Anybody else bid on something - Win it - and then find out that It was never in stock?

I find it troubleing that this happened to me I call 3 weeks after the item was alledgedly won & find out that they don't have the item.This has happened a couple of times to me. The 1st time was a lot of cigars . the 2nd time was not cigars & in fact was a rather large item that would be difficult to loose in a humidor. So the moral of the story fellas if you want to bid on a item maybe you should call before bidding. Otherwise your just setting the market for somebody else.

UH-OH!

i don't see this turning out to be a good thread.

You probably should leave and never come back.

You don't have to take that crap!

Thanks for the heads up!

Don't let the screen door hitcha'....

pms1... I've never had this problem that you speak of?? i've had a couple orders that took a bit longer then another one... but everything was worked out through customer service here... they're a great group of folks who if you would have gone through in the first place.. you probably wouldn't be getting the flaming from the fans of CBid that you so deservingly need for your post!!!!!

Hog

Wouldn't it just be easier to resolve this issue with Customer Service than to place a gripe in open forum?

Just a thought.

Hi PM,

I had an issue recently with a humidor, and yes, it was frustrating. I was under the same impression you where- it is all in stock and they just have to box it up and send it out the door.

Sometimes things happen. In my case, the humi got caught up in Customs. Damn Americans trying to keep a humi full of anthrax out of my basement. There is very little CBid could do about that.

I contacted Customer Service and on each occasion, they answered within 24 hours with an update as best they could. Yes, I was disappointed that it took 22 days when I thought it was in stock, but its here now and its great.

I hope for your own good you have been in touch with the Cbid staff before you posted this. If you are unhappy, they will do the best to make things right.

You have probably been ruled out for Customer of the Year honors now, so I hope your rant was worth it. If it makes you too crazy, you can always go to the parent site or a competitor, pay more and see how that goes. That's the cool thing about being in America- freedom of choice.

8

pmn1

email sent

I think pmn has pms...

Quit yer whinin'. No sissy boys(or girls) allowed.

Later.....Erik

Maybe I was unclear

There was no product to take bids on.

the item was a golf locker - not a carojo

they said that they had two - not one

The item is not backordered - "they are not getting any more"

Customer service responce was ahh sorry

I just thought you should know - in case it starts happening more frequently

pmn1 - To answer your question about how backorders occur, here is an explanation from our webmaster, Gonz. It was posted to the forum when the same question was asked there…

“Here an attempt to explain what has happened here (I'll be the sacrificial lamb for you guys, so bring it on):

”We inspect every box as it comes into our inventory. We then take a physical inventory of product as it is posted for auction. (Unfortunately we can't open each box and inspect every single stick.) Orders then come in up to a week after an auction closes (with our weekly shipping option.) So, it could be up to 2 weeks since the auction was posted and the order is ready to go out the door. So, how does that explain why a backorder happens? Good question, I'm glad you asked. Let me give you an example.

”Our system says "10 boxes Acid Root". When it comes time to actually pick the 10th box (which could be a week later for our weekly shippers), you find either:

1. It's damaged for whatever reason (crushed box, opened box, etc.)

2. It's missing (or missing sticks) b/c our CSRs sent Joe Customer an Acid Root yesterday b/c he said the box he opened was stale.

”We work very hard to keep every customer 100% satisfied with our service and try to react to any issue immediately. Unfortunately, backorder situations happen for a variety of reasons that are either out of our control or a direct result from an attempt to keep our customers satisfied.”

While his explanation is for cigars, the same things goes for merchandise. Did the representative you spoke with/email offer you something else? If not, give me a call and I'll see what I can do for you.

Dear Trish

thanks for your concerned & intelligent reply. To answer your question no no one offered an alternative other than sorry.I appreciate the responses from your loyal customers i'm sure that you have earned that type of responce. However when dealing with sellers & buyers over the internet. your reputation is everything. I purchase alot of goods on ebay. If one is unsatisfied with how a transaction is handled there is a venue to deal with it and all the other buyers and sellers can be put on notice and act accordingly.This site has no such way to deal with problems so I felt it necessary to use the forum.I will be calling. TX.

Each site has their own way of handling issues. The E site you mentioned uses the system they use because: 1) they are neither the buyer nor the seller; 2) there are millions of transactions going on at any given time, thus it would be way too much for them to handle.

This site uses good, old-fashioned "if there is a problem, we fix it" customer service.

Each system has is advantages/disadvantages. One of the best guidelines for shopping online is to check out the site before buying something. If you're not happy with how they handle "issues", then don't buy anything in the first place. Of course, you probably had no idea that something like this could/would happen. I can assure you its rare. I also have a hard time believing that the folks at CBid will let you walk away unsatisfied.

Just my opinion.

I'm eating eggplant baba ghannouj right now.

I'd like to point out to you that if you log on, there is a nifty little link called "Customer Service Request" which allows you to deal with any problems without posting on the forum. Check it out, I've used it with great success.

Secondly, check out the "Help" section and read the tab "Fine Print" (which you should have before signing up). They address your problem directly. Aw Hell, here is a Copy and Paste verbatim.

5) Auction Changes

CigarBid.com reserves the right to change posted quantities, remove from sale or re-offer items that were previously withdrawn. We also reserve the right to close auctions early or to extend auctions at any time and at our discretion. Posted closing times and displays of CigarBid's current time are approximate and based on eastern standard time.

I also noticed a handy little email address in the Help section ([email protected]) which encourages your use.

Maybe you should think twice about challanging an already sterling reputation until after you understand the contract you signed on to.

Also, mentioning a competitor (the E site) is a no-no. You would know that if you read the site rules.

5) Auction Changes

CigarBid.com reserves the right to change posted quantities, remove from sale or re-offer items that were previously withdrawn. We also reserve the right to close auctions early or to extend auctions at any time and at our discretion. Posted closing times and displays of CigarBid's current time are approximate and based on eastern standard time.

Thanks for your input

But nowhere in this language does it deal with listing an item, until the auction concludes,the item was won. not removed ,not relisted, not backordered ,not closed early or extended.

But thanks again for your input. oh by the way i'm going to prey for myself so I don't say the E word again. Hey did I say thanks for the imput.

"Author: rogerf@cigarbid Date: 02/28/2005

pmn1

email sent

_____________________________________________________

Roger made himself pretty clear in his post??

after giving it some thought... I do recall a time when one of the items I purchased at Auction and they were out of those items... I was given the option after the order shipped to me and "I contacted customer service about it shipping short" I could wait for that Item to come in and they would contact me that it was in or I could just be without it... I think it wasn't cigars but I lighter? anyway they had not billed me for it on that order and I just let it go...

but I did take the issue up with customer service and not the open forum as you are doing...

when Roger posted saying "email sent" I thought to myself Rog ruined a chance for all us posters to really flame yer azz.... Not now however.... you opened mouth and inserted foot and seem to be determined to badmouth a customer service in open forum rather then handle the matter civilly and proper way through email or 1-800.... you deserve to be flamed!!!!!!!!!

head back over to the E place your not happy hear... leaves more for the rest of us... Probably a frickin overbidder anyways?

Hog

Gee Hog Isn't this fun

What other forum could one as enlightened as yourself express yourself without somebody walking away in mid sentence.

But hey thanks for your input.

He must be an idiot, he corrected you on your blunder. Damn his stupidity. Thanks to your "enlightened" post I now know how terrible both Cigarbid and USAHog are. I'll sleep better tonight after receiving your wizened input.

Hog has been a respected poster for years. I'm glad you can show your true colors so early on in your posting career.