ZOS response to shipping embargo - "You ordered a physical copy , its your problem."

remlish · April 2014

Im a day off in my head. The embargo was until 4/3/14... Thursday for friday delivery/release.. but not everyone got overnight shipping , in my case it was not even an option from the retailer but even on amazon it depended entirely on when they processed your order that day, many of them were delayed due to processing.

Imryll · April 2014

selisa86 wrote: »

I agree that Zenimax should extend the deadline. When a grace period is given in order to enter a code, the duration of the grace period should be active until the code can actually be entered. Otherwise, why the hell is there even a grace period in the first place?

My next suggestion will not help in the matter at hand, but I think it would be a good idea for game companies to stop offering the traditional "box set" collector's edition for MMOs. They could, instead, sell the digital copy with the option to add on physical collector's items, like lore books, figurines, etc. at an additional cost, but the shipping would not be an issue as the game itself would be digital. Solved.

Did you pay for overnight shipping or is your game not arriving until the 8th because you chose not to buy local and to economize on shipping?

And, no thanks, I'd like to continue to buy boxed sets.

randomaffliction66 · April 2014

JarronKai wrote: »

Clotholachesisatropos666b14_ESO wrote: »

I agree they should help you out, how ever any one that has played mmos before should know better than to order a physical copy from any brick and mortar store, or even an online retailer unless it comes directly from the company that makes it..

This ALWAYS happens lol why wont people learn

I know right, how DARE people want the physical bonuses of a Collector's Edition. Those fools. And how DARE people expect that the supplier and the distributor that they choose to work with actually work together to sell the correct number of copies and ensure that customers who get screwed over by their mistake actually get taken care of?

If Amazon over-sold, they needed to tell Zenimax. If Zenimax under-supplied, Amazon needed to know a while ago. And here's the real kicker - Amazon and the other suppliers can't do ANYTHING to help people other than shrug their shoulders and say "at least we didn't charge your card until it shipped, so if it never ships, that's good, right?" Zenimax has the ability to hook people up with digital pre-orders and be a go-between. It is THEIR product and THEIR future customer revenue on the line. If they couldn't find distributors who were going to provide a good experience and sell the correct number of copies, they should have never done a physical edition in the first place.

You're missing the point, and the point is if you buy a physical copy from any other company you will get screwed 90 percent of the time, unless you actually go to the store and bring it home with you ( yes I edited this, I felt the almighty ban hammer looming dangerously close to my head )

Midgardian · April 2014

remlish wrote: »

Midgardian wrote: »

Not true. Mine shipped on the 3rd.

Do you live in the USA? which retailer, because the two largest shippers in the US are Amazon and Gamestop , both of which have stated that they were not allowed to ship prior to 4/3/14 due to embargo instructions by Zenimax.

This isn't a matter of debate , its a fact that Zenimax needs to address appropriately.

*edited to compensate for being a day off in my head today lol

I live in the US and ordered with Amazon. So, yeah.

Mine should have arrived yesterday, but Amazon emailed me to say that FedEx was actually delayed, and so it will probably be here Monday.

All of which I'm fine with because, seriously, I have other things to do too and my whole life doesn't revolve around playing this game.

Midgardian · April 2014

remlish wrote: »

Im a day off in my head. The embargo was until 4/3/14... Thursday for friday delivery/release.. but not everyone got overnight shipping , in my case it was not even an option from the retailer but even on amazon it depended entirely on when they processed your order that day, many of them were delayed due to processing.

So, essentially you are complaining that you didn't get release day delivery when you didn't get overnight shipping and the retailer didn't even offer release date shipping. So, what exactly is the problem?

Valethar · April 2014

The point many of you are missing is that ZOS bungled the grace period on a Friday release. Most games are released on Tuesday, and generally give more than a 48 hour grace period. In this case, we have a game that was released on a Friday, and the grace period ends on a Sunday, when no one will be getting deliveries.

Taken in combination with Amazon's complete mishandling of this release, that puts a lot of people in the position of not only missing out on Sunday, but quite possibly a large part of Monday as well. The wait will be even longer for those who were forced to find an alternate retailer at the last minute when Amazon finally decided to admit they borked the orders.

All they're asking is that ZOS step up and extend the grace period to a more reasonable date, such as Tuesday, to allow for the transit time, so they're not cut off from playing the game until the box shows up.

It's really not that much to ask, and the goodwill they'll accrue from doing so will far outweigh the very small drop in revenue they'll experience for treating their customers with respect, instead of silence.

selisa86 · April 2014

Imryll wrote: »

Did you pay for overnight shipping or is your game not arriving until the 8th because you chose not to buy local and to economize on shipping?

And, no thanks, I'd like to continue to buy boxed sets.

I really don't believe the issue lies with the shipping. I may be alone in that, but I think that if they offer a grace period it should cover those who are experiencing delays in shipping, especially since the game launched just before the weekend (and shipped items do not arrive on the weekend in some areas). They implied that it would cover us here:

...This [the access extension to Sunday, 8 am EDT] will cover those who purchased ESO from an online retailer and won't be getting your box shipped in time.

However, it does not cover us. So the problem is not solved.

And I should add that they could still offer the disc for people who prefer discs in this digital day and age, but if they would offer the stand-alone physical CE items as an optional upgrade with the digital copy - as those items are what most people want - that would be a good option.

Midgardian wrote: »

So, essentially you are complaining that you didn't get release day delivery when you didn't get overnight shipping and the retailer didn't even offer release date shipping. So, what exactly is the problem?

No. He was replying to other comments. I believe in his original post he is saying that the grace period offered by Zenimax is insufficient to cover the inevitable shipping delays. Which it is. That is the real point here. Lol.

Everyone can say it's the customer's fault for choosing the "wrong" shipping method or not getting it shipped directly to a local store, but in the end, Zenimax did not make the extension long enough to cover the lapse and they are ignoring the issue. That is on them.

Sakiri · April 2014

I have to say, I've yet to order a physical copy of a game for release day and actually had it show up ON release day.

In fact, my "release day" shipping for WoW when it first released didn't show up until a week later because holiday shipping got in the way(it released mid November 2004... American Thanksgiving).

If you absolutely must have the game on release day, go to a brick and mortar store. This has always been my rule. It's kept me sane.

I couldn't pick my CE up on release day here because they didn't do a midnight release event(lack of preorders oddly) and I couldn't make it into town yesterday. Otherwise I'd have had it.

Got it today.

Dolenz · April 2014

Valethar wrote: »

The point many of you are missing is that ZOS bungled the grace period on a Friday release. Most games are released on Tuesday, and generally give more than a 48 hour grace period. In this case, we have a game that was released on a Friday, and the grace period ends on a Sunday, when no one will be getting deliveries.

ZOS didn't have to give any grace period. The fact that they extended it two days is a benefit already.

If I order a game online I am at the mercy of the reseller and the shipper and I know that. If this was Skyrim and you ordered from Amazon and they did not get it on release day then you don't really have any recourse. I am not sure why an MMO needs to be any different? It is the risk you take when you buy physical copies and rely on shipping to get it to you.

I am not saying it was not bungled by Amazon or Zenimax. I just don't see why Zenimax owes anyone an extended grace period.

selisa86 · April 2014

Dolenz wrote: »

ZOS didn't have to give any grace period. The fact that they extended it two days is a benefit already.

If I order a game online I am at the mercy of the reseller and the shipper and I know that. If this was Skyrim and you ordered from Amazon and they did not get it on release day then you don't really have any recourse. I am not sure why an MMO needs to be any different? It is the risk you take when you buy physical copies and rely on shipping to get it to you.

I am not saying it was not bungled by Amazon or Zenimax. I just don't see why Zenimax owes anyone an extended grace period.

First, it wasn't a 2 day extension. Originally it was 48 hours, starting on the 4th. So it would end on Saturday. They extended it to Sunday at 8 AM, EDT. So... they extended it overnight (not business hours) and not even past the weekend (not business days). It didn't solve the issue.

Why should they extend the grace period? Because as it stands now, if it is meant to cover shipping delays, the grace period falls short. It's simple. A grace period, starting and ending on a weekend, is ineffective.

JarronKai · April 2014

Clotholachesisatropos666b14_ESO wrote: »

You're missing the point, and the point is if you buy a physical copy from any other company you will get screwed 90 percent of the time, unless you actually go to the store and bring it home with you ( yes I edited this, I felt the almighty ban hammer looming dangerously close to my head )

No, you're missing the point. There are precisely ZERO stores I can go to which carried this product on release day. Yeah, my bad for living where I do, but I pre-order regularly through Amazon and have never had an issue. I doubt very seriously that Zenimax is completely blameless - at the very least, they chose the suppliers, set the deadlines, monitored the production, and chose which distributors to use and what restrictions to place on them.

Thankfully, my box isn't coming, so I've got an easy out here. I'll go find a game company that can handle a pre-order halfway decently. As it turns out, there are a lot of them...