"It seemed like a dream come true when I found the CD "Merry Christmas/Frohe Weihnachten" (Vienna Boys Choir) for $1.99 + $3.99 shipping from NY state, where I live. I found the company thru Alibris, with whom I've been dealing for 1 month & overall am very satisfied. The listing for this CD showed the seller as "AwesomeBooksUSA," shipping from Valley Cottage (downstate). I had seen other CDs offered by "AwesomeBooksUK," but since they made the distinction, I thought nothing could go wrong. Boy was I wrong! On the same order thru Alibris, I ordered 6 other CDs from 4 other sellers. Interestingly, Awesome's CD was the first of the 7. I ordered on July 20. By July 27 (exactly 7 business days), the other 6 CDs had arrived safely; 3 on July 23, 1 on July 24, & 2 from Maryland on July 27. Still nothing from Valley Cottage, NY. Alibris's order showed that the CD in question shipped July 21st. I've had problems with our PO up here (sometimes things get into wrong mailboxes, sometimes our carrier can't (won't) place the package in our mailbox, & I have to go get it), so I thought I'd email Awesome & request tracking number. I will say that I emailed on July 27 & got a response from "Amy" on the 28th. She apologized, but went on to say that my CD had been mailed "Economy Delivery" (that's not USA, folks, it's UK) & therefore was not trackable. She assured me my package had been shipped on July 21st, & I should have it "in a few days." She signed the letter "Warmest Regards, Amy." I noticed that as short as the email was, it included British spelling (enquiry, for example); I also googled "Economy Delivery" and found out that was British. I thought there must have been a mistake made by somebody somewhere, so took steps to make sure I wasn't the foul ball by googling this company. I found out that both "Awesome" USA & UK are one and the same, and the self-serving website stated that this company ships the fastest way to get you your order. Huh? On July 27th I ordered from Alibris and BN more CDs (beat Christmas rush!); every order came in by Aug 3rd ( one single CD came from TN), equaling 7 business days. I decided to give Awesome 1 more week, since Alibris's FAQs stated that some items took 3 weeks. Fortunately my credit card that I used for the July 20th order hadn't arrived in my mailbox yet, so I didn't have to involve them yet. Tuesday morning August 4th I checked my email and was mystified to find another email from Awesome. It came into my emailbox in the wee small hours of AM (6:49). It informed me that my "recent email enquiry - Alibris Inquiry Order *** - has now been resolved. We hope that everything was resolved to your satisfaction." Excuse me, but did they place the order, or did I? I think it's up to me to say the situation has been resolved. I don't think any person sent that email. Subsequently I saw an email from Alibris, time-stamped earlier than Awesome's, requesting feedback on my order #5707285. If anyone hasn't dealt with Alibris, they do the same thing as Amazon; they have a list of your purchases with particulars on each order, with each item having a link "Please leave feedback on seller." As I stated earlier, I've been highly satisfied with most of them, and so have left glowing feedback for each. I took the opportunity, even tho I hadn't gotten Awesome's CD, to leave a poor review. I also sent an email to Alibris's customer service, since I was uncertain whether they would see my review. I have reason to believe that Alibris sent that email because it was exactly 2 weeks since I placed the order (we all know computers are good at counting time), & it was the only one I hadn't feedbacked. I cannot find fault with Alibris; I got an email back today (Aug 5) apologizing for the confusion. They stated that Awesome was such a large company that Alibris allowed them to ship from wherever they chose, provided the buyer knew and the expected delivery dates were accurate. I forgot to tell you that the original order stated "from 3-9 days" for delivery (that's July 23-July 29,or July 23-July 31 business days). Alibris is refunding my shipping costs as a result. It's a shame they have to allow this company to sell thru them. I have since gotten the CD (shipped from Britain, & with Customs sticker on it) & thank God, it is unharmed (did I mention this was used? It is). I think this company uses tricks to get orders, since NO WAY would I have ordered from Britain when this CD is available in the good ole' US of A. Under no circumstances will I order from them again, and plan to double-check any time I'm considering buying from a new company, lest they claim a double occupancy (USA and UK). Incidentally, if you google this company (all words running together: AwesomeBooksUSA), you will another link recounting other people's problems with them (if I had only known). I might be first here, but there are other stories.
"