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cube

Suspended
May 10, 2004
17,011
4,972
At least for some European locations, OWC is not using USPS First Class, which can take about 10 days, but Brokers Worldwide, which takes about a month.

It is good that they have inexpensive shipping options, but they should also have USPS if the price is well below courier.
 

Weaselboy

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 23, 2005
34,071
15,493
California
You are quite wrong. I did read the facts before as I have stated many times. The fact of OWC no being responsible once the item has been collected is nonsense. They are responsible until I receive it. (Maybe not the time frame in which I receive it) but certainly that I DO receive it.

If the item does not arrive then THEY are responsible to refund me and claim from the shipping company. If they don't want these kind of problems then they shouldn't have first class international post as an option, but they do, so I have a right to moan about a service THEY choose to use and certainly if I don't get what I paid for.

On a side note, how do I know they have even sent it?

That is false. Once the shipper picks up the item, it's yours. That's why Apple bills your credit card when an item ships, not when it arrives. Your warranty also starts when it's shipped, not when you receive it. Just because things don't go your way doesn't mean OWC is to blame.

I interpret the original "it's yours" comment as "they are entitled to hold on to your money".

As in the seller keeps the money, even though the goods are in transit until either the goods are returned to them (which they offered to grease the skids on by starting the RMA process) or the package is somehow deemed "lost".

I agree that OWC is dumb to offer non-trackable shipping options.

B

The "it's yours" statement was a response the above comment from the OP. Taken in context it seemed pretty clear to me what "it's yours" was intended to convey. OP even clarified he understood OWC had little control over a late delivery, but that at some point he believed they are responsible that he does receive the package.

Yep, I am also surprised OWC would ship like this. The CC company is going to ask for proof of delivery and failing to provide that OWC will get a chargeback. Simple as that.
 

ApfelKuchen

macrumors 601
Aug 28, 2012
4,334
3,010
Between the coasts
Ahh... no. In the USA at least, it is the sellers responsibility to get the package into your hands. If OWC chooses to offer a shipping option that is not trackable, the risks associated with that will fall to them.

No, that's not US law. In all but the most unusual circumstances, goods ship FOB (Free On Board - look it up), as those are most advantageous to the seller. There are international conventions that define what this means, and for international shipments, those are the conventions that apply.

FOB means title passes to the purchaser at time and place of shipment. Shipping risks and insurance costs fall on the purchaser. In the good old days (and even today), that means if the goods go down with the ship, the purchaser had better have insured the goods, and the purchaser will collect the insurance settlement. You'll find this embedded in just about every form of insured shipping - loss claims are made and collected by the recipient.

The U.S. FTC's Mail Order Rule (as already noted) obligates the seller to ship the goods in a timely fashion. It does not govern what happens once shipped.

The U.S. Fair Credit Billing Act does give a purchaser recourse when the seller has collected payment and the goods have not been "received." However, when shipment terms are FOB, that means they are "received" at the time of shipment. If a seller can reasonably prove the goods have been shipped, the seller's responsibility ends.
 

Weaselboy

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 23, 2005
34,071
15,493
California
No, that's not US law. In all but the most unusual circumstances, goods ship FOB (Free On Board - look it up), as those are most advantageous to the seller.

Thanks for the info. Yes, I understand what FOB is, but I believe OWC in this case would have a tough time saying the terms you described apply. FOB is normally used in commercial transactions and the FOB terms are described in the contract or invoice. We don't have that here and there is no mention of FOB in OWC's terms. I suppose OWC could try and argue this consumer transaction automatically became FOB when they passed along their shipping costs to the buyer, but I don't think the CC company will see it that way. Interesting question though.

Since you mentioned international conventions, the UK has consumer protections that will also apply for the OP here. The quote below is from page 22 of this UK regulation.

3.36 Where goods are lost in transit from you to the consumer you will need to either send new goods or offer the consumer a full refund, including delivery charges. See paragraph 3.20 for more information.

So I would say the OP is still in pretty good shape if OWC refuses to eventually step up here (although I suspect they will).
 

gbnz

macrumors newbie
May 21, 2010
21
0
I understand you're busting to receive your order pal... Just be patient or it'll annoy you :) OWC will do their best to help you out. Living in New Zealand I've always had brilliant service from OWC. 1 time I had an SSD die ... OWC replaced it no problem but I had to send the dead 1 back. As a note it might be better to use Fedex in future and it's not that much different .. and it's tracked.
 

opinio

macrumors 65816
Mar 23, 2013
1,171
7
I have ordered quite a few things from OWC that have been sent to Australia. Items were in excellent shape. I always use FedEx to track the package. Also when I have contacted OWC for service or questions they have been very good.
 

cube

Suspended
May 10, 2004
17,011
4,972
Courier is too expensive and inconvenient. Postal service is an option for a reason.

The problem is that many sellers do not offer an insured postal option.
 

MaxinMusicCity

macrumors regular
Mar 20, 2013
187
69
Nashville
I've experienced the same kind of thing with local government, but I have to admit that my OWC experiences have always been good. In fact I recently had to exchange a faulty item. True, I did produce the evidence before shipping it back. However, I got the replacement within 3 days with no problems thereafter.

Your experience is precisely why I won't buy anywhere Internationally except Canada which is "next door". :cool:
 

eRondeau

macrumors 65816
Mar 3, 2004
1,159
382
Canada's South Coast
I'm in Canada and I've ordered numerous items from OWC over the years and I've always received excellent customer service. They are the only online store I'll order stuff from (except Apple directly of course). Yes sometimes shipping across international borders takes longer and sometimes packages are delayed by customs/brokers but then that's not OWC's fault. You should really be calling the delivery company and/or your customs office and yelling at them. It sounds to me that OWC did everything reasonably possible to "make it right".
 

SuperPolli

macrumors regular
Apr 20, 2013
111
0
New Jersey
OWC Is Not To Blame

I have used OWC several times over the past year and I have been thoroughly pleased. The one time that my order did have an issue, OWC Support was helpful, apologetic, and eager to help me with my issue. Your anger should not be directed at OWC, but it should be directed at the shipping company you chose at checkout.

You also can't really blame them for not wanting to help you when you are rude, use foul language, and don't give them a chance to explain themselves.
 

peejack

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 7, 2007
700
0
I have used OWC several times over the past year and I have been thoroughly pleased. The one time that my order did have an issue, OWC Support was helpful, apologetic, and eager to help me with my issue. Your anger should not be directed at OWC, but it should be directed at the shipping company you chose at checkout.

You also can't really blame them for not wanting to help you when you are rude, use foul language, and don't give them a chance to explain themselves.

How can I contact the shipping company I don't know who they are and in UK.

My anger HAS to be directed at OWC. Again, I ordered from them I paid them money and it's up to them to contact and deal with the shipping company not me.

Plus how did I use 'foul' language? Yes I was a annoyed and shouldn't have got frustrated but she wasn't helping me or answering my question.
 

wordsworth

macrumors 6502
Apr 7, 2011
303
266
UK
An interesting thread.

For myself, if I order a product from company A, the supplier, and said company employs company B, the courier, to deliver my ordered product, then I think it a reasonable and appropriate expectation that company A be 'responsible' for the product until it arrives at my door, intact, and functioning as intended.

If my order fails to materialise, then I contact the supplier of the product to whom I paid my money: company A. It is reasonable for me to do so. If the supplier is then required to deal with company B, whom it has contracted to deliver my product, then so be it.

Such responsibility 'goes with the territory' if the product supplier, company A, understands and practises a reasonable and appropriate level of customer service. The small-print and indeed laws may be otherwise but a good company does what it takes: following up a dodgy delivery on behalf of the customer is merely good, appropriate trading practice as far as I am concerned.

A good company will indeed provide this reasonable level of customer service and 'act on my behalf'. An inferior company will maybe pass the buck and make me chase the courier myself. Naturally I will begrudge them that and never buy anything from them again, because they didn't honour the spirit of the original transaction. The courier they'd contracted to get their product to me wasn't able to do the job properly but the supplier failed to ensure otherwise. The supplier ought to have contracted a higher standard of courier.

It is my belief that a supplier ought to ensure a robust trading model and part of that is to ensure its products do in fact reach its customers reliably and in the appropriate condition, and time-scale.

As for the OP's experience, as others have stated here, international shipping can be more complex than domestic shipping and can impose delays and costs that mailing domestically does not incur. And these need to be taken into account if choosing to order from a supplier based in another country. While my own experiences of international shipping have generally been good, occasionally there has been a delay and/or customs charge that diminished that particular experience.
 

SuperPolli

macrumors regular
Apr 20, 2013
111
0
New Jersey
How can I contact the shipping company I don't know who they are and in UK.

My anger HAS to be directed at OWC. Again, I ordered from them I paid them money and it's up to them to contact and deal with the shipping company not me.

Plus how did I use 'foul' language? Yes I was a annoyed and shouldn't have got frustrated but she wasn't helping me or answering my question.

When OWC shipped the package it became your responsibility. You need to interact with the shipping company. It's not the greatest thing ever, but at this point OWC knows as much as you do. You can't be frustrated with them. The shipping company is 1) At fault and 2) where you should be directing your anger and more importantly, asking the questions.

As for the foul language, you said hell. While this is not really that offensive, you may have broken a rule which would cause them to terminate your conversation with their representative. Just saying, you should've thought twice before you sent that.
 

marcmartineau

macrumors newbie
May 22, 2011
7
0
Sherbrooke, Quebec
First, I am a big OWC customer. They have EXCELLENT service and theyr product is AWESOME !

I live in Canada, most precisely in Sherbrooke, Quebec and I'm probably 14 hours of driving time from OWC and, sometimes it takes 3-4 WEEKS before I receive their products. Shipping time is BUSINESS DAYS, excluding weekends and most, excluding DUTY TIME !

So, bro... calm down... Regular ground postal service is an awful service to deal with all around the planet. You are not the first one and you are surely not the last that have to wait...

Be logical please... How can they reimburse you before sending the product back... Come on...

So, WAIT ! Or, take a couple of PROZAC ! :D:D
 

cube

Suspended
May 10, 2004
17,011
4,972
How can I contact the shipping company I don't know who they are and in UK.

My anger HAS to be directed at OWC. Again, I ordered from them I paid them money and it's up to them to contact and deal with the shipping company not me.

Plus how did I use 'foul' language? Yes I was a annoyed and shouldn't have got frustrated but she wasn't helping me or answering my question.

You should have asked which was the carrier used and what was the expected delivery time before becoming aggressive in the chat.
 

Plutonius

macrumors G3
Feb 22, 2003
9,018
8,379
New Hampshire, USA
IHowever, on the flip side, in the UK, it is the sellers responsibility to ensure that a customer received what they pay for. If the seller chooses to offer a postal service that's not tracked, then it's on the sellers head if the parcel doesn't arrive. In the OP's situation, it appears OWC are saying the exact opposite (i.e. if the parcel gets lost and doesn't arrive, OWC will refuse to refund).

Doesn't sound fair to me.

It sounds like the OP had the options to have it shipped different ways but chose the cheapest shipping method (doesn't have tracking).

----------

You should have asked which was the carrier used and what was the expected delivery time before becoming aggressive in the chat.

I think he said that the expected delivery time was up to 2 weeks. Unfortunately, that's an estimate (not a guarantee).
 

cube

Suspended
May 10, 2004
17,011
4,972
I think he said that the expected delivery time was up to 2 weeks. Unfortunately, that's an estimate (not a guarantee).

If he had asked, I'm pretty sure they would had told him the carrier is not USPS, and that the delivery can take up to 4 working-day weeks.
 

Jedi Master

macrumors regular
Glad see the case title was corrected to better reflect the issue

I 100% the product WILL Delivered.

But it would OCW acted on behalf or the buyer when they shipped the product.

The buyer choose the cheapest shipping option on an international shipment. This fine and as such, no tracking, no expedited service or help with customs.

Like I said I'm conviced the product Wiil arrive.

I'm sorry it did not arrive faster, but in today's cost centric word, One gets what they PAY for. No way of knowing but the only fault OCW has is offering CHEAP shipping option.

Is the WHOLE event a surprise, nope, predicable Yes.

If its worth it, the Moral of this store is request or choose the correct level of service you desire.

If it was shipped FedEx would it be there, most likely.

Great case in point, DHL, remember them, and now you know the rest of the store.

Sad part of this, a goods site allows the site the become a means to bash a good company with little to no impunity.

My intent in this post is not offend or upset anybody, just the very sad state of where the world is presently at.

Does anybody have link to a Mac/Apple support site the charges a fee, I'd like to join ASAP.

One get what one pays for!

While I'm at it anybody interested in hear about the time I placed and order to be delivered in the USA? Well he goes, it took over 8 weeks by the US Postal Servive. Was I pissed, very I Really, REALLY!!!! Needed those x-ray glasses bad.

The Comic Book company a letter full of very colorful words. Looking they must not have been a bad company, Since they of had me arrested.

When they came, guess what the dings didn't WORK. Since it was many moons ago I forgot how much I paid, but pretty sure they were CHEAP.

Did anybody ever get a pair that worked?

I'll buy them from you if your not asking an arm or a leg for them.

Thanks for your time.
 
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