Zavvi - Retailer chat [Europe]

TonyStark64 · May 29, 2015

Hi Bernie,

I had a response to my e-mail.....NO surprise that they said NO to a refund....so apart from Marvel & selective Disney steelbooks i'm done with Zavvi for eveything else!!....they do not care, they are not interested and loyalty really counts for nothing....i've replied to them saying exactly that!!

Zavvi really are the scummiest internet company on the planet run by knobs!!!

TonyStark64 · May 30, 2015

I originally had Ex Machina on pre-order at £21-99 on an old debit card!!!

When it came back in stock a few weeks back i cancelled the original order, re-ordered it with my new card and a discount which meant i got it for £20-89....£1-10 off...better than nothing!...mine was dispatched yesterday! Is it even legal that Zavvi can just cancel pre-orders made in good faith (obviously bulk orders don't apply and scalpers deserve all they get!) because a discount code was used!

With the recent fiasco regarding Wall-E & Ratatouille back on the site at £5 cheaper than people who pre-ordered them....me included, i had the typical Zavvi copy & pasted reply to the e-mail i sent them regarding their shafting of people who pre-ordered those steelbooks, people who tend to be Zavvi's most loyal customers and true steelbook collectors...i've bought steelbooks at Zavvi for 3 years, i have 350+ steelbooks, probably 75%ish are from Zavvi....but i've replied to them telling where to stuff their steelbooks from now on...with exception of the exclusive Marvel steelbooks & selective Disney (Emporer's New Groove...how gorgeous might that one be!!!)....i'm through with them!!!

If more members here at HDN stopped pre-ordering the vast majority of steelbooks at Zavvi where their policy seems to be "shaft 'em"...maybe Zavvi would sit up and take notice!!

Zavvi....WORST. INTERNET. COMPANY. EVER.....

Geek Tragedy · May 30, 2015

TonyStark64 said:
Zavvi....WORST. INTERNET. COMPANY. EVER.....

No sir. I have dealt with many that are far, far worse. Zavvi has always done right be me...so far.

TonyStark64 · May 30, 2015

Geek Tragedy....i can 100% guarantee you that will change at some point...just read hundreds of rants here about Zavvi!!!!

Sigill · May 30, 2015

vampire75 said:
I really hate Zavvi at the moment... It really seems like stuff is getting worse and worse every month.

Thing 1: I had a damages steelbook of 500 days of Summer. I send it back to them for a replacement copy (after a lot of emails). I send it back, and because I live in the Netherlands sending it back without track and trace would cost me €5,75 while with track and trace it would cost me €11,00... Money I need to pay out of my own pocket because Zavvi does not pay the shipping costs back to them. The Steelbook was €13,00 or €15,00 so I did not want to spend €11,00 on shipping. Now 2 weeks later, still no email from them. I asked if they already got it, and they replayed with: no, provide a track-and trace. Because I don't have this I probably lost my money now. And I know its not a hard fact, but I would not be surprised if they received it, but just did not registered it when it came back to them.......

Thing 2: yesterday I ordered 2 Pixal steelbooks and payed €50,00. When I payed via banktransfer, I got back to the zavvi site and I got an error that the order could not be placed. The order also does not show up in my account. BUT the €50,00 is transferred to them! Already send them 2 e-mails, but without any replay so far.

It usually takes them 1-2 days to reply to emails from my experience.

TonyStark64 said:
I've just sent this to digitalbabe regarding Zavvi...let's hope a response is forthcoming!!!!

"digitalbabe....you seem to be in the know with a lot of Zavvi stuff!!! Go and have a look at the threads regarding the current price drops for Wall-E & Ratatouille....maybe as one of the mods here you can explain Zavvi's stance on WHY both those steelbooks were put back in stock and on sale at £19-99!!!! £5 cheaper than loyal customers who pre-ordered in the possibility that these Pixar steelbooks would genuinely sell out!!! All i can say is that Zavvi don't care about shafting their loyal customers and there is a growing tide of resentment towards their business practices!!! I/We here would LOVE some informative feedback!!!"

I live in hope!!!!

We don't know why Zavvi do this, they can price items however they like and we have no control over this. We do get provided information about new titles which is passed on to the forum when it is known but we have nothing to do with the pricing issues or how they run the company.

leelee17 · May 30, 2015

Zavvi............ Masters of the generic email response !! One couild be forgiven for believing they employ staff devoid of any human traits or, alternatively, robots !!

digitalbabe · May 30, 2015

@TonyStark64 not sure what message you sent me but I received no pm or tag. Every retailer has a right to reduce prices whenever they wish to do so. They may do it to move stock faster or as part of a promo. Amazon has dropped prices day after release as well. Sorry I can't help further-you can always not order or wait for a price that works for you. Pre-ordering anything is tricky-especially when retailer policies around the globe as far as price adjusting are completely different. All the best in deciding what shopping strategy works best for you!

tenderheartbear · May 31, 2015

You're right in saying that retailers drop their prices all the time, the difference with someone like Amazon is that if the price drops on the day of release (after pre-orders have been posted out), you get an automatic refund. I know Amazon promise this, but it's a nice gesture to their customers. The whole Zavvi 'sold out' fiasco is another issue. While not helped by people ordering titles and cancelling, if they had an automatic inventory it would make life easier. That and the fact, that clearly, Zavvi use this tactic as a way of getting people to order titles as soon as the become available, essentially scaring them into thinking they'll miss out. Obviously, they're not making 100% of the stock available to pre-order. Now, I wouldn't mind if that meant they're keeping, say, 10% back to replace damages but they're not.

Which brings me round to my issue with The Incredibles mentioned a page or 2 back. It was back in stock when I returned my damaged copy, and even emailed them with a link to it and a request they keep one by to replace mine. They didn't (no surprise), so am still awaiting a refund. I've not even had confirmation they've received it back yet.

Zavvi's customer service is the worst in my experience. They've had years to improve and simply chose not to. It's clear that either they don't care, or don't have a clue what they're doing. Playing email tennis over damages is ridiculous (Amazon do it right), and makes for a very poor experience and bad feeling on behalf of the consumer.

Geek Tragedy · May 31, 2015

Say all the bad things you like about Zavvi but they will forever have my gratitude for adding 30+ Disney Steelbooks to my collection I would probably not have without them. I gave up hope long ago of a US retailer offering them to us after Zavvi's exclusive rights to them ran out.

tenderheartbear · May 31, 2015

Geek Tragedy said:
Say all the bad things you like about Zavvi but they will forever have my gratitude for adding 30+ Disney Steelbooks to my collection I would probably not have without them. I gave up hope long ago of a US retailer offering them to us after Zavvi's exclusive rights to them ran out.

Without turning this into 'Zavvi bashing' comment, it's not Zavvi's steelbook output that's ever been the problem. Like any retailer, the products they stock can be good or bad, they've sold amazing steelbooks and awful steelbooks (the Disney collection contains examples of both). Futureshop, Best Buy, Amazon and MediaMarkt all have releases that can be classified as great or dire, and, like Zavvi, they're not responsible for the quality of the product either.

What Zavvi is responsible for, is bloody awful customer service and shady selling practices.

Geek Tragedy · May 31, 2015

I said it before but I'll say it again. I have fortunately thus far had nothing but mostly nice experiences shopping with Zavvi. I can't be the only lucky one. They have done some silly shenanigans with the zbox and such recently I'll admit but they have always treated me in a professional manor and I can't thank them enough for being willing to sell their exclusive products to a US customer (unlike some other UK companies that I won't mention.)

shiftyraccoon · Jun 1, 2015

I've had ok with zavvi. A few replacements and refunds needed (which I had to argue for) but the consistent up and down prices. In and out of stock shenanigans and almost forced zbox selling is just ridiculous

UpsetSmiley · Jun 1, 2015

Geek Tragedy said:
I said it before but I'll say it again. I have fortunately thus far had nothing but mostly nice experiences shopping with Zavvi. I can't be the only lucky one. They have done some silly shenanigans with the zbox and such recently I'll admit but they have always treated me in a professional manor and I can't thank them enough for being willing to sell their exclusive products to a US customer (unlike some other UK companies that I won't mention.)

At least for all the criticism Zavvi receive, they're thinking outside the box. Sadly no major US/CA stores ship to the UK.

Although I imagine shipping would come at a hefty sum.

darczap · Jun 1, 2015

Maybe Zavvi should learn how to use the phrase 'out of stock' over 'sold out' before they make steelbooks available for ordering again. That's what differentiates Zavvi from Amazon, Amazon doesn't say a new release is sold out, just to bring it back in stock shortly after release date and at a reduced price. It's this trickery that Zavvi plays that earns them their grimy rep.

On a separate note, I brought up The Incredibles technology related pricing error to them and have been avoided so far. I was told they were looking into it and I would receive a response in 48 hours. 48 hours passed, so I shot another message. Nothing. The first message was sent 9 days ago.

tenderheartbear · Jun 1, 2015

shiftyraccoon said:
I've had ok with zavvi. A few replacements and refunds needed (which I had to argue for) but the consistent up and down prices. In and out of stock shenanigans and almost forced zbox selling is just ridiculous

This is my biggest problem with them.

Like any retailer, if nothing goes wrong then fine. I don't care who I give my money to as long as I get what I want. It's when something goes wrong. You really shouldn't have to email them with details of your issue, wait 24-48 hours for a reply, generally reply to that response, wait for another reply, by which time any replacement is usually out of stock (or whatever Zavvi's out of stock means).

Zavvi need to do what amazon does, simply have a return/replace option. Zavvi send you the new one, you send back the defective one within 30 days or pay for both. Simple. I'm not saying upgrading their website is going to be cheap, but if Zavvi wants to play with the big boys, it needs to use big boy toys.

Futurhythm · Jun 3, 2015

I seriously think Zavvi are playing a joke on me.

I bought the Monty Python's The Meaning of Life Steelbook about a month after release and they sent me a copy that was unsealed and covered with scratches and paint chips. I go through the usual back and forth to get a replacement, but the guy who took my case just wouldn't budge. In the end I was given a partial refund of 60% or 70%. I caved because it took me like two weeks just to get that and I was done.

Now the Steelbook is at a very good price, I order another copy, and guess what? They send me a resealed copy. How do I know it's resealed? Well, the side of the shrinkwrap isn't sealed properly and it doesn't even come with the J-card.

I don't even know what to do anymore.

T800kaz · Jun 3, 2015

Well I received my first damaged steelbook from zavvi :mad:

it had to be one I was super exited for (n)

Any point asking for a replacement?

MrBMT · Jun 3, 2015

T800kaz said:
Any point asking for a replacement?

Nope, it's OOS now. I'd ask for a partial refund though. Or full refund, if you want to return it and get it elsewhere.

Mr Y Fronts · Jun 3, 2015

T800kaz said:
Well I received my first damaged steelbook from zavvi it had to be one I was super exited for

Any point asking for a replacement?

View attachment 165147 View attachment 165148
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Ouch..sorry to see that

, you can ask zavvi for a replacement, but if it shows as sold out, you'll get nowhere, looks like you'll have to return for refund.

harry · Jun 3, 2015

Sorry to see your copy damage @T800kaz buddy :dunno:

.

I would ask a Full refund and try get it on the sale thread here. If i had extra copy i would have given to you at cost

Zavvi - Retailer chat [Europe]

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