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View Full Version : MassDrop Quite happy.



ainterne
November 18th, 2014, 05:02 PM
Thought I would share....

Recently joined MassDrop as I saw they had a Pilot Falcon Fountain Pen available at $104 and then the option of purchasing some Iroshizuku ink with the pen. So I went ahead and joined the drop.
I did start to think that there had been quite a time from when the drop ended to any notification of shipping and so started to monitor what other customers were saying. It seemed that I was not the only one concerned about the time being taken to send out tracking notices and that MassDrop didn't seem to offer any communication which I am not accustomed to, even for an online service. They also announced that there had been a mix up on the order and customers that ordered Extra Fine Nibs would not be getting their pens. (fortunately I was not one of those)

I sent a polite brief mail to them asking for an update and submitted my order number and tracking number.

Yesterday to my surprise I saw that my initial payment had been returned to my PayPal account. Logging on to the site I noticed that any reference to my order had disappeared. Naturally I was quite annoyed as I had received no response to my mail and seemingly my order had been canceled. As another customer has pointed out it was a long time to wait for what is really only a $20 reduction in cost over what the pen would cost on Amazon.

I sent another mail with still no response and then finally a 3rd mail. I started to try and forget about the whole incident as I felt badly treated as no one had responded in timely fashion.

I started to feel I had been punished somehow for daring to ask for an update...:-)

To my surprise this afternoon I received a mail back from MassDrop with the following.

Hi Phil,

I just checked into your order, it's very strange that it was canceled and refunded. I'll be following up with the developer team to see what caused it. Your order did ship out already, tracking has started to update. Here is the tracking for the package:

https://tools.usps.com/go/TrackConfirmAction_input?qtc_tLabels1=xxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxx (hashed out)

Since it appears to be a system error that caused the order to be canceled and refunded- we won't charge you for the package. You are free to keep it when the package arrives. Sorry again for this issue! Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Best regards,
Henry

So now I am a little confused. I really didn't like being left in the dark for so long, and the lack of feedback MassDrop seemingly offer their customers, on the other hand I am naturally very happy they have effectively said sorry by giving me a free pen.

What I am really trying to work out is, should I do business with MassDrop in the future? Is their lack of communication the norm, or have I just been unlucky with that? Do delivery of their drops go this badly normally and often delayed?

I do believe that customer service is important if you are in a customer oriented business. Business to business is one thing, business to customer is quite another. I realize I do have the right not to go back to a company that gives me bad customer service and find companies that look after me. That doesn't mean though that I don’t feel let down when I think I am ripped off.

I am writing this for two reasons.

1: To alert others to my experience, to share information should they be interested. I would like to support my fellow forum members and share my experiences in the hope it helps them avoid the same problems.

2: I am not criticizing MassDrop in any way as I understand these things just happen sometimes. I just want to get others opinion's of MassDrop and their experiences so I an evaluate if I want to use them again.

I would be interested in others input.

Neo
November 18th, 2014, 05:17 PM
I've participated in several drops to date and have found the estimate shipping date to be just that, an estimation. The communications piece seems to be an area they are working on as it had gotten better in the last week . At least for me, right now I'll stay with the "traditional" fountain pen retailers until they work out the kinks. As to whether the savings are worth the hassle, that seems to be an individual decision based on how much the saving mean to you or one's tolerance for being kept in suspense. Just my 2 cents, YMMV....

alc3261
November 18th, 2014, 05:27 PM
I joined that drop too, I got several update emails and my pen arrived today.
Very pleased.

ainterne
November 18th, 2014, 05:40 PM
I joined that drop too, I got several update emails and my pen arrived today.
Very pleased.

Wow..there must have been something up with my account then, I didn't get any...

Others apparently didn't either... it seems very inconsitent... Very glad you are enjoying the pen though...

markc
November 18th, 2014, 06:56 PM
I've purchased a number of items with Massdrop. They usually take quite a long time to fulfill and ship. Often this is because once the drop is approved and paid for, they contact the shipper and submit the order, then it's up to the shipper to package and ship to Massdrop to disperse.

So far, I've gotten the Falcon, Vanishing Point, and Rotring 800 pencil. Still waiting on the Lamy 2000.

Rest assured that they do a good job and you will get what you bought. As a bonus, if you didn't get in on the drop they often have surplus in their orders and they will have a sale later where you can get the items. Since they have them in stock, you get them much more quickly.

ainterne
November 18th, 2014, 09:38 PM
.......I received another mail regarding some questions I asked.

Part of it is drop management on our end, and the other side of it has to do with the vendors that we are working with. Some vendors are quicker to respond with updates and as a result, we are able to update more consistently. Some vendors require much more follow up.
"Writing" is a pretty new community that we have been expanding into. With the new expansion comes growing pains of working with vendors for the first time and figuring out how to stream line the process so that shipment issues or inventory problems do not occur. Some of our more established communities, such as audio, have had drops that we have run multiple times and are generally fulfilled ahead of our estimated shipping date.

I guess that helps understand what's going on.... I am not sure either if I want to be the beta tester for some of the new vendor connections.

And thanks markc for you feedback...

tralfamadorian
November 18th, 2014, 11:16 PM
I joined the Pilot Falcon drop on the first day. Somehow, I still ended up being one of the sixteen EF orderers who isn't getting the pen I ordered. I decided to pull the plug rather than wait to see which nibs that I don't want will be available.

I find it very hard to believe only fifteen people ordered an EF nib after I did. If they're not fulfilling orders in the order they're received, there are other problems besides working out new vendor relationships.

manoeuver
November 19th, 2014, 04:20 AM
I think the Falcon drop was problems with their vendor. I got my rhodium SEF 2 days ago.

Cool service, I don't mind waiting a while for fulfillment, I don't lack pens to write with.