Anyone had issues with Fishpond

[Exfso (Peter)]

I ordered a book from Fishpond early march, it was supposedly posted on 5th of March eta around 23rd of March. Still not received, so I went to the site and put in a request for a refund 3 days ago, not a reply. Sounds a bit shonky to me, just as well I paid via Paypal, I will give them until Monday and Paypal will then be advised.
Not impressed

[Buck]

Originally Posted by Exfso

I ordered a book from Fishpond early march, it was supposedly posted on 5th of March eta around 23rd of March. Still not received, so I went to the site and put in a request for a refund 3 days ago, not a reply. Sounds a bit shonky to me, just as well I paid via Paypal, I will give them until Monday and Paypal will then be advised.
Not impressed

Yes, I had a similar experience and in my case they sent a replacement book (my chosen option), but it took about 1 month longer than what they stated. Ironically the original book ordered turned up 1 day after the replacement book - so about 3 months after ordering. Maybe this happens often as the replacement book came with a return label to use if the original ever turned up. I did the right thing and returned the original using their label at their cost, but although eventually resolved, I haven't used them again. I suspect that they take orders and then try and source the item from wherever they can. This is a practice used by a few online ordering companies, with some serious offenders.

[Exfso (Peter)]

Yeah today they tried to extend the arrival deadline by another 12 days, not happening, threatened them with PayPal, 20 mins later they said they are arranging for a refund. Wont be using them again that is for sure.

[04Stefan07 (Stefan)]

I used to buy off them when they were new. Never had a problem then and their prices were cheap! (this was many years ago). However the last few years their prices are stupidly overpriced!

I would stay away from them. Go for MightyApe, cheap shipping and great customer service as well as a crap load of stuff to choose from.

[Exfso (Peter)]

Thanks Stefan, will give them a go..

[Boozlefoot]

I'd avoid them after past experience. Think they were deregistered in Australia, but can still advertise under clause in trademark laws. Also masquerade as "Simply Best Prices", I believe but am not sure. Usually delayed deliveries, but when you check postmarks, etc, you'll find the item wasn't ex stock but sent direct from a supplier.

[Fishpond.com.au]

Hi Peter,

We're sorry you may not have seen our Announcement of Delivery Delays posted on our site www.fishpond.com.au which is as follows:

5/4/17 - Delivery Delays in Queensland & Northern NSW
Customers are advised to expect mail and parcel delivery service disruptions across Queensland and northern NSW.


Tropical Cyclone Debbie has resulted in significant damage and road closures due to weather conditions.


Delivery will be attempted when it is safe to do so, however customers may experience delays.


We extend our best wishes to everyone affected by this event and regret any inconvenience caused to our customers.


Rest assured your order will be delivered as soon as possible.

As you've already been refunded, it would be appreciated if you could let us know when your order does arrive with you.

You can do so by logging in to your Fishpond account and clicking on the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of the page.

Kind regards,
Catherine

Fishpond.com.au

[Nikolas (Nik)]

Oh wow how did they do it
Since you are spying on people can you answer why you charge so much in comparison to other online companies? Also can you address the other concerns brought up about your company

Originally Posted by Fishpond.com.au

Hi Peter,

We're sorry you may not have seen our Announcement of Delivery Delays posted on our site www.fishpond.com.au which is as follows:

5/4/17 - Delivery Delays in Queensland & Northern NSW
Customers are advised to expect mail and parcel delivery service disruptions across Queensland and northern NSW.


Tropical Cyclone Debbie has resulted in significant damage and road closures due to weather conditions.


Delivery will be attempted when it is safe to do so, however customers may experience delays.


We extend our best wishes to everyone affected by this event and regret any inconvenience caused to our customers.


Rest assured your order will be delivered as soon as possible.

As you've already been refunded, it would be appreciated if you could let us know when your order does arrive with you.

You can do so by logging in to your Fishpond account and clicking on the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of the page.

Kind regards,
Catherine

Fishpond.com.au

[AstralTraveller (David)]

Originally Posted by Nikolas

Oh wow how did they do it
Since you are spying on people can you answer why you charge so much in comparison to other online companies? Also can you address the other concerns brought up about your company

I'm just wondering how Cyclone Debbie affected deliveries to Adelaide. Or is the warehouse in nth Qld?

[Boozlefoot]

I might also add that replies from this company often displayed a lack of knowledge of the areas in Australia,possibly the respondent not being "local", and usually you don't get the same customer service person resolving the issue in a chain of correspondence.Also that the local address given is actually a shipping agent in Sydney? I would display caution regarding Simply Best Prices and Fishpond. Delivery delay excuses nowadays are easily taken apart as a result of the excellent tracking facilities now available to all freight companies.

[pjphilli (Peter)]

I bought the book Imaging the Southern Sky from Fishpond at a very good price and it was delivered ok within their estimated delivery date in early February. Looks like I was lucky!

[Exfso (Peter)]

Just for information, it never did arrive and after a bit of "heavy" emails they have refunded. They tried to extend the eta even further, was not having any of that. I got a book from the UK that was ordered a week after this one and it took around a week.
I did see on the site the notes about delays due to the cyclone, but being a couple of thousand KM away from that area, that was not a legitimate excuse.
I ordered a book from Fishpond a couple of months prior and it took around 10days to arrive which I thought was a fair time and that was over the Xmas period. This was the main reason I gave them a go in the latest instance. What really got me was the fact that I adhered to all the timing requests but still they wanted more time, seriously there comes a time to admit it is lost or whatever.
Anyway in the end they did refund, but it did take some persuasion, which should not have been the case.
Another advantage of paying with PayPal, if it cannot be resolved, PayPal will usually step in.