Asus' Eee PC laptop so small, buyers sent boxes of five
Shipping blunder
Agentless Backup is Not a Myth
We know that Asus' Eee PC sub-sub-notebook is popular with hardware fans and Linux lovers alike, but does US supplier Newegg really have to send out five units for every one ordered? A number of buyers claimed to have received a handful of the handhelds when they only asked for a single machine.
Eee User forum poster StampedingChipmunk was one. He posted a pic of the five Eee PCs he received:
StampedingChipmunk's five easy pieces: or five Eee PCs...
Image courtesy Eee User
Soon after receiving his package, StampedingChipmunk also received a request for the four surplus sub-sub-notebooks to be sent back.
So did fellow poster AgentEntropy, but "legally in the state I live in, I could have kept all five", he wrote. However, he did the decent thing: "Morally however I just couldn't justify it. So when New Egg called, I answered and agreed to send the extras back.
"They're paying for shipping (wouldn't have agreed to it otherwise) and they've offered me $50 off my next purchase through them. Not sure the $50 is enough to cover the disappointment I feel over not being able to keep the extras, but since I didn't pay for them in the first place I can't really complain."
Forum contributor Howie had the same experience, but claims he was offered $30 in compensation.
Poster NastyGash didn't even get that far - Newegg grabbed his box of five-for-one Eee PCs before the courier managed to deliver it.
"Early this morning, UPS confirmed a delivery on Friday and that the package had even arrived locally," he wrote. "A few minutes ago, I checked again with UPS again, hoping that I'd see 'Out for delivery'. No. Instead, I saw, 'THE SHIPPER HAS REQUESTED A DELIVERY INTERCEPT FOR THIS PACKAGE / RETURN TO SENDER PENDING[X]'.
"Can you imagine my SHOCK? I called Newegg and was told that the package was recalled because they had shipped me FIVE 4Gs, not one! The lady said that they would ship me another, overnight delivery, so I would have it Friday. How's that for customer service, huh?"
Except... "I just checked Newegg and it shows them OUT OF STOCK!"
It's not hard to imagine how all this might have happened. Having seen one of the machines, we reckon the Eee PC packaging is so small that five together in a brown cardboard box are much the same size as the kind of box a desktop machine might come in. It's not hard to imagine warehouse staff from any supplier assuming one box equals one machine, not five.
COMMENTS
Oh it would seem tempting...
but I wouldnt doubt it would lead to some type of blacklisting from newegg. Youd need a backup plan, that is for sure.
How the phone call must've went...
newegg: Hello, we believe we sent you 5 computers instead of one.
customer: Oh yes, thank you very much.
newegg: Um, would you be so kind as to send the 4 extra back?
customer: You realize in the U.S. it's legal for me to keep them and I'm under no obligation to return them?
newegg: Yes we do. But we are asking very nicely that you send them back.
customer: Can you perhaps motivate me to send them to you instead of giving them to family members or selling them on eBay?
newegg: Well, we'd really really really like them back. We'll pay your shipping.
customer: So you are willing to pay me to ship these back to you, so you can recover your $1,600 worth of items? And that's it?
newegg: Well, um. I can also give you a $50 gift certificate good for your next purchase at newegg.
<silence>
newegg: Did I mention we'd really really really like them back?
<click>
Unexpected deliveries
This has happened a couple of times to me. first time, arrived home for the day to find a massive gas cylinder sitting on the driveway. after a couple of minutes looking around, discovered garage flat roof had been half-recovered. called the company on the cylinder, they had got the wrong house, they were meant to have done next doors. they tried to charge us some of the money for doing it, but we were having none of it, so they did it for free. Lucky for us, the neighbour had ordered a high grade of roofing, and the roof needed redoing anyway, so saved us a fortune.
The other occasion involved Argos (A UK catalogue shop). We ordered a new, cheep, microwave. When the Argos van came, I was out, but someone signed for the delivery. When I got home, I found myself the new owner of a 52" plasma and matching stand. Being the Honest person I am, Argos was telephoned, and arranged to delivery the microwave and take back the goods. we received just a £5 gift voucher in compensation, which is a bit unfair I feel, since I babysat their goods in my garage for a night.
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