Info about combining orders?

[Ina Garten Davita]

I placed a good sized order on May 17th, two weeks ago today.

 

If I place another order with tomorrow's update, do you think the orders will be able to be combined? How does the shipping work on combined orders?

 

 

I'll e-mail Nella when I place the second order, but just trying to get a feel for the process before hand.

 

Thanks y'all!

Edited May 31, 2004 by andrabell

[friendthegirl]

On my last order, I kept wanting to add things and just emailed Nella and she was able to add them until a week or two before it was shipped.

[lorajc]

I usually place orders every week (or even every few days) or so (lately) and instead of getting a few grouped, the more I place, the longer I have to wait cuz it seems like they end up shipping them all together and I have to wait the wait time from the last one I placed. I have been kind of excessive lately, so I don't know what the normal process is.

[Sistinas]

I had emailed Nella to see if it was possible to add items on to my order. But is the update definitley tomorrow? Goes hunting on around on other threads for some sort of clue.

 

ETA: Yes I am a big dork. I just checked the annuncements and am drooling while I make a list. Defiintely need to get a big bottle of that June Gloom. It is too bright and shiny here.

Edited May 31, 2004 by Sistinas

[TygherRayn]

I have, in the past, emailed Nella to ask to combine orders when I placed them close together, and I've emailed her to ask which would be easier for the lab in this case, since I just ordered about 8 days ago.

[malanna]

Hmm, if you combine the orders, are the s&h charges just the same? Because it wouldn't make any real difference to me if the s&h charges were the same and if I didn't combine, I would get some of my BPAL earlier.

[TygherRayn]

With mine, I combined the shipping for the two when I made the second, though I really don't care how it gets here, so long as it gets here.

[MissAnthropy]

The only problem with combining orders is... you lose out on the shipping costs. They are non-refundable, because that's CCNow's policy.

 

Hard core bummer.

 

This is why I am waiting for the update to hit, and THEN I'll order whatever else I've been holding back on.

 

 

-Leslie

[TygherRayn]

That's why I order through paypal, and check with the lab folks first. *grins*

 

However, this time around, with our whopping order, I'm just going ahead and doing a separate order. Not going to hurt us to get them separate .. even if it takes another month. I'm just so excited to be getting so many more delicious scents!

[hypothermya]

So I'm one of the Californians, and was supposed to have recieved my Blue Moon order on the 15 (according to the post that Brian made)... But I haven't seen hide nor hair of it, nor any sign of a click and ship.

 

I was thinking that maybe they had combined my order with the next one I had made (July 3rd), and that might explain the wayward package. Especially if they decided to combine it, and then ran out of bottles (the two combined orders had 4 5mls: Blue Moon, Old Morocco, Red Moon, Scherezade).

 

On the other hand, I had moved since I placed the first order, and so the addresses aren't the same... But the "Ship To" name is the same...

 

So I'm curious now as to what sort of process is involved in combining orders? Those of you who have had combined orders in the past, how did you find out that they were combined? Was it a surprise, or did you get some sort of e-mail notification that let you expect a delay in shipping?

 

I don't want to e-mail the lab since they're closed right now; I don't want to give them more work, and I *really* don't want to give them more work and then say "nevermind" if a package shows up in the meantime... But I'm really, really anxious about my order, especially with everyone else in CA (and outside of CA) getting their orders.

[malanna]

I had asked for my June 17 and June 19 order to be combined, which Brian had said was a go. However, a few days later, Beth made the "No Combining Orders" post. I assumed my order was still going to be combined, since it had been combined before that post, but they came separately. Thus, I highly doubt that your orders were combined. My May 23 order was sucked into the void (haven't heard back about what's going to be done with that, yet), so perhaps yours was, too. If, when the Lab reopens, and you still haven't received your order, I'd email the Lab about it.

[Belladonnastrap]

There is no more combining orders...once its placed it is final. However in the past I believe you had to email the lab with the information.

 

 

As for the order not showing up...there was a bottle shortage so they may have contributed to the delay. A lot of people haven't got their orders as well..I'd say wait out the term until the lab reopens and then if it still hasn't come up email.

[any_old_actress]

when my orders were combined i had to ask the lab, but like belladonnastrap said the lab is no longer doing that. as far as them being closed, off topic i know, i think it's a really smart move on their behalf

[hypothermya]

Oh, I really agree. I think it's a good idea for them to get their stuff all cleaned up right before the onslaught of orders cued by the fall update. I actually think it would help them to close incoming orders until they are *all* caught up (not just one week). On the other hand, I do find myself wishing that they had time to keep up with costomer correspondence (I wanted to call it customer service, but I hate feeling like I need to be served, you know?). It's just that I didn't e-mail them before they closed because I felt like that would be complaining too early, and I really wanted to give them a break.

 

But now that it's been six days since the Brian said that the California orders should be arriving, I'm concerned. If he hadn't said anything, I'd actually feel better, namely because I wouldn't have a date to compare expected arrival with. But his post did say that the California orders would be arriving first... Which makes me wonder if my order got *lost* rather than delayed. And by the time I'm able to correspond with them, it'll be six more days that my order has been (insert horrendous occurance here, such as..."crushed by brutish postal worker," "stolen by a five year old girl wandering through the mail boxes," "aquired by a transvestite turned sea pirate who decided that he couldn't get enough of the way Kali smelled on him," etc.) And really, that's six days that I'm going to be stressing over it. (and, no, that's not the lab's fault...I'd prefer to blame it on my clinic and health insurance who have screwed up my birth control, and have caused me a *solid* month of menstrual cycles and all the fun that goes with it, such as... Moodswinging!)

 

So yeah...My boyfriend wants me to e-mail them now, and I'm thinking it'll be wiser to wait. But I *wish* that I didn't have to wait. Anyhow, I hope that the time off gives them the time they need to catch up. And...now it's time for me to stop ranting, and go take more painkillers... Thanks and sorry to anyone who's read this far into this particular post.

[rosefaith]

Hey hypothermya. I, too, placed a Blue Moon order on 6/17 and have yet to receive it. As you know ( ), I'm in California as well. I, too, placed another order on 7/2. I'm thinking, though, rather than combining the orders, that I haven't received my 6/17 order yet because of the BOTTLE SHORTAGE, as belladonnastrap was mentioning.

 

There was some post somewhere - can't remember where, or whether it was made by Brian or Elizabeth - that said something along the lines of, "All orders from 6/17 should be shipped out by 7/15 (or something like that), with a few exceptions." You and I are probably among those exceptions. Did you place your order late in the day on 6/17? I did, and I think that this might explain why I'm one of the ones who hasn't gotten her/his order yet. I think what BPAL did was queue up the orders in the order they were placed, and that they ran out of bottles by the time they got to the orders that were placed late in the day (that's my theory, anyway).

 

What I'll probably do is wait until BPAL re-opens and if, Heaven forbid(!) , I haven't received my 6/17 order by then, I'll contact them. However, I know that the not knowing can be more frustrating than the waiting, so if you're just going nuts wondering if there's been a mistake with your order, then maybe you should try to contact them. Perhaps you could double-check some of the forum threads first, though, to see if you can find your answer there. Good luck!

[hypothermya]

Ah, then I guess I'm not the only California out there to have not recieved her order. Okee. That makes me a lot less paranoid. Probably is the bottle shortage then. I guess the way that Brian phrased the post made me think that *all* of the California orders had been dealt with.

 

As for your theory about the queue, I don't think that it's quite that methodical. I ordered *at* midnight when the Blue Moon became available (...ahem...no, i wasn't obsessively checking the BPAL site 12 hours prior to update...why do you ask?), and so I was probably within the first 10 orders for that day. (which was the other reason I was thinking something bad happened to my order -- because if they were doing it in order, then I should have been in the first set of boxes shipped.)

 

I'm pretty much set on waiting patiently (now that I'm *not* moodswinging), and seeing if the order shows up before the lab reopens. And, if not we can stalk the local postal offices together or something.

[tart]

How many of you have received a combined order? Was it due to problems/issues with previous orders? Or did you just have two orders placed a couple days apart, and received them in one package? If that is the case, how many days apart did you place those orders?

[Northernminx]

Haven't had that happen yet. I thouhgt my red moon order (placed on the first day) and the other july update had somehow gotten combined, but it turned out that it just happend I got extras of some of the imps I'd ordered. I don't think orders really get combined often as she does them in order of being recieved.

[lorajc]

I don't think any orders are getting combined any longer. I usually place a lot of orders and they used to combine, but ever since Beth posted that she wasn't combining, all of my orders come separate ....even if they were only a day apart. I don't care..........cuz I like getting lots of little packages!

[allamanda]

My last delivery was two orders combined. My 3 June order had been delayed due to Pikaki being back ordered (it still is sadly). I placed another order 17 June and received both orders together on 11 August

[TygherRayn]

Beth an co. used to be able to combine orders, but it began to make things too complicated, especially with some rather sizable orders going through and such. So there is no more combining of orders available.

[tart]

Ahh, thank you for your responses -- I remember reading something from Beth about not combining orders anymore, but I thought that was at customers' requests.

[JazzieCazzie]

I am ecstatic, because my two recent orders have officially been "harvested" (that is the word I am going to use when CCNow lists them as "shipped" ... I know they're not actually shipped, but to me it's another step forward in the process when I know the orders are in BPAL's hands) ...

 

It is appearing to me that they seem to be somewhere along the lines of three weeks-one month to shipping from order date, but I am also going to assume that with the recent addition of "Samhain and friends" their order load has probably skyrocketed.

 

So here is my question ... for the first time I have two pending orders ...

 

On Sept. 22 I ordered 5 MLs of Samhain, Sudha Segara, Scorpio and Snake Oil as well as 12 imps. Then I realized I'd forgotten to order VELVET, so on Sept. 26 I ordere a 10 ML of Velvet and 5 MLs of Rakshasa and Hamadryad (why yes, this will be my biggest and most extravagant BPAL bonanza!!!).

 

In the "other comments" for the second order I referred to my first order and gave the order number. I don't expect them to be shipped together but I figured I would pass along the info on the offchance that if they were filling all those orders at the same time, it would save them a box.

 

Both orders were "harvested" tonight ...

 

So ... for those of you who have placed separate orders within a few days of each other, how often, if ever, does the lab combine the two into one lovely box?

[spaceprostitute]

Well, my guess is it's very unlikely that they'll be combined. I placed two orders on 08/29/04. Within hours of each other. The first one for Mabon because it was going to be taken off the site when Harvest Moon went up. And then one for Harvest Moon. They did not combine my orders. I even mentioned in the comments sections that I had placed an order a mere couple hours before and it would probably make sense to package them together if it's convenient for them. I have my Harvest Moon. Still waiting on my Mabon.

 

So, when they made the announcement stating they were not going to be combining orders anymore, they were pretty serious.

 

ETA: I just double checked my confirmation emails from CCNOW for those orders. I did put the order number and order contents in the comments when I said I had placed an order just three hours prior, AND they were harvested on the same day, but they've been shipped separately. So I wouldn't count on your orders being combined.

Edited September 30, 2004 by spaceprostitute

[JazzieCazzie]

What you say makes sense and I realize it is the likelihood, BUT it seems from what I've been reading here that certain LEs such as Harvest Moon have been shipping separately from other orders ... maybe because they are timed specifically with the lunar cycle and as such are made at a different time. So I'm not sure I would consider separate orders in which one includes one of the Moon Cycle items the same as two separate orders that only include items that are regularly available or pre-made.

 

On the other hand, since I did include Samhain in one of the two orders, it may well qualify under those specifications anyway.