Haiku Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 The last order I placed with RR took 19 days to arrive. The last CBD order I placed took 4 days to arrive. The last Amazon order I placed arrived the next day. That's typical of my experience over several years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 I have no complaints about rr customer service. I don't expect Amazon shipping speed from them. I have rarely had backorders. Recently the post office lost a package en route, I called RR and they overnighted a replacement so I would have my books before going out of town. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acsnmama Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 I love RR prices, that way I can purchase most things new! I don't believe I've ever had a back order. However, I'm not fond of the shipping speed, and it would be upset as well, especially if I needed the items soon. Other companies ship things as they become available without extra cost, which is fair. With that said, I like RR and will continue to order with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 I've only placed 5 or 6 orders with RR, all but one have had a back ordered item. The back ordered item has never delayed shipping out of the warehouse by much, I think it's the shipping service they use that is so slow. When I placed my first big order last August, it took over a month to arrive, not because RR was slow to ship it, but because they use shipping DHL/USPS. My package sat in a warehouse an hour from me for 3 weeks! I learned my lesson and don't order if I need something quickly. My recent orders were 7/3 & 7/4, I expected they would ship a little slow due to the holiday and it was right before a weekend. The 7/3 order had a back ordered item and shipped 7/10, the 2nd order shipped 7/9. The 2nd order was an item I forgot and since I was having to pay shipping, I paid an extra $1 to have it not shipped media mail. It arrived the day before the big order. I still haven't received my back ordered item or an email stating it has been shipped. The items I have ordered have either been significantly cheaper than other places or items I've been unable to locate elsewhere. Yes I love that I can generally get an order from Amazon in a couple days, but I've saved a significant amount of money overall using RR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennay Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 Yes, CBD is way better than RR. I've had packaging issues with CBD. A pile of Apologia textbooks and notebooking journals just thrown in a box with no air pillows, packing paper, nothing. RR usually packages things much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staceyobu Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 I paid RR for expedited shipping once. They held the entire order for five days for a back ordered item and did not refund my extra shipping. It was only a couple dollars, but it scared me off ordering from them. I have had excellent luck with CBD and amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PagesandFields Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 I once ordered a book from RR. I accidentally gave them my old address. I figured it was lost in the mail for months and months. The post office eventually sent the book back to them, they called me, and they shipped it to my new address for free. In my opinion that was above and beyond and incredibly kind. Every time I've called them they've been incredibly helpful and generous. I personally have never had any long shipping times, although I do usually put my order in by calling, so maybe that way it's easier for them to see if anything is out of stock. My family used to be in the book business. We ran a small independent bookstore. We had to shut down because stores like Amazon and Walmart will purposely price books sometimes below their own cost - losing money on each sale - just to beat prices of other stores to get customers. Amazon and similar stores are giants, they can afford to do business a certain way, while the smaller companies just can't. I don't love that there are certain multi-cultural and religious books that RR won't carry... but except for that I very much appreciate them and put my business their way when I can. Amazon has amazing customer service and I also send my business their way. I also adore abebooks... because I'm addicted to books and they help keep the price down. Nobody's perfect, but stores like Amazon and Walmart sometimes set a price and service precedent that is impossible for some to compete with. In that climate I think RR does a fantastic job, in my experience anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strange_girl Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 Okay, okay, enough :glare: Number one, you will not pay $10 for backorders unless you click the box that says "Do not hold for backordered items", or whatever. If you click that box, then it's your own fault you paid $10 extra. Number two, to those who don't like the free shipping over $50 policy...when have any of us ever ordered less than $50 worth of curriculum? That's like 2 things. Their customer service is great. Ask me how I know. Their shipping (to me in Maine, anyway) is reasonable. I have never had anything backordered, and it has always arrived within 10 business days and in perfect condition. I think that to bash them and say they have bad business practices is pretty harsh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 I think that to bash them and say they have bad business practices is pretty harsh. They do have bad business practices. Their shipping takes too long and they aren't up front about what they have in stock. It's because of these bad business practices that I no longer patronize them. Other places do it much better. Charging people extra not to hold their purchases because they don't tell you what they have in stock is a bad business practice. My last order from them, 4 workbooks, was well under $50. I paid $8 in shipping and it took nearly 3 weeks to arrive. That's a bad business practice. Other websites get stuff to you in a timely manner. RR routinely does not. Personally, I can't imagine how people are satisfied with it taking weeks to get their stuff, and I don't think they would accept that from, say, Lands End or Apple. People routinely freak out here on TWTM when they order stuff from other members and it takes a few weeks to arrive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 I'm no longer homeschooling but I placed large orders with them five years in a row and only once had something back ordered. All of my orders, even the one with a back order, arrived rather quickly. My one with a back order only took a few extra days. I never had a single issue with RR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBJones Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 I've ordered from RR at least 25-30 times. I've only had one order that had something BO. All of my orders have arrived within 6-7 days from date of placing order. I love their customer service and get 95% of my curricula from them. I will continue to do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatmansWife Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 Our school just placed a huge RR order for us. Seven items are on backorder. With the large amount of items order...I suppose 7 backordered items isn't too bad. I have no idea if they are holding the order for the backordered items or not, or if we'll have to pay shipping for backordered items. We shall see... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 I've never had any issue with RR at all. And their books get shipped fast, sometimes 2 days after I order. Could be because I am in IL. Also I tend to buy used so I do Amazon a lot, but I do place RR orders at least twice a year for consumable workbooks. I have to also pay that IL sales tax on top of shipping so I don't buy from RR more than those 1-2 times a year. The back order issues could be because of the time of year? I usually order closer to Sept...could be that summer is their busiest time with the back to school purchases. They are a small-ish family business, that gets nation wide business...so I'm sure it gets tricky. I think I've had maybe 2 backordered items in the 7 years I've ordered from them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 They do have bad business practices. Their shipping takes too long and they aren't up front about what they have in stock. It's because of these bad business practices that I no longer patronize them. Other places do it much better. Charging people extra not to hold their purchases because they don't tell you what they have in stock is a bad business practice. My last order from them, 4 workbooks, was well under $50. I paid $8 in shipping and it took nearly 3 weeks to arrive. That's a bad business practice. Other websites get stuff to you in a timely manner. RR routinely does not. Personally, I can't imagine how people are satisfied with it taking weeks to get their stuff, and I don't think they would accept that from, say, Lands End or Apple. People routinely freak out here on TWTM when they order stuff from other members and it takes a few weeks to arrive. RR is a small family business. Not at all to be compared to Apple or Lands End. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 I've only placed 5 or 6 orders with RR, all but one have had a back ordered item. The back ordered item has never delayed shipping out of the warehouse by much, I think it's the shipping service they use that is so slow. When I placed my first big order last August, it took over a month to arrive, not because RR was slow to ship it, but because they use shipping DHL/USPS. My package sat in a warehouse an hour from me for 3 weeks! I learned my lesson and don't order if I need something quickly. My recent orders were 7/3 & 7/4, I expected they would ship a little slow due to the holiday and it was right before a weekend. The 7/3 order had a back ordered item and shipped 7/10, the 2nd order shipped 7/9. The 2nd order was an item I forgot and since I was having to pay shipping, I paid an extra $1 to have it not shipped media mail. It arrived the day before the big order. I still haven't received my back ordered item or an email stating it has been shipped. The items I have ordered have either been significantly cheaper than other places or items I've been unable to locate elsewhere. Yes I love that I can generally get an order from Amazon in a couple days, but I've saved a significant amount of money overall using RR. The bolded!!! I get my orders quickly because I am in IL, but they are never brought to my door by a post man or a UPS man---always some guy in a van I never see but the 2 times I order from RR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 I wonder it you used their 'do you want to chat with someone' function you could check that way? I mean, maybe if everyone who orders used the online chat system to go through every. single. item. to see if it is in stock maybe they would get the message? And I don't want to call to check. I am often placing an order late at night after the kids are in bed etc. So many other places have an ordering system that makes it public what is available and what is not that it just shouldn't be that big a deal. I also don't mind about the 10$. That's their right as a business to make it work for them. But I would like more control as a consumer over my order. And I have also wondered if their 'out of stock' isn't a company euphemism for "don't have the staff to fill orders'. Again, I understand they are very busy and they have conventions and a warehouse etc. Heck, I am GLAD for any business that is thriving. But as a consumer I would like to be able to make more informed decisions. Just be upfront and tell me you have it. Or, before my order gets finalized have a screen that says "Uh oh, one of the items you ordered, NAMEOFTHING, is no longer in stock and has been ordered. Sorry about that. Do you want to continue to place the order or would you like to change your order?" Lands End does this to me all the time with sale items. Once it happened with Amazon. I don't think it is that hard for a company to manage. They are upfront about these issues. http://www.rainbowresource.com/policyfaq.php And they do send you an email right away when something is backordered You do have control...don't click the area on the 10$ fee is you don't want to pay it. You won't be charged extra when your stuff ships. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 RR is a small family business. Not at all to be compared to Apple or Lands End. My point was, if you want to be successful and have satisfied customers, you have to be timely. You can't operate like you can't handle your business volume and satisfy your customers. I know that there are satisfied RR customers, and that's fine. I don't care whether others order from them. But I see more complaints about RR than I do about probably any other company (expect maybe WP), and I have had multiple unsatisfactory experiences with them. I don't shop them anymore because of excessive shipping times. If any other company I shopped had such poor shipping and inventory management, I'd quit them too. I don't care what their size is. I expect professionalism from those who set up shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TracyP Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 I have never waited 3 weeks for a RR order. 10 days is average when I order from RR. I'm not a prime member and Amazon typically takes 5 days. Last month I put in an order at RR and Amazon on the same day. The RR order arrived in 3 days. (Yes, I was shocked.) Part one of my Amazon order took 5 days, like usual. Part two took two weeks. I'm assuming one of the books was backordered, but they never bothered notifying me... I understand that a bad experience can stick with you. I wouldn't continue to use RR's services if they consistently disappointed me. However, I have been extremely happy with RR and Amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 RR also won't accept returns to anything that looks like a human ever touched it. They once sent me a book that arrived with a crease in the cover and then would not take it back because it was "used." Was it a bargain book? They are sold as is---they state that clearly on their website. I buy bargain books occasionally from RR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWinner Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 I've ordered a ton from them & never had a problem. Great prices & I like having an Amazon alternative. If this is what it takes to keep their prices low, and selection high, okay by me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 Was it a bargain book? They are sold as is---they state that clearly on their website. I buy bargain books occasionally from RR. No. I wouldn't have mentioned this incident if it were. And I would expect a bargain book to be imperfect. That's why they are sold as bargain books. ETA: And I didn't try to return the creased book because it was creased. I wanted to return it because it turned out not to be what I wanted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 They are upfront about these issues. http://www.rainbowresource.com/policyfaq.php And they do send you an email right away when something is backordered You do have control...don't click the area on the 10$ fee is you don't want to pay it. You won't be charged extra when your stuff ships. Not until after your order has been placed and it can't be changed. That is an important distinction. If I know before I hit "Place my order" that one Singapore math workbook is out of stock and has been back ordered, then I can either decide that I don't care because I don't need my whole order any time soon. Or, I can remove it from my order, keep everything else in my shopping cart, and order the math workbook later. Maybe I don't need that workbook until January but I do need everything else in my order ASAP. But with the way the RR system works now, I am stuck waiting for what I need in two weeks because of something I might not need for months. I would like to make that decision for myself. I don't fault them for charging the 10$ for people who want to pay it. I don't mind the needing to meet a 50$ minimum before they offer free shipping. I know they are a small family business and I do appreciate the work they do. I have stated that consistently. All I would like is to know before I finalize my order what is and what is not in stock. Other places do it. Other small businesses do it. I have bought from smaller businesses that RR and they do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 I'm another that's never used RR. As a matter of fact, I can't even get them to send me a catalog,,even having requested it for multiple years! I'll send you my catalog which I told them not to send me--oh, wait, I'm using it as a door stopper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 I used to love my Rainbow Resource catalog. I have fond memories of taking it with me to the swimming pool and look at it during the times when my kids weren't in the pool. Our homeschool friends would gather around, ooh and aah, and place group orders. But, we eventually got frustrated with the backorder situation. There would almost always be a backordered item in our group order, which meant everyone had to wait. Once, due to a backorder, an entire order didn't ship for over e weeks. We learned that, if we didn't place our order by mid-June, we could not count on getting it in a timely fashion (like by August so we could begin planning our year.) But the kicker was their awful return policy. At least one item would arrive damaged and they were very stingy and difficult to work with on refunds. With so many options out there, you would think that RR would want to remain competitive. For many years, they were THE source for homeschool materials. This is no longer the case. If they don't get their act together, there won't be much of a business to hang on to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ad astra Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 I ordered a copy of SOTW volume 1, its Audio CDs and a few other items from RR last weekend just because I wanted to save a few bucks by not ordering them from Amazon Prime. I just got an email that SOTW is backordered. I love how they say in the email that it is basically none of their fault and they can't tell me when it will be shipped even after being held altogether for 5 days and I owe them $10 if I want to get it on time and how generous they are for not charging me for a separate backorder shipment. :thumbdown: I think it is lame and deceptive that they don't even mark an estimated shipment schedule or out-of-stock status for the items in their website. I couldn't even cancel this order online that I had to write an email to request a cancellation. I'm so done with RR. At least, the company should be honest about their stock status and pay $10 themselves for their own neglect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teeniebeenie6 Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 Saying things are in stock when they are not is just not acceptable to me. With so many computer programs out there that could keep real time track of their inventory, it just seem wrong to me. Punishing a customer for running a business incompetently doesn't seem right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. Y Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 Just updating a prior comment of mine. My backorder was filled an shipped really quickly after all. I think I got it the day after I mentioned it up thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 My family used to be in the book business. We ran a small independent bookstore. We had to shut down because stores like Amazon and Walmart will purposely price books sometimes below their own cost - losing money on each sale - just to beat prices of other stores to get customers. Amazon and similar stores are giants, they can afford to do business a certain way, while the smaller companies just can't. I don't love that there are certain multi-cultural and religious books that RR won't carry... but except for that I very much appreciate them and put my business their way when I can. Amazon has amazing customer service and I also send my business their way. I also adore abebooks... because I'm addicted to books and they help keep the price down. Nobody's perfect, but stores like Amazon and Walmart sometimes set a price and service precedent that is impossible for some to compete with. In that climate I think RR does a fantastic job, in my experience anyway. Yes, this is one reason why I order from other places first and then remaining items from Amazon, rather than going to them first. But I've been very fortunate with RR and have only had 2 items back-ordered in 15 years of ordering from them. I've always gotten items quickly, usually quicker than Amazon (because I go with the slower, free shipping on Amazon!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalypso Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 I received my back order email this morning. I knew it was coming because I ALWAYS have something backordered when I place an order. I was just hoping this time would be different :) I don't order with them much anymore, but they had everything I needed and all of their prices were better than amazon. So, I wait... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winoelle Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 I guess I don't understand the big deal. It is a pretty reasonable policy and it isn't as if they hold your order indefinitely, just 5 days. If time is of the essence you can order over the phone. I just placed an order, got a backorder item notice the next day, called and cancelled that item (I am in a hurry) and we are good to go. The customer service has always been good and the shipping time reasonable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ad astra Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 The deal to me was that, I wouldn't even have ordered it from RR in the first place if I knew the delivery would take 2 weeks (including the unrequested 5-day hold) or even longer. Or at least I would've picked a different item on stock to avoid any backorder if it were clearly marked as "out of stock." I've never seen any other online business that is so secretive about their stock status. And it did affect my $50 free shipping cut; I'd now have to pay for the high shipping cost if I canceled the backordered item alone. I did receive the confirmation email on cancellation request of the entire order yesterday and the whole process wasted my 3 days, which could've been enough time for Amazon Prime delivery. Not worth the 3-dollar discount IMO. Yes, I'm spoiled. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winoelle Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 They aren't secretive about it, you can call and place your order and find out right away. It may be less convenient, but definitely not secretive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forgiven Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 I've ordered from RR once. That's it. I won't order from them again. I will look at their site, as I find some interesting things on there, that I don't find anywhere else just from browsing. But when I do find interesting things on their site, I then look for it on Amazon, and I've always found what I'm looking for. My one order from RR was enough to know never to do that again. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted July 24, 2014 Author Share Posted July 24, 2014 NM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuvToRead Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 I don't have Amazon Prime, and Amazon routinely holds my orders for a week before shipping. This is for in-stock items, as well as orders under $35 and I pay shipping. RR doesn't hide the fact they hold backorders for a week, nor do they hide the fact you can choose to pay $10 to expedite an order. Even with a backorder, I always get my RR orders quicker. Amazon ships my orders using FedEx smart post, so it takes several days to get my order after shipping. I think it's a little unfair to compare shipping speeds of Amazon vs. RR for those that choose Amazon Prime. It would take 10 RR expedited orders to equal one year of Amazon Prime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerka528 Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 I placed an order on the 20th, and didn't receive my backorder email until the 23rd, and it said the item was supposed to be in stock on the 22nd. It's now the 24th and not shipped. It's frustrating for me because we live overseas so I pay the $7 for priority shipping. It would have been cheaper for me to pay the $7 shipping fee again for the backordered items than the $10 fee to have the rest of my order ship. I was super excited when I ordered because CBD was going to charge me $67 for priority shipping for the exact same order. Because of the time difference it is very difficult for me to call them and find out what is in stock and what isn't on an order of more than 50 items. I just wish they would show what is in stock and what isn't before an order is placed. If they have the ability to look it up when you call, they should have the ability to show it on their website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourisenough Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 I placed a RR order yesterday. 2 out of 10 items were backordered and they were Math Mammoth workbooks. I was a bit surprised since I figured those items weren't all that unusual. Luckily, we're not starting school for another month so I have time to wait around if it takes a while. Same situation here: my order, placed on 7/19, is being held because MM6 is out of stock. Sort of annoying, but I won't begin using it until first week of September. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TracyP Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Arghh! I placed an Amazon order on the 18th. I ordered 4 books - the first went out on the 20th and should get here today. The next 2 went out on the 21st and tracking info says it won't be here until Tuesday. Tuesday!!12 days after I ordered!! Oh, but it gets worse. The 4th book hasn't even shipped yet. 6 days later and it hasn't. even. shipped. :banghead: I'm joking. :p While this is a factual account, my frustration is made up. This is completely typical of my Amazon orders. Isn't this typical for the rest of you? The pp made a good point. Y'all aren't comparing Prime to regular shipping with RR, are you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJosMom Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 I've ordered from RR once. That's it. I won't order from them again. I will look at their site, as I find some interesting things on there, that I don't find anywhere else just from browsing. But when I do find interesting things on their site, I then look for it on Amazon, and I've always found what I'm looking for. My one order from RR was enough to know never to do that again. ;) Me, too. (Or Abe, or Alibris, or Exodus Books in addition to Amazon.) I try to support small businesses, and especially fellow believers. I do not, however, feel obliged to support a poorly run small business just because it is owned by believers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 They aren't secretive about it, you can call and place your order and find out right away. It may be less convenient, but definitely not secretive. But I think the problem is that one shouldn't have to *call* when placing an order online. Items should be clearly marked in/out of stock, so that the customer can make that decision. I order a lot of our homeschool stuff from CBD. Sometimes in the item description, they will have "This item to ship by (date)." I'm then able to decide if I'm willing/able to wait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Arghh! I placed an Amazon order on the 18th. I ordered 4 books - the first went out on the 20th and should get here today. The next 2 went out on the 21st and tracking info says it won't be here until Tuesday. Tuesday!!12 days after I ordered!! Oh, but it gets worse. The 4th book hasn't even shipped yet. 6 days later and it hasn't. even. shipped. :banghead: I'm joking. :p While this is a factual account, my frustration is made up. This is completely typical of my Amazon orders. Isn't this typical for the rest of you? The pp made a good point. Y'all aren't comparing Prime to regular shipping with RR, are you? I know I am not, lol. I have never had an issue with shipping time. Well, last year I did because I got the email confirmation and NO notice of back order and then....nothing. I went for 2 weeks with no contact. Finally I use their 'chat online' option and it turned out my order had shipped and was due to arrive the next day. I got my shipping notification days after the item showed up. But honestly, things like that don't bother me. Well, the no contact did but that was a mistake and I can live with a mistake. Once I knew where it was I was fine. I had just been worried my order was lost or something. I also don't take issue with RR needing a week etc to get something into the mail. I know they aren't a huge company with underpaid warehouse workers all over the country. I frequently order from third part sellers off Amazon and things can take a week or so to ship and even longer to arrive. That's ok. That is part of the process of ordering through the mail. What I don't understand is why their customer service people can tell me if something is out of stock but their website can't. That makes no sense. But, it obviously works for them or they would change it. My guess is that they don't want to lose the business. If they tell you up front it is out of stock you will just order it from someone else. They won't lie about it, in that if you go through the extra steps and inconvenience to ask them a direct question they will tell you, but they won't volunteer the information in a way that is easy for the customer, until they absolutely must. But what is happening instead is that there is a section of customers who are becoming un-customers and don't buy anything from them at all. I understand that inventory is a difficult issue for a business. If MM book are getting low they order a new shipment. They have to order in large volume to get a discount from the publisher so they can make their price point. Because they don't want back stock they don't place their MM order until the absolutely must. But that means they will run out. Then an order comes in. If they let the customer know the item is out of stock then they lose the sale. Then they get stuck with more inventory than they need. Look, my sons are ballet dancers. and I order from small dance supply companies all the time. These businesses are really small, like in someone's house kind of small. Those companies are able to let me know the status of their inventory when I shop. And one time I did order a something that turned out to be out of stock and the business gave ME a ten dollar credit on my next order. The gave me the option of cancelling my order immediately or holding it until it was back in stock. I didn't use the credit because I figure they are so small they can't afford it, but I appreciated the gesture and I shopped with them again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted July 24, 2014 Author Share Posted July 24, 2014 The point is not to compare a small, family owned company to Amazon. The point is, that we would like up front stock. BUT I just complained over the phone and was told that within the next few weeks, their website will SHOW LIVE STOCK. You will clearly see if an item is out of stock! This made me happy. What frustrated me, is that she clearly said that they don't keep all items in stock. Some items, they keep only a few of, and some they just don't even keep in stock. If you don't have something in stock, the customer should know, IMO. This seems wrong to me. On the other hand, the fact that they are rectifying the situation speaks volumes to me. At least they have finally realized that what they are doing is driving customers away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 I placed an order on the 20th, and didn't receive my backorder email until the 23rd, and it said the item was supposed to be in stock on the 22nd. It's now the 24th and not shipped. It's frustrating for me because we live overseas so I pay the $7 for priority shipping. It would have been cheaper for me to pay the $7 shipping fee again for the backordered items than the $10 fee to have the rest of my order ship. I was super excited when I ordered because CBD was going to charge me $67 for priority shipping for the exact same order. Because of the time difference it is very difficult for me to call them and find out what is in stock and what isn't on an order of more than 50 items. I just wish they would show what is in stock and what isn't before an order is placed. If they have the ability to look it up when you call, they should have the ability to show it on their website. I haven't used CBD in years, because when we were overseas, they based shipping charges for priority mail on a percentage of the purchase price, not on the weight of the package. I once had them ship a box at a slower parcel post rate, just to avoid nearly $100 of shipping. When it arrived, I asked the post office to weigh the box and tell me the cost for priority mail. It was about 1/4 - 1/3 the price CBD wanted to charge me. Which is unfortunate. Because we've homeschooled for another decade and I probably spend a couple thousand dollars on books each year. Which doesn't go to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 The point is not to compare a small, family owned company to Amazon. The point is, that we would like up front stock. BUT I just complained over the phone and was told that within the next few weeks, their website will SHOW LIVE STOCK. You will clearly see if an item is out of stock! This made me happy. What frustrated me, is that she clearly said that they don't keep all items in stock. Some items, they keep only a few of, and some they just don't even keep in stock. If you don't have something in stock, the customer should know, IMO. This seems wrong to me. On the other hand, the fact that they are rectifying the situation speaks volumes to me. At least they have finally realized that what they are doing is driving customers away. This is great news and will simplify things for many. But, let me get this straight, they advertise things for sale that they never keep in stock? Why would they do that? I hope it is for materials that come from a publisher that doesn't generally sell directly to the public. Some companies are contractually prevented from selling directly to the public. Or, maybe their catalog is about to get a whole lot thinner, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 Lol!!! Maybe she misspoke but what her exact words were "we are a small company. We just can't keep everything we offer in stock. Some items, that are popular, we carry hundreds of like Saxon math. Other items we have to go by customer request." Now looking back on that statement it is possible that she meant "keep in stock" as in keep up with it. But I just think it's great they are rectifying the problem. That's what matters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teeniebeenie6 Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 I'm joking. :p While this is a factual account, my frustration is made up. This is completely typical of my Amazon orders. Isn't this typical for the rest of you? The pp made a good point. Y'all aren't comparing Prime to regular shipping with RR, are you? If you had read the complaints most people are annoyed that the website shows things as IN STOCK when they are in fact not. People feel taken advantage of and lied to. Then there is the fact that RR wants to charge you to have your other items shipped before your out of stock item. Telling people something is in stock when it is in fact not, is frankly wrong! It is manipulating a sale, IMO. It obviously is a huge problem with this company, you can see that just by reading through this thread, so many people have had the same experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerka528 Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Does RR usually answer emails in a timely manner? I sent an email about my order since it said my backordered item was supposed to have already arrived, but haven't heard back. I probably just need to be more patient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerka528 Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 "If you have any questions, please contact our customer service department toll-free at[/size](888) 841-3456. (Due to time constraints, we are not able to respond to backorder status[/size]via email.)"[/size] This is a direct quote from the email I got about my RR back order. It was near the bottom so I'm guessing you didn't see it. I would give them a ring.[/size] I suppose I considered my email about why my order hasn't shipped since all of my items were supposed to have been available since the 22nd. Unfortunately their hours to call are during the middle of my night, so it is very inconvenient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TracyP Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 If you had read the complaints most people are annoyed that the website shows things as IN STOCK when they are in fact not. People feel taken advantage of and lied to. Then there is the fact that RR wants to charge you to have your other items shipped before your out of stock item. Telling people something is in stock when it is in fact not, is frankly wrong! It is manipulating a sale, IMO. It obviously is a huge problem with this company, you can see that just by reading through this thread, so many people have had the same experience. I was the second or third person who posted in this thread and I sympathized with CT's dilemma. I have read all the complaints since. :) I understand the frustration with backordered items, that is why I didn't address that part. (I was going to compose a post stating that yesterday, after RedSquirrel quoted me. I figured liking her post was enough because she said it so well.) However, I also saw many complaining of plain and simple slowness. When I woke up and checked my Amazon order, it reminded me of this thread. It was a silly "lighten up" post directed at those who were frustrated by what (to me) are not long wait times. I'm sorry it rubbed you the wrong way. No harm meant. I am thrilled to find out that RR will let us know what is in stock from now on!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 It's still back to this: 1. They need live stock on the website- thankful they Are working on this 2. When shopping from rainbow we need to remember to order way ahead of time (aka 3 weeks) and if we need stuff quickly, go elsewhere Rainbow has a lot of stuff no one else has and they have it all in one place at a very low price. I'm just glad they will have live stock b/c I really rally hate the whole back order thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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