There Are Pandas, and Then There Are Pandas.
And this isn't either of them! The Pandas we're talking about here, are watches, not bears. And what got me thinking about them (again) was a link posted this morning by @cm.rook who pointed a few of us to the very attractive (and not terribly priced) Yema "Rallygraph" Panda which, in it's most traditional arrangement, looks like the one on the left, but can also be had in the version on the right: The model on the left is a true Panda, while the model on the right is called a reverse Panda. The reason for that distinction is clear--Panda bears, only come in the first arrangement. Now at this point, everyone should be thinking about the most well-know Panda, The Rolex Panda, which is actually a Daytona, and among Rolex Daytonas, the most famous of which is the Paul Newman Daytona, which was famous first, because it was Paul's, and second because it sold at auction for $17.8 million (US Dollars). The story of that auction is well-known so I'll only...
Nov 8, 2019
This is flat out UNACCEPTABLE. I pay premium, and the worst shopping company/speed/methid is used just to squeeze out a few extra dollars out of me. With time and now extreme frustration, I'm most certainly paying that fee. Hear me, I will be thinking very long and hard before ever clicking 'Join Drop' going forward.
I used to have such brand loyalty for you guys. Just look at each and every personal referral I've brought to the fold. Personally selling them all on how great and novel this business and it's business model is. Reassuring them that no, it's not MLM or a pay for membership club. Just like minded savers who value finding great products, and paying a good price for them. A win / win / win - for the customer, the manufacturer, and MassDrop.
Now, more and more I'm seeing prices that are sometimes higher, but more often, are right around the cost of large, trusted retailers. Where I don't have to wait a month for the drop to end, and certainly don't have to personally absorb the risk of /no return,/final sale. Then to throw some salt in the woind, making sure to grind it deep and right in there...THIS garbage, where the cheapest shipping method is utilized. By the way, I'm not located overseas. I'm not even on the Western seaboard. I'm in a Western state I could DRIVE to the distribution center in half the time it's expected to reach me...NEXT MONTH.
Months for a drop to complete, then to use the cheapest vendor possible to save a few pennies. When I reached out to them to discuss my concerns, I was blown off like it wasn't a big deal. They used the cop-outs that it was "policy" (interesting, NONE of the 30 or so other drops I've purchased took anywhere near the 10+ DHL laugh days to reach me previously before). Leaving this ultimately unresolved, plus another unrelated issue with their once-incredible referral program (the first was great, the second was again, months late, in a reused, repackaged ABSOLUTELY HASHED previous customers return box (needlessly leaking HIS personal information to me), containing a couple old, cheap, and more meant for the dumpster than as a 2nd tier "reward" for something like 15/20 purchasing personal referrals, I've virtually stopped using Massdrop all together now. I no longer refer people to this company. Coming from bending over backwards to bring people onboard with this unique business model, to seldom even visiting the site, MASSDROP HAS EARNED THIS.
Hope that clears things up a little more for you. While I somewhat agree with your take on what you apparently understood this to mean with post shipment logistics/delays, it actually came down to MD using the low-end shipper, and literally choosing to use the cheapest method physically possible, even with the customer specifically paying for shipping, this all at the cost of their customer(s). Then senselessly trying to blame "policy."
In October of last year, I joined a drop for the Italix Parsons Essential fountain pen. Mid-October. My package was delivered on DECEMBER 15. Now, the pen was coming from the UK. It did have a custom-ground nib. I get all that. Still, the infomercial-esque delivery time was unacceptable. As in your case, they used DHL. I live about 60 miles from the MD warehouse--I asked if I could drive and pick my pen up. No dice. So I was forced to watch DHL's "tracking" (what a joke) while they took 10 days to go 60 miles.
God I was frustrated. I must have posted a dozen times on that drop's discussion page, got lots of responses from the community--not a peep from MD. I reached out to their customer service team. Ineffectual responses--almost to the point of being rude. "We acknowledge there was a minor delay." I wanted to strangle them through my computer.
I do like this business and its model. I haven't referred anyone yet, mostly because i think of it as my little secret. And yes, I've purchased several things after my unfortunate experience. In most cases, the deals are good. Likewise, in most cases, shipping is faster than they promise. And fortunately, they've stopped using DHL altogether--thank GOD for that. Now, most packages are shipped via FedEx Smartpost--a MUCH more reliable service.
I guess I'm going to stay optimistic, for now. But I feel your pain.