Greetings everybody, silent forum user deciding to break the ice here
. Without further ado, can I actually mention DIGIKEY in this thread? That sounds like fun!
I was in the market for an evaluation board to try out from SGX Sensortech and Digikey had one with my name on it, or so I thought. Now, to be upfront, I should have known better and, as it will become evident after I give the details, the issue is more due to “politics” than due to “personal”, so I won’t press further, this forum is not about politics, however, I think Digikey’s way of handling (or lack thereof) this kind of matter needs to be pointed out, since Digikey won’t, so other unsuspecting customers know what they're getting into, unlike me. Nothin' personal, you see.
Order summary:
• Digikey had what I wanted in stock and for a better price; I hadn’t shopped with them before, except one time when I was in faculty many years ago, different Iceage; but my usual places did neither have the board, nor have any in stock;
• Wanted a hassle-free delivery, with minimum involvement on my side, so I checked out my cart with DDP incoterms shipping option;
• Automated email with invoice after a couple of hours revealed these terms got changed to CPT;
• I immediately replied to Digikey to check if there is no mistake, I was certain I choose DDP option and the web form was ok with that;
• Due to time zone differences, I first get an automated notification, the next day, saying, order has been ready’d and due pickup for shipping; only at the end of that day did I get a reply from customer service, saying I was missing the relevant information, thus the terms got changed to CPT;
• I immediately replied to that saying I wanted to cancel the order in these conditions, since I did not agree to that (seemed reasonable to me, the parcel hadn’t left the country yet, from tracking info at that time) – I never got any response for that message;
• Since there was no reaction, I used a return form found somewhere on their website, to bring to their attention again I want to cancel things;
• Next, one morning, I get notified by UPS the parcel has arrived in the destination country, needs clearance – I tell them I refuse reception, so they can send it back or do whatever they want; UPS complies, updates tracking info with my decision to refuse the package;
• Later that day, I get an email from Digikey customer service, saying they have been contacted by my local UPS, they have been notified that the “order has clearance issues”, saying that I should contact UPS and “push for customs clearance”, or ELSE: scenario one – the parcel gets returned, so I first loose the right to claim my due VAT amount, which I had to pay in advance, since it'll be incurred anyway, then I’m good to pay import fees back in the USA, whatever their Customs decide is due paid, plus shipping costs, or, scenario two – the parcel is abandoned – I loose any right to claim my money back, plus I’m good to pay for the shipping costs incurred so far, plus any Customs’ taxes incurred, if any decided, this time, at the (failed) receiver’s side;
• After a few days, somebody responds to my return claim form, saying they looked into the issue within their carrier group, saying I have been already answered, giving again the message they changed incoterms because… same explanation as before…Then go sorry for the inconvenience.
Now, I have yet to see the end of this story; from tracking info, the parcel is still in the process of returning, but, so far, if anybody is willing to share with me their thoughts on the matter, tell me, have I already lost my marbles, if:
• I expect default behavior from online shops (at least the claimed reputable ones) to not move shipping when there is the ever-so-slightest doubt there might be additional costs incurred to the buyer, given the specifics of each individual order? If some order terms need to be changed due to lack of provided info, isn’t it reasonable to halt processing until matters are discussed with the client? I specifically mailed them, as soon as I could, to let them know I have an issue, yet they move on like it’s none of their business?
• If I consider it reasonable that a package from an order, such as this one was, the sole property of the sender (Vendor) right up until it gets delivered to the destination address, after which the receiver can take claim on it? I haven’t read the fine print in Digikey’s Terms & Conditions (shame on me for that), but I’m pretty sure elsewhere on other vendor’s sites, at least ones more locally to me anyway, they make it explicit of the matter; even if you pay upfront, it’s still their dough, right up until you receive it. I do window-shop and occasionally buy on evilBay too, but I always chuckled when I read those messages “Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing”, given my experience there... If I’m to follow Digikey’s “or ELSE” La-la-land reasoning - in their own wording
, “Since we[Digikey] processed and shipped your[my] order as you [_I] requested, you [_I] will be billed for any additional fees accordingly” - going from this, can I please pay ALL of Digikey’s costs of doing business from now on? I’d like to be responsible for that as well… From my own pocket; if I happen to kick the bucket, heck, I've got relatives...
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