Friday, January 23, 2015

Bookmail Day Gone Wrong

This post is more of a personal rant, but also a warning to other bloggers and readers who order books online.

If you ordered a signed copy of All Fall Down from Target, please read this because I do offer some advice at the end of the post.


Today, I received my copy of All Fall Down by Ally Carter in the mail. If you read my blog regularly, you will probably already know from my review that I received an ARC from the publisher (Scholastic), and really enjoyed the book.

When I saw Ally Carter take to Twitter and her website to tell readers about signed copies being available from certain retailers, I jumped on the opportunity because A. I loved signed copies of books and B. I enjoyed the book, so it would be a nice addition to my personal library.

My first attempt at getting a signed copy was from Barnes & Noble. For some reason, my account wasn't working (it wouldn't let me enter my credit card information), so I made another B&N online account to order it. The exact same thing happened again, and then they ran out of signed copies.

So I went to Target's website and ordered one. Apparently I did this really late at night and a few days after the attempt from ordering from Barnes & Noble. When I got my shipping notification, I was excited! I couldn't wait to get the signed copy in my hands. The book showed up at my door today. It was not signed, and I was extremely disappointed.

Ally Carter reached out to me on Twitter and said that it was happening to a lot of people who ordered the book and that Scholastic was working on a solution. I decided to call Target. I thought it was my right to express my disappointment as a paying customer. The operator on the phone told me that the stores were carrying signed copies and that I would be able to exchange it.

So what did I do? I hopped in my car and drove to the closest (within a five mile radius) of my three local Targets. The woman who helped me was extremely kind, and got on her walkie talkie with someone in electronics. He told her that they did not have signed copies, so I returned the book. Before I left, I decided to go back to the books and electronics to see for myself, and guess what! Two signed copies were sitting there. I left the store out of spite. I wasn't waiting in line again to pay for something when I was lied to.

If You Didn't Get Your Signed Copy of All Fall Down from Target:

You can take your book in for an exchange to any Target location, but I urge you to ask to go back with an employee to see for yourself. I didn't because I didn't think I could, and now I regret it.

You can return it for a full refund. That's what I ended up doing.

Check with your local indie. Call your local independent bookstore to see if they have it. If they do, you can return it and buy from your indie. This is what I'm going to end up doing.


12 comments :

  1. Aw no that sucks! I can't believe that happened to you :( I've never really gone out of my way to get a signed copy, but I can understand your pain because BOOKS.

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    1. I don't really go out of my way for them. An online order is simple, but not this one. If I had known that they were going to be in stores (which they said they wouldn't be), then I would have just bought it on release day.

      Oh well. I guess I'll just check with Half Price Books on Sunday. They usually get signed books, and I'd rather go there.

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  2. Seriously?? I would be so angry if I was lied to and that lady must have seemed so kind! I'm so sorry this happened to you Erin D:

    Alex @ The Book's Buzz

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    1. Seriously. Like one of the worst return experiences I've ever had. They still haven't refunded my money.

      I just feel bad for the lady. She was lied to by whoever was in the books and electronics section. It wasn't her fault. She gave the guy the item numbers and everything, and he was just like, "Nope. Don't have that." She felt bad. I almost wanted to go up to her with the signed book so she could walkie the guy again, but I'm trying to control my anger. lol

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  3. This is ridiculous! I'm so sorry you had to experience this, Erin, the entire situation is just terrible. The fact that signed copies were advertised for online purchase when there was a lack is ludicrous, and that a salesperson tasked with helping customers denied signed copies when they were clearly available. Thanks for sharing, I'm looking forward to buying All Fall Down but I'll definitely be more mindful when it comes to ordering.

    Claire @ Cover to Cover

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    1. Thank you, Claire. I'm just sad because it happened to so many other people who tried to order the signed copy from Target. :( Ally said that Scholastic is looking into it to see why it happened, but now I don't even have the book.

      You're welcome. I hope this is just a one time thing with Target, but I'll definitely be ordering my signed books from Barnes & Noble from now on. I've never had an issue with them except for the site being down for me recently.

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  4. JEEBUS that sounds horrible. I've never had this problem because lol no one signs anything in Aus. But yeah, at least you'll be able to go to an indie store?

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    1. It was pretty disappointing. I just hope that all of the other people out there who ordered a signed book find a way to get it.

      I hope. Apparently my Half Price Books is an indie. I didn't know that until I looked it up on Ally's website. I'm hoping to look there tomorrow and see if they have it. If not, I guess I'll just wait and see what happens.

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  5. It sucks that this happened to you! But I do admire how you kept your cool. If I was in your place, I'd probably be throwing a giant 5-year-old tantrum. Okay, maybe not but I'd be extremely pissed.

    However, I am jealous of your indie stores. We don't have them here in the Philippines - all we have are bookstore chains - and it's horrible. I always gaze lustfully at indie and secondhand bookstores whenever I travel to other countries.

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    1. Thanks. I'm usually a huge pain in the butt and complain all the time, which is kind of what I did here, but starting a fight with employees would have been pretty embarrassing, especially when the book had already been placed back in their possession.

      I'm pretty jealous of all of the indies too. I live in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, and I know that there are some indie stores around here, but they are just too far (or too complicated of a drive). Then I hear about these huge ones in different states. It's insane!

      I'd gaze lustfully at them too.

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  6. Smh, some employees are really to lazy to look for things. You'd ask if something is in stock, they tell you no, and upon looking yourself, you found out that they indeed had what you were looking for. This has happened on numerous occasions, so I tend to look first, and if I can't find what I need, I then seek assistance. Did you ever end up getting a signed copy?

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    1. Right? And of course the employee in the back was a teenager. Like really? You're young, you can walk the ten feet over to the books to look. I was so mad. I called back and complained again, and they sent me an egift card. I still haven't gotten my refund on the return though. I might be calling PNC soon lol.

      And yes... I got it today actually from Half Price Books! Best store ever, especially now that they are stocking new releases.

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