Just a warning about DVDAdvantage. They sent me a mispackaged disc (not their fault, but not what I bought either!) and they've so far ignored 3 emails asking for a return authorization.
If they respond, I'll post a retraction (maybe they're waiting for the "15 day" return period to expire before they write back!
But for now, be warned, there's no one home at that company!
Hi gogo, this is Michael from dvdadvantage. You know customer service is really something I pride myself in. If I HAD received an e-mail from you I would have answered you on the first time around thats just how its done at dvdadvantage. Rather than tell you just how great my service is (which everyone knows) lets try to correct your problem. Just return your DVD to: DVD ADVANTAGE 9909 TOPANGA CYB BLVD #165 CHATSWORTH, CA 91311 with a note as to what the problem is and I'll swap it out for you. If you would like to talk to me call on Monday TOLL FREE 877-707-5662. as always THANKS FOR THE BUSINESS MICHAEL
The email I was sending to was info@DVDAdvantage.com just in case you are experiencing mail server problems. And you know, I just noticed you are in CA, and I wonder if this means some mail is getting lost as the blackouts roll around the state?
In any case, remember everyone when I said I'd pop in a retraction if they came through? Consider my statement retracted.
(Except the bit about their low prices, which is still true!)
I've had excellent service from them on a bunch of orders. If you ever have a problem, it's best to try and call their phone number to sort it out before making public complaints. I know we're all online but I doubt that many companies can devote the resources to man the emails 24/7.
Michael's already offered to make good (he does lurk here) which is great and hopefully it'll all work out to your satisfaction. I have no reason to think he would burn you.
HI GOGo, thats not a problem just e-mail me at mcr@dvd88.com and will talk just you and me. Belive me I don't want to discuss my porn preferences here on this MAJOR cross roads of porn dissemination. Lets talk Michael
Thank you for posting about DVDadvantage customer service, btw, I've bad experience too with DVDadvantage, the email response is very bad, short answer and lazy.
I did an order with them, they can't give me the tracking number for my package, they just said "your order is shipping", not "your order was shipped".
I think the e-commerce law is : "Ship the order first and than bill my credit card",
They just billed my credit card and then ship my order after 7 days.
It tooks about 14 days since I placed my order to get the DVD on my hand, after several emails. :(
If they could not send my order as fast as they could, why just they tell me that the dvd is out of stock, and tell me how many days again should I wait for. They just keep silent, never send me an email about my order status, even my credit card has been billed :(
Hi ooko, its MICHAEL from dvdadvantage its always nice talking to you. Gee I didn't know you had any problems with my service to your country, everything you said in your past e-mails have been so postive,I thought you were happy. In the future please just drop me an e-mail and I'll do what ever I can to make you the happy international cutomer I thought you were. MICHAEL
Threads like this kinda bother me at times mainly because these pages are read by thousands of people each week. Once something is posted in the forum retractions aren't really effective means of absolution.
We've seen many examples of store owners responding directly to customers as a result of posts here in the forum. If you want to get their attention simply write directly to them. If you need an email address to contact drop myself or Steph a note. We are happy to help get your problems resolved.
Here's a suggestion for getting 'noticed' when dealing with customer service issues at any stores represented here on ADT: Your own email account @my.adultdvdtalk.com.
ookz - no need to apologize, no offense taken. Although threads like this can be a real drag they generally turn out to be an example of the excellent customer service you can expect from the all of the stores on this site.
Originally posted by ookz:I'm not sure that this 'e-commerce law' applies to international orders. I don't know the rules for processing international cards. I know if I ran a business that sold porn internationally, I would absolutely charge the customer for the order and wait for the charge to clear before shipping the goods.
Why? The fraud protection mechanisms for processing credit cards over the internet don't work for cards issued by foriegn banks. There's a huge risk involved. Not only does a retailer risk losing the cost of the items shipped, they also get hit with a chargeback fee and a refund to the credit card. It's a double shot and a half of trouble.
I can guarantee that the incidence of credit card fraud is many times higher for international orders than domestic orders. The stores have to have policies in place to protect themselves.
New here - was looking at dvdadvantage, but don't see any online in-stock indicators (would hate to have dvd's ship separately if some are out of stock) - am I missing something?
no online stock indicator because the site isn't very well made. dvdadvantage is still a new company, so they probably don't have a big enough staff yet to make sure the site's updated with correct product inventory counts. it's a pretty involved process, and not as easy as saying "okay, put it here". i believe that their main thing is getting themselves out there, making themselves known, letting people know they can make money and keep low prices. they aren't a large enough company yet to be able to have a very vast amount of people handling customer service. all i know is that dvd advantage is sweet, their free dvd's always rock and they'd do anything to make sure the customer is happy. if it doesn't happen the first time around, then there's the second, or the third, or the fourth. customer service is making sure that, in the end, the customer is satisfied, has exactly what they want, and letting them revel in their purchase before making another. <shrug> not everything happens the way people want it.
since Drew mentioned his opinion about such threads I certainly don't want to make it unnecessarily longer, and although I don't want to damage your business in any kind, I'd like to ask you some questions concerning a few policies I have already critizised a while ago in another thread.
1. The international shipping charge still seems very high to me. Is this really because of the separated shipment of covers and DVDs ? Even then - other stores are so much cheaper that even twice their shipping costs for most of my orders wasn't $30 or more.
2. The authentification by sending credit card statements through unsecure channels. That's quite inconvenient, and it's frightening to know my credit card data is on a long way to the US, especially after experiencing a frequent loss of mail to and from the US. Why do other stores trust most of their international users while you don't ?
As I said above I mentioned these points a few times on the board and had hoped for some answer of yours, but you never commented on my postings - which were never meant rude by the way. Since after what I've read in the past I noticed that you're trying your best to make your customers happy, I'd really like to give DVD-Advantage a try. Those two points however made me hesitate until now, though.
Are there any plans or thoughts of changing any of the policies ?
Hi Spesedy, let me try and address a few of your concerns. 1)The international shipping is high because I only ship by courier SKYNET. As my business has beeen growing I've found this method to be the fastest with the fewest customs problems. I still send the covers USPS AIRMAIL and never send the jewel cases. With the fact that all the special packaging has to be done by hand it raises the cost. 2) As you probably know fraud on and international level is running rampant and its getting harder and harder for a merchant to try and protect himself from charge backs by the credit card companys. If my charge backs get to high I could loose my merchant account. I only ask to see the credit card statment so I can make sure I'm dealing with the legal card holder. Spesedy, I'd love to have you as a customer, give me a try you won't be disapointed. MICHAEL
thanks for the fast reply. I have to admit I've never heard about SKYNET, yet, and I haven't had many problems with USPS, yet. I might give it a try though since it sounds like they're reliable. I've still got some questions though :)
1. What are your experiences with international 7-DVD orders ? Since this is the best price for packaging per DVD you can get, I'd like to order 7 DVDs. I'm a bit worried though since everybody was telling me until now to order only about 4 DVDs to minimize problems with customs.
2. At the moment you offer free DVDs. When ordering 7 DVDs and being granted one or two free DVDs, is the $30 flat still valid, or would the shipping costs increase ?
3. How does the process work with sending credit card statements ? Will I be questioned to send one by mail after ordering or will I have to send it before ordering ? Will I get notified once it arrives ?
4. On your webpage you say "We are not liable for US Postal Service shipments that are lost." I guess it's meant not only to apply to the covers sent by USPS, but also to the DVDs sent via Skynet ?
Thanks a lot in advance,
Spesedy
P.S.: For these kinds of questions I'd usually have written an email to your customer-support address, but maybe some other people on the board who haven't ordered at DVDAdvantage yet are wondering about one or more of these points as well.
Hi Spesedy, SKYNET is great they are one of oldest, and as far as I'm concerened the most reliable international courier in business today. With regards to the amount of DVDs you can ship in one package I've found that using a courier you can do up to 10 with no problem. and I can keep the shipping cost to the original $30.00. Regarding the necessary credit card statement why don't you just fax me, or do a scan an drop me a e-mail. If I have everything I place I can ship that much quicker. Regarding the liability issue. We assume no responsiblity for confiscation by your customs. I hope this helps. MICHAEL
Before these guys wised up they were shipping to Utah :-), I never had a problem with them. How can complain about Elegant Angel at $17 and Diabolic/Anabolic at $19. The problem with the excessive charge backs is no joke. Not only does it cost the companies money via fraud but it's such a headache for the card merchants that American Express opted out all together. No company can operate at a profit on the net if they can't do credit card transactions
