Molly, amazon and me

Faboba · October 19, 2001, 17:15

After I sent the same mail three times Amazon decided they may as well reply to one of them in order to shut me up.

I said
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Quote:

I recently ( earlier today ) placed an order at your website for Civilization 3 from Infrogames ( 026-8516722-9540416 ) When reviewing the website I had been told of release dates for sites similar to your own lying in the late october, early november region.

This to me made sense as the release date published by the programmes Firaxis was the 30th december ( the date it was expected to reach retailers ). It was expected to be released in the UK on the 17th of November. I was delighted therefore to believe that you had what I believed to be the release date of the 28th October on your website.

I was therefore confused when I re-read my order more closely and I noticed that the Amazon release date for this item was in point of fact the 28th DECEMBER. This to me makes little sense - This would be almost two full months after retialers have recieved the game.

In lieu of cancelling my order I would like to pose a hypothetical question - were you at Amazon.uk to recieve your shipment of the game before ( hopefully much ) the date given on your website, would you ship it upon receipt of the game or would you deliver it upon the release date you have specified.

Please respond as soon as possible.

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To whit dear Molly did reply.
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Quote:

Thank you for writing to Amazon.co.uk.

The information we have regarding "Civilization 3" is the latest
information we were given by the manufacturer. In this case, we expect to
be able to dispatch orders for it after 28 December, 2001.

I have asked our ordering department to look into this, and perhaps they
will find information that coincides more with your information.

Of course, should the game arrive earlier than that, and we are allowed to
send them, we would do so. Please know that many publishers and
manufacturers restrict retailers from selling or dispatching their
products until the official release date.

I hope this information is helpful. When your order is dispatched,
we'll send you an e-mail message to let you know that it's on the way.

Please don't hesitate to contact us should you have any further
questions, and thanks for shopping at Amazon.co.uk.

Warmest regards,

Molly Barry
Customer Service
Amazon.co.uk

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What do you think? Is it a good thing? Is it a bad thing? What does it mean. Are they just ignoring me and excusing in advance their delivery upon December? Is it possible to get someone from Firaxis to speak to them?

What? How? Why? and most importantly WHEN?

MarkG · October 19, 2001, 17:22

more proof that typical costumer service is not really a service

i am afraid waiting is the only thing you can do

Faboba · October 19, 2001, 17:30

Wait till what? Wait till it comes out in the shops and I cancel my order? The whole reason I pre ordered it in the first place was I thought I'd get it quicker.

How are the Greece release dates looking by the way?

Earthling7 · October 19, 2001, 18:39

This letter might as well be an automatic reply. I would find out what the UK release date really is from a shop, or Infogrames themselves. If it is closer to 17 Nov, I would push Amazon.co.uk for a firm answer. If they confirm, fine, If they can't deliver, then I would cancel the order and buy it in a shop. If the UK release date is after Christmas, I'd cancel the order and order it fron the States.

GodSpawn · October 19, 2001, 18:48

It's all very confusing. Firaxis say October, Amazon say December, and Electronics Boutique and various other UK suppliers say November.

I'm betting that it will really be released on 16th Nov. Whatever the date, it's going to be a friday.

MarkG · October 19, 2001, 19:08

Quote:

Originally posted by Faboba
Wait till what?

wait until october 30 which firaxis says is the uk release date and see if it actually happens

Quote:

How are the Greece release dates looking by the way?

greece is in the pan-european release date(according to infogrames)

on second thought, mail back amazon, and tell them infogrames says it's november 17th(well, that's what they told us)

tniem · October 20, 2001, 00:19

Quote:

Originally posted by MarkG
on second thought, mail back amazon, and tell them infogrames says it's november 17th(well, that's what they told us)

Yeah what is up with that Mark? Dan keeps saying UK US same time, but Infogrames says other wise. I guess Infogrames is probably the one that will be right, but if Dan don't know than why is he saying anything?

MarkG · October 20, 2001, 01:39

Quote:

Originally posted by tniem
Yeah what is up with that Mark? Dan keeps saying UK US same time, but Infogrames says other wise. I guess Infogrames is probably the one that will be right, but if Dan don't know than why is he saying anything?

well, you can be sure for one thing: neither Dan(read Firaxis) or me are making the decisions. we were both informed from someone in Infogrames. apparently there is some misunderstanding....

i'll try contacting Infogrames again on Monday...

Sarxis · October 20, 2001, 02:08

The game has been gold since, what, the 8th? I can't imagine it shipping any later than the 30th for the US/UK, and then a few weeks after for the locals.

And why Infogrames would postpone the release is beyond me, so I guess that the 30th is probably the logical assumption here.

Not that the 30th is even an assumption, since there are many sources that state this date.

Faboba · October 20, 2001, 05:30

Quote:

Unfortunately, we have no dates to report on release dates other than the North American / U.K. release date which is currently scheduled for 10/30. As soon as we get confirmed dates from Infogrames, we will post them here on Civ3.com. We know it's tough to wait, but we appreciate your patience.

They kept that quiet...... you'd have thought they'd have been shouting it from the rooftops.

Does this mean I'm going to get the game 2 months after it's released here ( in theory )

No use asking the stores. They dont f

king know either.

Ah well, guess it comes when it comes.

Earthling7 · October 20, 2001, 05:58

It just doesn't make any sense to release it three days AFTER Chritmas...

Faboba · October 20, 2001, 06:24

Sure it does, that means they don't have to try ship it at Christmas time. Remember they're an online site, not a department store.

MarkG · October 20, 2001, 11:04

guys i'm 100% certain that december 28 is WRONG

that date has been there for ages!

it's either october 30 or november 17...

i sent a new mail to infogrames but they probably dont work on saturday's

tniem · October 20, 2001, 13:37

Quote:

Originally posted by MarkG
i'll try contacting Infogrames again on Monday...

Thanks Mark for all your hardwork.

Faboba · October 20, 2001, 14:17

Agreed. I think a certain macedonian deserves a metaphorical hug.

Sabre2th · October 20, 2001, 14:21

Quote:

Originally posted by Faboba
Agreed. I think a certain macedonian deserves a metaphorical hug.

Yeah.... We all love you Mark