BobO'Link

Don't be. It sometimes takes 3 or 4 days before the package actually makes it to USPS. I think it's based on order volume as it seems to be quicker during times when "deals" haven't been posted to Slickdeals triggering lots of orders.

Hamilton is mainly mail order but has the web presence for convenience. Goldenwheels has stated in the DVD Hamilton Deals thread that they'll hold a certain amount of stock back from web sales to give those who do mail order only a shot at them. That, too, can contribute to items going in/out of stock.

It really sucks when Hamilton deals gets posted on Slickdeals. Hamilton mainly purchases close outs and overstocks. As a result they don't have huge numbers of titles and things can sell out quickly, especially when posted on Slickdeals. I hate that site for what they do to limited stock sale items, especially considering many people there seem to be purchasing to flip and not for themselves. If they *are* cancelling orders that look like they're being done to flip (I'd assume multiple/excessive copies of "hot" sale price titles) then I applaud them for the effort.

MooMooMooMoo

Correction: The order was placed on 1/12. I am going to reach out to them Monday if the USPS page with the tracking # isn't updated to show received. Seems odd that they would print postage with a tracking # for my package & 6 days later haven't yet transported it to the post office. If it was going through Smart Post, DSL, etc before the post office there would have been a different tracking # associated with the carrier delivering it to the post office in my experience.

rduncan

Remember Monday is also a Federal Holiday so that may add to the delay of teh USPS receiving or posting updates.

Jay G.

I just received an order from them yesterday. The timeline is:

• 1/12: Order placed
• 1/15: Order shipped notice. Email stated "Note that the first USPS scan will not happen until your package reaches your local USPS National Distribution Center."
• 1/16: First USPS tracking entry: "Pre-Shipment Info Sent to USPS, USPS Awaiting Item "
• 1/17: USPS tracking: "Accepted at USPS Origin Facility FALLS VILLAGE, CT 06031 "
• 1/18: Delivered

Looking at the label, it was sent "PRSRT Media Mail" aka presorted media mail, with eVS, aka Electronic Verification System. eVS allows them to submit shipping info electronically before pickup, and media mail is slow but cheap shipping for books and DVDs and such. It does't look like the package was handled by any shipping service other than the USPS.

Also, I possibly lucked out on the speed, since I live in a major east coast city, so it didn't have far to go. Also, based on the email, maybe not all packages get scanned at the origin facility, and my package hit its "NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER" the same day as the origin scan.


Edit: Looking into presorted media mail more, it looks like it involves "sacking" or bundling packages together to travel to various distribution centers:
https://pe.usps.com/cpim/ftp/manuals/dmm300/275.pdf

So I'm not 100% on this, but I think it's likely that the individual packages in a sack don't get tracked until they reach a distribution center and are split up. So for a worst case scenario, let's say you place an order on the west coast. They pack it up and label it, but then it has to sit around until they have at least 10 boxes for a given distribution center to put in a sack. Then they sack it and give it to the USPS, who scan the sack, but not individual boxes. That sack gets sent by slow media mail across the US, until it hits a west coast distribution center, and only then are the boxes separated and scanned. So a day or so waiting to get sacked and a few days travelling to a distribution center could mean not seeing any tracking info for your package for days on end after the initial shipping email.

Again, I think I got lucky being on the east coast, it seems like my zip code may be one that gets sorted right in Falls Village, CT, so I got tracking info fast.

hariseldon

My weekend order had teh shipping label (media mail) printed Wednesday and skipped the acceptance and departing scans then showed up at the Distribution Center 100 miles from me yesterday afternoon. Out for delivery today.

Apparently this has happened to quite a few people with the Hamilton's origination PO/Dispatch center not scanning the tracking numbers.
Given I'm at least on the same side of the country (800 miles more or less), my guess is you may not see it show up locally until Tuesday or Wed in Washington (Monday holiday)

laidbacklarkin

On my last two orders in mid 2018, package tracking didn't update until they were both delivered and am on the opposite coast (SoCal) Concerned email sent to customer service while the packages were apparently in transit, met with a response of assurance that they were indeed on the way. Have received all my packages from them with no issues ever.

DVD Polizei

From my experience Hamilton does a pretty good job. Expect a week (5-7 business days) from your order date. This will depend on any holiday and USPS issues.

MooMooMooMoo

Tuesday will be 10 days from order (I forgot Monday is a postal holiday) . Will call if USPS tracking isn't updated at that point.

Brian T

Thanks all for the info regarding the disappearing/reappearing items and holdbacks for mail orders. I get a million catalogs from them -- unasked for, but sometimes I spot interesting stuff in them -- and figured (wrongly, apparently) there wouldn't be that many people using mail order in this day and age. I wasn't familiar with Slickdeals, either, so I guess I'll keep that in mind when procrastinating over the contents of my cart in the future.

laidbacklarkin

When mail order used to be a flat $3.50 (before flat web order S/H pricing) it was the only way I would order. In fact, Goldenwheels had confirmed that one could add SKUs in the order form from the web for items not in the catalog and still avail of catalog flat shipping. Of course, you could run the risk of items going OOS while the order form's on its way in the mail 😊

laidbacklarkin

My two orders of 1/12 that shipped 1/15 showed up on tracking today with updated status and are scheduled to be delivered by EOD

Proglodite

I wish HamiltonB would add a sort option of Newly Listed Items - I went back through the list today and saw a number of items that weren't there just a day or two ago (Leonard Pt 6 for $1.95; Second Chorus for $r.95, Timeless Westerns for $3.95, etc). --Peter

Jay G.

Leonard Pt 6 for $1.95 has been there since at least my order on 1/12. I remember I almost bought it.

I sort by price ascending so I look at the cheap titles first. There's also the "Price Cut" option in the price range filter that will show titles they further reduced in price. Also, You can look at the total number of pages to get an idea if items have been added. They had 12 pages a few days ago, and now have 13, so some stuff has been added.

One crazy deal I got that I haven't seen mentioned: Resident Evil: Afterlife UHD Blu-ray for $3.95
https://www.hamiltonbook.com/resident-evil-afterlife

Their pic shows a standard Blu-ray case, but the banner says "Ultra HD + Blu-ray". I got this in my last order, and got the UHD Blu-ray. It came in a black case, not blue. It also had an "Ultraviolet" digital code in the case that I redeemed on MoviesAnywhere for a UHD digital copy.

laidbacklarkin

Those titles you mention have been there for a long time. 'Timeless Westerns' for e.g has been there for as long as you can imagine, am surprised they haven't sold out yet. On the main page,

1. Click 'Power Search'
2. Select Blurays for 'Binding Media'
3. Input the date into 'Added Since' to get a list of all blurays added to the catalog since that date
4. Click 'Start Search'

There have been 111 blurays added since 13th January, 2019 which is the last time new titles were added

MooMooMooMoo

That would make sense. I used to be an online retailer, & I used media mail which was scanned at the local post office. But I did not use "pre sacking".

Mine finally hit Seattle today; I'll likely get it by Thursday.

MooMooMooMoo

Agreed

laidbacklarkin

Received both orders from 1/15 today at my SoCal address. Perfectly packaged as always, never an issue with HB

BobO'Link

I normally pull those industrial staples out of the box... it's a pain (flat blade screwdriver and pliers seem to work best/easiest). This time I opted to use the handy, built-in, pull strip. It was much easier - but I still wonder about leaving those staples in as I recycle all cardboard at my house and don't know if they should be removed for recycling (the main reason I've pulled them out in the past).

wishbone

It can be a chore but I remove the staples before recycling the cardboard.

Jay G.

The info I've found suggests that the recycling machinery is designed to remove staples.
https://www.tapinto.net/articles/do-...d-other-tricky
https://earth911.com/business-policy...etails-basics/
https://www.doi.gov/ofas/mib/recycling
https://archive.epa.gov/wastes/conse...html/faqs.html

MooMooMooMoo

Arrived today. All is well.

DVD Polizei

Was hoping to score a copy of Unforgettable but it was OOS. Should be getting an order soon as well.

GoldenWheels

Cart behavior has been a real issue since we started to get noticed by the blu-ray.com guys. I'm not at liberty to say WHY but we are adjusting the cart behavior rules very soon so it will perform better, and far more like what you suggest here.

GoldenWheels

This is usually the case. The stuff gets a tracking number when it is run through our system. But subsequent scans won't occur until they hit the appropriate NDCs. So if you're in Iowa, for instance, it'll get scanned when it hits Des Moines...but not before, AFAIK.

I can tell you they do not sort our mail in Falls Village!!!! (Our "post office" here is bigger than the towns!). I believe even if a package is for CT, it goes to the NDC in NJ or MA first, then comes BACK to CT (silly, I know, but this is how it works)

PhantomStranger

When do new CD listings normally go live, GoldenWheels? I have a huge CD order in my cart and just wondering.