I'm pretty frustrated with the way WB has handled the distribution and customer service with this box set. As I mentioned, I placed my order last week (the evening of the 24th). Everything went through fine, they charged my card, and sent me a confirmation e-mail. The confirmation e-mail was the first mistake they made. Despite ordering the box set well after the release date, they told me my box set would arrive on or around March 16th - great job on that WB.
I e-mailed them the next day to to ask if I could upgrade to priority shipping, and to see if I would get a tracking number. They didn't answer me about the upgrade, but did tell me I wouldn't get a tracking number. It took several days for them to even get back to me.
Yesterday afternoon I got the following e-mail from WB:
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Dear Customer;
Thank you for your recent order. The items listed below have not shipped and are currently on back order:
The White Stripes, "Under Great White Northern Lights Box Set"
We expect to ship within the next 1-2 weeks. It is quite possible that we could ship earlier.
If you wish to cancel your order or have other questions regarding your order please send an email to
wbr@b3custserv.com.
Thank you for shopping with us.
____________________________________________________________
The e-mail states that the item could ship earlier, but fails to mention that it might not ship at all. I was concerned, as I mentioned a few pages back, that a "limited edition" shouldn't be on back order. If a limited edition is all gone, you can't really order more. So, I sent them the following e-mail yesterday afternoon:
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Hello again,
I recently received an e-mail informing me that the item I purchased (the White Stripes Box Set) is currently on backorder. I just wanted to confirm that the item will eventually come in. I have no problem waiting an extra week or two for the item to ship; however, if two weeks go by and I am suddenly informed that the item is no longer available, I will be an unhappy customer. The only reason I bother to inquire is because this box set is a "limited edition." If you are confident that there are more on the way, that is great, I can wait. However, if there is some question as to whether or not I will receive the box set at all, then I might consider purchasing it from a third party, as I do not want to miss out on this opportunity.
Thank you.
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I checked my e-mail this morning, but had yet to get a response. On my lunch break I went to the ATM, where I discover that my account has about $250 more than it did yesterday. The charge from WB was gone. Not refunded, but simply eliminated, like it never happened. At this point, I had not asked them to cancel my order or refund my money.
So, I check my e-mail to find that WB has gotten back to me. Here is what they said:
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Dear Customer;
We are making every effort to fulfill all orders for this item, however because it is limited edition, we can not guarantee all orders will be fulfilled.
The orders will be filled in the order in which they are received.
Sincerely,
Warner Bros Records Online Customer Support
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They made no mention of the fact that my money had been refunded, nor did they actually give any clarity on exactly what is going on. My order still says it is "In Process," despite the fact that they gave me my money back (without me asking).
I think the most frustrating part is that you can still order the box set from WB. If you go to the White Stripes website it says "Available Now" and you can go right ahead and order the box set.
None of this makes much sense. Especially since I spoke with a retailer that claimed "they only made 2,000" of them, and since he knows a rep at WB, he has 12 copies on hand. I doubt 2,000 is the actual number (but I would like them to actually reveal how many there are), but why does he get 12 of them, when most stores didn't get any? I've called every record store (big and small) within a 90 minute drive of my house, none of them have it.
So, the people who are actually trying to purchase this can't get it anymore, but there is some store out in the midwest that has 12 sitting on the shelf - great distribution WB.
Anyway, I went ahead and asked them for a refund (just in case they were planning on re-charging me if/when they actually sent it out).
Maybe WB will come through, and they will fill all the orders. But if you haven't purchased this, or you are still waiting on it to arrive, you might want to have a back-up plan ready.
tl;dr: Warner Brothers sucks, if you live in the US and haven't gotten the box set, start looking to purchase it from a third party.