kurtrussell
Banned
Zavvi are known by much of EuroGAF as a company that sells a good selection of AAA titles at low prices and offers free shipping. In particular, with the high price of gaming in Continental Europe, it becomes particularly attractive to order from Zavvi, especially for no shipping cost.
However, it is becoming increasingly apparent, both through my own personal experience and the experience of others on here, that Zavvi have some fundamental flaws that should warn all but the bravest away from shopping with them.
There are some fairly well known examples of Zavvi incompetence (such as cancelling a 15% off promotion with a major soft drink manufacturer half way through when they realised it was costing them too much) but I am particularly agrieved at some particularly poor treatment I've suffered at the hands of them.
Exhibit A: Despite the fact they offer a "pre order price promise", I was refused a price drop when I pre-ordered Cities in Motion at 14.99 and it dropped to 9.99 on their site the day before release. I was simply told by a customer service advisor that "prices are subject to change"...
Exhibit B: I managed to pre-order Portal 2 for 32.99, and about a month before launch it jumped in price to 37.99. The day before it was due to be despatched, there was a sudden "payment problem" (apparently this was a problem that was unique to Zavvi) and I was informed that they would not be able to simply re-take payment and that my only option was to cancel and re-order. At £37.99....
There have been multiple recounts on GAF of pre-orders arriving 2-3 weeks after day one, often in poor condition (smashed / cracked cases, loose discs etc). This is because Zavvi ship their games using a very flimsy cardboard box and via second class post. If you ship a game the day before launch via second class, there is no way on earth you're going to be seeing it for around 5 working days at the earliest!
Sometimes, Zavvi's prices seem too good to be true. This is because they are. It seems that on an almost regular basis, they "mis-price" something on the website, benefit from an influx of customers and publicity and then decide to cancel all the orders. Sometimes, they email you to let you know that they have done this. Occasionally, you may even get a refund without having to email their customer "service" several times.
Recently, a promotion was offered where you could buy a cheap and nasty sweater and receive around 50% on a game. Many enterprising GAFfers realised that you could actually pop 2 games in your cart at 50% off with one sweater. Sadly, this was also a pricing mistake and the orders were cancelled. Well, most of the orders - the nasty overpriced sweater was still charged for and despatched. Ironically, these arrived pretty much instantaneously.
Take a cursory glance at Zavvi's Facebook page. Amongst the blanket of complaints posted to their wall are the following gems:
I know the lure of cheap games is almost too great for some on here, but I'm posting this thread in the hope that I can at least spare a few people some of the frustration that I and others have experienced in the past.
Please consider the following points:
1 - Zavvi are sometimes cheaper by a tiny margin. If you check gamestracker.com, they quite frequently "win" by a matter of pence. Is it really worth running the Zavvi gauntlet for pence?
2 - Every company makes mistakes from time to time. Things happen, items get lost in the mail. Zavvi's major flaw seems to be it's absolutely awful customer service. As an online company dependent on customer goodwill and repeat trade, If you make a mistake, do everything you can to rectify the mistake to mutual satisfaction. Nobody wants to wait a week for a reply from customer service to an email chasing a missing game.
3 -
If you do encounter any issues with Zavvi, you have the choice of either dialling a preimum rate telephone number and paying to stay on hold for 15 minutes before a non-native English speaker stumbles through a script, or sending multiple emails into the abyss in the hope of eventually receiving some kind of human interaction.
Ultimately, it all boils down to one thing: What price do you put on customer service? There are many other games suppliers that offer games for a couple of quid more than Zavvi (I choose not to name examples here so I don't get accused of favouritism), and I personally have found that paying an extra £2 or so is a nice trade-off to ensure that I receive my games in a timely fashion.
If, after reading all of this, anybody still fancies taking a spin on the Zavvi lottery, remember that they offer a Paypal option - use this! It offers one more layer of protection between you and the clowns.
However, it is becoming increasingly apparent, both through my own personal experience and the experience of others on here, that Zavvi have some fundamental flaws that should warn all but the bravest away from shopping with them.
There are some fairly well known examples of Zavvi incompetence (such as cancelling a 15% off promotion with a major soft drink manufacturer half way through when they realised it was costing them too much) but I am particularly agrieved at some particularly poor treatment I've suffered at the hands of them.
Exhibit A: Despite the fact they offer a "pre order price promise", I was refused a price drop when I pre-ordered Cities in Motion at 14.99 and it dropped to 9.99 on their site the day before release. I was simply told by a customer service advisor that "prices are subject to change"...
Exhibit B: I managed to pre-order Portal 2 for 32.99, and about a month before launch it jumped in price to 37.99. The day before it was due to be despatched, there was a sudden "payment problem" (apparently this was a problem that was unique to Zavvi) and I was informed that they would not be able to simply re-take payment and that my only option was to cancel and re-order. At £37.99....
There have been multiple recounts on GAF of pre-orders arriving 2-3 weeks after day one, often in poor condition (smashed / cracked cases, loose discs etc). This is because Zavvi ship their games using a very flimsy cardboard box and via second class post. If you ship a game the day before launch via second class, there is no way on earth you're going to be seeing it for around 5 working days at the earliest!
Sometimes, Zavvi's prices seem too good to be true. This is because they are. It seems that on an almost regular basis, they "mis-price" something on the website, benefit from an influx of customers and publicity and then decide to cancel all the orders. Sometimes, they email you to let you know that they have done this. Occasionally, you may even get a refund without having to email their customer "service" several times.
Recently, a promotion was offered where you could buy a cheap and nasty sweater and receive around 50% on a game. Many enterprising GAFfers realised that you could actually pop 2 games in your cart at 50% off with one sweater. Sadly, this was also a pricing mistake and the orders were cancelled. Well, most of the orders - the nasty overpriced sweater was still charged for and despatched. Ironically, these arrived pretty much instantaneously.
Take a cursory glance at Zavvi's Facebook page. Amongst the blanket of complaints posted to their wall are the following gems:
Yet to receive an apology or notification for my canceled orders. Wont be shopping here again. Couldn't recommend this company any less.
What type of backyard company are you? You have just cancelled my order without any emails or phone calls. This is appualing customer service and almost a full day after I have placed the order. Even Asda issued 10% voucher to its customers and you ignore them. Keep your voucher, will not use Zavvi again anytime
ZAVVI! Could I please receive a response! No one has spoken to me either here or on your site about my problem! I am a victim of the "promo" offer for the selected clothing and selected pre order item "deal". My order was cancelled but my card has been debited for the clothing! I have not even been sent the clothing. This is ridiculous! My order number is 16521517. Could this please be sorted ASAP. If I hear no communication I will be forced to ring Trading Standards as this is just plain theft and I'm obviously not the only one suffering!
Can you embark on a mission to sort peoples lost orders out please?
I know the lure of cheap games is almost too great for some on here, but I'm posting this thread in the hope that I can at least spare a few people some of the frustration that I and others have experienced in the past.
I also need to stop spamming EuroGaf Deal Thread
Please consider the following points:
1 - Zavvi are sometimes cheaper by a tiny margin. If you check gamestracker.com, they quite frequently "win" by a matter of pence. Is it really worth running the Zavvi gauntlet for pence?
2 - Every company makes mistakes from time to time. Things happen, items get lost in the mail. Zavvi's major flaw seems to be it's absolutely awful customer service. As an online company dependent on customer goodwill and repeat trade, If you make a mistake, do everything you can to rectify the mistake to mutual satisfaction. Nobody wants to wait a week for a reply from customer service to an email chasing a missing game.
3 -
When
Ultimately, it all boils down to one thing: What price do you put on customer service? There are many other games suppliers that offer games for a couple of quid more than Zavvi (I choose not to name examples here so I don't get accused of favouritism), and I personally have found that paying an extra £2 or so is a nice trade-off to ensure that I receive my games in a timely fashion.
If, after reading all of this, anybody still fancies taking a spin on the Zavvi lottery, remember that they offer a Paypal option - use this! It offers one more layer of protection between you and the clowns.