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Horrible Service Experience With Movie Mars


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Ordered May 25

Monday, June 3
Package has shipped (card billed)
 
***this is already a bit of an interval, but nothing like this next one***
 
Saturday, June 15
1:59 PM
Package arrived at a carrier facility
Elk Grove Village Il Distribution Center, US
3:14 PM
Package arrived at a carrier facility
Chicago Il Network Distribution Center, US
 
Monday, June 17
12:26 AM
Package arrived at a carrier facility
Des Moines Ia Network Distribution Center, US
1:08 AM
Package has left the carrier facility
11:50 AM
Package has left the carrier facility
Des Moines Ia Network Distribution Center, US
 
Tuesday, June 18
5:16 AM
Package arrived at a carrier facility
Dallas Tx Network Distribution Center, US
5:39 AM
Package has left the carrier facility
Dallas Tx Network Distribution Center, US
 
Wednesday, June 19
8:06 AM
Package arrived at a carrier facility
Plano, TX US
8:28 AM
Out for delivery
Plano, TX US
3:46 PM
Delivered
Plano, TX US
 
Ok - from 5/25 thru 6/03 there was no activity on the order at all. Then it "shipped" on 6/03 and my card was charged, The only problem with that was that the USPS tracking number status kept showing that they were awaiting the product for shipment until 6/15, nearly two weeks.
 
I repeatedly contacted the seller between 6/03 and 6/15 and received repeated circular bot-like responses from "Susan" that said the item had shipped on 6/03, where is it then? use the tracking number, the tracking number shows the item is still not there, it shipped on 6/03, where is it the, check the tracking #.
 
Finally contacted Amazon directly and they initiated their process, communicated my frustration, asked about a refund, and etf? is wrong with this picture. "Susan" again replied that the item had shipped on 6/03, use the tracking number, and oh yeah, sometimes they have trouble with their USPS tracking data, they've been looking into it.
 
Finally, on 6/15, there was an update to the tracking number, and then the order proceeded normally enough (except that it was actually delivered yesterday, 6/20, not 6/19.
 
I've tried to leave a ** rating for the seller, but Amazon keeps saying there's a "problem" on their end with receiving it. So it looks like the fix is in there, maybe,
 
I gather that this outfit is good enough on recent/popular items, but my item was not anything like that. I honestly believe that they did not have the item on hand, faked a shipping date to avoid a refund right away (and to collect the cash), used that trick to hunt a copy down, and then and only then got the order into actual shipping circulation.
 
The only part of this process that bothers be is the phony shipping date, using it to charge the card, and then weasel-ing the circular bot responses. I've been through this process with other sellers for other like items, and they'll just keep delaying the order - and not charging the card  -until they either get a copy or else cancel the order due to unavailability.
 
Just fulfilling the order is not enough. Billing practices matter.
 
Movie-Mars will never get my business again.

 

 

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I certainly understand the frustration, I have not had an issue with Movie Mars in the past.

I've also never paid attention to when cards are billed and have always assumed cards must be billed in order to even start the process of shipping or procurement. Since I can float 10-$20 without impacting the grain or hay budget for the horses I've never cared about it ... anyway they pissed you off so don't use them again.  In my world that is called Permanently Banned (tm).

Previously Import CDs got that designation, and its been so long I can't even recall the circumstances.

And much more recently, Beef O'Brady's is gone from our rotation, for making me complete the take out order payment online without ever making it clear that I was ordering from one that is 20 miles away, not the five mile away closest one. (in the Tampa area you can't piss in the wind without hitting a Beef O'Brady's so a little clarity would have been helpful).  I called the location and got some cockamamie BS about they don't have access to the online payment system so you're SOL, call your card issuer. 

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USPS is often, uh, quirky, but I've NEVER had a situation where the tracker status reflected that they were still waiting for the product for almost two weeks after the seller claims it shipped. I've seen plenty of delays for plenty reasons, but never that one. That's just a total disconnect, and I suspect weasels at work.

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I just ordered from them accidentally-- if I had known who it was I wouldn't have placed the order. Paid immediately, no activity for 5-6 days; sent a message through ebay asking if it had shipped, got a shipping notice about 30 minutes later. It's through DHL, which in my experience is always a complete disaster. Currently bouncing around like so ^

Edit: Forgot to mention, the seller name on ebay is bargainbinmedia, but it's just Movie Mars. Trash. 

Edited by colinmce
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I've never had a problem with moviemars, have ordered probably 100 items (CD's/DVD's) from them over the years.  I have had minimal (like 2 or 3) issues with importcds, always immediately acknowledged and addressed by them, and I'm sure I've probably ordered 1000 CD's from them, and they remain my go-to, either from ebay (best to bundle small items for their 20% offers) or directly from their web site (best for large items of $25 or more).  I also did well with caiman.com back in the day.  I guess we each have our own experiences, and understandably shape those into a narrative.  USPS can make me crazy at times, but it all almost always works out with a little patience.  Tell you who really makes me crazy, is US Customs, who sit on packages for a week.

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4 minutes ago, Dan Gould said:

I've also never paid attention to when cards are billed and have always assumed cards must be billed in order to even start the process of shipping or procurement. Since I can float 10-$20 without impacting the grain or hay budget for the horses I've never cared about it ...

Every ethical seller I've dealt with bills the card when the item is actually shipped, meaning procured, packed, and actually put into the shipping chain, even it it's just sent to a bulk warehouse to sit for a week or two. And that's always reflected on the tracker.

Claiming an item has shipped when it actually hasn't, actually isn't in stock, that's just a way to avoid having to issue a refund should the customer get tired of waiting (which I had).

The float's not what pissed me off nearly as much as was the cockblock against cancelling this stalled out order and trying someplace else. And lest anybody protest that, well, the seller needs protection against buyers doing just that, they go hustle up a piece of inventory, they need a guaranteed outcome, well, #1 - no they don't, that's their risk, and #2 - Movie-Mars is still offering the same item. So if they got "stuck" with one from a cancelled order, they would just have it ready for the next buyer, whoever that may be.

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1 hour ago, JSngry said:

USPS is often, uh, quirky, but I've NEVER had a situation where the tracker status reflected that they were still waiting for the product for almost two weeks after the seller claims it shipped. I've seen plenty of delays for plenty reasons, but never that one. That's just a total disconnect, and I suspect weasels at work.

Weasels ripped my flesh. 

Also dislike DHL.

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I don't mind a "big seller" per se, but I want a consistent experience. These guys and a few others seem like they're going to have anything recent and/or semi-popular on hand, ready to go. Which is ok. But it seems that they also use  the more "specialty" items as bait, and their not-really shipping date as the trap to get your money in their pocket unless and until they want to give it back on their terms.

So if you order stuff that they're likely to have around, I'm sure there's a good experience in store. And if not, then maybe not.

That's not a consistent experience, that's not what I want.

So...

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43 minutes ago, Dan Gould said:

Is this reflected in Movie Mars rating? Or are there too many people buying the popular stuff for the randomness of the esoteric stuff's availability is washed out?

When I ordered, I think they were at a 98.5 positive, which is below my general standard of avoiding anything below 99.8%.

I think most people buy popular stuff...that's why it's popular! :g But seriously, if most of their business is with transactions that are in their wheelhouse, it stands to reason that most customers will be happy. But most is not all...and on the scale of traffic that it looks like they do, 98.5% is really not impressive.

  30 days 90 days 12 months Lifetime
Positive 93% 94% 95% 97%
Neutral 1% 1% 1% 1%
Negative 5% 4% 4% 2%
Count 1,828 5,368 18,114 706,999

If I'm doing the math right, they've gotten negative reviews on about 720 orders over the last 12 months, about 210 over the last 90 days, and  not quite 100 in the last 30 days. Those numbers are more than just the occasional "hey, shit happens, sorry".

Again - it's the billing trick that's pissed me off. Everything else flows from that for me.

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I agree that 98.5 is not good for a domestic seller.  I tend to look for domestic sellers over 99.5.  Importcds is 99.6 over the past 12 months.   Interestingly, some of the worst performance comes from the big UK-based sellers,and I'm happy to find one of them running at 95% at any given time.   The absolute worst is Momox out of Germany, 1/4 of the time their stuff never shows up or comes incredibly late.  Domestically, Decluttr is the worst.  The stuff comes on time, but you can never trust that they have graded condition properly or that they are sending the complete set or correct version (I'm not convinced they ever examine the discs inside the CD case.  I'll buy from Momox or Decluttr only if the savings is outstanding compared to other sellers.

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33 minutes ago, JSngry said:

When I ordered, I think they were at a 98.5 positive, which is below my general standard of avoiding anything below 99.8%.

I think most people buy popular stuff...that's why it's popular! :g But seriously, if most of their business is with transactions that are in their wheelhouse, it stands to reason that most customers will be happy. But most is not all...and on the scale of traffic that it looks like they do, 98.5% is really not impressive.

  30 days 90 days 12 months Lifetime
Positive 93% 94% 95% 97%
Neutral 1% 1% 1% 1%
Negative 5% 4% 4% 2%
Count 1,828 5,368 18,114 706,999

If I'm doing the math right, they've gotten negative reviews on about 720 orders over the last 12 months, about 210 over the last 90 days, and  not quite 100 in the last 30 days. Those numbers are more than just the occasional "hey, shit happens, sorry".

Again - it's the billing trick that's pissed me off. Everything else flows from that for me.

That approval rating is too low for me to buy from them. OTOH, I haven't had any problems with import CDs.

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20 minutes ago, felser said:

I agree that 98.5 is not good for a domestic seller.  I tend to look for domestic sellers over 99.5.  Importcds is 99.6 over the past 12 months.   Interestingly, some of the worst performance comes from the big UK-based sellers,and I'm happy to find one of them running at 95% at any given time.   The absolute worst is Momox out of Germany, 1/4 of the time their stuff never shows up or comes incredibly late.  Domestically, Decluttr is the worst.  The stuff comes on time, but you can never trust that they have graded condition properly or that they are sending the complete set or correct version (I'm not convinced they ever examine the discs inside the CD case.  I'll buy from Momox or Decluttr only if the savings is outstanding compared to other sellers.

I really like decluttr (though their pricing seems to be moving toward the more algorithmic model, so I think the age of amazing deals from them is over) though yes I do only buy from them when I feel certain I will receive the pressing I'm looking for.

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2 hours ago, jlhoots said:

?? re: AEC

Alliance Entertainment owns DirectToU, which is the company doing business as Deep Discount, Import CDs, and Collectors Choice.   I don't believe Movie Mars is part of that family, but I could be wrong.  

I've bought a lot from decluttr (and whatever they used to be called) over the years, and my experience is that the quality of discs has gotten a lot worse within the last 12 months or so.  I think I am probably done buying from them for a while.  

Edit: DirectToU also operates the Popmarket site. 

Edited by bluesoul
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4 minutes ago, bluesoul said:

Alliance Entertainment owns DirectToU, which is the company doing business as Deep Discount, Import CDs, and Collectors Choice.   I don't believe Movie Mars is part of that family, but I could be wrong.  

Collectors Choice used to be a good company with their own label. The label did GREAT work, too. I just checked, and the logo is the same...is this yet another case of a brand being bought and now used for a purpose several times again removed from its original cache?

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1 hour ago, colinmce said:

I really like decluttr (though their pricing seems to be moving toward the more algorithmic model, so I think the age of amazing deals from them is over) though yes I do only buy from them when I feel certain I will receive the pressing I'm looking for.

I've tried ordering a Ron Carter album from them three times.  Rose orders resulted in a Tom Jones album, an Oleta Adams album and a lost shipment.  I think that everything else I've ordered from them has arrived and they were quick with refunds.

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What's odd about these companies falling under the same umbrella is that their pricing is so different. I find importcds to always be cheapest, shipping is free, and as Felser said they usually run bulk discount deals on ebay. Collector's Choice sells through Discogs and charges $3 per item to ship, no combination, so they're almost always a terrible deal.

 

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2 hours ago, JSngry said:

Collectors Choice used to be a good company with their own label. The label did GREAT work, too. I just checked, and the logo is the same...is this yet another case of a brand being bought and now used for a purpose several times again removed from its original cache?

I agree about the old Collectors Choice.  But the label folded years ago and apparently their brand was bought.  It’s a shame.

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6 minutes ago, AaronG said:

I agree about the old Collectors Choice.  But the label folded years ago and apparently their brand was bought.  It’s a shame.

I enjoyed their monthly catalogs and some of their reissues.   I usually dropped about 100-150 on them during their annual January sales

 

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