Hey, guess what?

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Hey, guess what?

Post by Guest » Jun 14th 2002, 7:50 am

Back when I signed the petition way back when, I was under the assumption that I would be able to purchase the boxed set through normal channels such as amazon.com. They don't bill your credit card until the merchandise has actually been shipped. They always respond to emails. Their customer service is very good. Their privacy policy is excellent. I have placed many orders through them, and their track record is excellent.

But now I see that the only way to get the boxed set is through Another Universe. I had never heard of them until a few months ago. I see that they have billed quite a few people's credit cards way back in April for something that wasn't even supposed to ship until June. I see that they often don't respond to people's emails. I see that someone who received conformation that they would get the lunchbox has now been told otherwise. And I see that their "privacy policy" doesn't even guarantee that they won't share your information with third parties.

Well, guess what?

I'm not buying the boxed set.

I'm glad that I didn't preorder. I'm glad that I don't have to go through all the cr-p that so many of you guys are going through. You guys have my sympathy. I'm older than most of you, so I have more real world life lessons than many of you. Let this be a lesson for the future - don't give your credit card number to strange websites that you aren't familiar with.

Jason R
"Mr. DVD"
Posts: 1627
Joined: Jan 30th 2002, 1:42 pm
Location: New York

Re: Hey, guess what?

Post by Jason R » Jun 14th 2002, 8:28 am

You're barking, partially, up the wrong tree.

As you probably know from reading this forum, I was brought on in an official capacity to help manage and correct any problems. I am not denying that there have been problems, but they are being taken seriously.

I have also been to BMG several times this week, working on this project. It is very much a reality. There have been delays, but BMG is neither apologetic, nor to blame. This is not to say that we don't take delays seriously, but when it comes down to cutting out a scene/song or trying to get the song cleared, you try to go for the unedited version. That is the extent of the conspiracy.

Wouldn't it have been great if Amazon wanted to sell this disc. However, the back story here is a little more complex (and guess what? Amazon was one of the companies I approached while at BMG). Nobody but nobody wanted to sell it. I am not defending the errors made by anotheruniverse, but they are being fixed when discovered. And if they are an intelligent company, and wish to sell more limited discs in the future, they will learn from their errors.

There have been very stupid errors.
At the same time, some of the errors were unavoidable. For instance, what do you do when:
1) a hotmail or yahoo email address becomes invalid because the inbox is over quota, and you cannot respond to the customer's email, and they have not identified themselves or their order number in their email? My advice? Ban yahoo and hotmail emails. Since the new service terms, neither is reliable. At the very least, require a backup for emergencies.
2) Someone claims a check payment was sent, but there is none on file, or the name was illegible so it is under a different name/spelling? Request a copy of the cancelled check and correct the order.
3) Over 550 credit cards are in decline status due to insufficient balances, limitations placed by card-issuers on online purchases, recently expired or stolen cards? You attempt to contact each person before canceling an order.

Incidentally, AnotherUniverse has existed for many years, and is now a part of CMI Holdings. The idea of charging up front, and manufacturing only for those who pre-order was not originated by them. It is an idea taken from companies who currently release Japanese anime on DVD (something that you may have noticed is also sold by AU).

It is also something that is becoming more and more common as content owners try to reduce retailer returns and excess inventory.

Jason Rosenfeld

Guest

You are soooo smart! (duh)

Post by Guest » Jun 14th 2002, 9:15 am

Well, Well, Well. Aren't you sooo smart?.... Yeah, man, you totally showed all of us. Nobody left your cheese out in the wind.
You're not gonna get snowed by those scheming bastards at BMG and MSCL.com and AU are you? Here's a thought....if a person doesn't
want to buy something; keep your mouth shut and don't buy it. Like we need your stellar advice on this one.?. Got any hot stock tips while
you're at it genuis???? I am so sick of whining around here. This whole DVD thing has NEVER been done before and the footsoldiers who
dive into the trenches around the clock every day (for $0.00 I might add) and put up with all the B/S really deserve a little more respect IMHO.
Jason has been getting it waaaay badly ever since he decided out of the goodness of his heart to give all the fans of the show what they
have been dying for.....the series on DVD. I ordered the set, and am getting the lunchbox and have had NO problems. I guess those of us who
have had no problems need to make more posts on how well it is going for us. A kind of 'reverse-whining' if you will to offset your snivelling.
For all of you who are cancelling, then cancel already! AND DO US A FAVOR AND SHUTUP! AND LEAVE JASON ALONE since you're not buying
anyway!

Guest

Re: Hey, guess what?

Post by Guest » Jun 14th 2002, 10:20 am

The delays are understandable given the nature of the project, but what I've been taking issue with is AU's customer service and most notably the failure to reply to emails. In the las 14 days, I have made credit card transactions with:
Opal music
Play.com
Streets online
Easyjet
Cosmic Debris
WHSmith
Amazon.com
Books Online (BOL)
and none of them had a problem with my Hotmail account - in fact I've never had such a problem. This would suggest the fault is with AU, not Hotmail.

Guest

Re: You are soooo smart! (duh)

Post by Guest » Jun 14th 2002, 10:24 am

Some of us aren't in a position not to worry about the fate of $115. Jason has done a good job I'm sure, but this does not excuse the abominable customer service from AU.

Jason R
"Mr. DVD"
Posts: 1627
Joined: Jan 30th 2002, 1:42 pm
Location: New York

Re: Hey, guess what?

Post by Jason R » Jun 14th 2002, 10:31 am

This is your case, and I assume that you are not continually near your threshold at which hotmail disables your account.

However, you do not identify yourself. You, from as far as I can tell, have not emailed me, and I therefore cannot provide a response that will satisfy you. If you are the originator of this thread, you have not ordered either, so I don't see how you are in a position to comment on my response or lack thereof.

If you go over 2 megs of emails on hotmail, or have your spam filters set in a certain way, anybody who tries to email you will get a failure notice. This is obviously not you, but this is the way it goes with those services.

Many sites are already either banning anonymous services, such as hotmail and yahoo, or requiring a backup email for emergency communications. Not only because the free service is unreliable, but because there is an extremely high rate of fraud from those email addresses. There is a much lower incidence of fraud when an email address can be tied to a person.

The beauty of the Internet is the ability to express an opinion. I am sorry that the arrangement turned you off from buying the set.

Jason Rosenfeld

Guest

Interesting.?.

Post by Guest » Jun 14th 2002, 11:33 am

You buy THAT many things off of websites??*!@#*???? AND you are suprised one of them didn't work out just perfect? Keep rollin' the dice pal.

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foolishoptimist
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Location: Melbourne, Australia

A different perspective.

Post by foolishoptimist » Jun 17th 2002, 4:51 am

I have to admit, when I first heard about the "Available through One web site only" deal, especially given that I'd never heard of AnotherUniverse.com before, I thought it was bullshit. Not having a credit card, meant I had to use money orders, which meant relying on worldwide postage, which I've had heaps of problems with in the past. And the price, in conversion to Australian dollars is going to be over $200, which took a while to save up for me. So to send it to another country, to a business I'd never heard of, and honestly didn't believe in at first was more than a bit risky.
But who cares?
I've only ever seen the whole series of MSCL once, when it was on cable and that was over 3 years ago. I was immediately hooked. I've been waiting since that first experience to see it again so that i could tape it, but all I got was the first 5 episodes played right before the olympics, and I've not heard or seen any episodes beyond that since then. But I still check the guide at the start of every month.
I sent of my order based solely on the possibility, that I might miss out. Especially, given that, if it did come out all right, that each person who signed the petition and pre-ordered, was simply one more step in making it a reality. I wouldn't care if it took a year, and they never replied to my emails. At the end of that time, I'd have a box set of every episode of the greatest TV show ever created on my shelf.
Incidentally, Jason has been a legend. He's always responded to my queries, even if they have been simply little nagging itches, and not huge problems that (only) a few others have had.
Remember, there are thousands of people ordering this thing. I've only seen a handful of people claiming to have any real, serious problems.
And none of it will matter to any of them, because they'll have MSCL.
You won't, but at least you'll have missed out on sending a couple of emails about so-called problems.



The owls are not what they seem.

oldguy
Substitute Teacher
Posts: 179
Joined: Aug 29th 1999, 1:43 am

Re: Hey, guess what?

Post by oldguy » Jun 17th 2002, 2:24 pm

Jason:

I think you have done a very good job of explaining things on this site when questions such as this arise. While I have been skeptical of certain aspects of this deal, I think Mr. Anonymous here is being "over-the-top" in his/her particular criticisms.

I do have one question, though, which still bugs me about all of this. The original offer said that we would only be charged $20 for the pre-order, and charged the remaining balance only upon shipping of the DVDs. But not long after ordering, the story changed and we were charged the whole $99 well in advance of shipping. This still bothers me --- the dishonesty of the original offer. Can you explain this?

Jason R
"Mr. DVD"
Posts: 1627
Joined: Jan 30th 2002, 1:42 pm
Location: New York

Answer for oldguy

Post by Jason R » Jun 17th 2002, 4:05 pm

Sure thing. I've always tried to be candid. In fact, I know I have posted this somewhere. Perhaps it was on Home Theater Forum.

To begin, BMG required full payment for the authoring and manufacturing, up front, before they would start production.

From their perspective:
1) They already had lost money on MSCL when it fizzled at retail
2) Here comes this guy (me) who used to work for them along with a retailer that they never sold to before
3) Their regular supply chain was taking a beating with many retailers not coming through on payment.

As far as why AU did not float the entire amount, when I held conversations with Ross Rojek, the CEO of AU, early on in the process, we always talked in terms of "maybe we will get 1,000 pre-orders by August." AU was perfectly capable of floating the production costs for this amount. However, when it mushroomed, virtually overnight, to over 3,000, the old plans went out the window.

Some have asked why the deposits and promise to pay the balance was not enough to secure short term credit. The answer is that a deposit on a credit card cannot be counted as collateral by a bank. I know this because I checked into it myself.

Based on the sales of MSCL at retail, I was hoping for 1,000 orders by August. We all know what happened next.

In the future, perhaps AU would have an easier time getting credit terms from BMG. A lot of this might sound foreign to some people who are probably asking "but why don't they just take some money from AU's account and pay BMG." In the retail world there is a huge difference between credit and cash.

Usually, you get the goods with several months in which to pay. You sell the goods and eventually return the unused portion. You only pay for what you sell. In this case, this is qualified as a "one-way" sale. If AU is stuck with unused inventory (unlikely, from what we have seen) they cannot return it to BMG. BMG has effectively washed its hands of the product.

I am sorry if some of you feel like the guinea pigs of this process. It was not an exaggeration when US News said that this was the first time fans succeeded in doing this. The only way to keep things together is to have a transparent process. Otherwise... well, you know what happens when you are on the phone and you sit on hold too long.

Jason Rosenfeld

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dTheater
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Re: A different perspective.

Post by dTheater » Jun 17th 2002, 9:35 pm

For an optimist, that was pretty damn smart and sensible. Great post. More of the naysayers need to read this and realize what they'll miss by getting mad and worried by one little mistake out of hundreds.

- Jim

Kaytee Bodle: Girl With Guitar
http://girlwithguitar.0catch.com/

Guest

Re: Answer for oldguy

Post by Guest » Jun 19th 2002, 12:57 am

Well, don't think I have checked in on this website for a couple of months and am amused to see the same conversations & bitching doing the rounds about AU (and I have done my fair, and I mean fair, considering the troubles I had about of complaining too). People, it seems in the above threads, get so passionate when their comments are faceless. Anyway, glad I cancelled my pre-order seeing as all of this is still going on......and on, and on. The last I heard, the boxset was due out on June 16th...so I guess I really haven't been checking-in since then! I wonder when the boxset will see the light of day....and good on all of you who have stuck with the project. In the meantime I think that everyone who is getting aggressive on here (which ever stance you take) should get a life (get it?)

Guest

Re: Answer for oldguy

Post by Guest » Jun 19th 2002, 12:58 am

Well, don't think I have checked in on this website for a couple of months and am amused to see the same conversations & bitching doing the rounds about AU (and I have done my fair, and I mean fair, considering the troubles I had with the company, of complaining too). People, it seems in the above threads, get so passionate when their comments are faceless. Anyway, glad I cancelled my pre-order seeing as all of this is still going on......and on, and on. The last I heard, the boxset was due out on June 16th...so I guess I really haven't been checking-in since then! I wonder when the boxset will see the light of day....and good on all of you who have stuck with the project. In the meantime I think that everyone who is getting aggressive on here (which ever stance you take) should get a life (get it?)

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