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Already 3 people here have received their original orders after replacement copies were sent, I am wondering how many replacement sets Arrow has sent!

Companies usually press an extra batch of 50-100 in case of production/distribution mistakes as well as for other reasons, so no, I don't imagine it'll make any difference.

You do have to wonder what the costs of sending out all these replacement boxes versus paying the extra pound or whatever to use a shipping service with a tracking number for the initial shipments were, though!

It wouldn't have been an extra pound. About £5 probably.

Tracking wouldn't have particularly helped here though. People still would have been kicking up a fuss for not receiving their items.

Was it ever in doubt that the majority of these were going to turn up eventually?

Tracking tells you where it is and when it's scheduled to arrive which lets you know it's not lost. After about a month I'd say it's usually reasonable to assume that that's a possibility, though maybe less so in this case since it was happening to so many people.

TMDaines wrote:Was it ever in doubt that the majority of these were going to turn up eventually?

Presumably it was in doubt for Arrow, since they immediately jumped to sending out a replacement copy for me and Charles without being asked. I was content to wait a while longer as long as they could confirm it had actually been shipped.

I do wonder what the specific issue with the mailing of these sets was. While a lot of people have been citing recent issues with the transatlantic post, there have been a number of posts about people receiving sale packages from Arrow significantly earlier than their Rivette sets even though the sale packages were shipped ~a week later. I, for one, received a sale order that shipped on January 20th over a week ago but still have not received the Rivette set that, according to Arrow, shipped on January 15.

So, while I understand, to some small extent, the posts deriding those who were shipped a second set, I must say that I've never had a package from Arrow take this long, a similarly sized package shipped around the same time by Arrow arrived weeks ago, and there seem to have been an inordinate number of people experiencing delays with this set.

neal wrote:I do wonder what the specific issue with the mailing of these sets was. While a lot of people have been citing recent issues with the transatlantic post, there have been a number of posts about people receiving sale packages from Arrow significantly earlier than their Rivette sets even though the sale packages were shipped ~a week later. I, for one, received a sale order that shipped on January 20th over a week ago but still have not received the Rivette set that, according to Arrow, shipped on January 15.

So, while I understand, to some small extent, the posts deriding those who were shipped a second set, I must say that I've never had a package from Arrow take this long, a similarly sized package shipped around the same time by Arrow arrived weeks ago, and there seem to have been an inordinate number of people experiencing delays with this set.

I agree. I received several Arrow items that were shipped after 15 January before receiving the Rivette set. I also received numerous shipments well within time from Amazon.co.uk. It will be good if Arrow told us what was done differently about the Rivette set and, more importantly, not to repeat it.

As to the second shipments potentially impacting Arrow, Nicole instructed me to just write "return to sender" and hand it back to our postal service. I didn't know it was that simple with international shipments, but I'm glad to hear it.

Return To Sender should be fine, as long as you don't open it. I do it internationally once in a while myself.


(Although usually I write "Refused, Return To Sender", the one time several months back I just wrote "Refused" (per post office guy's instruction), apparently it did not actually get returned (but Amazon was nice enough to give me the refund anyway), so the "Return To Sender" part seems to increase the odds significantly that it will actually get sent back. [On the other hand that package was really beat up (it was wrapped up in plastic with a so sorry this package got so messed up apology note on it), so maybe they just somehow couldn't figure out where to send it back to.])

Can I just chime in and say that I've noticed that Arrow's delivery times have got worse and worse over the years. It usually takes a week for an order from them to arrive with me, and over Christmas it took almost 2 weeks...and I live in the South of England, roughly an 60-90 minute drive from London (where the Arrow warehouse is based). It used to take about 3-4 days for an order to arrive, so maybe with the increase in popularity they've just had way more orders to deal with than before? You would think they'd update their dispatch process or courier contracts...

I'm not surprised international delivery is even slower!

It's clear to me, specific to the Rivette set as these postal troubles have been, that The Thirteen have been monkeying about with the delivery process.

Marie is still looking for it.

fdm wrote:Return To Sender should be fine, as long as you don't open it. I do it internationally once in a while myself.


(Although usually I write "Refused, Return To Sender", the one time several months back I just wrote "Refused" (per post office guy's instruction), apparently it did not actually get returned (but Amazon was nice enough to give me the refund anyway), so the "Return To Sender" part seems to increase the odds significantly that it will actually get sent back. [On the other hand that package was really beat up (it was wrapped up in plastic with a so sorry this package got so messed up apology note on it), so maybe they just somehow couldn't figure out where to send it back to.])

I took my unopened box, marked "Refused. Return to sender." to the local post office in NJ, USA. They refused to take it, saying we cannot return an international shipment. You will have to pay for the return. When I disputed that, they asked me to come back on Monday, when postmaster will be present. Has anyone actually succeeded in returning the duplicate Rivette box in this manner? If so, can you please advise me on how to deal with the post office on this issue? Thanks.

kekid wrote:Has anyone actually succeeded in returning the duplicate Rivette box in this manner? If so, can you please advise me on how to deal with the post office on this issue? Thanks.

Not the Rivette box, but a few others (US back to the UK). Sometimes I just drop it in the mailbox outside if it will fit, and sometimes I take it into the post office (to make sure it's okay, or if it's too big). But aside from the time I mentioned, I've had no problem with it, as far as I know they've all made it back. Even the first time, neither I nor the person at the desk was sure, so it was a try it and see experiment for the both of us.

Suggest seeing what the postmaster says, or try a different post office. Or maybe suggest try it and see.

Quite envious of those who have received the "replacement" box in addition to their original order, while I've yet to receive anything...pushing six weeks! I will gladly cover the cost of shipping to anyone who is incapable of returning their second copy of the set (only kidding...mostly).

These shipping experiences have been almost exclusive to the Rivette set, no? I'm quite interested in picking up the Fassbinder set, but the overly convoluted process here has certainly soured my expectations.

So what shows up yesterday but the second Rivette shipment...

Just glancing at the box, I didn't immediately recognize it for what it was because the label side was down and the box was PRISTINE. What the fuck? Only two weeks in transit (nothing special, same old Royal Mail/USPS), and NO DAMAGE? That is not what a Rivette package looks like. Maybe I should photograph it for posterity.

After that shock had worn off, my next reaction was...I don't want to send this back!

Back it goes, though. Tomorrow. And I'll somehow document that so the good folks at Arrow -- should God forbid it not show up -- will know I did my part. I'm just hugely relieved that my first copy is in MINT condition throughout, or I'd be fighting the temptation to ask Nicole to invoice me for this one, too...

Anybody still waiting on their order of Tre fratelli to ship? It's been listed as in stock since last week and they tweeted it's shipping as of Monday but I've given it two days and my order hasn't updated yet.

Ribs wrote:Anybody still waiting on their order of Tre fratelli to ship? It's been listed as in stock since last week and they tweeted it's shipping as of Monday but I've given it two days and my order hasn't updated yet.

Didn't know that – but no, mine hasn't shipped, either. You're not alone!

Edit: Received an email from Arrow saying they've dispatched my three brothers on March 30th.

Anyone stateside still waiting on their Fassbinder set? I've been lucky so far and have been among the first to receive Arrow orders, but this still hasn't shown up for me. I'm a bit worried because apparently somebody in my neighborhood has been messing with people's mail, so hopefully it's just slower than usual.

Still waiting (not so) patiently in Atlanta.

Also still waiting. The Arrow site still says it is at the warehouse.

Got my Fassbinder set yesterday.

Also just got ship confirmation of my first sale order, the one I placed on the 24th.

(The second/final sale order won't ship until near end of May.)

Fassbinder box just arrived in Atlanta in perfect condition. What a gorgeous box set!

Haven't received mine yet either.