Box Set: Under Great White Northern Lights

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runofthemill
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Re: Box Set: Under Great White Northern Lights

Post by runofthemill »

Did you get a verbal spanking? :lol:
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higherlimits
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Re: Box Set: Under Great White Northern Lights

Post by higherlimits »

Kaber wrote:
CandyCaneKid wrote:Like I said, I don't want to worry anyone; however, I am now considering my alternatives. Everything may be all well and good, and we could all ave our box sets in a week or two - but I want to be braced for the possibility that it won't happen.

I'm not sure how much weight to put into this, but I also got some info from a record store owner who I've been bugging on e-bay. He has 12 copies of the box set, 6 available on e-bay. He claims he was able to score a lot of copies because he knows a sales rep at Warner Brothers (but then again, shouldn't every record store owner know a WB sales rep?). He also tells me "they have one more shipment of these" (not sure what that means exactly, but does suggest there are more left) and he claims they only made 2,000 - which I suppose would just be for the US version.
If he is correct, then there are some left. If not, at least e has them for sale at a decent price.

I will report back when WB gets back to me.
There are more that 3500 WB ones from what I heard.

For those who ordered more than one boxset and were Vault members at the time it's one slipmat per member NOT boxset.

This was made clear to me in an email from Third Man today where it was reiterated this was a GIFT and was one per person.
Member or account?
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Kaber
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n/a

Post by Kaber »

n/a
Last edited by Kaber on Wed Aug 24, 2011 9:14 pm, edited 2 times in total.
hawke000

Re: Box Set: Under Great White Northern Lights

Post by hawke000 »

Kaber wrote:
runofthemill wrote:Did you get a verbal spanking? :lol:
I got an email which crossed the line and got far too personal
calling me and my parents ( one is no longer with us ) into disripute.

I've asked for my membership to be terminated and my pre orders cancelled.

Goodbye Vault.
Good Lord...

Care to air out the dirty laundry?
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runofthemill
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Re: Box Set: Under Great White Northern Lights

Post by runofthemill »

Yikes..... :|
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Kaber
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Post by Kaber »

n/a
Last edited by Kaber on Wed Aug 24, 2011 9:15 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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ochfish707
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Re: Box Set: Under Great White Northern Lights

Post by ochfish707 »

I'm hoping for 2 slipmats but only because we've got 2 vault memberships.

it wasn't stated that it was per preorder but i assumed it was 1 per vault name.
'i'm taking my ball and going home'
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Hamptonio
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Re: Box Set: Under Great White Northern Lights

Post by Hamptonio »

i'm really sorry to hear that, kaber.
<JackWhite> Hamptonio: yes, and tell the lovely wife that i really love the pot pie recipe. i can't get enough LOL! anyway, let me know when you get that package of test pressings i sent you.
PersecutionSmith
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Re: Box Set: Under Great White Northern Lights

Post by PersecutionSmith »

Hi all,
This thread was emailed to me, and I normally refrain from joining in fan discussions and fan sites but I feel in response to Kaber's comments a little explanation on my part is necessary.
I will try to be clear and fair about this.

Chris emailed this morning asking if he would get additional slipmats for each boxset he ordered. I tried to explain it was one per member, not order. As seen in the email below.

Hi,
Your wife's will come with her Vault package. The slipmats were always one per Vault member, not per boxset.

Cheers,
Ben

If it seems a little curt it is because I get quite a few customer service emails on a daily basis to answer along with my regular duties at Third Man. Which is a lot. I do believe though direct, it is polite.
I then received 5 MORE emails from Chris asking about multiple slipmats, including confirmations of the box set orders. In one of the emails he mentioned if I gave him an extra he would be 'discreet'.
I should point out that we often receive complaints from Chris on his orders and Vault shipments and his tone is often less than polite.

At this point I felt it was necessary to explain to him that the box sets were manufactured and sold through Warner Brothers. It is not a Third Man release and that the slipmat is a GIFT from us. We don't make money from it, it's just a gift. Anyway, at the end of the email I made a joke asking if he asked for more gifts on his birthday when he was a kid. Keep in mind that I had already explained to him it was one per member, he then sent 5 more emails about it...
He took great offense at the joke, as one of his parents is deceased, and I immediately apologized. He then canceled his Vault subscription and asked for refunds on his outstanding pre-orders. Which we are doing.

I thought that would be end of it, but here he is posting about it on a public forum, leaving out much of the information and also accusing me of putting him and his parents in disrepute. WHICH I NEVER DID.
Anyway, this is all kind of ridiculous.... Back to your regularly scheduled program.
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love_islander
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Re: Box Set: Under Great White Northern Lights

Post by love_islander »

Never a dull moment 'round these parts
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Tonic&Gin
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Re: Box Set: Under Great White Northern Lights

Post by Tonic&Gin »

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I find this amusing.
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chris_moore9
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Re: Box Set: Under Great White Northern Lights

Post by chris_moore9 »

sounds like a misunderstanding, kiss and make up guys.
CandyCaneKid
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Re: Box Set: Under Great White Northern Lights

Post by CandyCaneKid »

I'm pretty frustrated with the way WB has handled the distribution and customer service with this box set. As I mentioned, I placed my order last week (the evening of the 24th). Everything went through fine, they charged my card, and sent me a confirmation e-mail. The confirmation e-mail was the first mistake they made. Despite ordering the box set well after the release date, they told me my box set would arrive on or around March 16th - great job on that WB.

I e-mailed them the next day to to ask if I could upgrade to priority shipping, and to see if I would get a tracking number. They didn't answer me about the upgrade, but did tell me I wouldn't get a tracking number. It took several days for them to even get back to me.

Yesterday afternoon I got the following e-mail from WB:

_________________________________________________________

Dear Customer;

Thank you for your recent order. The items listed below have not shipped and are currently on back order:

The White Stripes, "Under Great White Northern Lights Box Set"

We expect to ship within the next 1-2 weeks. It is quite possible that we could ship earlier.

If you wish to cancel your order or have other questions regarding your order please send an email to wbr@b3custserv.com.

Thank you for shopping with us.

____________________________________________________________

The e-mail states that the item could ship earlier, but fails to mention that it might not ship at all. I was concerned, as I mentioned a few pages back, that a "limited edition" shouldn't be on back order. If a limited edition is all gone, you can't really order more. So, I sent them the following e-mail yesterday afternoon:

____________________________________________________________

Hello again,

I recently received an e-mail informing me that the item I purchased (the White Stripes Box Set) is currently on backorder. I just wanted to confirm that the item will eventually come in. I have no problem waiting an extra week or two for the item to ship; however, if two weeks go by and I am suddenly informed that the item is no longer available, I will be an unhappy customer. The only reason I bother to inquire is because this box set is a "limited edition." If you are confident that there are more on the way, that is great, I can wait. However, if there is some question as to whether or not I will receive the box set at all, then I might consider purchasing it from a third party, as I do not want to miss out on this opportunity.

Thank you.

___________________________________________________________

I checked my e-mail this morning, but had yet to get a response. On my lunch break I went to the ATM, where I discover that my account has about $250 more than it did yesterday. The charge from WB was gone. Not refunded, but simply eliminated, like it never happened. At this point, I had not asked them to cancel my order or refund my money.

So, I check my e-mail to find that WB has gotten back to me. Here is what they said:

___________________________________________________________

Dear Customer;

We are making every effort to fulfill all orders for this item, however because it is limited edition, we can not guarantee all orders will be fulfilled.

The orders will be filled in the order in which they are received.


Sincerely,
Warner Bros Records Online Customer Support

___________________________________________________________

They made no mention of the fact that my money had been refunded, nor did they actually give any clarity on exactly what is going on. My order still says it is "In Process," despite the fact that they gave me my money back (without me asking).

I think the most frustrating part is that you can still order the box set from WB. If you go to the White Stripes website it says "Available Now" and you can go right ahead and order the box set.

None of this makes much sense. Especially since I spoke with a retailer that claimed "they only made 2,000" of them, and since he knows a rep at WB, he has 12 copies on hand. I doubt 2,000 is the actual number (but I would like them to actually reveal how many there are), but why does he get 12 of them, when most stores didn't get any? I've called every record store (big and small) within a 90 minute drive of my house, none of them have it.
So, the people who are actually trying to purchase this can't get it anymore, but there is some store out in the midwest that has 12 sitting on the shelf - great distribution WB.

Anyway, I went ahead and asked them for a refund (just in case they were planning on re-charging me if/when they actually sent it out).


Maybe WB will come through, and they will fill all the orders. But if you haven't purchased this, or you are still waiting on it to arrive, you might want to have a back-up plan ready.

tl;dr: Warner Brothers sucks, if you live in the US and haven't gotten the box set, start looking to purchase it from a third party.
Last edited by CandyCaneKid on Thu Apr 01, 2010 12:57 am, edited 2 times in total.
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candycaneboy03
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Re: Box Set: Under Great White Northern Lights

Post by candycaneboy03 »

blimey, i'm on hold right now.... i'm calling them to check what the status of mine is... i sent it back last week, it arrived saturday, but they have yet to even confirm via email or call that they've recieved it.... nor have they said anything for that matter... and everytime i call, i just talk to a lady, (who's fairly nice for that matter) and tells me that she'll just send a note to HQ and so i continue to wait.... i would really like to talk to someone who actually KNOWS something...
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CandyCaneKid
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Re: Box Set: Under Great White Northern Lights

Post by CandyCaneKid »

^That sucks man. I feel for you. My situation sucks, but that is even more unfortunate. I empathize with you.

I will try to play the optimist for you:

Maybe the reason orders like mine are being held-up is because quantities are limited, and they want to make sure that all the replacements get dealt with before they can be sure they have enough to ship out to the unfilled orders.

Either way, let us know what they have to say. And if you happen to talk to someone who knows anything, try to get an estimate of how many box sets were made/are still available/what the hell is going on.

You can still try to order the box set from Target. It is on sale, but not currently in-stock (should arrive in 2-4 weeks, which is what it has said since the box set came out). Barnes and Noble is pretending to have it as well; its pretty cheap too, but I doubt you'll ever get it.
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