you posted is true, I'm pretty sure amazon's business model is also different. Being a larger company (actually, 340th largest in the world - http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/global500/2010/full_list/301_400.html) , they also have far more resources to focus and minimize/eliminate errors with orders/shipping.
Click to expand...
There are various comparable US based cycling mail-order companies with far better fulfillment systems. I've ordered from CRC 3 times - small to medium sized orders - I had to use CS twice. Both times the support I received was below par compared to any other mail-order company I've dealt with.
 
jonKranked

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
88,636
26,882
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syadasti said:
There are various comparable US based cycling mail-order companies with far better fulfillment systems. I've ordered from CRC 3 times - small to medium sized orders - I had to use CS twice. Both times the support I received was below par compared to any other mail-order company I've dealt with.
Click to expand...
and I'm sure their prices aren't as good. Look, NOBODY can beat CRC's prices. fact of life. Then again, when I order from them its generally large orders placed well in advance before the season begins. If I need something in a pinch, I sure as heck ain't waiting for something from the UK.
 
syadasti

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
CRC isn't always the lowest price. LBS with eBay stores and some brands are cheaper in the US.

I found an eBay seller which turned out to be an LBS about 45 minutes from my house and I was able to get current generation Mavic wheelset (2009 SX when they where first released) for cheaper than CRC
 
Sandwich

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,779
7,044
borcester rhymes
dude why are you so staunchly defending them? Nobody here is really throwing them under the bus...but it's certainly worth considering that if you want to take advantage of their ludicrous pricing, then you might have to wait two weeks, deal with their lack of customer service, have parts delayed or mis-shipped, or whatever else is par for the course.

I would probably order from them again if I really needed to outfit my complete bike for super cheap...but I know I get great service from pricepoint or jenson, and I can now afford the premium....why deal with people who just can't figure it out?
 
jonKranked

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
88,636
26,882
media blackout
Sandwich said:
dude why are you so staunchly defending them? Nobody here is really throwing them under the bus...but it's certainly worth considering that if you want to take advantage of their ludicrous pricing, then you might have to wait two weeks, deal with their lack of customer service, have parts delayed or mis-shipped, or whatever else is par for the course.

I would probably order from them again if I really needed to outfit my complete bike for super cheap...but I know I get great service from pricepoint or jenson, and I can now afford the premium....why deal with people who just can't figure it out?
Click to expand...
i just like to argue
 
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