DDD going downhill?
 

Maybe it's just me but it seems as if DDD is starting to go downhill. I've noticed more complaints about them lately and have commented in a few of them. For me though I hadn't really noticed any difference until now. I ordered "Roseanne" Season 3 and received a shipping e-mail on 3-16. Today (3-29) it still hadn't arrived so I e-mailed DDD to give them a heads up since "free" shipping is listed as 5-10 days. They responded that I now needed to wait until April 6 (which according to them would be 15 business days) and then e-mail them back confirming that my shipping address was correct. Of course it was correct as it has been for almost a year and a half. Why advertise 5-10 day delivery if you are going to make someone wait twice that long before you do anything about it? Last time I checked Saturday was a USPS business day.

On top of that, I've had a preorder in since the beginning of March for:

The Fifth Cord
Black Belly of the Tarantula
The Pyjama Girl Case
Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion

that still hasn't shipped even though it's available everywhere else. What's the deal???

I don’t know, getting packages from DDD is always a bit slow, that’s why I only use them for the big sales, with the knowledge that its going to take a while. Admittedly, I haven’t used them since the last 20% off sale so I cant comment as to whether or not its any worse, but I’ve always found them to have issues with shipping.

They have been at the bottom of the hill for a long time now..I use to order with them often, but since they absolutely suck with getting new releases out on time I have not ordered anything with them. Yes the prices are good, but for the aggrevation it is not worth it..They pre-order way too many copies, especially with the higher price sets and they can't deliver on time. They put you on a list that takes forever to receive the items you pre-ordered...IMO DDD SUCKS

I've generally been happy with them outside of their shipping. I'm currently waiting for an order to arrive that shipped on the 20th and I'm getting a little nervous about it. You'd think with shipping being what seems to be the number one complaint, they would look into changing it or improving their processes.

FWIW, My last order from them arrived quickly. Regardless, with their prices, I can live with slow shipping.

Slow shipping is one of their problems, the main problem for me is wondering what the heck is going on with my order and when it will arrive. DDD customer service sucks big time and they can never give you a straight answer. What I hate the most is seeing the new release dvd's in store and not being able to buy them because I ordered them from DDD, then I have to ask just when will I get them? I hate NOT knowing the status of a order...

you trade off good service for good prices. can't have both

Their shipping is definitely, "you get what you paid for." Which, in your case, you paid nothing, you get slow shipping. That is how DDD always has been. If I place a large order (like during sales) or need something quickly, I always do UPS 2 day. It's still inexpensive (about what other sites charge for regular shipping!) and I get the stuff quick.

I've never had to wait long for a DDD package. Perhaps it's because I live close by, but I've always been surprised on the speed of delivery.

Seems like the same for me. Takes about 2 weeks most of time for shipments to arrive but for the prices of what I buy and free shipping it works out ok. Would be better if they had some sort of tracking though.

sounds like a USPS complaint to me. pay for better shipping if its too slow.

though i do agree DDD had gone downhill, this isnt one of my complaints.

Business days are weekdays. I also don't see why DDD is to blame when you choose the slowest shipping and the slow part is the mail, not the store. DDD doesn't deliver it.

I often wonder if maybe they have an outside shipping service, and that when DDD says an item has shipped, it means that they have passed it on to that service. Then, perhaps the service takes a few more days to actually get it into the USPS.

Just a thought...

It'll be interesting to see how long Deepdiscountdvd.ca takes for delivery.

my guess is that you're "charged" and you get the shipment email after they process the order, but it doesn't actually go out right away ..maybe it sits on a pallet until it's full, the pallets get shipped someplace, then sorted, then enter the mail .. or the pallets are sorted by destination.. i really have no idea..just guesses on my part..but as some others can verify, the big sales stuff tends to get to people quicker.. so i imagine it somehow has to do with the quantity of stuff going out..

Media mail is the lowest priority for the post office. I think it sits around the various USPS stations it visits until there's room for it on the delivery trucks.

I live fairly close to DDD, and I usually get my shipments within 2, occasionally 3 days of when they are sent. Sometimes I even receive the package before I receive the shipping notice email.

DDD really needs to improve their order tracking system, though.

I should preface this statment by saying that DDD has contacted me and offered to fix the situation and I am satisfied with the offer. My faith is restored although I wish that the customer service was this helpful from the get go (do they outsource CS?). Hopefully they are watching this thread and can improve on that. It seems that there are different "levels" of CS and I possibly moved from one level (outsourced?) to the next level (actual DDD employee?) after a complaint.





Guess your post office doesn't deliver on Saturdays.......




I wasn't blaming them for the fact that it hadn't arrived. My complaint was more about the customer service after the fact. They seemed not to want to be bothered with the fact that it hadn't arrived in the advertised time period and wanted me to wait longer before they would act. Maybe you should read my statement a little closer.

I absolutely refuse to shop with them anymore after my experience with them last week - I had an item preordered, and emailed them to cancel the order. I was told that the item wouldn't be able to be canceled, because it was about to ship. It didn't ship until four days later, and the people who I emailed back and forth were extremely rude about it and snobby. In addition, I called once, and spoke with someone who also was very rude, and actually hung up on me. It's a shame, because I'd been a loyal customer of theirs for over a year...but that doesn't matter to them, I guess.

Yep, that is their customer service for you..THE ABSOLUTE WORST!

Well, I had to go back and add it up, but since 2002 I have placed 87 orders with DDD for a total of 814 DVD's or Box sets. Out of those orders I had three items that I had problems with. One, I ordered a Marx Brother's box set, but they sent me the more expensive Charly Chaplin set. I had a floater that destroyed the disc in another, and during one 20% sale I accidently ordered the same disc twice. I called customer service on all three problems. They were very nice and instantly emailed me a postage paid lable each time to return the discs to them. So I have absolutely no complaints about customer service. When I order, I always choose free shipping. I know it will be a while before I see my order, but hey, IT'S FREE! My last ten or so shipments have been arriving much quicker however. Now if you are so anal, that you absolutely, positively have to have that disc in your sweaty little hands the moment after you hit the "process order" button, you may want to go to a B&M and pay substantially more for your DVD.

Well, lets be realistic...Its not about being anal or anything, but the fact is, shipping from DDD takes longer than other places. I dont care who is to blame, but thats just the way it is. I dont know why people get so defensive, like we are insulting jesus or something when we say DDD has slow shipping and poor customer service. Its the truth. We all know this going in, so its not a big deal. You get cheaper prices, bad customer service, and slower shipping, its a trade-off some (including myself) are willing to make, some arent, its nothing personal.

Well, I've been lucky then. Customer service has been a breeze for me. Much better than a couple of experiences I had with Amazon.

Actually, I've had contact with their customer service a handful of times and never had a problem. :shrug:

I've placed over 100 orders with DDD over the past four years, and I've rarely had a problem. Whenever a problem did arise, DDD took care of the situation quickly. Unlike some of you, I even get good results using their e-mail CS...and I usually receive my order within one week of clicking the submit order button. (using free shipping, I live in Georgia)

I guess the only gripe I've ever had with DDD was during last November's 20% sale, when an unreasonably large number of DVDs (mostly boxsets)received a sudden price increase, just moments before the coupon codes were activated.

I always felt that Amazon took way too long to ship...and they charge for it.

Strong agreement with this as well...Hence the reason I dont buy from them anymore.