Frustrating Freestyle Service

[tim atherton]

...

[j.e.simmons]

I'm also frustrated by Freestyle's shipping - and I live in the US. They will only ship by FedEx, so that means my order sits outside my door, in the rain, alone and inviting theft, until I get home from work. JandC would ship to my post office box where my stuff would sit inside, out of the weather, until I picked it up. It is difficult.
juan

[davidb]

tim, what happened to your post?

[tim atherton]

I was correcting it and somewhow I selected it all as I posted and deleted it instead of re-posting it - all I was left with was my three... at the end - doh

I'm just rushing out, but I'm going to have to re-write it from scratch

[Michael Graves]

Odd....I've gotten excellent service from Freestyle.

[Jon Shiu]

I'm also frustrated by Freestyle's shipping - and I live in the US. They will only ship by FedEx, so that means my order sits outside my door, in the rain, alone and inviting theft, until I get home from work. JandC would ship to my post office box where my stuff would sit inside, out of the weather, until I picked it up. It is difficult.
juan

Hi, I've had Freestyle ship by Priority Mail and by UPS before, so not sure if there is some miscommunication, or if their policy has changed. They mail out 2 or 3 times a week instead of every day. (They were willing to do UPS after I told them I had problems with Fedex contract delivery in my rural area.)

Jon

[davidb]

I've had nothing but excellent service from them as well. I pay for the standard shipping and get my order in 3 days. It's great.

But Tim is in Canada, so...

[Walter Foscari]

I'm in Canada also, used to buy from them all the time but lately the shipping fees have gone through the roof. Gotta start looking for a better source.

[SamReeves]

I've tried them a couple of times. I was neither impressed or wowed on pricing or service. Sales tax is kinda a bitch too. So I decided to go back to B&H since they are the most solid of the retailers.

[Bill Kumpf]

I had a similar experience as Jon. After a delivery complaint with FedEx, Freestyle offered to mark my account as UPS only. They also stated that they would replace lost shipments

Give Freestyle a call. They seem to value customer service.

Bill

[davidb]

Freestyle will take back opened boxes of film and paper.

B&H won't.

[Louie Powell]

Without fail, anyone who transactions business remotely by telephone, mail or internet eventually has some kind of service problem. Most commonly its with a shipper, but it can and often is in warehousing, stocking, etc. So the issue is NOT whether a vendor has problems. Instead, the issue is how they resolve those problems when they happen.

My Freestyle story relates to an enlarging easel that I bought from them for my wife to give me for Christmas. (She does the same thing to me.) It came, I gave it to her, she wrapped it, and put it under the tree. Several weeks later, on Christmas morning, I opened the package to find that (a) part was missing and (b) the name of the former owner of what was supposed to be a new easel was written on the bottom.

#$^&*(!

I immediately wrote Freestyle an e-mail, and called them on the next business day. They shipped a replacement immediately with instructions that when it arrived, I should return the used easel in the box that hew new easel was shipped in, and they provided a prepaid shipping label for that purpose.

So I don't complain about Freestyle.

[Ron Marshall]

I've had only excellent service from them. Better than with B+H, but forced to deal with B+H for certain items due to their selection.

[Michael Graves]

Freestyle will take back opened boxes of film and paper.

B&H won't.

Damn! NOW you tell me that. I ate two boxes of fogged Kentmere because I had opened them both. My previous experiences with other retailers dictated that I didn't have the proverbial snowflake's chance of returning them. So I didn't even try.

I'm stupid.

[scott_6029]

Nothing but great service here. And great return policy too.

[tim atherton]

okay - this should have been the first post

...Once upon a time Freeestyle had the most frustrating service set-up for shipping to Canada and I eventually stopped using them. Up until then they had been easy and efficient to use - but their customer service and policies just became more and more obtuse.

Then they eventually changed their whole customer service approach, things improved and I began using them again. But now, once more, they seem to be making things difficult again.

I ordered a batch of stuff from them and then today received the following reply

"Thank you for your order. We are unable to ship your order at this time. As part of our credit card security efforts, we verify complete credit card billing information for all international orders before shipping. As an international bank issued your credit card, this process can take from 1-7 business days, depending on how quickly your bank responds. In some cases, your bank may not provide this information. If this is the case, we will contact you with further details"

It would also seem like this is going to happen every time an order is placed...

So, I pay for a speedy shipping service, but it may actually take them several days to eventually get around to shipping the order - or they may not actually ship it at all... you have no idea apparently

So now, you don't really know if or when when the order will be shipped.

Now, I can understand issue of security and fraud in this day and age, but I have been a long time customer, am in their system, and I have used this card numerous times before to order from them - and experience this with no other vendor to dae.

With choices for ordering film getting fewer and fewer, when a dealer takes this kind of approach it just makes everything that much more frustrating.

UPDATE:

After writing a couple of frustrated emails to them, they seem to have agreed to put the order through straight away this time.

But I can't get a clear answer from them as to whether this will apply each time you order as regular customer, if you order with a different credit card, if it really takes up to 7 days or never etc.

Which just ends up making me cautious about future orders - is there the possibility it's going to sit there for several days just waiting or what? I don't really need that when I place an order for something

(I recall now that the first time I placed an international order with B&H they require a fax to confirm some details vis a vis identity - and that was it. Sorted out - quick, easy and simple)

[Nick_3536]

I got the same email Sunday afternoon when I put my order in. Tuesday morning I got an email saying it had shipped.

I know if you're in need the extra two days won't thrill you but it was only a day longer then B&H or Badger.

What would be nice is if they got together and didn't force me to order things from three different suppliers.

[Kirk Gittings]

I'm sure this is a PITA for them too. These guys are very professional and reasonable people, so these issues with international orders must have some real basis in fraud. I wish I could get some bank verification when I do ebay business out of the country! I hold my breath everytime I buy or sell something overseas.

I will pass on this thread to the management.

[Brian Ellis]

Just had a box of Harmon paper from Freestyle delivered a couple days ago with no problem. I received it a few days after ordering it. I believe it came by Priority Mail.

[kjsphotography]

I have never had a problem with Freestyle. Furthermore if you got a delivery problem it isn't Freestyle it is the carrier that delivered. Tell the delivery service not to leave it on the door step.

[Mark Sawyer]

I've done quite a bit of business with Freestyle as a high school and community college photo instructor, and they've always delivered fast and error-free.

My only complaint would be that when a couple of Epsom printers with Niagra bulk ink delivery systems didn't work at all, Freestyle just refered us to the manufacturers. Epsom blamed Niagra (even though the printers didn't work with the Epsom ink cartridges), and Niagra blamed Epsom (even though we could see major blockages in the supply lines preventing the ink from flowing through). End result: we wasted a hundred hours trying to get them to work, then just stuck the printers in a storage room where they still sit today, useless.

[Dirk Rösler]

They may be forced to do this by their upstream card processor. But my view is always that as a customer, why should you care about the reasons behind this?

[Chris Strobel]

Excellent service here too.

[John Kasaian]

It sounds like the issues Tim has with Freestyle is unique to international orders. I wonder how do other US based merchants transact business with Canadian customers?

Personally I've had no problems with Freestyle, Badger Graphic, or B and H (but I live in California so theres no borders to cross.)

Tim, have you referenced your customer ID# on the address label on your catalog to establish your identity as a previous customer? Maybe (or maybe not) that might help alleviate some of the hassles.

[jwaddison]

I had the same email from Freestyle as Tim regarding international purchases. I phoned them the next day and they said sorry and that the item had already been shipped. The next time I ordered something from them I received the same email, and another the next day saying the item had been shipped.
I suspect the email is something that is sent to all international customers automatically, no matter whether you live in Canada, the EU or Bonga Bonga.
In spite of the silly email (probably done at the insistence of their auditors) I have found Freestyle's service to be excellent and their prices competitive. They ship promptly, but it takes a couple of weeks to arrive. I think I can blame Canada Customs for the delay.

[Remigius]

Hi all,

A week ago (Sep 7th) I have placed my first order at freestyle. I haven't received such an e-mail, but an order confirmation the following day, mentioning a ship date of 09/07/07. I could select from Fedex and USPS for international shipping (took USPS). Today I have received a delivery notice, so I assume the shipment is waiting now at my post office. No reason for me to complain.

[JPlomley]

I've had zero problems with Midwest, Badger, B&H, and Photomark shipping goods to Canada. Adorama on the other hand I will never again purchase from, but that opens a whole can of worms which IIRC has been addressed in another thread. I prefer dealing with Jim (Midwest), Jeff (Badger), and Rod (Photomark) directly, so B&H is always my last resort. All these gentlemen provide top drawer service and will go the full nine yards to ensure you are a happy customer. I have never dealt with Freestyle. They have never had anything that Jim, Jeff, or Rod could not provide.

[JPlomley]

Might also mention that if the paperwork is filled out correctly, there should be no customs delay. In fact, Rod just sent me a pair of Heliopan SUR's, which I received in two days shipped from Arizona via UPS envelope.

[Nick_3536]

Badger put some film holders in the mail for me Monday afternoon. I'm picking them up from the post office today. Of course some times the post office takes longer then that.

[Gene McCluney]

Why not just open up a charge account? If you regularly order then that would seem to be the most practical avenue to pursue.

[eddie]

i have always had great service and shipping from freestyle.

eddie

[Jerzy Pawlowski]

I did not have any problems with Freestyle shipments to Canada. Similarly, Midwest, KEH and B&H - always excellent service. In case of B&H I am selecting USPS as a shipper, even UPS is often cheaper and faster.

[tim atherton]

It sounds like the issues Tim has with Freestyle is unique to international orders. I wonder how do other US based merchants transact business with Canadian customers?

Personally I've had no problems with Freestyle, Badger Graphic, or B and H (but I live in California so theres no borders to cross.)

Tim, have you referenced your customer ID# on the address label on your catalog to establish your identity as a previous customer? Maybe (or maybe not) that might help alleviate some of the hassles.

I don't get catalogues (apart from the odd one in the box with an order) - I don't think they send them out beyond the US

As for other dealers 99.9% of the time it's as easier ordering from the US from Canada (and beneficial since the greenback has gone down the tube...). B&H, MPEX, Amazon, Photoeye (great books, outrageous shipping fees), numerous ebay sellers, Badger, Stout Architectural Books, Photographers formulary, Shades of Paper, Digital Art Supplies etc etc

Hopefully this will indeed be a non issue - (funny thing on this one was that my credit card wasn't even a "foreign" one, but a US one...)if it's the case would at minimum call for a more helpful re-wording of the automatic email they send out.
though I've heard from some folks whose orders seem to have been delayed 5 or 6 days before "clearing"