Advice on What to do?

[Aspect]

Sorry if this is the wrong subforum for this. So, I bought an order of 4 fish from a business online, all 4 were listed in stock online. I received 2 of the 4 fish in 2 days, I was then contacted by the business stating that they would ship the remaining 2 out the following week as they were out of stock (listed in stock on their website). I was fine with this as they were going to pay for the shipping. I then placed another order a few days after receiving half of my first order, it has been 2 weeks since the first order on which I'm still waiting for 2 fish and now a week since my most previous order, which also has not been shipped still. I contacted the business multiple times asking when they would ship out my most recent order as I have paid for the shipping of this order, so I expected it to be shipped out next business day. They have finally answered me stating that they needed to make sure the fish were "ship ready" and that I would receive the 2 fish they owe me and my new order all together next week. If this holds true it would be 3 weeks after I made the first order until I received all of my fish and 2 weeks after my second order until I received that one. I kinda feel like I'm getting screwed because I paid for shipping on both orders and it's not my fault that their website wasn't updated with what's currently in stock. Any suggestions on what I can do in this situation? Are these acceptable business practices that I should just get use to? By the way the shipping of these orders were both over $75.

 

[Who me?]

I don't see the issue. You paid for shipping and they're going to ship them.
Would you prefer they ship unhealthy fish that die on the way or once you get them?

 

[KrisReef]

If they arrive live and healthy then you did alright. Shipping is costly!

 

[Aspect]

I don't see the issue. You paid for shipping and they're going to ship them.
Would you prefer they ship unhealthy fish that die on the way or once you get them?

I forgot to mention that first they stated that they were waiting to see if they are "Ship ready", but then recalled later in the conversation that they wanted to ship them all together to save on shipping.

 

[Aspect]

I would prefer they had updated listings on their website so this whole thing could have been avoided, but here I am anyways. Weird they didn't wait to ship the first batch, which went out the next business day. It just sounds to me like they're using the "ship ready" line as a quick excuse.

 

[Who me?]

I forgot to mention that first they stated that they were waiting to see if they are "Ship ready", but then recalled later in the conversation that they wanted to ship them all together to save on shipping.

Right, they were waiting to see if they were ship ready, meaning they didn't want to send them if they were stressed or slightly unhealthy.

The way I see it you ordered two separate shipments and paid for shipping on both shipments and you're going to receive two separate shipments, so no one's really saving or losing out on the shipping that was collected.

 

[Aspect]

Right, they were waiting to see if they were ship ready, meaning they didn't want to send them if they were stressed or slightly unhealthy.

The way I see it you ordered two separate shipments and paid for shipping on both shipments and you're going to receive two separate shipments, so no one's really saving or losing out on the shipping that was collected.

I mean yeah in the grand scheme 2 orders were paid to be shipped, that's not the issue I'm seeing. It's the wait period for the shipping that's the issue. If I paid for overnight shipping on an order then I expect it to be shipped to me overnight, not over fortnight.

 

[ScottJ]

You paid for overnight shipping once the fish were ready to be shipped, not once the vendor got your order. As long as you eventually get 4 healthy fish, life is good.

If you feel you had a bad experience with this vendor, just don't use them again.

 

[Who me?]

I mean yeah in the grand scheme 2 orders were paid to be shipped, that's not the issue I'm seeing. It's the wait period for the shipping that's the issue. If I paid for overnight shipping on an order then I expect it to be shipped to me overnight, not over fortnight.

You started this thread asking for advice, and that's what you're getting. Not just from me but others as well.
There is no harm, no foul here that I can see. You paid for overnight shipping and once the fish are ready to be shipped they were/will be shipped overnight to you.
You should be thanking the vendor for not shipping you fish that weren't ready instead of coming online and complaining and arguing against advice that you asked for.

 

[Aspect]

You paid for overnight shipping once the fish were ready to be shipped, not once the vendor got your order. As long as you eventually get 4 healthy fish, life is good.

If you feel you had a bad experience with this vendor, just don't use them again.

The issue I have is I was told my newest order's fish are ready to be shipped, and they are just waiting until they get the other fish in stock from my first order to ship them all together to save them some dough.

 

[Aspect]

You started this thread asking for advice, and that's what you're getting. Not just from me but others as well.
There is no harm, no foul here that I can see. You paid for overnight shipping and once the fish are ready to be shipped they were/will be shipped overnight to you.
You should be thanking the vendor for not shipping you fish that weren't ready instead of coming online and complaining and arguing against advice that you asked for.

I think you're looking at it from the vendor's POV. If you're told that your fish are ready to be shipped then you would expect them to be shipped ASAP right?

 

[ScottJ]

The issue I have is I was told my newest order's fish are ready to be shipped, and they are just waiting until they get the other fish in stock from my first order to ship them all together to save them some dough.

So cancel your second order, get a refund, they will ship what they owe you, and move on.

 

[Aspect]

So cancel your second order, get a refund, they will ship what they owe you, and move on.

Yeah that was what I was going to do, but unfortunately I can't find this fish anywhere else atm.

 

[Chrisv.]

The issue I have is I was told my newest order's fish are ready to be shipped, and they are just waiting until they get the other fish in stock from my first order to ship them all together to save them some dough.

My problem with this is not that you have to wait even longer, it's that while you wait, the fish are in a wholesaler system being exposed to god knows what pathogens. What may be a healthy fish today could be in deaths door in a week.

If it were not for that, I would say that it was less of an issue.

 

[Aspect]

And also the fact I didn't want to add 6 fish into my system all at once. I really would have wanted a week apart.

 

[Who me?]

I think you're looking at it from the vendor's POV. If you're told that your fish are ready to be shipped then you would expect them to be shipped ASAP right?

Not really. I'm trying to look at it from both sides. You didn't originally mention they are intentionally waiting at this point for the others to be ready. That seems wrong, but it also sounds like it's a rare fish that you can't find elsewhere. So the choice is yours...
Wait or cancel.

 

[Who me?]

And also the fact I didn't want to add 6 fish into my system all at once. I really would have wanted a week apart.

If you're adding 6 fish, waiting a week or so isn't going to make a difference.
Better to add them together to avoid aggression issues.

 

[Aspect]

Not really. I'm trying to look at it from both sides. You didn't originally mention they are intentionally waiting at this point for the others to be ready. That seems wrong, but it also sounds like it's a rare fish that you can't find elsewhere. So the choice is yours...
Wait or cancel.

I thought I mentioned it in my shpeel, but yeah, they originally stated that they were waiting until the fish are "ship ready" then later on in the conversation when I asked them why there weren't ship ready. He stated that they are healthy and ship ready but that he owes me other fish that should be in next week and will all be shipped together.

 

[Aspect]

None of the fish are of the same species and my tank is 400 gallons with tons of hiding spaces. I'm not too worried about aggression.

 

[Who me?]

I thought I mentioned it in my shpeel, but yeah, they originally stated that they were waiting until the fish are "ship ready" then later on in the conversation when I asked them why there weren't ship ready. He stated that they are healthy and ship ready but that he owes me other fish that should be in next week and will all be shipped together.

Got it, still doesn't seem too much to ask to wait a few days for fish you really want.
They sent you a partial order so you didn't have to wait while the others weren't healthy enough to make the trip. now they are trying to not cost themselves extra which you have to understand shipping is very costly. Sounds like they are doing the right thing.