Greets,

I've never ordered a pre-order from the Empire before American Psycho, but since I haven't yet received an e-mail from them saying that AP had shipped, I can only assume that I *won't* be getting it tomorrow.

Sigh. Had I ordered it from Buy.com I would've gotten it on Saturday.

Well, if it doesn't show up tomorrow, I guess I won't be shopping DVD Empire for pre-orders anymore.

Has anyone else placed pre-orders with DVD Empire? (I'd assume *some* of you must've). When did you usually receive your product?

Of course, if I get it before Friday, they'll be doing better than Amazon.com does with most pre-orders (although I DID receive T2: UE from Amazon ON the release day - and the 2-disc version to boot! http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/smile.gif )

-- Jough

And my last order from DVD Empire came damaged... http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/frown.gif (not that that's necessarily their fault).



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http://www.jough.com

Same here. It looks like dvdempire will not get you dvd's early. Im still waiting on ine too.

Hell, just ON TIME would be fine by me. Since they probably haven't even *shipped* my disc yet, I likely won't get it until Thursday - if not later.

So DVD Empire falls, too. It's too bad, because I really like their company - customer service is good, their prices are reasonable... too bad they don't get job #1 down right... it's like my Casio watch - it has a calculator, lets me set text messages, stores phone numbers, lets me know what time it is in twelve different countries, has a stop watch, but keeps lousy time. :/

-- Jough

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I am Jough's complete lack of surprise.
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http://www.jough.com

Sorry guys....gotta tell you that we didn't drop the ball on this one.

Yesterday was a holiday and as such people like the USPS, UPS and FedX do not do pickups.

I know...why could we not ship a few days ahead of time? Pre-releases have street dates and for this reason we cannot ship any earlier than possible without jepordizing our business with the studios.

We apologize for the inconvenience and hope that this explanation adds some reasoning to why there weren't shipments yesterday. Rest assured they will all be going out today.

Best Regards,
Steven

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My submissions and/or responses are in no way an effort to promote our business. However, they are offered as a perspective from someone who works in the industry of Home Entertainment.

Steven N,

I understand that UPS, FedEx, etc. didn't do pickups on the holiday, but even if it was an ordinary Monday and you shipped the disc *then* - I still wouldn't receive mine until Wednesday or Thursday - and these days, it's cheaper and easier to just go to Best Buy B&M and pick it up - for less $$$ - and you get it ON THE RELEASE DAY!

Of course, I could order from Buy.com and get the disc EARLY, too.

But if you were REALLY worried about release day rules, you could've shipped the discs out on Friday (which is allowed by the studios) so that they'd be received ON the release day (since those shipping companies don't *deliver* on the holiday, either).

I know it's not a BIG DEAL to get a disc a day or two late - I can wait, I guess - but I guess I feel that I shouldn't HAVE to.

-- Jough



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http://www.jough.com

That's nice, but it still does not explain my dvd's that are still on order from last week that I still did not get. I also agree that you should have shipped sonner to meet the relase date. Most B&M's are beating you guys and with the same or even cheaper prices.

I was surprised to see this...so far I've gotten 95% of my preorders from DVD Empire either the day of or the day before their release date. The only time they seem to ship late is when you combine lots of DVDs together in one order--which to me is perfectly understandable. For example, last week I had 6 DVDs being shipped at once, all with various release dates, and they shipped it on Friday instead of Tuesday. This is understandable, considering the logistics. For the amount of outstanding service I get from DVD Empire (mostly by the BRAVE Steve Negri), and their competitive pricing, I use them exclusively now. And believe me, I've tried everyone (Buy-horrible, Amazon-faceless and slow, Express-up and down service)
Speaking for myself, I'd rather order 6 30-35% off DVDs at DVD Empire rather than have to drive around to 5 or 6 different B&Ms to find a bargain on each title. There is NO B&M that I know of that has great DVD pricing across the board. They always have that one sale DVD, and everything else is ridiculously priced. In fact, my last order from DVD Empire contained Evil Dead 2 Limited Edition Tin, which I couldn't find anywhere in Boston (and I'm betting it wouldn't be on sale even it was available)
Just my 2 cents, as a long time DVD buyer and DVD Empire customer--I'm finding that overall I'm still saving money, gas, and time by preordering DVDs online rather than chasing B&M deals.
Hopefully the delay with your copy of AP was just a slight glitch. I'll honestly let you know if my upcoming orders with DVD Empire ship on time or not, but I have faith they will...

Actually, now I feel bad for my kevetching, because I just received my American Psycho DVD, today, on the release day - the invoice says that it shipped Friday.

Okay, well, I guess I'll try the Empire once again for a pre-order. I know I'm fickle, but I'm still trying to find that ONE store that I can always count on.

It would have kept the guesswork out if I had received an e-mail stating that my product had shipped (as EVERY other store does), but I can't really complain getting the disc on the day.

-- Jough

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We are glad that all worked out. I knew that the orders were shipped...but did not want to run into a problems that would have caused me to put pie in our face.

I just left the office of our head guru and he explained that the confirmation program went down on Friday though it did not affect our order processing. BTW...you should have received the confirmation today....I know, doesn't mean much since you received the product.

We are glad that you did post this comment...it help us in noticing how valuable the confirmations are and how valuable this forum is to us.

Best Regards,
Steve

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My submissions and/or responses are in no way an effort to promote our business. However, they are offered as a perspective from someone who works in the industry of Home Entertainment.

My DVDS for today all say ON ORDER at 3:42 PM PST, what the heck? I thought dvdempire could come thru with my preorders!

Are there any DVD Empire coupons out there?

I've personally had nothing but problems from DVDempire. I don't order from them anymore.

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Regards...

John 3:16

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Steven N:
Sorry guys....gotta tell you that we didn't drop the ball on this one..... Rest assured they will all be going out today.

Best Regards,
Steven

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


Sorry. The correct answer was...."we don't know when they will be going out." My order for the "Fly/Fly 2" is still waiting to be shipped. Oh well, back to Buy.com and (surprisingly) the B&M's.

So yes, you did drop the ball.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by dablueguy:

Sorry. The correct answer was...."we don't know when they will be going out." My order for the "Fly/Fly 2" is still waiting to be shipped. Oh well, back to Buy.com and (surprisingly) the B&M's.

So yes, you did drop the ball.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I did say that "all" order went out...as they did yesterday by late evening.

Now as for Omen, Fly1/2 and Ed Scissorhands...you can move this to the studio complaints forum since Fox has failed you. I discovered this morning (Wednesday @ 7:32AMEST) that FOX did not produce enough of these DVDs as they did not anticipate the purchasing demands...though our order to them showed it.

Now this is not an isolated problem with our store...all of the e-tailers did not receive their full orders and are having problems finding some strays at the distrubutor level.

So, we still believe that we did not drop the ball since we cannot control the replication at the studio level...but we still understand your discontent.

For instance, we were just alerted yesterday, less than two weeks away from the release of Spinal Tap, that the actual release will be delayed due to replication problems. We took the time to post this alert within the forum...which is a rarity due to the fact that we are generally not told by the studios until days before release....hats off to MGM for alerting us in time.

As always, please feel free to e-mail me directly when something is related to an actual order or confusing situation.

Dablue....I would love to look into your situation buy could not find your account on the username you use in this forum.

Best Regards,
Steven



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My submissions and/or responses are in no way an effort to promote our business. However, they are offered as a perspective from someone who works in the industry of Home Entertainment.

DVDEmpire is down for me.

back up

[This message has been edited by mpeg (edited September 06, 2000).]

DVD Empire.com seems to be up, as of this morning. Hrm.

The only reason I was complaining about not receiving my pre-orders on time was because most of my DVD purchases these days consist of pre-orders, or else new discs that I know a local B&M will have a bargain on (thanks to jones in the Bargain forum).

So if I'm going to order 5-10 discs PER WEEK from a company, I'd really like to get my discs somewhere near the release day because I know that a week later (or even sooner) more new discs will be on their way.

I still have about 10 discs that I haven't had time to watch yet (yet alone listen to commentary tracks) - and I'd stop ordering if there were readily available deals to go around - but there really *aren't* - so pre-ordering is the best way for me to save some money.

And Buy.com - other people complain about them - I've never had ANY problems with pre-orders - and their prices are good - but I don't have a lot of confidence in the company as a whole, whereas DVD Empire participates in this forum, their customer service is very professional and handles problems quickly (Steve N, pass along my kudos to Neil there).

So far, they're 1-0 on pre-orders. I received my first pre-order with them right on the day. Not bad. If not for the holiday, I may have received it a day early (as I would with DVD Planet/Ken Cranes).

So I'll try them again, although receiving my e-mail confirmation *after* receiving my product didn't put that warm and snuggly feeling into my heart, they've explained that their order server was down and so everything was sent out late.

I'll post regarding the success (or otherwise) with my next pre-order with them.

-- Jough

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http://www.jough.com

My DVDEMPIRE rant:

I have only bought from dvdempire once before. Had absolutely no problem with them. This was from their adult section however, so I'm not sure if that is separate from the main hq.

Now that Amazon's prices keep dropping, and click-for-gc sites become less profitable, I am forced to check other stores for my dvds. I've been ordering from dvdexpress, but noticed that dvdempire has much lower prices, so I decided to try dvdempire again.

A day after I put in 4 orders (to keep packages under the value that customs start opening them and charging me tax), I noticed that all 4 of my orders have been "archived". Small text at the bottom of the orders told me they needed a copy of my credit card and billing statement. No problem, I've done it before. My gripe is that they never emailed me about it. I have sent the copies, but it's been almost 2 weeks and my orders are still archived. Damn annoying to say the least. I put in 3 more orders and luckily those didn't get archived, but one order has been sitting there for two days without being shipped (while all items are in stock), and they still haven't received their shipment of Edward Scissorhands and The Fly/The Fly II.

Steven N, I have no idea if you're a CSR or not, but if you can help my orders get moving, or explain the delays, I'd be happy.

I understand if orders are delayed out of dvdempire's control. However, it would be nice to get emails telling me a) my orders are delayed until they can verify my credit card and I need to send copies, b) preorders are delayed because of the holiday, c) email replies within 48hours. I had two different CSR's reply to the same email. The first one replied 3 days after I sent the email, the other one 9 days after the original email. That is NOT good customer service in my book. It's not utterly bad, but I'm not happy.

But I have not given up on dvdempire yet. If all my 7 orders get processed fine, I will definately be coming back because of the low prices.

PS - I have no idea why customs never open my amazon packages, yet they always open my dvdexpress packages. Usually I don't have to pay taxes if the value is under $50. However, the dvdexpress package stating a $42 value gets opened, they check my invoice, shipping puts it over $50 and they tax me, while the amazon package with a value of $60 goes through unopened. Weird. I'm hoping dvdempire packages will go unopened as well, but I'm not holding my breath.

[This message has been edited by Tempy (edited September 06, 2000).]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Steven N:
I did say that "all" order went out...as they did yesterday by late evening.

Now as for Omen, Fly1/2 and Ed Scissorhands...you can move this to the studio complaints forum since Fox has failed you. I discovered this morning (Wednesday @ 7:32AMEST) that FOX did not produce enough of these DVDs as they did not anticipate the purchasing demands...though our order to them showed it.


Best Regards,
Steven
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


Maybe a better way to do this would be to send e-mail to those who ordered, but somehow did not get their order filled due to the "shortage". Why wait so long to tell us about the shortage. It had to be known when the stock came in (which could have been as much as 2 weeks ago).

Just wondering though, how do you determine which orders get filled and which get back-ordered?

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Tempy:
I have no idea why customs never open my amazon packages, yet they always open my dvdexpress packages.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Amazon deliveries, although they originate in the States are then re-shipped via Europe (Amsterdam) therefore UK customs (and also your customs) pass it untaxed as it appears to be shipped from within Europe. Express packages ship directly from the US to their destination and are taxed accordingly. The only upside to express is that if you use a coupon it is the value less a coupon that is declared on the box.

If DVDEmpire could adopt an Amazon like delivery policy they’d have all my business in a second.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by dablueguy:

Maybe a better way to do this would be to send e-mail to those who ordered, but somehow did not get their order filled due to the "shortage". Why wait so long to tell us about the shortage. It had to be known when the stock came in (which could have been as much as 2 weeks ago).

Let's See:

1) Our order system ranks orders as they come in since we have the only system that actually "commits" a sale to an actual username. FOr instance, when you come in a preorder the 33rd copy of a title for which we ordered 100...you will get your title....barring any situations such as the one here.

2) Notice...I sent out a programming request as soon as I saw the posts here...I intend on following up on that today...I do agree with your concept.

3) Delivery of Stock....quite honestly, it is VERY rare to receive stock 2 weeks early. Braveheart...sure, we received that early, but for most titles, they are not received until a few days, or the day before release. Then, while the product is being checked in our warehouse team has no idea if we were shorted, it is not until the Dir. of Purchasing audits the shipment at the end of the day.....potentially a day before release.

We are the bay of the studios and distributors...and then so are all of the e-tailers in this space. It is my understanding that all of us never received our complete shipments.

I hope that this better explains the situation....I understand that it doesn't help any particular problem, but should shed some light on where to complain. I urge you to voice your opinions in the studio area. Let the studios know that you are tired of them making promises that sometimes cannot be met.

Best Regards,
Steven Negri

Just wondering though, how do you determine which orders get filled and which get back-ordered?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>



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My submissions and/or responses are in no way an effort to promote our business. However, they are offered as a perspective from someone who works in the industry of Home Entertainment.

Steven N,

I do appreciate your desire to be frank with us here at DVD Talk, and your posts, as well as the fine reputation (at least, finer than most) of your company have led myself, and many others, to place orders with DVD Empire.

Perhaps DVD Empire *is* being slighted by the studios - I have no way of knowing so I have no recourse but to trust that what you are saying is true.

But if your company isn't receiving shipments until perhaps the day before release date, I think you need to establish better relations with the studios, because Buy.com has consistently shipped my pre-orders so that I receive them the Friday or Saturday *before* release day (and not just on the "big" titles).

Obviously, Buy.com is getting their shipments in before you are. I know that they're a bigger company, but still, that doesn't seem quite fair, does it? You should look into this.

But it doesn't matter whose FAULT it is. If you don't get shipments in until after the big boys do, then what's the incentive to order from DVD Empire rather than Buy.com?

Customer service. It certainly isn't price, since Buy.com offers (somewhat) competitive prices on pre-orders and offers coupons.

Personally, I'd like to be able to order from just ONE company for pre-orders and catalogue orders - and know that I'll receive them on time (or just "know that I'll receive them" - at ALL).

DVD Empire isn't that company - YET - but hopefully these growing-pains will be over soon and we'll get to see the Empire grow up to be big and strong (because it drank its milk, or something).

I think customers generally don't *care* what your problems are - that may be callous and selfish of us, but hey, we're looking out for ourselves. We just want to be told - quickly - when there's a problem. And maybe some people would want a reasonable explanation. But it really doesn't *matter* because most people only remember the end result. "My discs were late."

Just my $.02 (USD)

-- Jough


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http://www.jough.com

Have ordered invisible man and creature from black lagoon- both from Universal- from DVD Empire(street date 8/29/00)-still have not received them nor have they been shipped. They told me last week that they did not receive copies of them due to Universal not having enough single copies as they were tied up in "BOX SETS"?????(i didn't know they had box sets with these two unrelated features. I think they're giving me the run-around. Next time it will be buy.com or some other e-tailer

"The Invisible Man" and "The Creature From Black Lagoon" are related. The are both part of the Universal Monster Collection Box Set.

I got the run around with Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.. I cancelled and ordered from Amazon...

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Steven N:

Let's See:

1) Our order system ranks orders as they come in since we have the only system that actually "commits" a sale to an actual username. FOr instance, when you come in a preorder the 33rd copy of a title for which we ordered 100...you will get your title....barring any situations such as the one here.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's a refreshing change from Reel.....but, as was pointed out above, I usually receive my DVD's from Buy.com on the weekend before street date. Also, as pointed out above, that includes the smaller label titles. Obviously you need to contact the studios and get some things changed.

It seems that this time it is the studio at fault, so assuming that I actually get my order when stock comes in (DVD Express says they are getting Fly/Fly 2 on Friday), I will give DVD Empire another shot........although the above 2 posts have me reconsidering.