x
anonymous 14 April 2005

Hey there!
I recently ordered a grace 101 preamp from sam ash (there is no distributor here in holland, and it was relatively cheap, especially considering the euro/dollar exchange)

However, although they charged my creditcard, my preamp hasn't arrived (after a month and 3 weeks) and they're not being clear at sam ash what's going on..I'm getting these automated replies saying either 'there is a problem with the shipment' or 'it's in backorder'..
they're not saying how long it will take though, and they never contacted me in the first place..I had to contact them..

As you can imagine, I'm getting pretty frustrated at this point.

Anyway, I'm just wondering if anyone else has had bad or good experiences with sam ash..

Comments

anonymous Thu, 04/14/2005 - 11:02

Sometimes when you get something shipped overseas they will hold it in customs.I've shipped alot of stuff out of the U.S. and some have been held up in customs. and usually theres no way to track that . I would not order from them again though if they couldn't tell me whats going on. From a dutchman to a dutchman "good luck"

anonymous Thu, 04/14/2005 - 11:20

Hi huub,
I also availed of the euro/dollar exchange rate about 3 months ago (preamp too, UA6176). I didnt buy from Sam Ash as they didnt offer an export service then, surprised to hear they are now. Anyway my experience was while internet shopping, that a lot of the stores only order the item from the manufacturer after your funds have cleared, Naturally enough they are none too keen to tell you this and it does add considerably to the time it takes to reach you
:evil:
What did make the situation more bearable in my case was that I was able to track my order on its bizarre route to my door via the UPS online service, after the shop finally despatched it.
It was worth it in the end,I saved a lot of money over European prices 8-)

John Stafford Thu, 04/14/2005 - 14:19

What sort of shipping did you get? Maybe it differs from country to country, but UPS stuff shouldn't get impounded as they have their own customs clearance (one of the reasons it's so expensive). USPS large packages get transferred to the local equivalent of UPS when they arrive here, and that seems to be quite fast.

Small packages that come through ordinary US post can take from a week to more than a month.

A lot of the large packages I've received from the US have entered the European Union through Amsterdam, so it's a little strange that the it would take so long in your case.

On the basis of my experience, I'd be inclined to ring Sam Ash. If anything has been posted, they should be able to find out where it has gone astray. Shipping companies generally won't deal with recipients. I was once waiting over a month for a package from the UK (by ParcelForce), but I contacted the seller and they were able to find out that the parcel had been mis-routed, and it came a couple of days later.

Good Luck! Sam Ash is a reputable company, so I'm sure everything will work out eventually. It's not like buying off e-bay. Still, it's excruciating to have to wait for anything to arrive!

John

PS My brother once got a delivery from the UK through normal post in four hours! Anyone working in the post office will say that's impossible, but good things can happen too!

Sidhu Fri, 04/15/2005 - 08:37

I once ordered the MC012 pair from Sound Room. Shipped via USPS. Arrived in India within a week, and then got stuck with the customs... The customs here send you a notice via snailmail. And mine somehow got a bit delayed in arriving. The sound room ppl. were cooperative and told to me to first check customs. The USPS online tracking was not accurate.

Sidhu

anonymous Wed, 04/20/2005 - 10:50

anytime i goto sam ash (here in mayfield, ohio) i end up waiting 20 mins to get rung up, even for one little item or something... after being ping-ponged from desk to desk until i find someone who knows how to work the register. i Always tell myself i'll never go back, but i usually do... and the same thing happens...

x

User login