Anybody Having Problems With Goldspot?

[threeamigos]

I placed an order on Black Friday and haven't received any shipping info. I filed a claim with Paypal and they aren't responding to that either? Anybody else having issues or am I just unlucky.

[mge01park]

Thanks for the info, sounds a bit worrisome, hopefully and presumably some type of oversight or glitch. Did you call them?

Edited December 10, 2014 by mgepark

[swanjun]

I've ordered from them a few times recently and have had no trouble at all.

[mge01park]

I was expecting that they would have the Neponset on the site by now as well after having their own exclusive Noodler's ink release recently.

Edited December 10, 2014 by mgepark

[threeamigos]

I was hoping that the paypal claim would nudge them to reply, but no luck. I will try calling, but I order presents and if they can't fill the order in a timely way, I would like to have my money back to shop elsewhere.

[mge01park]

You're patient with Black Friday being almost 2 weeks ago. I would have been dunning them by the following Tuesday and would have expected feedback regardless. I've seen lapses with Paypal payments when tracking or finding info about the order on the seller's web site after being placed. It may very well be on the way.

[Barnaby Bumble]

Hmmm. That doesn't sound good. I'm pretty patient about things, in general, but lack of communication in an online transaction is not one of them. I probably would have canceled the order a week ago.

[thoddomas]

I've already messaged threeamigos directly, but wanted to address the issue on this thread to assuage any concerns regarding our business & website.

We had changed over to a new internal order management system in September and the Black Friday/Cyber Monday rush had proved to expose a problem with its capability to process such a large amount of orders that were placed over the weekend. The technical issue marked a number orders as "shipped" when they were not done so and it took us several days to find all the orders that were not processed appropriately. As we had to manually check each order to make sure they had been put through properly, a couple had escaped our purview and were just found yesterday, including threeamigos' order.

After that weekend, we immediately fixed the technical problem with the order processor and have not experienced any discrepancy since that time.

We hope that if our customers experience any unforeseen delay that they would contact us first by e-mail or phone to inquire as to any issue with the order. Especially during the holidays, we are swamped with orders and sometimes mistakes and certain orders may fall through the cracks.

Sincerely,

Tom

Goldspot Pens

Edited December 12, 2014 by thoddomas

[aardvarkbark]

Lack of response from a seller is understandably frustrating, and many of us prefer the ease of web-based communication, but if a buyer is in the US, I do think good form dictates they call the seller's toll free number and attempt to resolve matters prior to filing paypal disputes or posting on forums. It's been several months since I last ordered from Goldspot, but I do recall that an inquiry on one of their ebay listings and an email both went unanswered for a couple of days, but they were very friendly and helpful when I called and spoke with them. Admittedly, not so easy to call if outside US. I hope it all gets straightened out.

[mge01park]

Truer words haven't been spoken. An excellent post and example for all of us here.

[Barnaby Bumble]

Lack of response from a seller is understandably frustrating, and many of us prefer the ease of web-based communication, but if a buyer is in the US, I do think good form dictates they call the seller's toll free number and attempt to resolve matters prior to filing paypal disputes or posting on forums. It's been several months since I last ordered from Goldspot, but I do recall that an inquiry on one of their ebay listings and an email both went unanswered for a couple of days, but they were very friendly and helpful when I called and spoke with them. Admittedly, not so easy to call if outside US. I hope it all gets straightened out.

 

I disagree. Any business that can't reliably communicate via the web is not ready to take people's money via the web. It's an absolute prerequisite.

[kazoolaw]

Any business that can't reliably communicate via the web is not ready to take people's money via the web.

Just.as soon as the web, and internal hard and software, becomes bulletproof.

[Barnaby Bumble]

And we can go with phones as soon as relay switches, phone wires, cellular transmitters, android, iOS, Windows Phone, and cell phone hardware are bulletproof?

[kazoolaw]

And we can go with phones as soon as relay switches, phone wires, cellular transmitters, android, iOS, Windows Phone, and cell phone hardware are bulletproof?

Glad to see that we agree that each form of technology is fallible and needs a back-up.

[aardvarkbark]

 

....Any business that can't reliably communicate via the web is not ready to take people's money via the web. It's an absolute prerequisite.

 

Meh. Some guys insist that their shorts be starched and have a crease. I'm OK just wearing them out of the dryer.

 

Goldspot staff treated me well when conversing with me like normal human beings over the phone. I understand that others shun human interaction and prefer to hide behind the virtual wall created by the internet.

[tinysnail]

I understand that others shun human interaction and prefer to hide behind the virtual wall created by the internet.

That seems a little unnecessarily snarky. I would agree with Barnaby Bumble; a web-based business should be on top of their electronic communication. When working with web retailers, I prefer sticking to email for several reasons: I can't always call them during their business hours and I like being able to have all the information about my order #, etc. right there because it must make it more convenient for them.

[threeamigos]

I appreciated Goldspot reaching out to me through this post and the issue is resolved.

 

In response to some of the other comments in this thread, I did try to contact them several times through their "Contact Us" under their "Help" section a full week before filing a Paypal claim or inquiring about others having problems here on FPN. I didn't call as I do work during the day and just didn't have time to do so from 9am-5pm when they are available to take calls. However, four days after filing my Paypal claim, Goldspot did contact me through FPN and resolved everything immediately.

 

I completely understand that things go wrong with websites and it was unfortunate that these things happen during the busy holiday season. My order fell through the cracks, but I could only imagine the nightmare of being a retailer trying to sort things out when being hammered with orders!

 

I received a full refund so all is good and case is closed.

[Barnaby Bumble]

 

Meh. Some guys insist that their shorts be starched and have a crease. I'm OK just wearing them out of the dryer.

 

Goldspot staff treated me well when conversing with me like normal human beings over the phone. I understand that others shun human interaction and prefer to hide behind the virtual wall created by the internet.

 

 

That seems a little unnecessarily snarky. I would agree with Barnaby Bumble; a web-based business should be on top of their electronic communication. When working with web retailers, I prefer sticking to email for several reasons: I can't always call them during their business hours and I like being able to have all the information about my order #, etc. right there because it must make it more convenient for them.

 

Also, when there's a problem with a transaction and follow-up communication is required, I like having a record of that communication.

[Barnaby Bumble]

Glad to see that we agree that each form of technology is fallible and needs a back-up.

 

My point is simply that internet communication is not notably less reliable than telephone communication. If a business is going to take people's money online, it better make sure it is reachable for inquiries online.

 

There's nothing very remarkable about that statement.