Jeer CSUSA

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SCR0LL3R

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I recently made a rather large order with CSUSA http://woodturnerscatalog.com , and the USPS shipping quote seemed kinda high. They asked me to confirm the shipping choice and said they also can use Fedex. I asked for a Fedex quote and it was much higher... So I said go ahead and use USPS.

When my package arrived, the box was MASSIVE and about 90% of it was paper... no wonder the Fedex quote was so high! The box was around 10" tall with my stuff taking up no more than 2".

Just to see, I put the stuff in a medium flat rate box and it fit easily taking up less than half the box. So I contacted CSUSA asking why they didn't ship this order more efficiently since it obviously easily fit in a medium flat rate. They told me if I wanted it it shipped in a flat rate box, I should have specified such, and they refused to repay the $8 difference that I asked for.

I replied that it should be their responsibility to ship in a cost effective manner. I have no idea what size box they are using or what the physical dimensions of my order are. I am sure they make efforts to keep costs down, why should shipping be any different? I replied in a respective manner but never heard back from them again.

I wouldn't order from them again if they weren't the only place I could get Gents and Statemans from. This is very different from the excellent service I have received from every vendor I have bought from on this forum and I wish I could show it by taking my business elsewhere.
 
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Silverado

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Hi Keith

I believe you can get your Gent's and Statesman's from Ed and Dawn at
Exoticblanks. Exceptional Service A++++

Tim

Moderator's note: Please take a look again at the rules for this forum. Since this a new forum with new rules and this was an honest error, we are going to go easy on the moderation for a while. In the near future, this type of post will be removed. Here are the rules with the applicable portion highlighted:

Rules:
  • Review recent experiences; within 30 days.
  • Focus! Do not mention competing vendors in any thread.
  • Threads are subject to closure after one week.
  • Be ethical and honest. Add a disclaimer if you know you should. (Disclaimers might include: "My son owns the company", or "I sell blanks to the company", or "I got my stuff for free in exchange for this review." This lets readers judge the value and credibility of your post.
 
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SCR0LL3R

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I meant the full size ones. I do get my jr's from exotics... I wish they had the full size ones too :wink:.

Moderator's note: Please see my note to Tim above. This section is solely for the purpose of providing a cheer or jeer for a SPECIFIC vendor as you did in your original post. I may or may not agree with you on your jeer but good job on how you presented it!
 
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patmurris

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Since i'm rather new to pen turning i cannot pretend i have a long experience with CSUSA - i only placed three orders so far, but being in Europe the shipping cost is an important concern and on my last order i was surprised how low it was.

On my previous orders the shipping cost was around $45 and that is was i usually expect but since i ordered just a few expensive kits it was fitting in a small flat rate box and i only had to pay $17 on that one which was a good surprise.
 

SCR0LL3R

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Since i'm rather new to pen turning i cannot pretend i have a long experience with CSUSA - i only placed three orders so far, but being in Europe the shipping cost is an important concern and on my last order i was surprised how low it was.

On my previous orders the shipping cost was around $45 and that is was I usually expect but since i ordered just a few expensive kits it was fitting in a small flat rate box and i only had to pay $17 on that one which was a good surprise.

It's good that they did that to keep the shipping costs down and it's what I would expect them to do with every order.

My reasoning is that since I knew it fit in a medium flat rate box and I knew that a med. flat rate costs $27 and I don't ship for a living, I would expect whoever works in their shipping department to know that too. I expect somebody was just lazy and couldn't be bothered to care.

It might not be typical of them to ship poorly but I was disappointed that they didn't do anything about my complaint. Their website bolsters "100% satisfaction guaranteed"... Nobody cared about my satisfaction.
 
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maxwell_smart007

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Were there damageable items in your order? Perhaps the reason they used so much paper was to limit the likelihood of items getting destroyed if they packed it too tightly...

That being said, I prefer to email CSUSA rather than phone. I've always been satisfied with the results after emailing CSUSA..perhaps an email to the customer service manager would be a better way to receive a solution to your issue
 

SCR0LL3R

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It was just blanks, pen kits and micromesh, there was still lots of room for padding in a med flat rate. Also they didn't pad underneath the stuff because it wasn't necessary.

I only emailed the regular customer service email address. It was only about $8 so I didn't pursue it any further than the 2 messages I sent. It is likely that if I made a big enough fuss, something may have gotten done about it... I guess I felt it wasn't worth my time but it did leave a bad taste in my mouth.
 

Texatdurango

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I am trying to stay out of these types of rants and discussions but with each post you have me more confused!

You started out saying...... "I recently made a rather large order with CSUSA http://woodturnerscatalog.com , and the USPS shipping quote seemed kinda high. They asked me to confirm the shipping choice and said they also can use Fedex. I asked for a Fedex quote and it was much higher... So I said go ahead and use USPS...."

Then a few posts later said.... "My reasoning is that since I knew it fit in a medium flat rate box and I knew that a med. flat rate costs $27 and...."

Here is the part I don't understand, if you knew how much you ordered and you knew it would fit in a flat rate box and you knew the flat rate box was cheaper than the quotes they gave you then why didn't you tell them THEN to use the medium flat rate box rather than let them ship using the higher rate then complain about it after the fact. The whole rant just doesn't make any sense!

I always watch the bottom line and have backed out of many internet orders because they add ridiculous shipping fees in as the last step in checking out. If I really want an item I'll call and try to get a cheaper rate and it usually works. Geeze, don't just assume someone is going to think of something on their own when it involves your money, be proactive yourself! If you were to visit the shipping departments of some of these companies you might have a better appreciation of what they go through and I'm sure they have just so many different size boxes to choose from.
 

SCR0LL3R

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I didn't KNOW it would fit in a flat rate box until I received my order. I also didn't know that they charge actual shipping... For all I knew they may have had handling charges in there. I didn't see a breakdown of the charges.. I didn't have the measurements of the box, the weight or the total dimensions of my products. Their shipping department had all that in front of them and they showed a lack of concern for the customer and when I called them on it they blew me off.

"100% Satisfaction Guaranteed?"... No ... I'm not saying it's a horrible place to shop but this treatment was deserving of a Jeer in my opinion.

Criticize my jeer if you want... I think it's valid... It's up to you to decide if you think it's a valid reason or not.
 

Texatdurango

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I didn't KNOW it would fit in a flat rate box until I received my order. I also didn't know that they charge actual shipping... For all I knew they may have had handling charges in there. I didn't see a breakdown of the charges.. I didn't have the measurements of the box, the weight or the total dimensions of my products. Their shipping department had all that in front of them and they showed a lack of concern for the customer and when I called them on it they blew me off.

"100% Satisfaction Guaranteed?"... No ... I'm not saying it's a horrible place to shop but this treatment was deserving of a Jeer in my opinion.

Criticize my jeer if you want... I think it's valid... It's up to you to decide if you think it's a valid reason or not.

I guess we'll just agree to disagree then! I have placed dozens upon dozens of orders with them over the past four years ranging from $15 to over $6,000, the last one being a few months ago and I've always been treated the same.

If there is one thing that is CONSISTANT about Craft Supply, it is the fact that their customer service folks are hands down the most polite, courteous people I would ever want to deal with. You ought to call and speak to a lady named Angela, I believe she is a supervisor in the customer support area and she could easily find out who you spoke with and who blew you off and make things right!
 

bitshird

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I can only say I've ordered maybe 15 times and usually a small order 150.00 to 200.00 and have never been charged any thing outrageous, If memory serves me correctly nearly every time it came in a small Flat Rate Box. One time a Medium that was well packaged as it had glass in it.
 

jimmyheikes

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I wholeheartedly agree with George. I order an enormous amount of materials from CSUSA and I have always been extremely satisfied. On those instances where there has been an issue. it was taken care of immediately and' in each case' a followup phone call was made to me by the service department to ensure satisfaction.:):):)
 

SCR0LL3R

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So it appears I am the exception... Here is my initial complaint... (ill post their reply in my next post.

"Hello,

I just got order number 754164 from you today. This order was packed in a MUCH larger box than required and the shipping costs were passed on to me. Whoever decided what packaging to use was not concerned with my how much shipping would cost me.

The first attachment entitled large.jpg is how my package arrived (There was paper over the products to fill the box). I transferred everything to a medium flat rate box to show that it would easily have fit with plenty of room for padding. The 2nd attachment (medium.jpg) is a medium flat rate box which clearly fits my order and stills has room for ample padding.

I would ask that I please be credited the difference in shipping cost which was wastefully charged to me. Perhaps in the future, you could review how the shipping department chooses it's packaging.

Thank you"
 

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SCR0LL3R

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[FONT=&quot]They replied

"Keith,[/FONT]


[FONT=&quot]Our shipping is based on the weight of the product you purchase. It is not based on the size of the box. If you would like your order shipped with a flat rate box, you must request this. You can call your order in and request that or give us a call after you order online and let us know. Since your order weighed 6 lbs, the shipping you paid is quite normal. International shipping can be very costly. If you have additional questions please let me know.[/FONT]


[FONT=&quot]Sincerely,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Angie Larsen[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Customer Service[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1-801-373-0917 "[/FONT]


[FONT=&quot]So I replied again:[/FONT]


"I order from the US regularly. This is lighter than my last two orders which cost $23 and $25 respectively. I haven't had an order besides yours cost any more than $25 to date. I think you should be concerned with providing the most cost-effective shipping method available. I am sure you make efforts to keep costs down elsewhere, why should shipping be any different?"




AND got no further correspondence....
 
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SCR0LL3R

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Apparently I was dealing with Angela... So I was at the top of the customer service chain (I think)...

I assume she just thought I expected too much... Do you agree with her? Or is it reasonable for me to think they would want to ship my order cost effectively considering flat rate packages are within their normal shipping methods?

I would think that any smaller vendor would have taken my concern to heart and refunded the few $.
 
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Dave Turner

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I've become accustomed to the very reasonable shipping provided by most IAP vendors. CSUSA shipping always seemed a little high to me - relatively speaking. If it was me, I'd just chalk the $8 up to an educational expense and make sure I called and specified an exact shipping method and pricing the next time I needed to order. From the company perspective, I don't think I'd have expected them to refund any money. A certificate for 10% off my next order might have been a nice PR gesture.

Dave
 

JimB

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I see some issues with what you are stating. First, you expect them to ship the least expensive way. That is not their responsibility. They are responsible for presenting your shipping options. YOU are responsible for choosing one that fits your needs. For you that may be the least expensive but others may choose an option that is more expensive for their own reasons. There are other shipping options available but most companies only offer one or two because there are many other options and no company is going to keep up with all of them.

Second, you say you communicated with them in a "respective manner". Although I don't think you were being disrespectful I think there is a tone that is not going to help. When you say their employees were 'not concerned' about the shipping cost and then say, in your second communication, 'I think you should be concerned with providing the most cost-effective shipping method available' you are setting a tone that is not going to help you get what you want.

For me, this is why I prefer to deal with these things on the phone. I find I do much better speaking to someone that writing an email. Sometimes an email just comes across the wrong way.
 

SCR0LL3R

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They didn't give me the option of a flat rate packet vs regular parcel... All they said was USPS. Her first response indicated their stance on the matter. It was my fault according to her.

I was irritated at the dismissal of the first email which is why the 2nd had a "tone"

I was not sending profanities or being unreasonable. Dismissing an irritated customer without a reply is unprofessional and shows a lack of respect.
 
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SCR0LL3R

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I can see you guys wanting to chime in that you have always been treated well by CSUSA, but I don't understand how you can not think that my negative opinion is justified based on how I was treated.

Yes it wasn't really a big deal but mine was not a positive experience.
 

jeff

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Keith asked me to post this.

SCR0LL3R said:
Hi Jeff,

Could you post the following comment at the end of that thread?:

"I just wanted to mention that the technical support at CSUSA has come through and refunded the shipping difference upon hearing of my post here. It was not my intention to use this forum to force a refund, but having gotten it now, I felt this needed to be said.

Since this forum was closed I asked Jeff to allow me to make a comment because I felt it wasn't fair to CSUSA to leave the thread as is since people could still read it."
 
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