Viper187

I placed an order for 6 items during the 20% off sale (11/21), then another order for Las Vegas season 2 on the 23rd, and 1 other order just after that. I've received all but 1 items so far in about 6 separate shipments. Of the 6, 3 of these had a loose, scratched up disc! One of the snapcase movies even had a broken hub. What's the point of buying things new when they don't get here new? I've had better luck buying off half.com and Amazon marketplace. At least those sellers use insulated envelopes! Why bother buying from a major retailer like DD if they can't pack things right? I sent one email about this already and got no response. I'm waiting for the last item to show up before I bitch some more. I mean really. Why would you pack 3 DVDs in a box with nothing more than 1 little piece of paper as packing material? How can they be oblivious to the amount of hell these packages are put through by USPS, UPS etc?

brainee

I'm taking it this was your first experience with DD? While it sounds like you had worse luck than most (50% damaged rate), one of DD's consistent weaknesses for many years has been poor packaging. I tried to file a "constructive" complaint with them as well a while back - and maybe they're a little more generous with the paper protection. Though the packaging still falls well short of Amazon's (when I get DVDs from them, they're usually safely nestled in air bags).

They are good about returns, and will e-mail you a return label no questions asked. Putting DVD back in the box, slapping on the new label, and dropping it in a mailbox is pretty hassle free. Though I've had a couple of occasions where even the replacement came damaged, and I had to do a 2nd return. It can end up being a rush if you were counting on these orders for Christmas gifts. Box sets are especially difficult. Even when the DVDs themselves are intact, cardboard boxes are very prone to smashing/crumpling. Maybe it seems anal, but I just don't accept packaging that looks beat up if I paid for it new.

Usually the smaller the shipment, the less damage I see. What has killed me is when big orders are shipped with just some wadded paper - shipping employees seem to see a heavy larger box, and take it to mean that they're free to toss the box around, drop it, or pile many other things on top of it. If I was unlucky enough to have a DVD set with cardboard packaging placed in a corner of the box, it can look like someone sat on it.

Probably sounds like I'm bitching, but just laying out the truth of my experiences. I've posted this a couple times on this forum before, but figured I'd just save you the message search and repeat myself to your direct question. Though I still do business with DD. Customer service always eventually straightens things out. And the prices are still low enough during these sales that I knowingly take the risk. Though the price advantage has shrunk a lot in the last couple of years, and I've been finding myself giving more business to their competitors (where in past years, I'd build up a gigantic wish list at DD and order freely during the 20% sales, confident that I was getting the best price for 95% of the items). DD is still a good company IMO, albeit with some flaws.

Viper187

Not my first experience, but probably my last. I was thinking of dumping a ton of cash ($1000+) during the next 20% off sale too if I had the money by then, but I think I'd rather go with Amazon/Half. Many of the SD-DVDs I want are already out of print anyway, or they're listed on Amazon but not DD for whatever reason. For example, "What the Worst That Could Happen?" I ordered that new from Amazon, but it's not on DD. Same with Top Dog. Why only carry 90% of what's in print? Or did Amazon just have 10x the stock and the movies went out of print? Either way, it gives me another excuse to order elsewhere and not feel so bad about doing without the 20% off.

DVD Polizei

brainee,

I've emailed DD three times over a period of a week about a DVD which was the wrong edition. No responses on all those emails. I'm gonna have to call them but it's really difficult for me and I shouldn't have to.

I agree with the stock-on-hand issue, too. You order something and it's generally not in stock. Of course with DD, a person has to be patient, and I always opt for the free shipping as any other upgrade is pointless. But the packaging problem is still apparently happening, and it needs to stop.

I guess we need to start filing BBB complaints, pertaining to their shipping practices. For the amount of money we spend at DD, we do need a little consideration. These are avid DVD collectors DD is dealing with. I've spend probably $700+ just over the last 6 months from them. And I know I'm not the only one.

disneyguy

Right and the BBB would laugh at your request..Complaining about packing
I sure they will jump on that..

7Keys

I've never received an email response from them, so I don't waste my time with emails. I've only had a couple of problems (one was not theirs, the box set had 2 Disc 3's), but other than no responses I'm fine with them.

And the BBB is probably a waste of time. I used them once with a Video Game store and it went nowhere.

DVD Polizei

Considering how shipping does in fact have to do with a business operation and how it interacts with the consumer, the BBB is most certainly a place to voice a concern.

But hey, feel free to watch your cracked DVD cases and discs with pride. Personally, I don't have that much pride. Or tolerance. I personally have not received as many damaged DVDs and/or cases as others on this forum, but if I do, I'm forwarding my issues to the BBB. You can laugh all you want, but it is part of doing business. Other companies manage to ship their products just fine, so DeepDiscount should not think of itself as an exception.

Pointyskull

I've never had any issues with DD packaging and/or damaged discs, but if it happened to me more than once I'd probably just stop buying from them for good - AFTER I received my replacements.

Darth Maher

You should file a complaint with the BBB about that. ;-)

But seriously, I have luckily been pretty lucky with DDD (or DD now). I know my family ordered a few things from them this year for my Christmas gifts and they appear to be in decent shape. No floating discs or anything.

Now, I recently reeived a pacakge from Amazon that had two floaters. It was packaged well, but the dics were all scuffed up from flying all over the inside of the case. Amazon shipped a new one out immediately. It is supposed to arrive today. Hopefully, it will be in better shape.

Viper187

You have to wonder how many of these discs are loose when they arrive at the store's warehouse, as opposed to coming loose on the way to you. Obviously, people packing the shit up pay no attention to whether or not a disc is floating. Whenever I buy at B&M stores, I shake every title I pickup to avoid taking a floater home. The assholes at the warehouse should be encouraged to pay attention too.

kaze0

I never had a problem with DDD packing. You people expect too much. If you seriously think that they are getting mutilated in shipping then the issue is with the shipping carrier.

leeta

I remember one time it took three tries to get a set with no problems. It was the Dracula Legacy Collection. Received the first one with the case cracked, sent it back and got another one with the exact same problem. After this, I asked them to open it and check it before shipping it. Finally got one in good condition on their third shipment.

The main problem was the waste of time (waiting for them to receive the damaged one and then waiting for the replacement to arrive and the credit to show up... again and again). I didn't have any problem with customer service, but called them rather than going through email. Email is a lot easier with most companies, but have found that with DD and DVDP, a phone call is much faster than waiting on an email response, and I've have never had a problem with them resolving an issue.