Annies Attic!

[Thumpy]

So this is the place for favorite shops and I think non-favorites should go here as well.

 

This is just a warning to all Canadians here. I applied on line to join Annie's Attic Crochet Club in March of last year!!!! Yes last year! They kept telling me that the books were sent and we don't know why you haven't received them yet and perhaps we could send out another shipment! We went through this 3 times and after waiting two more months and getting overdue payment notices I called them yet again. :rantThe woman told me that they have sent this shipment out three times and would appreciate my paying the bill. Well since I hadn't received them I was not paying for anything. I told her to cancel the shipments, cancel my membership and I hoped that sometime they would receive the books back from where ever they went to because they certainly didn't make it to my house. :thairApparently they did cancel everything so I am not on the hook for payment for things I never got.

 

Today I called them to ask for a copy of their current catalogue. I was told that they don't send them to Canada. When I asked why they said it was too much trouble to send them to Canada because of the postal fees. And then they said that it was because of customs keeping the catalogues and not sending them through. Hmmmm I get catalogues from many companies in the United States, Fire Mountain Beads is my favorite and their book is the size of a phone book!!! It always gets here in about a week and no problems at customs either.

 

Now after this I am wondering if Annies Attic just doesn't like Canadians? Looks like they won't be getting any more business from me after all. I used to buy their books all the time but this isn't quite the treatment I had in mind.

 

Just wanted to get this off my chest, I was really ticked off after that phone call.

 

Carol

[countrykids]

I'm having problems with VTECH same thing same excuses and I have been dealing with them for a year too. (my kids vsmile doesn't work) I too get catties from the states (I also do stampin up at night) I think they just don't care. But thanks for the heads up.

[Leticia]

Hawaii and Alaska get excluded from shipping as well. I lived in Hawaii for three years, and there are some stores they do not have in there, and some places would not deliver to Hawaii at all. OR they charged and arm and a leg to have it delivered. Which is outrageous since it really doesn't cost too much more to mail to Hawaii. That is a big issue to alot of Military families as they try to get things delivered and it's just not possible.

[eurolyons]

I haven't had any problems with Annies Attic being sent over here to my APO box in Germany, however I can totally relate (and so can my DH) to the problem of some companies just not wanting to bother with 1) sending things USPS/APO; 2) don't want to deal with custom forms; 3) don't want to deal with anything that goes out of the 48 contigueous states and I could go on. In fact because some companies don't want to do business internationally for any reason, there are companies that will be the go between. I could order something from a company that doesn't want to ship to me and have them send it to this "go between" company and they will resend the package on to me...

 

However, I'd just rather not to business with companies that are gonna give me grief...life's too short.

 

I think one thing that is really frustrating with customer service of any company is that one rep will tell you one thing and another rep will tell you something entirely different. Personally I would have asked to speak with a manager and explain your situation and also that you got 2 completely different explanations.

 

It is possible that things got hung up in customs...that does happen. Also postal services in other countries run differently and at different speeds. I have friends in Canada and we are always going on about how long it takes to send anything to each other. I sent a Christmas card to a friend in Saskatchewan the first week in December and it was over a month before she got it, whereas the cards I sent to Australia and the states and Holland and England got to their destinations long before my Canadian friends got their cards. Even with paying for express service, it's not uncommon for my friends in Canada to receive something a good 2 months after I've sent it and visa versa.

 

I don't know...last spring I went crazy with joann.com, a company I normally never have a problem with, and all the sudden one order was the order from h e double toothpicks. It took several phone calls and never once did anyone explain to me that the main problem was that they were in the middle of a new computer conversion, so my order kept getting stalled on one end. Haven't had any trouble since, but it was totally frustrating.

 

Oh and I have totally stopped doing business with Amazon. I was a big Amazon fan for years and then last year and the year before, every single order I put through I kept getting emails saying that they couldn't send whatever it was...not one order went through...this after nearly everything I'd order had come in with virtually no problem. It was like all the sudden middle of 2006 Amazon decided that they didn't want to send stuff to either APO's or International (the U.S. Amazon...) Now I order toys from eToys, books from Books a Million and Barnes and Noble and so on...life's too short.

[boksie]

I had a problem with Annie's Attic not sending a complete order but charging me for the missing items. There was no mention of it on the invoice but when I called them, they apologized and overnighted the items to me at no additional cost. The original order was for ground shipment.

[Tampa Doll]

My complaint with AA is the shipping. I live in Florida, 2 states away, and it takes anywhere from 5 to 21 days AFTER you receive the e-mail telling you they have shipped it.

The biggest problem is they are the only ones who carry most of the patterns I like.

I have no choice. I sympathize with those overseas, cause I see the shipping charges on orders and think:eek does it really cost that much?

[sheryljak]

I, too have had issues with AA. Specifically the Crochet Club. They would send invoices and no books. They even tried to put me in for collection and I still had not received any books. I finally got through to them and convinced them that I had received NOTHING and therefore owed them NOTHING (it took almost a year). They finally stopped sending the invoices but did start sending patterns! When I tried to send them back they came back to me as refused. Go figure.

I don't think it b/c they don't like Canadians though! I live in Alaska right on the Canadian border.

I had to have that Cathedral Rose Window pattern and reluctantly ordered it from AA. There was no problem with that order but I am very leery of ordering anything from them.

Sheryl

[FelixLake]

My complaint with AA is the shipping. I live in Florida, 2 states away, and it takes anywhere from 5 to 21 days AFTER you receive the e-mail telling you they have shipped it.

 

The biggest problem is they are the only ones who carry most of the patterns I like.

 

I have no choice. I sympathize with those overseas, cause I see the shipping charges on orders and think:eek does it really cost that much?

 

I agree with you. I love their patterns and such, but you can't be in any hurry to get the items.

[Sylviaf]

Their shipping is inefficient even in the States, but they have always made things right eventually for me, even if they are slow.

[crochetsal]

Wow. I've only purchased from AA a few times, and none very recently. I never had a problem with them though (like I said, it's been awhile), and at one time, I was subscribing to one of their series. I do understand about customs. Well, kind of. Just don't know why the heck magazines get stuck there. I subscribe to Crochet World, and the October issue I didn't get after a month, so they resent. I received the second one, never did receive the first. The December issue, I waited almost a month, emailed them again wondering if they just shipped later? They resent, and of course, the day they resent, I received the first one. I am holding off calling about the February issue, although it was on the news stands around Christmas.

Strange thing, when I advertised in Crochet World, I received my issue within days of it hitting the news stands.

 

Sally

[Thumpy]

Well after waiting for all this time Annies Attic finally wrote me back.

This is what they had to say about my complaint:

 

"We are so sorry for your experience with customer

service. We do have a

policy of not sending catalogs to Canada any

more, because they are free but

we still have to pay considerable more postage

into Canada. We sometimes

forget that our Canadian neighbors are still

considered "international."

 

I have put a copy of our latest catalog in the

mail to you. I noticed that

your address is in Ontario, and most of our

Canadian complaints about not

receiving products (or receiving them very late)

are in the province of

Ontario."

 

And of course she signed it and gave me her phone number and extension number. I wonder how long that catalogue will take to show up here.

 

On the other hand all Canadians can get catalogues from Mary Maxim who are in Canada and Herschners is very happy to send us catalogues too.

 

Thumpy :dragonfly

[Craw]

The only thing I'll get from Annie's Attic anymore is their free crochet pattern of the day. I once ordered a specialty crochet hook from them. The item was small enough to go first class mail - very cheap - and would have taken a few days at most. Instead they sent it some other slower way, but still USPS, and I think they paid more for postage. Over a month later I wrote to them and told them I never got the hook. They apologized and sent me another one, this time first class mail. Both hooks came in at the same time. They make poor mailing choices but charge you as if they made good ones!

 

E-Patterns Central is a subsidiary of Annie's Attic. I didn't know that but found out as soon and I placed an order with them! Their customer service, at least the ones I spoke to, know jack about computers or what they are selling. They are far more interested in protecting their copyright than they are making their customers happy. There has to be a balance or you won't have any customers.

 

Thumpy - let us know when you get your catalogue.

[Thumpy]

Well it has been 12 days now and still no catalogue! Why doesn't that surprise me? You know after all this waiting and being treated like a second class customer I will probably never order anything from Annie's Attic again anyway.

 

Oh well, I started this and I will keep you all informed if I ever get that catalogue.

 

Carol