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Hello again. Its October 20th here in freezing Canada. I havent recieved my issue of Dungeon yet. This is my first subscription so I dont know if it usually takes this long. I suspect my post man but once again I could just need meds. Could someone please tell me if I am missing my issue or if it is still in route. In an aside its a royal pain in my celtic arse that my players bought theirs off the rack and started telling me about the adventures in it. Anywhoo, Praise Paizo in all its glory.
Hello again. Its October 20th here in freezing Canada. I havent recieved my issue of Dungeon yet. This is my first subscription so I dont know if it usually takes this long. I suspect my post man but once again I could just need meds. Could someone please tell me if I am missing my issue or if it is still in route. In an aside its a royal pain in my celtic arse that my players bought theirs off the rack and started telling me about the adventures in it. Anywhoo, Praise Paizo in all its glory.
I live in Winnipeg and haven't gotten mine yet either. This is also the first issue of my subscription, so likewise, I don't know what is normal. 140 has been in the stores for quite a while now, though.
Guys..it definitely a national delivery issue, not local..I've got no issue 140 in Edmonton either. Wic in another thread indicated he was sending me a replacement ..which I hope will arrive soon..
In any case Canada Post seems to be getting worse and worse..not sure why..
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It does indeed seem to be a US-Canada issue. I've held off commenting this month--but no more.
Issue 139 was mailed out Aug 24th. I recieved it on Sept. 29th--36 days later!
I have been told that the mags are sent 3rd class, hence their tardy delivery in the Great White North.
On the behalf of the Paizo staff, Vic, a hard-working individual whose job I do not covet (as he has to deal with posts from recalcatrant slobs like me), sent me out a replacement copy on Sept. 19th--the same day that issue #140 was sent out.
That issue, the replacement issue, arrived on Oct 6th--17 days after it was sent through the so-called First Class mailing system. It would not appear that the first-class mail is really much better than third class.
As I write, it has been 34 days since #140 was mailed out, and no mag yet.
Vic, I wasn't going to say a thing until the previous 36-day time-period had elapsed. However, I now see that some of my fellow Canuckleheads seem to share my same concern.
I do not believe that this is an issue within any one of our individual mailing areas. This is not an issue of our local postie taking a liking to our mags and stealing them (as excellent a read as they may be). This appears instead to be an (inter)national problem.
Vic, if Paizo can't service us Canadians in a timely fashion, then just say so. Don't offer us subscriptions if you can't deliver them in a timely fashion.
I don't want to cancel my subscription. Until about a year ago I felt well-serviced. I love the mags, and I really love the additional attention to detail the Paizo staff lends to the readership. You guys are great! Really!
However, if there are events which are beyond your control (of which I'd love to hear the details) that make it dfficult/impossible to give us in Canada or beyond the same level of service afforded to those in the Lower 48, then let us know. At least then, we can act accordingly.
Thanks, anyway.
This is going to sound odd, but...
I've just got my issue #140. I'm in Australia. For me, this is a record for swift delivery. Indeed, it's so swift that #140 has lapped issue #139 which hasn't arrived yet. (I'm not yet worried; Issue #137 turned up one day after #138 last time.)
Mind you, just a note to the Paizo people out there: a recent mailing label had been misprinted so that the left-hand letters had fallen off the left side of the label.
Apparently
erric Blackman
60 *** Rd
aubra Victoria ****
ustralia
was enough to reach me. I foolishly threw away the label before I could scan it to show you. (Stupid me!)
Cheers,
Merric
Now I'm wondering... I have a lot of magazine subscriptions - are they all late in arriving or is it just Dungeon? I don't follow the shipping dates for other magazines like I do with Dungeon or take notice of when they arrive. Its not like I'm waiting with baited breath for the next issue of National Geographic. It gets here when it gets here. When you're due to run the next installment of an adventure path on Saturday night and you haven't received it yet you tend to pay a bit more attention to your mail box.
I have noticed a marked decline in the efficiency of Canada Post in recent years though. I once sent a draft of my Ph.D. thesis to my supervisor in Saskatoon (800 km away) and it took more than a month to get there! I could have hand-carried it on foot faster than that. The next time I sent it via Express Post and it never arrived at all. So I've got a pretty good idea who is to blame for my missing Dungeon. Just try to get them to do something about it though. Someone at Canada Post needs a good swift kick in the @$$.
Chief Technical Officer
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I've just looked at the best data we have for measuring subscription delivery failures, which is the number of reship requests we have for any given issue. (The numbers I'm discussing are indicators of claimed late delivery as well as non-delivery.)
Specifically, I looked at reship requests for Dungeon 133–140. What I found is that the worldwide total percentage of reship requests ranges from .4% to 1.1% of copies shipped. (That latter figure is 139, an issue with known delivery problems, including a late shipment from the printer and a fire on a truck carrying several dozen subscriber copies to New York state. Dropping that issue out gets us a flat 1% failure at worst).
In Canada, the reship requests, as a percentage of Canadian subscriber copies, range from .17% to 4.02%—and those two data points were consecutive issues (136 and 137)! Obviously that last figure is pretty bad, but then the fact that the reship requests the previous issue were only .17%—less than half of the next-best number on the entire chart—indicate that the problem isn't chronic—it's random.
Further, I suspect that the failure rates we're seeing would be considered very low by both Canada Post and the USPS. The USPS publishes their service performance results online, and, while they don't mention Periodicals performance, the best number on the page is 97%, and that's for Express Mail. (Their lowest number is a stunning 42%, which represents 3-day parcels.)
Nevertheless, we'll make some inquiries with the printer regarding Canadian shipping, but I suspect, like many of you do, that the answer will be "Yeah, Canada Post isn't very good."
Vic, if Paizo can't service us Canadians in a timely fashion, then just say so. Don't offer us subscriptions if you can't deliver them in a timely fashion.
Here's the problem. I don't know that we *can't* service you in a timely fashion. I know we're doing our best, and are successfully servicing the vast majority of you. I guess I just have to turn the question back to you—if you think we can't service you, cancel your subscription.
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Let's look at the 1st class turnaround for the replacement issue. It took 17 days (over two weeks) for the mag to reach me.
As a point of comparison, back when my Grandpa had a trailor in Bradenton Fla. in the 60s-70's, his letters reached me in less than 4 days, and vice-versa.
Obviously, those days are over. However, is it to be considered normal these days for 1st class mailing to take over two weeks to be delivered across the border?
Is this difficulty the price of "Homeland Security," or is the problem just the result of the general ineptness of two govt postal services in these instant-message days?
I realize that the "security" issue might reach way beyond Paizo's perview. However, perhaps the assembled readership might wish to discuss/reflect on the subject.
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BTW: You can consider this my official request for a replacement issue for #140. I've already read the "Bullywug Gambit" (courtesy of a friend's son who had already purchased it in a local gaming store). It's terrific!
I'm still running Whispering Cairn but I'm already practicing talking like a pirate.
You Paizo guys are doing great work. Please understand, that despite my shipping complaints, I love everything else about you. Your on-line support is unsurpassed. I can't imagine of any other site where the writers/editors regularly get on-line with the faithful readership to discuss ambiguities/difficulties in the APs.
Cheers!!!
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Chief Technical Officer
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David,
I'm reshipping 140, but you may be right that we may not be able to service you in particular much longer, through no fault of ours and no fault of yours. If Canada Post can't get your mail as quickly as you want, maybe you really should be buying your issues at retail.
-Vic.
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Wow, I didn't even realize my #140 was this late (I'm playing ST, not DMing, so it hasn't been foremost on my thoughts). Consider this my official request for a replacement for #140. The first Dragon of my new subscription is approaching a month, itself. Huh. I'll be patient with that, though.
As an aside, the 3 issues I've had replaced over the years have always eventually made it to me, but weeks to months after the replacement comes and always in condition that looks like it went through 20 rounds with Warduke. :)
Thanks, Vic. As has been said already, you guys rule. USPS/Customs/CP drool.
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Director of Sales
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Wow, I didn't even realize my #140 was this late (I'm playing ST, not DMing, so it hasn't been foremost on my thoughts). Consider this my official request for a replacement for #140. The first Dragon of my new subscription is approaching a month, itself. Huh. I'll be patient with that, though.
As an aside, the 3 issues I've had replaced over the years have always eventually made it to me, but weeks to months after the replacement comes and always in condition that looks like it went through 20 rounds with Warduke. :)
Thanks, Vic. As has been said already, you guys rule. USPS/Customs/CP drool.
I'll get a replacement sent out ASAP.
Thanks,
cos
I live in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada and I just got issue 138 in the mail yesterday! (Oct 30th)
I had received issue 139 a while ago and I still haven't received issue 140.
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Hmmm, I too have not received my #140 but as I am also playing in ST I am not that concerned... However, it would be nice if we could get an answer on whether it truly is the ineptness of the two postal services or if this is the price of "Homeland Security". Please note that I am not requesting a replacement issue at this time as I did eventually get my #139, I will be patient a while longer; however I have also not received my Dragon#349 and I see that #350 was shipped (also not requesting a replacement at this time). It would interesting to know if this also applies to any cross border periodicals or just these two.
I ended up getting Dungeon#140 and Dragon#349 yesterday (Nov. 2)
Hmmm, I too have not received my #140 but as I am also playing in ST I am not that concerned... However, it would be nice if we could get an answer on whether it truly is the ineptness of the two postal services or if this is the price of "Homeland Security". Please note that I am not requesting a replacement issue at this time as I did eventually get my #139, I will be patient a while longer; however I have also not received my Dragon#349 and I see that #350 was shipped (also not requesting a replacement at this time). It would interesting to know if this also applies to any cross border periodicals or just these two.
This is something that I have been pondering lately. I subscribe to more than a dozen magazines and journals - many from the U.S. and some from Europe. I have never suffered from non-delivery of any other periodical, only Dungeon. Despite my growing dissatisfaction with Canada Post, this leads me to believe that other factors may be involved.
What I'm wondering is whether the name 'Dungeon' is raising red flags either with U.S. Homeland Security or Canada Customs. Is it possible some zealot has decided that this is a magazine devoted to imprisonment and torture, or maybe S&M?It would be interesting to know how delivery of Dungeon compares to Dragon, and how delivery of Paizo magazines compares to magazines from other publishers. As an aside, I ordered the Savage Tide Player's guide back in August and it arrived in less than two weeks. I subscribed to Dungeon at the same time and have not received an issue yet.
I'd sure like to know what is going on, but without more data, speculation is futile.
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That's an interesting point Sean. Is some bureaucrat on one side of the border (or both sides) red-flagging Dungeon?
Not to delve to deeply into conspiracy theory, but my Dragon mags also uniformly arrive quite late. (I'm still waiting for the latest issue.) I'm wondering now whether there's some neo-con/religious-right nut in a position of authority who is still convinced D&D is a tool of the devil and is holding things up.
Hmmmm...Conspiracy...Cons--PIRACY...Savage Tides AP....Hmmmm...
IT ALL FITS!!!!
Vic,
I still haven't recieved issue 140, Its been six weeks since the first one was supposed to have been shipped, and 2 1/2 weeks since you guys sent me a replacement.
What is the normal time delay for replacements?
I'm trying to be patient but its just not in my nature and every day the mail box is empty, well it makes me want to go postal.
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Chief Technical Officer
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What is the normal time delay for replacements?
Usually less than a week to Canada, but lately Canada Post seems to be taking forever to deliver *anything*, whether it's sent Periodicals rate from our midwest printer, or a faster method from our office near Seattle.
I can confirm that your replacement copy went out on 10/17.
-Vic.
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Usually less than a week to Canada, but lately Canada Post seems to be taking forever to deliver *anything*, whether it's sent Periodicals rate from our midwest printer, or a faster method from our office near Seattle.-Vic.
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In case you're interested, my replacement copy of 140 arrived within two weeks of being sent.
I think the blame would have to be laid upon the canadian P.O.
As you may know, I live in Europe (Germany, to be exact), and the magazines take about three to four weeks, rather reliable, even if you take into account that they have to be shipped (literally) across the Atlantic and re-shipped by the european distributor. Other european posters report the same time frame regularly. So, if it is possible to ship it from the U.S. overseas to europe within three-four weeks, the problem probably rests not in the U.S., much less at paizo. (the latter was not suggested by the posters here, but still merits mention)
Stefan
I can confirm that your replacement copy went out on 10/17.-Vic.
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Hi Vic,
you want a good laugh..they both arrived today in the mailbox together..6 1/2 weeks for the original and 23 days for the replacement. Blows my mind..its like they were in someones in basket at customs or something for 3-4 weeks..
I forgot to post when I received my tardy #139 and its replacement. The original arrived first on Tuesday of last week, I think, and the replacement arrived this past Monday. The original shipped sometime in September whereas its replacement was shipped on October 17th, I think. Now here is the strange thing. I just receive my copy of issue #141 YESTERDAY and it was shipped out the 14th of October.
This is truly strange and I am starting to wonder if Canada Post has been taken over by a cult of union-worshipping scoundrels. I remember that years ago I could send a letter to relatives in Brasil and it would take less than 3 weeks for it to arrive. To Brasil! It's bad enough that the delivery guys who now are working for the warehouse distribution centre for my company are so lazy (and I do mean lazy) that I have to use the bloody doileys to cart in 99 boxes myself while working the store by myself and now Canada Post is going downhill. I have a bad feeling that this holiday season is going to be hellish for those who work in retail.
CB out.