Bob Dylan: Bootleg Series Vol 13 Trouble No More -- Pricing & Shipping Thread

FWIW, still no motion since at four am on Nov 7 it allegedly "departed a partner shipping facility in Houston" Not sure where it went when it departed that facility, but not yet in possession of USPS, or so they claim.

And it occurs to me, Sandbag SAID I'd get my postage refunded, but haven't actually checked with my cc company to confirm it HAPPENED yet. Has anyone actually seen for sure the refund?

 

Brian -- have you tried tracking on these other two sites?:
https://webtrack.dhlglobalmail.com/
ALL-IN-ONE PACKAGE TRACKING | 17TRACK
You may get some more specific info on one of those. Worth a shot!

 

My refund came through. No sign of my package -- still "En Route."

Nov 12, 2017 12:20 AM ET
EN ROUTE

Nov 7, 2017
4:50 AM CT
Houston, TX, US
DEPARTURE ORIGIN DHL ECOMMERCE FACILITY

 

You should check with your physician.

 

Again, I think people should share their 'stories' with Mr. H. here, who wants to PERSONALLY ensure everyone "the best possible customer experience."

EMAIL: [email protected]

 

Mine says the same thing. Don't expect to get anything from Texas via DHL for quite a while up here in the Northeast.

 

Wow! Houston to Chicago. Unbelievable. Must be coming by covered wagon.

 

If it came from the city you live in then I would not have expected import duties! This has been a shambles. No-one really has had any clue of the status of their order or delivery since their money was taken and then the information has either been missing or incorrect. Very poor but who to blame is difficult to tell as their are too many organisations involved with this.

 

This particular notice has been the cause of an awful lot of people's problems and displeasure. Clearly they should never have been sent with missing or incorrect information included.

And don't blame the customer and expect them to do all of the work to resolve problems and pay all of the costs to put right issues that occur as a result.

 

''Somebody's got to find your trail
I guess it must be up to me''

 

Current update:


I have no way of knowing for sure, but based on some of the information posted in this thread, I'm fairly confident that my order has been sitting in a freight terminal in Melrose Park, near O'Hare airport, about 30 minutes away from me, since the middle of this past week. It's probably buried at the bottom of a pallet of auto parts and plumbing supplies, and I wouldn't be surprised if I don't see it for another few days.

This seems to have happened because some canny businessperson somewhere in the supply chain decided to downgrade the USPS Priority Mail orders to DHL Parcel Select, i.e. The Cheapest Way Possible, to save their company a few bucks. Was that illegal? I don't know. Was it fraudulent and unethical? Definitely.

Does DHL provide the WORST tracking information possible? Yes.

Ms. Mel Maxwell is listed as "Director" of Sandbag. I have no idea why her company was awarded the contract to process (and distribute?) the new limited edition Dylan box set sold through bobdylan.com, but handling a $175.00 Bootleg Series release from Sony/Columbia/Legacy isn't in the same league as sending out Radiohead t-shirts and Nick Cave coffee mugs. Mr. Jeff Rosen, overseer of all things Dylan, has to answer for the decision to utilize the services of Sandbag for this release. We may never hear a peep out of him, but I certainly hope he's aware of the fact that so many Dylan fans have been shipwrecked and abandoned because of that decision.

 

Thanks for posting that. I likely wouldn't have bothered normally, but I did feel the need to dash off an email to cheery Greg just now. As someone said upthread, I wasn't really perturbed about this initially, but now I'm downright ANGRY with this whole process.

Hey Greg,

I saw your request for feedback on DHL service and thought I'd respond. I'm awaiting a package that was handed off to DHL on November 6th:

[Note: this was a screenprint from the bd.com "account" site noting "Fulfilled Nov 06 - DHLGM#9361269903502337405416]

This was an item that was allegedly to be delivered to me on November 3rd - but I won't blame you guys if you didn't get the package until the 6th (that's the distributor's fault). However, I'm really curious what you have to say about the fact that this was a "priority mail" item that - apparently - you guys were supposed to transfer to USPS for final delivery.

Note: the tracking number above doesn't even show in your system. Is that the kind of customer service you're hoping to deliver?

If I plug that tracking number into USPS's system, here's what I get:
[NOTE: this was a screenprint that shows that as of Nov 8, 7:55am, "USPS awaiting item"]

So, correct me if I'm wrong here, but you guys received the item for delivery on November 6 (the first screenprint above). It took you 48 hours to get the item to leave your Houston DHL ECOMMERCE site. Now, four days later, it still has not been received by USPS (second screenprint above). Is that your definition of "the best possible customer service in the industry"?

What century's standards are you using for that definition? Certainly not 21st century standards. Probably not even 20th century standards. I'm guessing the Pony Express would've dropped your company for overall incompetence back in the 1860s.

You may respond that this is an isolated incident and you apologize profusely (or some similar inanity), but this has been my experience with DHL EVERY TIME, for years.

Rest assured, I do my best to aid your company by never burdening DHL with personal packages that I send. I also aim to help you by ensuring that any items I send at work are shipped via any other means than DHL. Hope that helps you get caught up with deliveries, and I look forward to your personal response.​

 

I think we are all going to want to see Greg's response. Wonder if he will appreciate the subtle sarcasm?

 

Mister Jinks -- you are the Wind Beneath My Wings. Put 'er there, pal! (shakes hand, pats on back)

 

Dear Mr. @@@@@@,

On behalf of Greg Hewitt please accept my sincere apologies and I appreciate the opportunity to get involved in helping you get this matter resolved. As your shipment was sent through DHL Global Mail/eCommerce, I have contacted Management within DHL Global Mail/eCommerce and will ensure that someone follows up with you as soon as possible.

Please let me know if you have any questions in the meantime.

Best Regards,
Michelle Ticknor
Executive Response and Social Customer Care

 

Hey, maybe now we're getting somewhere? Thanks again, mrjinks, that's great.

No one ever said anything about DHL's 'global mail' arm being involved when I ordered the thing -- it said PRIORITY MAIL, i.e. USPS Priority Mail, which is supposed to take 1 to 3 business days.

 

I suspect she’s just blowing smoke. We’ll see.

Btw, she cc’d our buddy Greg on the email. But let’s not hold our breath for a response from him...

 

Legally, it is clear: Sandbag alone is to blame because it is Sandbag that took your money and gave you a contract of sale. Sandbag is responsible for providing the customer with the product and delivering that product in a condition that is fit for purpose within the time frame agreed (or promised) at the time of sale. The other parties, which are hired by Sandbag as sub-contractors to pack, ship and deliver the goods, are incidental players; but Sandbag is accountable for the conduct of those players. Sandbag may choose to send the parcel to its customer via "The Completely And Utterly Not Competent Delivery Service Inc." on a toboggan pulled backwards by a blind, one-legged Husky dog via the North Pole, Argentina and Bangladesh so long as it arrives without damage and in the stated time. They cannot hide behind the failings of their sub-contractors and should not expect customers to chase those sub-contractors on their behalf. I urge anyone who believes it is reasonable that they should have received their goods by now to contact Sandbag daily with a request for urgent action from Sandbag to resolve the situation. If you are trying to resolve the situation through the contractors (DHL) then you should copy all your correspondence to Sandbag.

The shipping time frames can be vague, of course, but One Day Shipping means exactly that and it would be reasonable to expect a delivery by 04 November if that option was chosen by the customer on a pre-order. "Normally within 3 - 5 working days..." is more difficult to pin down but it would be reasonable to expect delivery no later than 13 November if that option was chosen, for example.

If Sandbag has misled the customer with its description of a delivery service, or used a service of lesser swiftness than that chosen by the customer, this is fraudulent and should be reported to the Trading Standards Authority or the equivalent body in your territory, and you should indicate to Sandbag that you will be doing this unless they can clarify their position satisfactorily. If a sub-contractor has used an inferior service to that which was paid for it is still Sandbag that is accountable for that fraud. Reimbursement of the postage cost does not excuse the fraud.

As #HominyRhodes has indicated, morally the buck stops with Bobdylan.com which hired Sandbag to deal with the distribution. Whether this is Jeff Rosen and his team or other faceless suits at Sony I don't rightly know. When I had a problem with my BS12 Collector's Edition in 2015 I dealt with Delivery Agent, with whom I had a contract of sale. But when Delivery Agent recognised that they probably couldn't help me they passed my polite message of complaint on to Sony in New York who dealt positively with my complaint within a couple of hours.

I know this ramble doesn't bring the box any closer to those who are still waiting. I sincerely hope everyone who is waiting receives their set soon. We're missing some very important players on the main thread.

#

 

Update: no change in the tracking information since Thursday (it's apparently somewhere between Richmond, Va and Raleigh, NC), but I did hear back from Sandbag customer service, and they say I should get it soon, and that they've refunded my shipping charge. Fine with me as long as it does arrive sometime soon (I hope it will be tomorrow).

L.

 

Tom---thanks for the DHS tracking thing. Apparently NOTHING happened from Nov 7 til now, and that now it is "en route" from Austin to me in California. Hm.

 

Thanks to all fellow forum members with the updated information. My package finally arrived last Thursday after taking a week and a day. I am in northern California 30 miles east of San Francisco and box was shipped from Austin Tx.
I have sent homemade Cd's to my relatives in Minnesota via regular mail in a similar sized box they usually receive in 3-4 days (maybe an extra day or two if nearing the holidays). So in my mind, what purpose does the hand off to DHL serve? If the USPS can get it to me in the same time or sooner (and I am not talking about "media mail" THE slowest designation for frieght/mail), why even bother with giving it to DHL? It seems to me all DHL has accomplished in the chain is adding 2 or 3 days to the regular post office transit time. Are there family ties, etc. at DHL that need a kickback in the form of a contract? There can't be that much money to be made on the sale of this box, even if sales were double of what they expected. I am not a wealthy person, and not even the biggest Dylan fan, compared to my companions on this forum, but I opted to get the San Diego bonus for the extra expense. I was hoping, but not expecting as certainty, that I would receive it on release day. And when that did not occur, I did expect it on the following Monday. If we are paying almost $60.00 additonal for the 2 Cd's, at the very least we should have received some type of preferential priority.
Isn't that akin to slipping the head waiter a big tip to get the better table? Sorry, could not come up with a more accurate metaphor! My sympathies to those who have still not received theirs yet. And yes, they have refunded me my shipping costs.
I am old school and don't expect something for nothing, or that I am better than someone else. It would seem to me though that there should be some other compensation from BD.com. Why the extra expense? At the very least, those that spent the extra should have been given priority. Or am I missing something that they can explain to me in a way that makes sense and seems fair?

 

Bless you, sir. I mean that.

Regarding a settlement, it's time to open the negotiations. Anyone, anywhere, who pre-ordered the limited edition box set through bobdylan.com/Sandbag, and didn't receive it by sundown on Friday, Nov. 10th, one full week after release, should get a full refund, including shipping/customs/misc. fees, and also get to keep the item, free of charge.

I'm dying to hear what the 'explanations' and excuses will be for this mess, and whether or not someone will step up to the plate and ADMIT FAULT.

 

Do I win the Sandbag sweepstakes? Behold today's shipping update. (Please keep in mind Sebastian, FL, was my desired destination for the shipment.)



So at 10:59pm on the 11th it arrived at the USPS sort facility in the final delivery city. 45 minutes later it popped up in Jacksonville, FL, three hours north of Sebastian and the opposite heading from Orlando.

Oh, and according to them it won't be delivered until Tuesday.

I throw my hands up at trying to figure any of this out. All I can do is marvel at the spectacle.

 

I wouldn't go so far as to say a full refund while also keeping the item. That said, I totally do expect some kind of remuneration from Sandbag. Keeping tabs on this saga has become both an undue and time-wasting preoccupation AND a major hassle for myself to get my hands on this thing. If this delay was because a hurricane rampaged through a warehouse, that's one thing, but this is all down to a bait-and-switch from the retailer and the utter incompetence of the sub-contractors working for them. And it's not just me but a sizable group of us.

 

I prefer 'debacle' instead of spectacle, but I do, of course, share your frustration. You do win the sweepstakes, though, congrats, it's almost there. Mine is currently still 'En route', possibly somewhere out on Highway 61 with some red-white-and-blue shoestrings.

They sold thousands of units of this release through BD.com, and it's likely that only a small percentage of those customers are SH Forum members, which leads me to believe that perhaps hundreds of other people who chose the Priority Mail option have been left in the lurch like us. Hopefully, many of them are raising hell, too.

(BTW: Shhhhhh! When you start a negotiation, always ask for the moon and the stars -- I don't expect a full refund, either, but I don't want THEM to know that. )