Any chance of an update from Paizo as to what is actually being done to resolve this and get the missing subscription issues delivered.
Also, whats being done in the longer term to ensure this isn't simply repeated with issue 140, and 141, and 142 etc etc.....
Chief Technical Officer
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Delericho, Wintergreen, crazy_cat, and bernasconi,
We'll have them reshipped.
crazy_cat,
I realize that you're upset, but your accusatory language is insulting. I can assure you that we're looking into the problem, and we'll make sure that you get what you have paid for. We do take issues like this very seriously, but you need to realize that we're not going to be able to post a solution for you overnight. Again, though, we will have your issues reshipped.
-Vic.
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Delericho, Wintergreen, crazy_cat, and bernasconi,
We'll have them reshipped.
Thanks. That's as much as I would have hoped for.
Delericho, Wintergreen, crazy_cat, and bernasconi,
We'll have them reshipped.
crazy_cat,
I realize that you're upset, but your accusatory language is insulting.
Vic - If thats the way my posts have come across then please accept my apologies. They were intended to get across some of the ongoing sense of frustration I feel on a monthly basis as a Dungeon subscriber in the UK, rather than to directly insult anybody at Paizo.
That said I do stand by my criticisms of TPfG.
I can assure you that we're looking into the problem, and we'll make sure that you get what you have paid for. We do take issues like this very seriously, but you need to realize that we're not going to be able to post a solution for you overnight. Again, though, we will have your issues reshipped.
I'm pleased to hear a replacement is on the way - I know it will take time to get here, but at least I can now have some faith that it is on its way at last!
My concerns for the reliable delivery of future issues remain however, I hope to hear from Paizo on these boards in due course as to how this issue is being addressed.
At the very least, may I suggest, it would be helpful to improve communications with regard to UK/European subscription problems. Trying to resolve queries by e-mail and forum posts across an 8 hour time difference isn't really ideal or very practical - but its all we UK/European subscribers have, since TPfG don't update their website to keep us informed of any problmes , concerns or issues or in my experience respond to e-mails when queries are raised.
Good questions Aubrey!
"What method is used? Sailing ship?"
I don't think so!
ROWBOAT VIA THE PACIFIC OCEAN!
You can count me in as another frustrated european customer.
It´s always the same. Ordered 6 items (small one's!) on the
7th September, been charged $ 24 for shipping & handling only, and no sign of the desperatly needed "stuff" until today.
The worst: The parcel is not even trackable!
I'm a huge Paizo "Fanboy" but this is to slow!
Dear Paizo Crew. Please use a trackable mail-system at least!
P.S. I know this is a magazine-subscriptions thread!
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Hi everybody,
don't get frustrated, even if you're waiting for issue 139 to get your STAP started !!
I have ordered 4 times at Paizo (3 parcels, 1 large enveloppe), and once, I waited for my parcel (2nd one) about a month before receiving a notification by the french customs services, telling me I had to pay for "importation taxes" (including the price for them for reshipping my stuff !!).
My Dungeon 137 got lost, and Paizo sent me a replacement one that was here, in Paris, in less than 3 weeks !
I think we can not deny at least one good thing about Paizo's staff and site : since they connect on a regularly base on their site, they are able to answer our pleads and questions.
How many times, with other e-sellers, did you have to send and resend mails to get answers ?
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Thanks for the quick response.
I would like to add that I have ordered products from paizo before (including back issues of Dragon and Dungeon) and never had any problems. In fact they generally arrive here in the UK pretty quickly and I've always been very satisfied with the service. It is just the subscriptions to Dungeon and Dragon that seem to be a problem.
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Chief Technical Officer
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Dear Paizo Crew. Please use a trackable mail-system at least!
As I mentioned in the other thread you posted, the USPS doesn't offer tracking for Global parcels except Global Express. So if you didn't like the price of the non-Express shipping, well, Express pricing starts at $12 more for even the smallest package.
As for the Place for Games, you might imagine that the time difference makes communication between us and them difficult as well; however, we are working on it, and we're looking into backup solutions in case the primary solutions don't pan out.
-Vic.
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Still waiting for both mags in Wiltshire :sniff: I hope I won't have to go fishing in the Atlantic for that rowboat!
Just to chime in that I too am still waiting for Dungeon #139.
And the last Dragon magazine I received was the one published after Dungeon #138 (number 347?), so I presume I should start considering that to be MIA also.
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Hi Vic,
I posted here about a week ago that I had received my copy of Dragon (348) but not Dungeon (139), and you replied that you'd get me 'fixed up'. Do you have any information on when I should expect to receive my copy of Dungeon from TPFG? They never replied to my e-mail (sent before I posted that message here).
(I won't call it a 'replacement' copy, as no copy was ever sent out in the first place!)
Thanks,
paz
Elizabeth and MarkB,
It's not clear if you're just telling us it hasn't arrived, and are content to wait patiently, or if you're asking for us to reship. If you'd like us to have it reshipped, please let us know.
Thanks!
-Vic.
.
Do I seperately need to flag up that my issues have also not arrived or will replacements be automatically shipped. I also find this very frustrating having had to request replacements at least once in the last year already. We in the UK seem to be suffering from particular probelms with the inability of The Place For Games to deliver on your contract. Perhaps someone should look at appointing another European distributor. The very fact that we have to post on these threads in order to get what we have already paid for is evidence of the need for a solution to this ongoing problem. As per my previous post I am grateful to you, Vic, and to Erik for taking the time to review these boards and to post here but clearly you have a long-term supplier issue that is not going away and needs to be addressed.
Thanks
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We in the UK seem to be suffering from particular problems with the inability of The Place For Games to deliver on your contract [...]
Don't misunderstand me, since I like UK very much, but it seems to me, when I read those boards, that for the last 10-12 months, there were lots of delivery problems all over Europe, and not just in the UK (I had to get a replacement for Dungeon issue 137 ; at least I received issue 139).
Since I have also seen suscribers from Sweden, Norway, Hungary, Germany, Ireland, Belgium, France and other european countries ..., and since I know their (I should say "our")subscriptions goes through TPFG also, that's not only in the UK that this feeling of unhappiness is slowly increasing.
I think everybody here, in Europe, tries to stay patient, however, but the frustration over not getting issue 139 (with the 1st STAP installment) was, and still is, much higher !!
I wish luck to other European suscribers still waiting for issue 139 ..., and a special luck to Union Jack's suscribers ;-)
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Chief Technical Officer
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Paz: I know we have made the request. I'm not personally the one who communicates with The Place for Games, but I'll check with the person who does to see if and when they gave him any feedback; if not, I'll have him follow up.
Medriev: Yes, please let us know specifically which issues you'd like to have reshipped.
Quijenoth: I'll have 139 reshipped.
All: Yes, we realize there are problems, and yes, those problems potentially affect all European customers. Again, we take it seriously, and we're working on it. We will get the problems fixed one way or another, and you will get what you've paid for. But it's not going to happen overnight, especially if we have to take more drastic measures. Legally speaking, we also aren't in a position where we can necessarily keep you informed about what's being discussed, but we will let you know when we have resolutions we can announce.
-Vic.
.
Can I ask an additional supplementary question please?
You're shipping me a "replacement" issue 139 - thats great. My question is where is this issue coming from? Are TPfG shipping it to me from within the UK, or is being shipped direct from Paizo in the US?
I ask as I'd like some rough idea as to when I should expect to hear the happy sound of a Dungeon issue dropping through my letterbox. Thanks :)
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Can I ask an additional supplementary question please?
You're shipping me a "replacement" issue 139 - thats great. My question is where is this issue coming from? Are TPfG shipping it to me from within the UK, or is being shipped direct from Paizo in the US?
I ask as I'd like some rough idea as to when I should expect to hear the happy sound of a Dungeon issue dropping through my letterbox. Thanks :)
Hi, when I got my replacement issue 137, it came directly from the States and Paizo !!
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Paz: I know we have made the request. I'm not personally the one who communicates with The Place for Games, but I'll check with the person who does to see if and when they gave him any feedback; if not, I'll have him follow up.
Thanks, that's much appreciated. I guessed that was probably the situation.
For the record, this is the first time I've had a problem in 18 months of subscribing to both magazines, beyond the usual time taken for shipping across the Atlantic and TPFG sometimes waiting to send both magazines out together.
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Chief Technical Officer
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There's still some stuff we have to chase down, but I do have some information I can share on the European shipping situation.
In order to save time and money in shipping, copies destined for European subscribers are shipped along with copies destined for UK hobby retail to a UK distributor, who then passes the subscriber copies on to The Place for Games.
For reason that aren't clear to us yet, that distributor didn't provide enough copies of Dungeon 139 to The Place for Games; when TPFG asked for additional copies, they made a typographical error, confusing the problem with a different issue, and it took a while longer before everyone figured out that they were talking about different things. At any rate, TPFG should be receiving their additional stock of 139 within the next couple of business days, and will ship them to subscribers as quickly as possible.
TPFG shipped all of the copies of 139 that they got; they shipped along with Dragon 348 because those issues arrived at TPFG at the same time. (We're also still trying to work out why Dragon 348 was delayed to TPFG.)
Paizo will be looking into the problems with the UK distributor, specifically trying to figure out why there were delays and shortages, and to prevent them in the future.
-Vic.
.
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TPFG shipped all of the copies of 139 that they got; they shipped along with Dragon 348 because those issues arrived at TPFG at the same time.
Gah, so it was just luck of the draw that meant I received one but not the other? Maybe if I changed my name to Aaron A. Aardvark I'd be first on the list in future!
Thanks for keeping us all in the loop Vic. It's good to know that things are getting there.
I wonder if the person who made the typographical error is the same person responsible for keeping TPFG's Paizo Magazine Status page up to date...
I wonder if the person who made the typographical error is the same person responsible for keeping TPFG's Paizo Magazine Status page up to date...
I expect the same person is also responsible for not replying to customer e-mails that are received by TPfG.
But then, to be fair, I expect they're kept pretty busy sending out spam e-mails telling us all about various Magic, Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh tournaments which TPfG organise.
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Chief Technical Officer
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I wonder if the person who made the typographical error is the same person responsible for keeping TPFG's Paizo Magazine Status page up to date...
Actually, it is. And the way he projects those "next issue" dates is that he just adds around a month to the date that the previous issues arrived (though it appears he added two months by mistake last time). He says they update that page when they have confirmation that their issues are on the way from the distributor, which is about two or three days before they actually get the issue. It's imprecise, but given that those issues have to clear customs (which is a variable-length process) before they get to him, I'm not sure if there's a way to be more precise.
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Actually, it is.
Heh! I was only joking about that page saying that the next issues will be posted in November, rather than October (as you noticed), and that the last issue of Dungeon sent out was #138 on 14 September, rather than #139.
At least the wait for #140 will (hopefully) be extra-short now!
There's still some stuff we have to chase down, but I do have some information I can share on the European shipping situation.
In order to save time and money in shipping, copies destined for European subscribers are shipped along with copies destined for UK hobby retail to a UK distributor, who then passes the subscriber copies on to The Place for Games.
For reason that aren't clear to us yet, that distributor didn't provide enough copies of Dungeon 139 to The Place for Games; when TPFG asked for additional copies, they made a typographical error, confusing the problem with a different issue, and it took a while longer before everyone figured out that they were talking about different things. At any rate, TPFG should be receiving their additional stock of 139 within the next couple of business days, and will ship them to subscribers as quickly as possible.
TPFG shipped all of the copies of 139 that they got; they shipped along with Dragon 348 because those issues arrived at TPFG at the same time. (We're also still trying to work out why Dragon 348 was delayed to TPFG.)
Paizo will be looking into the problems with the UK distributor, specifically trying to figure out why there were delays and shortages, and to prevent them in the future.
-Vic.
.
I have received neither Dungeon 139 nor Dragon 348 and am getting increasingly frustrated with my subscription. Will I get both within the next few days (nearly a month late), or do I have to wait longer for additional copies of Dragon. As others have posted above, The Place For Games has once again let down Paizo's customers and as a consequence is lowering my opinion of Paizo itself. You have two superb publications here which have gone from strength to strength under the current leadership but in Europe they are being let down by the poor service delivery of a third party. I would suggest a re-think of European distribution methods.
If additional copies of Dragon are not on their way could I request a replacement issue of Dragon 348 please. If Dungeon 139 does not arrive by Wednesday I will also be requesting a replacement of that issue as well. I may then get both within a month of the delivery date I have paid for.
Thanks
Elizabeth and MarkB,
It's not clear if you're just telling us it hasn't arrived, and are content to wait patiently, or if you're asking for us to reship. If you'd like us to have it reshipped, please let us know.
Thanks!
-Vic.
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I don't imagine it's going to show up if it hasn't by now, so yes, if you're prepared to reship it, I'd be very grateful.
*snip*
In order to save time and money in shipping, copies destined for European subscribers are shipped along with copies destined for UK hobby retail to a UK distributor, who then passes the subscriber copies on to The Place for Games.For reason that aren't clear to us yet, that distributor didn't provide enough copies of Dungeon 139 to The Place for Games;
*snip*
Firstly Vic thanks for the update - its nice at last to know what went wrong and whats being done to sort it out.
Can I clarify a few points about the chain of events and ask another question, since your explanation above leaves me frankly baffled still...
On 14th September TPfG finally received some copies of Dungeon (after they'd crossed the Atlantic in a rowboat :) ) but not enough to fulfil all the subscription orders.
TPfG sent out what copies they had and requested some more from somebody, but this message got lost somewhere along the way.
TPfG updated their webiste to say they had shipped the subscription copies of Dungeon (with no mention of any problems) even though this was untrue.
People complained - Paizo asked us to be patient as they were probably on their way and just delayed in the post.
We are forced to take Paizos word for this, since TPfG (who know they haven't even received the copies, let alone shipped them) have not updated their website, or posted to any of the threads here or in fact replied to any customer e-mails.
Two weeks later, as complaints continue to roll in, somebody here realises TPfG haven't sent the magazines out as they never received them and decides to send them some more stock.
My question is what is being done to improve customer service and customer communications in future?
Alot of the anger thats built up in this thread and elsewhere over the last 2-3 weeks could have been quite easily avoided if TPfG had been honest in the first place about the problems they faced (which weren't even of their own making) Instead they come across as a bunch of incompetent amateurs who don't care a toss for their customers (actually, for Paizos customers in fact)
And all this in the end reflects badly on Paizo.
We'll ask TPFG to be a bit better about communicating things and updating their website.
Dungeon 140 should be shipping imminently.
-Vic.
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Excellent - I'm concious of the fact I'm probably the most sarcastic and critical person posting in this thread so let me be the first to say thanks for this, a positive update that will hopefully head off future problems and also lead to me reading a Dungeon edition soon (not the one I was expecting necessarily, but it'll do)
I was about to ask about 140 also, so you've pre-empted me there, as I'm receiving product updates from UK stores listing Dungeon 140 as available here in the UK this week - glad to hear that copies are, from the sound of it, in the UK for subscriber distribution as well.
As an aside, how much extra do we owe Paizo for all the hard work put in getting those galleyslaves to row the copies across the Atlantic so quickly?*
* For the avoidance of doubt this is a joke in case anyone is too PC, self righteous (or just doesn't appreciate sarasm) to think its funny. I don't want to a) encourage slavery or b) pay more for my Dungeon subscription.
Paz: I know we have made the request. I'm not personally the one who communicates with The Place for Games, but I'll check with the person who does to see if and when they gave him any feedback; if not, I'll have him follow up.
Medriev: Yes, please let us know specifically which issues you'd like to have reshipped.
Quijenoth: I'll have 139 reshipped.
All: Yes, we realize there are problems, and yes, those problems potentially affect all European customers. Again, we take it seriously, and we're working on it. We will get the problems fixed one way or another, and you will get what you've paid for. But it's not going to happen overnight, especially if we have to take more drastic measures. Legally speaking, we also aren't in a position where we can necessarily keep you informed about what's being discussed, but we will let you know when we have resolutions we can announce.
-Vic.
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Vic
I have not received either Dungeon 139 or Dragon 348. Could I have replacements of these please.
Thanks
Paizo Magazine Status 3 Oct 2006
Below is the current status of all Paizo Publications for Europe
Dragon
Last Issue Sent: 348
Last Issue Sent on: 14th September 2006 (Projected Date: 11th September 2006)
Next issue due on: 13th October 2006Dungeon
Last Issue Sent: 140
Last Issue Sent on: 3rd October 2006 (Projected Date: 13th October2006)
Next issue due on: 6th November 2006
Good news on the issue 140 front - assuming they actually sent them all this time.
The race is on! 139 v 140! Which one will get here first? Or will they arrive in the same envelope?Last Issue Sent: 140
Last Issue Sent on: 3rd October 2006
Or will in fact the newly issued and replacement issues go missing as well?
Heres an e-mail I received from TPfG today, in reply I must point out to one I initially sent on 23rd September (11 day response time, nice)
----- Original Message -----
From: xxxxxx
To: xxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, October 04, 2006 6:34 PM
Subject: RE: Dungeon 139Hi xxx,
A replacement copy was sent today. Can you please let us know when it arrives?
We seem to have had a bag of magazines going missing last month, did you get 140 ok?
Cheers
xxx
Obviously I'm pleased to hear 139 is finally on its way, but I'm not really filled with confidence that Dungeon 140 is likely to arrive any time soon based on this message - but hey, lets wait and see.
Just to chime in that I too am still waiting for Dungeon #139.
And the last Dragon magazine I received was the one published after Dungeon #138 (number 347?), so I presume I should start considering that to be MIA also.
Well, Dungeon #140 arrived today, so that's good news. However, that pretty much confirms that Dragon #348 has also gone missing. I previously requested a reshipment of Dungeon #139 - could I add a request for Dragon #348?
Well, Dungeon #140 arrived today, so that's good news.Glad to hear it!!!
could I add a request for Dragon #348?Done.
-Vic.
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Whoops, cancel that request if it's not too late - Dragon 348 and Dungeon 139 just arrived this morning, via TPfG!
Sorry for putting you to extra trouble, and thanks very much for being so helpful and keeping us up to date on this.
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Okay, on the 20/09/2006 I posted I had not got 139/348. They where there when I got home in the same envelope. Possibly TPfG is waiting to mail them together to lower shipping/mail costs. I hope not, the point of subscripions is to get magazines early and for less as you are a guaranteed sale.
However Dungeon 140 turned up yesterday, 05/10/2006. Not sure what Paizo have done but possibly a suggestion to stop messing around consumers of their products may have been involved :) Anyway, I'll let people know when Dragon 349 arrives.
Thanks to Paizo for anything they did, ultimately TPfGs bad service is not directly their fault but clearly something seems to be happening. Still meant what I said about when the re-tender is up though.
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I recieved #139 and #140 in the post this morning.
Its pretty wet and misserable here today and as such the paper envelope they each arrived in had gotten wet. 139 was protected by the plastic bag (since it contained the Savage Tide map) but 140 has a bit of water damage around the edges :(
Any chance future releases could always be shipped in plastic bags to prevent this sort of damage in the future?
#140 arrived this morning. Still no sign of #139 or #348.