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The Zavvi Thread of Monumental Incompetence

Roxas

Member
I am not surprised to see this thread. I ordered Final Fantasy: 4 Warriors of Light from Zavvi and it took just under a month to arrive. I tried bringing it up with Zavvi, and they never replied to my numerous emails. After a couple of weeks i just ordered it from Amazon and it came the next day.

Basically, the only good reliable online stores are Amazon, GAME and shopto.

Zavvi are a bunch of charlatans.
 

Joni

Member
Haven't had any problems with TheHut or Zavvi yet. Games arrived fairly fast and never had an order cancelled. But on the other hand, I don't buy games when they are new new. I wait quite a long time till they're very cheap. If I want them day one, I buy them in store. Shipping isn't very fast in my country anyway so I expect it to take long. Only Amazon stuff arrives fast, but I need to order more items so I don't need to pay for shipping.
 

Yen

Member
Roxas said:
I am not surprised to see this thread. I ordered Final Fantasy: 4 Warriors of Light from Zavvi and it took just under a month to arrive. I tried bringing it up with Zavvi, and they never replied to my numerous emails. After a couple of weeks i just ordered it from Amazon and it came the next day.

Basically, the only good reliable online stores are Amazon, GAME and shopto.

Zavvi are a bunch of charlatans.

And even then, they aren't GAFs best friend.
 
I've got 3 stories regarding Zavvi/thehut.

One of my first orders from thehut came in a broken UMD box. It broke due to thehuts cheap packaging. Wanted to get a new game, contacted them via email, never received any answer.

The second was zavvi and a 3 week waiting time for the Borderlands DLC disc.

Also, I've had to wait for 3 weeks before SSBB arrived. Unfortunately for them, I contacted them exactly one day before it arrived and they instantly sent me another one. The next day the first game I ordered arrived, 5 working days later I had a second copy of SSBB. Bought it at thehut.

I live in austria and 3 weeks for a shipment seems to be a joke. Every amazon.co.uk order I've had arrived within at least 6 working days. The only problem with amazon is their high price for shipping (around 5£).

So far I've come to the conclusion that I better order at any other shop, even if it's a slightly higher price for the same item. And whenever I make a big order with 5 or more games, I usually go with amazon.
 

donny2112

Member
RPGCrazied said:
Least they are fast with giving refunds. :p

Oh well, I'm done with this place!

*goes back to playing Xenoblade*

So let's break this down.

1) You ordered the game from Zavvi.com in the hype of Xenoblade's non-U.S. release.
2) This is your first International order of a video game.
3) You freak out when it doesn't come within a week from release with free international shipping.
4) Spread ill-will and dissatisfaction with Zavvi and international shipping, in general, across several threads.
5) Push Zavvi.com for a refund because it'd been over two weeks.
6) Game comes in the mail after the fast refund.
7) You're not going to give Zavvi.com back the money, as indicated by the "I'm done with this place!"
8) Happily go off to play your copy of Xenoblade.

'Bout cover it, or did you fill out the survey from Zavvi.com with a lot of complaining, too?
 
donny2112 said:
So let's break this down.

1) You ordered the game from Zavvi.com in the hype of Xenoblade's non-U.S. release.
2) This is your first International order of a video game.
3) You freak out when it doesn't come within a week from release with free international shipping.
4) Spread ill-will and dissatisfaction with Zavvi and international shipping, in general, across several threads.
5) Push Zavvi.com for a refund because it'd been over two weeks.
6) Game comes in the mail after the fast refund.
7) You're not going to give Zavvi.com back the money, as indicated by the "I'm done with this place!"
8) Happily go off to play your copy of Xenoblade.

'Bout cover it, or did you fill out the survey from Zavvi.com with a lot of complaining, too?
i think he got the game from another gaf member. zavvi order never came.
 
The last title I ordered ( Zelda 3DS ) took exactly 2 weeks from order to receipt ( UK ) - perhaps or just been spoiled by Amazon, Game and ShopTo's 48hr deliveries.

And the title was 'In stock' btw.
 

Oemenia

Banned
Update on my BlazBlue Continuum Shift, dispatched on the 8th and it STILL hasnt come. And yes, i live in the UK!

First and last time ill order there, should have read this thread earlier.
 
I'm totally trying to bit on Xenoblade, but every time I try to checkout with PayPal, I get an error saying that the site is busy. I've tried on TheHut, too, but no dice.

Is it just me?
 

Kiriku

SWEDISH PERFECTION
Seeing as this thread is back on the first page, I might as well ask:

Has Zavvi improved any during these last couple of months?
 
Well I'm extremely unimpressed with their service so far. My last few orders from them have taken over a week to arrive. And they're saying they'll dispatch my Resident Evil Revelations on the 27th...but thats the day it comes out. And going by their track record I won't have the game until the following weekend. I don't have time for that when FFXIII-2 and SCV are out the following week.

So I've just gone and cancelled my pre-order. I can live without the circle pad pro. Revelations plays fine without it. Bare in mind I'm a UK resident as well, living in London...so god knows why it took over a week for them to get my Arcana Heart 3 Limited Edition and my Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky to me. This was on two separate occasions might I add.
 

glaurung

Member
Seeing as this thread is back on the first page, I might as well ask:

Has Zavvi improved any during these last couple of months?
Zavvi/Hut have improved for me by getting blocked by my bank. Yeah, you read it right. My bank no longer accepts transactions coming from their services.

Meaning I cannot order anything from them on the account that I cannot pay them.

I say good riddance.
 

kamorra

Fuck Cancer
Now I'm scared about my Resident Evil Revelations preorder. This is the first time I do business with them. Should I cancel my preorder?
 

cw_sasuke

If all DLC came tied to $13 figurines, I'd consider all DLC to be free
Now I'm scared about my Resident Evil Revelations preorder. This is the first time I do business with them. Should I cancel my preorder?

If you have to play it on day one, you should probably get it somewhere else. Otherwise it should be fine.
 
Now I'm scared about my Resident Evil Revelations preorder. This is the first time I do business with them. Should I cancel my preorder?

Really depends on how much you want the circle pad, and whether you want it day 1. It's an exclusive deal so likely to be massively over-subscribed, so at least some people won't be getting their game for a while after release.

If you're not fussed about when you receive it, then don't worry so much - just make sure you pre-order using Paypal to give you a better chance of getting a refund if something does go wrong.
 

kamorra

Fuck Cancer
Just cancelled it.

If you have to play it on day one, you should probably get it somewhere else. Otherwise it should be fine.
Really depends on how much you want the circle pad, and whether you want it day 1. It's an exclusive deal so likely to be massively over-subscribed, so at least some people won't be getting their game for a while after release.

If you're not fussed about when you receive it, then don't worry so much - just make sure you pre-order using Paypal to give you a better chance of getting a refund if something does go wrong.

Do you guys know any other shop that sells the bundle?

edit
oh, it's a exclusive deal. :(
 
Just cancelled it. Do you know any other shop that sells the bundle?

The bundle is a Zavvi exclusive :-\

You could always pre-order from Amazon and pre-order from Zavvi.

Receive the Amazon copy on release and play it. When the bundle arrives from Zavvi, take the circle pad and send the still wrapped copy of Resi back to Amazon under their 30 day return policy.
 

kamorra

Fuck Cancer
The bundle is a Zavvi exclusive :-\

You could always pre-order from Amazon and pre-order from Zavvi.

Receive the Amazon copy on release and play it. When the bundle arrives from Zavvi, take the circle pad and send the still wrapped copy of Resi back to Amazon under their 30 day return policy.

Yeah, might do that. Thank you. :)
 

cw_sasuke

If all DLC came tied to $13 figurines, I'd consider all DLC to be free
Preordered it for 36€ at zavvi, there is no way I would cancel it - awesome deal.
 

Mafro

Member
I'm keeping my Resi bundle preorder with zavvi, but I don't trust them to get it to me for release day so I also ordered a copy of the game from ShopTo (they charged me today and it'll probably be dispatched tomorrow for Thursday delivery) and I'll just sell the spare copy or whatever.
 
Receive the Amazon copy on release and play it. When the bundle arrives from Zavvi, take the circle pad and send the still wrapped copy of Resi back to Amazon under their 30 day return policy.
Eh, might be dangerous cos the bundled versions usually have a NOT TO BE RESOLD SEPERATELY tag on the actual game box or even a slightly different box (corner triangle) compared to your country's solus version. For me in the UK, solus games have the green corner triangle but the bundled versions (to be sold to the entire EU) have the purple or orange triangle. Some shops just refuse to take the bundled version, especially since they usually have a NOT TO BE RESOLD SEPERATELY sign.
 

Mafro

Member
Eh, might be dangerous cos the bundled versions usually have a NOT TO BE RESOLD SEPERATELY tag on the actual game box or even a slightly different box (corner triangle) compared to your country's solus version. For me in the UK, solus games have the green corner triangle but the bundled versions (to be sold to the entire EU) have the purple or orange triangle. Some shops just refuse to take the bundled version, especially since they usually have a NOT TO BE RESOLD SEPERATELY sign.
Yep my bundled copy of Monster Hunter Tri that came with the limited edition has a blue triangle on the spine rather than a green and there's no description of the game or anything on the back. Clearly different from a normal retail one.
 
I'm done with Zavvi. They didn't even reply to my last email. At this point I'd rather pay £5 more and get the games from somewhere else.
 
Seeing as this thread is back on the first page, I might as well ask:

Has Zavvi improved any during these last couple of months?

I order from Zavvi all the time, shipping to Finland takes about a week. Zero problems. But yeah, all items are shipped out on release day. Thats fine, if i want a game on the day of release, i buy locally.
 

kamorra

Fuck Cancer
ehh, I've just received an answer for my cancellation request.
Thanks for your request. Unfortunately it has not been possible to cancel your item(s) as it is being prepared for dispatch.

Dispatch date is 27/01/2012. I knew I should have used Amazon like always. :(
 

Kayo-kun

Member
I live in Sweden and bought Infamous 2 when it was on sale on Zavvi and recieved it in a week. It was one week before the holidays so I was quite impressed.
 
I've ordered Arcana Heart 3 and DoDonPachi Resurrection for them for cheap. Took ages to arrive, but again, they were cheap and I knew what to expect.
 
This thread is making me wary that my Ultimate Metal Gear Solid HD Collection won't arrive / arrive in one piece come February. :/

I have never had a problem from Zavvi (other than two or three late arrivals) over 3 years.

This thread is rather lopsided as everyone that ever had a problem (big or small) is commenting in it. As I said in another thread today, Zavvi do have a few problems (and these complaints are justified), but there are still 1000s of people getting stuff they ordered without having any real problem. People who get things they expect rarely say thanks, but people who have a bad service usually complain loudly.
 

Carl

Member
I have never had a problem from Zavvi (other than two or three late arrivals) over 3 years.

This thread is rather lopsided as everyone that ever had a problem (big or small) is commenting in it. As I said in another thread today, Zavvi do have a few problems (and these complaints are justified), but there are still 1000s of people getting stuff they ordered without having any real problem. People who get things they expect rarely say thanks, but people who have a bad service usually complain loudly.
I never had anything from them in a timely fashion
 

bestami

Member
I live in Turkey and my main source of games and blurays is zavvi. They take 2-3 days to answer the queries but other than that i had no problems. There were some lost packages (mainly because of my own countries postage services) and they sent replacements or offered refunds every single time.
 

FatCat

Member
I only had a problem with them for DoA Dimensions when that launched (took 3 weeks to arrive, I preordered yet they did not ship it for 2 weeks).

If there were two rules to keep in mind when shopping with them: check the availability (not available in the next 24h? It won't ship for a long time...) and don't buy during the festive season. For Switzerland the games take maximum 2 weeks to arrive, and I honestly don't mind when you realize how expensive the games can be here (maybe 3-4 times more in some cases).
 
I never had anything from them in a timely fashion

For preorders, I always get items a week after release (usually the Tuesday for a Friday release). I find that acceptable, as the item is coming Guernsey to Ireland. If people expect quicker, then I guess they will fell let down. If I just order an item, it usually comes within a week od placing the order (once they have stock) - which is also fine with me.
 

Zafir

Member
Funnily enough I've always had pre-orders from Zavvi/thehut come on the day of release, bar one exception which came on the saturday. However I imagine shipping to Ireland will take longer.
 

hirokazu

Member
I ordered Deus Ex and Ace Combat on December 21, they were both listed on the site as In Stock. They did nothing with my order, so I asked them on Twitter and got no reply on the 8th.

On the 10th, I wrote a public tweet saying I don't think they're going to ship my order, what the fuck? They replied on the 14th saying the stuff I ordered were both out of stock. I replied saying, wait, I thought if it said it was in stock on the site, it would be in stock? They replied that this shouldn't have happened and they'll look into it.

On the 16th, they shipped my Deus Ex (still waiting for it to arrive), there's been no further updates about Ace Combat yet. I don't think they'll ever get Ace Combat shipped.

Yeah, this is probably the last time I deal with them, every single order I've place in the past year has had issues.
 

madp

The Light of El Cantare
ehh, I've just received an answer for my cancellation request.

Dispatch date is 27/01/2012. I knew I should have used Amazon like always. :(

I hate this. I imported several PSP games from Zavvi last year and they've claimed that items are "being prepared for despatch" up to a week in advance. The first time I tried to a cancel an order with them, I didn't realize that cancellations weren't instant but that, rather, they used "cancellation requests" that took several hours to process and updated your item status through email.

I had received a 10% off code that I wanted to apply toward a game that I had already preordered, so I cancelled the item (or so I thought), then ran through the second purchase of the item using the code. A few hours later, I receive an email telling me that my cancellation was unsuccessful with "preparing for despatch" as the reason, even though the item had a week or more until release. I tried to cancel my second order, but I received the same notice and I ended up being stuck with two copies of the same game. Their site design is unbelievably horrific.
 

web01

Member
I order from them all the time from UK to AUS.
Prices are cheap as fuck saving me between $50 - $80AUD and i usually get it within 5 - 14 days. Hard for me to complain.
 

Gen X

Trust no one. Eat steaks.
Dammit! I've only ever heard of Zavvis slow shipping but then this thread popped up. Now I too am worried about my MGS HD Collection coming from UK to NZ.

On regards to the shipping, I can't understand their slow turnaround time. I regularly order from shopto and any game that is a new release on Fri (UK time) will arrive in my letterbox in New Zealand on the following Tuesday. Technically that is only 3 working days which is bloody impressive.

I'm not over the moon about Zavvis shipping speed but when they have the exclusive I suppose there is nothing you can do. As long as this thing arrives in one piece and not damaged I will be happy.
 

tyagi

Member
Dammit! I've only ever heard of Zavvis slow shipping but then this thread popped up. Now I too am worried about my MGS HD Collection coming from UK to NZ.

On regards to the shipping, I can't understand their slow turnaround time. I regularly order from shopto and any game that is a new release on Fri (UK time) will arrive in my letterbox in New Zealand on the following Tuesday. Technically that is only 3 working days which is bloody impressive.

I'm not over the moon about Zavvis shipping speed but when they have the exclusive I suppose there is nothing you can do. As long as this thing arrives in one piece and not damaged I will be happy.

I live in NZ and have been a customer of Zavvi for a few years. At first they were just fine, with orders arriving a week or two after shipping. However, I had a nightmare of a time with them in 2011, with over 50% of my orders going missing and just not arriving after they mailed me to say they'd been dispatched.

I waited for at least a month after dispatch to give them time to arrive, but they didn't, so I contacted their customer support who were very good in giving me a refund or replacement.

However, after it started getting embarrassing to keep asking for a refund or replacement, I stopped ordering off them for a few months. I used *********** who were very quick and reliable, or Videogamesplus.com who were also good. I've never had any orders go missing from other suppliers.

However, just before Christmas I tried Zavvi again, with an order for two 3DS games. They were shipped in early December and still haven't arrived, so it looks like I'll have to ask for a refund again. I don't know what on Earth is wrong with their shipping, but the amount of stuff that goes missing from them is just unbelievable and very unlikely to be the postal service.

I don't know what's going on.
 

Dwayne

Member
Dammit! I've only ever heard of Zavvis slow shipping but then this thread popped up. Now I too am worried about my MGS HD Collection coming from UK to NZ.

When did it come out? I ordered Dark Souls from them, took just under a month to arrive. Have had games come through previously in 5 days though (from zavvi).
 
When did it come out? I ordered Dark Souls from them, took just under a month to arrive. Have had games come through previously in 5 days though (from zavvi).

Took 4 working days for my copy of Dark Souls to arrive in Uk address.

So far, I made 6 orders from thehut shops (4 from Thehut, 2 from Zavvi), only once the delivery was late, like 4 weeks in Lithuanian Address.

Still, I would not hesitate to buy from them again.
 
So yeah I'm having some dramas with Zavvi at the moment.

Ordered the Special Edition of Pandoras Tower for Wii from them a few weeks back. Since I placed the order I've changed my postal address when I got a new PO Box. I've cancelled my old PO box and no longer have any access to my old one. I'd made sure I'd updated my address on all sites I buy stuff online from including Zavvi. My copy of Pandoras Tower shipped last week and when I went to see what address they had shipped it to, they had shipped it to my old PO Box.

So I contacted them and asked why they had shipped the item to my old address even though I had updated my address on their site and removed my old one from there. And I got this reply.

Thank you for getting in touch asking us to amend your order.

I am really sorry but once an order has been placed it cannot be amended. I understand this may be disappointing.

If you wish to cancel this order and re-order the item, then you can do this via your online account or alternatively call us on 0844 264 0702 and we will be happy to help.

Thanks again for getting in touch.

If there is anything else I can help with, please let me know.

Kind regards,

Sam
Zavvi Customer Service Support Team

So I'm looking at this and thinking they didn't even read my original email to them, I told them the game had already shipped to the old address yet they want me to cancel my order and resubmit it to my new address. It sounds kinda stupid that once an order is placed it won't read any updated addresses that I've put on my account. I'm pretty sure this is just a stock standard response and they haven't even read my original email in full.

So I sent them another email advising I either want my money back or for them to resend the item to my correct address. Not sure what else I can do though but after have nothing but really good experiences with them in the past I gotta say this has sort of soured me abit on them.
 
A zavvi-specific guide on how to deal with it when your games don't show up, with comments from Mr Zavvi (John Gallemore)

"When the customer places an order, our stock management system checks that there is a unit in stock and then allocates it to the customer," explains Gallemore. "In Caspar's case, a software bug caused our stock record to be out of sync with the order allocator by one unit — thus the order allocator believed there to be one unit in stock when in fact there wasn't."
The credit card charge was therefore mistakenly taken because the system believed that your order was being dispatched.
Gallemore went on to tell us that this issue could have affected a tiny minority of customers but to ensure that the allocation foul-up doesn't happen again, a software fix is being introduced to deal with the error.

lol.. wut?
 

Nyx

Member
I've ordered 5 games at Zavvi now.

4 of them arrived within 3-5 working days. (I live in The Netherlands)

The last one has not arrived yet, shipped on the 7th of April.
 
I pre-ordered Vanquish from Zavvi, it didn't arrive until four months after when it was dirt cheap in every store. Did they refund the difference since they were selling a hell of a lot cheaper! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Will never use them again.
 
Video games tend to sometimes dissapear from Royal mail airmail sent without tracking. I had one or two packages disappear among 30-40 i order from Zavii/thehut but i always got refunded by them.
 
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