I recently placed an order from a seller on Adult DVD Marketplace. After 21 days, I had not received the item, nor had the seller responded to any of my emails. I notified ADM customer service, and they refunded my money immediately, stating they would look into it on their own, but wanted to get my money back to me first.
I love that kind of customer service. I will continue to buy most of my movies through there.
Thanks for sharing your shopping experience. I've also had wonderful service from ADM since I discovered them a while back. The thing to remember when doing business with them is to check the feedback of the sellers as some provide better service than others. Another thing is that many use media mail by default which can mean notoriously slow transit times but some sellers do upgrade their shipping depending on the amount of titles one purchases. All in all, I've never had any real problems using ADM and I also highly recommend them.
It's this no-nonsense policy that was the original reason we accepted ADM into the price search. As a generaly rule we only accept stores that do their own order fulfilment and customer service. We sometimes catch hell from some studios or other retailers about ADM being in the price search. To us it's not about the low prices, it's more important that the customers that find them through our site end up having very positive shopping experiences.
I met the guys behind ADM at Vegas a couple years ago and they're every bit as classy as the store.Most sellers who upgrade shipping say so in the description, but I think you've pointed out the biggest downside of ADM. I really wish they'd give people the option to upgrade to Priority Mail. I just don't know how feasible it is to have something like $2 for the first item from a seller for Media Mail or $5 or $5.50 for Priority Mail. IIRC, that's about what half.com and Amazon's Marketplace does...
"Vegetarianism for me is about saying ‘yes’ to things - even meat." - Coupling
I also sell there, and it is cheaper to mail first class over media mail when it is just one DVD (which was what I had ordered). Sellers are required to ship within 2 days of date of purchase. 21 (now 24) days and no disc, is not the fault of the post office. I think this guy has flown the coop. He is no longer listed there as a seller. He had 5 star feedback, too.
In the unlikely event the DVD would appear, I would definitely contact them and let them know. They are good peeps.
Astro, I completely agree. I'm sure they have their reasons but I also really wish ADM would offer customers the choice of upgrading the shipping to a more efficient and faster service. When I shop online, I use companies that ship Priority or First Class and almost never use media mail unless its absolutely necessary.
I ship the dvds I sell on ADM first class, and the recipients get them in about 2 days, or maybe 3 at the most. If the buyer paid for priority, they would get them in 2 days, as well. No difference there. I do understand there is a difference with media mail. I have never sold more than one at a time so far, so it hasn't been an issue for me. I wouldn't mind shipping priority if someone pays for it, because then I wouldn't have to come up with my own packaging - I could just use the free boxes the USPS provides!
I think Bill might be the best source of info on the various shipping options with the USPS.
I've had a few conversations with local postmasters about the differences between media mail, first class and priority mail. All of them indicated that Priority Mail is actually first class mail. Priority might be routed differently depending on the origin and destination but in most cases First Class and Priority Mail are routed the same way.
Media Mail is a mess. It's like 3rd class or something and due to many shippers using it for non-media items Media Mail shipments are inspected more often than any other type of mail. I know there's a thread in the forum where that Bill provides a detailed analysis of media mail. You're rolling the dice if you use media mail.
There is a big difference in time with Priority mail though. A package from the east coast send First Class takes about 8 days to get here. Priority, 3 days.
We have actually recognized for some time the need to offer more choices for shipping on our site, although this enhancement has not been a high priority given that most of our orders consist of individual items that are typically shipped via First Class anyway. However, after reading the sentiments expressed in this thread, we elevated the priority of that enhancement and have been working on it through the weekend.
When we roll this new functionality out early this week, sellers will be able to specify whether or not they are able to ship via Priority Mail, and if so, customers will be able to select this option at checkout for a supplemental shipping fee.
And for anybody wondering why I said those things about ADM, just check out what Gary said. Every problem I've had with ADM (and there haven't been many) has been handled with that kind of class. Thank you, Gary!
"Vegetarianism for me is about saying ‘yes’ to things - even meat." - Coupling
I see ADM is now offering a Priority Mail shipping option for sellers who choose to offer it as well as letting sellers note if they have delivery confirmation. Very nice additions!
"Vegetarianism for me is about saying ‘yes’ to things - even meat." - Coupling
I will second what everyone has said praising ADM. They are the only website I have used to buy porn. I had a problem with an individual seller recently and ADM refunded my money immediately. Also, the seller was already removed from their site by the time I complained, which indicates that they run a "tight ship" and won't put up with any rip-off artists or bootleg DVD dealers.
However, I also wanted to mention that the standard shipping costs appear to have increased there. They used to be $1 per shipment + $1 per DVD (i.e., shipping fee for X DVDs from the same seller = X+1 dollars). The new rate is 1.25X + 1 dollars. This is still inexpensive compared to other sites. $0.25 per DVD isn't a big deal to me, but I didn't see this announced although they have updated their Buyer FAQ to reflect the current shipping charges.
If you find an ambiguous listing and tell them about it, they will correct the ambiguity quickly.
Posted - Nov 1 2005 : 11:05AM