Because you might want to send someone out to look for the thing. I think it must be dead in a ditch somewhere.
I ordered some books from Hamiltonbooks.com - you had probably already figured that out - as a little treat for myself for not smoking for a month. I spent about 20 bucks and got 3 books. I placed this order on the 4th of February. On the 5th I got an email saying my order had shipped (yippee!) and I could expect my package in 5-15 days. Quite a large window there, I thought, but I chalked it up to CYA* policy and forgot about it.
Patiently I let 5 days go by and then began eagerly watching my mailbox, because the only thing I love more than shopping for books is getting a nice package in the mail with my name on it, full of books. Alas, I was doomed to disappointment. Oh, well, I thought, they’ll probably get here tomorrow. The day after for sure.
Day 6. Nothing.
Day 7. A package for my husband. For me, nothing.
Days 8-14 (not including Sundays): Nothing.
Today is day 15. And it’s Sunday. Tomorrow will be day 16, and there will be no mail because it’s President’s Day. So now Tuesday will be the absolute earliest I could get my books, and I probably won’t get them then unless that damn mule of theirs gets a burst of energy. I have never ordered anything through the mail and had it take this long before! I’ve never been a patient woman and it’s worse since I gave up the cigarettes and the fact that this is my REWARD for NOT SMOKING
*CYA=Cover Your Ass
Nope, no tracking number. Come to think of it, they never specified their shipping method at all. They sell deeply discounted books, remainders, returns, slightly damaged, that kind of thing; I assume they either use the cheapest bulk rate the post office has available or they go out on the street and hand the package to someone going in the right general direction. I’ve been getting their catalog in the mail for ages, I finally broke down and gave them a try. Great, now I’m worried. Someone please tell me you’ve ordered from them and actually received your stuff!
I want my books! One of them is an illustrated collection of Jane Austen. (sniff) And another one, another one is about ghosts and UFOs and conspiracies and how they’re all crap (sniff, whine), and then there’s one about unsolved mysteries (not like unsolved crimes, but more like who put the bop in bop-sh-bop-sh-bop, and those Nazgul lines or whatever they’re called, you know what I’m talking about).
Since they are a deep discounter, they have probably shipped “media” rate. Used to be “book” rate. Takes for freaking ever. I swear they do use pack mules.
I’ve never ordered from the Hamiltonbooks.com website, but I have ordered many, many, way too many books from the Edward R. Hamilton catalog over the years. Every time except one, it’s taken two or three weeks from the day I put my order in the mail to the time I got my box o’ books in the mail. But there was one order I sent in this past November, and I finally got it a few weeks ago.
My dad used to order books from Hamilton about once a month for years, and he only mentioned a late package a couple times. He always commented on their good service. I think it’s just a fluke.
::raises hand:: Me. I’ve bought books from them at least five times, and have always gotten the books, usually rather quickly. However, they and I are both in New England (N.J. for them, if memory serves, and VT) so they don’t have that far to travel.
In fact, I go out of my way to pick books from Hamilton when I’m getting stuff off half.com because they are super, super picky about following the half.com ‘condition’ ratings. I have bought at least eight books that they had rated as ‘very good’ that I personally would have rated as ‘like new.’ I think what happens is that they never rate anything that they picked up through buying out retail stock as ‘like new’, figuring that surely the book was handled in the store, and thus might have a cover scuff or a fingerprint or something.
Hey, it still counts. In a couple of weeks I’m going to go shoe-shopping to celebrate not shooting up for a month. The month after that I think I’ll brave the local used bookstore and their Psychotic Cat and his Ankle Slashing Claws of Doom to celebrate not killing anyone for a month. Circumstances permitting.
Thanks for the link, lieu; I had the name right on the tip of my keyboard but I couldn’t quite get it right. Unless they really were created by Nazgul. Don’t laugh, I’ve heard weirder theories.
