Calling out

[bombtek]

This is the e-mail I sent to cigar bid today as I have been REALLY unhappy with their service as of late. I had never had any problems with them up until the past few weeks and had been actually quite happy with my purchases from there. Please don't call what you get from cbid "winning an auction" as you don't really "win" anything other than a purchase price LOL...anyways..here is what I sent them....read it if you want and take it with a grain of salt as you might have had nothing but fantastic dealings with them. As for me....I'll look elsewhere.


I am beginning to wonder what is going on there lately. First you change your normal shipper DHL (which was incredibly reliable and I had my purchases the day after them being shipped as well as being able to track them from point A to point B)) to USPS which is utterly HORRIBLE (the tracking message I've gotten since day one....the 28th of Sept!!!!.....just claims "The U.S. Postal Service was electronically notified by the shipper or shipping partner on September 28, 2006 to expect your package for mailing. This does not indicate receipt by the USPS or the actual mailing date. Delivery status information will be provided if / when available. Information, if available, is updated every evening. Please check again later. ")

Well I've checked.....MANY TIMES!!! STILL NOTHING!!!!

Oh well I might as well as chalk that one up to lost as the cigars have NOT been stored properly I am sure!! So onto the next problem. I won another lot from Cigarbid for some more Gurkhas and they should have been shipped out yesterday the 5th of October (via DHL thank God) and I was anxiously awaiting the e-mail telling me such. You usually send me a message on Thursday morning which links me to the shipper's tracking site (which I was hoping to be DHL once again), well here it is Friday afternoon...... NOTHING.

Please delete any and all winning bids at this time (this is what I have open right now) http://www.cigarbid.com/auction/lot.cfm?lotID=386487). I will not be dealing with your company again as it is turning out to be unreliable. I will be notifying my credit card company to not allow any more purchases from this site to be allowed. I am sure that losing my purchases will not put a dent in your company's wallet, but I am copying this e-mail before I send it and disseminating it to any and all cigar boards that I find on the internet (I belong to more than a few, and I am sure that there are many more out there). I don't know if this will have any effect whatsoever, but it is my intention to warn the members of the boards of unreliability, whether they be because of bad trades with other members or problems with purchasing through a vendor.

There are many other cigar auction sites out there that have the same selections that you carry, but I have always purchased from you as I believe in loyalty. However, loyalty must go both directions....and lately, your company has not been holding up their end of the bargain.

Thank you,

Bill McCoy

 

[Shooter]

Hmmm can't wait for the reply.....

 

[theorangeman]

I no longer use c-bid; it's been months since I last logged onto their site. The smokes that I now enjoy are either not available on their site or can be bought for less money elsewhere. However, when I did buy from them (although I seemed to always spend a lot more than I intended, which is obviously no fault but my own), I had only good interactions with them. In fact, on a couple of occasions I had to return things to them (cigars one time and a lighter another time) and they were absolutely terrific in their customer service.

I am not able to address the delivery change since I stopped buying from them before they made the switch. I think c-bid is a pretty good place to purchase some lines of cigars, as long as you do so intelligently and without your emotions taking over (i.e. bidding much more and higher than you originally set out to do).

Just my 2 cents for what it's worth.

 

[Burnt Tongue]

I am not sure they're on the up and up.

 

[oknewb]

I have not used CBid lately, and it is a shame they are not using DHL anymore. USPS is the worst service you will find. However, the one time I had a problem with a package from CBid, they were extremely quick on fixing the situation. I hope it all works out, and keep us updated.

PS..I had some cigars get lost recently and I figured that if they ever showed up, they would be ruined. Well, they eventually showed, and were still in good shape.

 

[BlindedByScience]

I am not sure they're on the up and up.

....that's a little strong, IMHO.

They are of course the same company as CI, or Cigars International. I don't think they are actually trying to "screw" people, but I do think they are busy and don't pay as much attention to things as they should, sometimes. Overall, their service has been pretty good for me other than sending me the wrong 5-er once. They handled it quickly and professionally, so I can't complain. I'm not going to make excuses for spotty customer service, but making a mistake here and there isn't really an indication that they aren't "on the up and up"....

Also, don't forget that a USPS delivery confirmation won't allow you to track your package....just when it got delivered. I don't care who you pick, UPS, DHL, FedX, USPS, carrier pigeon, etc. you'll find some folks that hate 'em, and some folks that love 'em. It seems that some shippers do better than others but I think it's more based on where you live than anything.

I don't do much with CI or CBid anymore, as frankly they don't have that much that interests me anymore, and what they do have I can usually buy at better prices. It pays to shop around....

Hope it works out, bombtek - good luck there, to be sure.

Best Regards - B.B.S.

 

[Fpkjr]

I will be notifying my credit card company to not allow any more purchases from this site to be allowed.

I don't think your Credit Card Company can reject anyone charges. You would have to launch a fraud or other unauthorized use investigation once the charge comes through. I could be totally wrong..
However, if you report the CC lost or stolen the CC company will freeze the account there by denying anyone access to it.
Just food for thought.
Good Luck
Frank

 

[theorangeman]

Frank, based on my experience and knowledge I believe you are right on target. I once had some a$$hole try to screw me on eBay (4-5 years ago) on a $1,000 computer that I never received and Amex told me that I had to wait 30 days to contest the charges even though I had proof that it was a scam. I ended up getting my money back but that's the route I believe you will have to take if you decide to do so. Reporting your card lost or stolen (which in your case would obviously be dishonest), would freeze the account at the moment that you make the call (as Frank mentioned).

 

[Ginseng]

Also, don't forget that a USPS delivery confirmation won't allow you to track your package....just when it got delivered.

B.B.S., just a point of clarification. USPS Delivery Confirmation that is processed through Click-n-Ship or for a package dropped off in one of those automated APCs will not update status until the package is scanned upon delivery.

A package that is mailed in person and scanned upon receipt at a USPS facility customer counter will show status updates prior to delivery. However, this is quite inconsistent.

I've been told by the counter staff that even though the package status is not up to date on the customer website, they are still tracking it internally.

Wilkey

 

[Shooter]

Also, don't forget that a USPS delivery confirmation won't allow you to track your package....just when it got delivered.

B.B.S., just a point of clarification. USPS Delivery Confirmation that is processed through Click-n-Ship or for a package dropped off in one of those automated APCs will not update status until the package is scanned upon delivery.

A package that is mailed in person and scanned upon receipt at a USPS facility customer counter will show status updates prior to delivery. However, this is quite inconsistent.

I've been told by the counter staff that even though the package status is not up to date on the customer website, they are still tracking it internally.

Wilkey

yup i agree

 

[BlindedByScience]

Also, don't forget that a USPS delivery confirmation won't allow you to track your package....just when it got delivered.

B.B.S., just a point of clarification. USPS Delivery Confirmation that is processed through Click-n-Ship or for a package dropped off in one of those automated APCs will not update status until the package is scanned upon delivery.

A package that is mailed in person and scanned upon receipt at a USPS facility customer counter will show status updates prior to delivery. However, this is quite inconsistent.

I've been told by the counter staff that even though the package status is not up to date on the customer website, they are still tracking it internally.

Wilkey

Good point, Wilkey. Truth is that I use C&S almost exclusively so I hadn't had a package scanned on departure in a long time.

Got to wonder which catagory big retailers who mail hundreds of not thousands of packages a day fall into. I wonder that they have something much like C&S and that the tracking info isn't available via the web. I sure don't know; maybe some USPS person will offer an opinion..??

Cheers, gents - B.B.S.