Birchbox April 2014 - SPOILERS

[Spazkatt]

I thought DHL was bad...Newgsitics is the worst!

 

[caseybean025]

Link to what you read? And, I've got a bone to pick with birchbox right now. I'm waiting to call and complain on Monday, even though I'm dangerously close to being one of those annoying customers that complain about everything. I made an order march 28th, and that package got lost in the mail. They resent out another package for me, but they accidentally gave me someone else's order. So they are resending me my package for the 3rd time, but when I got the shipping invoice this morning one of my items ordered was not listed on the invoice. I realize that they are in the middle of a move and it getting lost in the mail wasn't their fault, but still! I can't complain too much since they gave me 200 points and let me keep the other girl's order. But I want my products! /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I had that happen before when something was out of stock. They never informed me it was OOS, but I didn't see an item on the invoice and emailed them. It was being sent separately.

 

[quene8106]

I thought DHL was bad...Newgsitics is the worst!

Agreed. Mt. Juliet, TN is the Hebron, KY of birchbox.

 

[splash79]

Quote: Originally Posted by katiecoll /img/forum/go_quote.gif


Link to what you read?

And, I've got a bone to pick with birchbox right now. I'm waiting to call and complain on Monday, even though I'm dangerously close to being one of those annoying customers that complain about everything. I made an order march 28th, and that package got lost in the mail. They resent out another package for me, but they accidentally gave me someone else's order. So they are resending me my package for the 3rd time, but when I got the shipping invoice this morning one of my items ordered was not listed on the invoice. I realize that they are in the middle of a move and it getting lost in the mail wasn't their fault, but still! I can't complain too much since they gave me 200 points and let me keep the other girl's order. But I want my products!

It's actually several links and I've kind of cobbled together some kind of understanding about what they might be doing.  To everyone who doesn't care, I apologize for the length of this post.  Feel free to scroll past, as it's somewhat dry.

This is a map of UPS Mail Innovation processing facilities.  http://www.upsmailinnovations.com/services/nationwide.html

Some videos about how the sort packages (the parcel sorting is probably the most relevant).  http://www.upsmailinnovations.com/about/upsmi_video.html

A list of the USPS Network Distribution Centers.  https://www.usps.com/business/network-distribution-centers.htm

Using the tracking locations and times of my package, and that information, I've tried to figure out the method to their madness and this is what I've come up with thus far.

The tracking email I received from Birchbox had a link to UPS Mail Innovations and it was picked up in Mount Juliet, TN on the 4th.  Mount Juliet is a town about 20 miles outside of Nashville, so I'm going to assume that the UPS-MI processing facility is there and not in Nashville like their map says, because Nashville is a familiar place to people.

The video I watched said that the sorting process is done by machine.  The machine reads a barcode that tells it if the package is for regional distribution or if it's outside of the distribution area.  This is where I believe there is some sort of issue going on with the barcode.  I live in Kansas City, where there is another UPS-MI hub.  In theory, all packages starting in Mount Juliet should be sorted for distribution to their respective regional UPS-MI hubs, then dealt with from there.  Ok, back to my package.  It arrived in Elizabethport, NJ on the 9th.  The fact that it took 5 days to get there makes me think that it might have gone by rail, since I can't see truck transport taking that long.

What seems to be happening is that most or all of the Birchbox packages are barcoded for transportation to Elizabethport, NJ.  Elizabethport, or Elizabeth, is apparently a component of the Port of New York, and is basically right on top of Newark Airport and very near Jersey City.  Link #3 shows that the USPS has a Network Distribution Center called New Jersey NDC.  Filtering through some stuff on their site, I found that the New Jersey NDC is located in Jersey City, NJ.  So, my Birchbox landed in Elizabethport, was there 12 hours, they departed for Fishers, IN.  There's isn't a UPS-MI hub near the airport (there's one on Long Island and one in Logan Township, but neither are all that close), so I'm assuming that the hand-off from UPS-MI to the USPS occurs here.  

My Birchbox landed in Fishers, IN, 11 hours after it left Elizabethport, NJ.  Google maps tells me it takes about 11 hours to drive that distance, so I'm guessing it was loaded on a truck in NJ, where it arrived the morning of the 10th.  It hung around for 12 hours and that's as far as the tracking goes.  I'm going to guess that it's either sitting at our USPS hub, waiting to be scanned, or was sent too late to my local PO to be messed with.  

I believe that moving to the TN distribution center is a recent occurrence, so I'm wondering if they haven't updated the barcode that's used for UPS-MI.  If the barcode says to ship to Elizabethport, then the machine is going to ship it there, regardless of where it originated.  

 

[Tigerlilly6309]

Quote: Originally Posted by quene8106 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  yes it is not their fault but they do decide who is their shipping partner. i don't know why they're sending ups-mi links to some people when they're using slowgistics for shipping again for the majority of the boxes. 
I don't get them sending the UPS-MI link either.  I actually called UPS yesterday, because I had no idea its Newgistics.  

I cant believe it will take 15 days for my box to go from TN to MA.  I just received a package from New Zealand that took less than a week.

 

[mindcaviar]

Quote: Originally Posted by quene8106 /img/forum/go_quote.gif


Agreed. Mt. Juliet, TN is the Hebron, KY of birchbox.
hahahhaaaa Hellbron, KY and Forest Park(ing), GA. hahahahahaa 

 

[mindcaviar]

Dear MuT Ladies, when does the little pic of the Birchbox turn into the pic with the products in it? It seems to change at different times on differing months. 

 thank you for your help! 

 

[Angelalh]

so i live in illinois... i have one box scanned in tennessee like many others on the 4th with nothing after that

then my 2nd box

4/10/2014 09:17 AM Arrived at Shipping Facility Elizabeth, NJ 07206 4/9/2014 12:30 AM Electronic Shipping Info Received Mount Juliet, TN 37122 again i live in illinois...

i mapped it...tennessee directly south east of illinois mt. juliet 8.5 hours away from me

nj obviously way east! 13.25 hours from tennessee

elizabeth nj is 13.75 hours from me

i am absolutely dumbfounded and thoroughly in shock at their process!!!

 

[jocedun]

Quick question. I sent myself two $10 gift cards from my 1st account to my 2nd account, and the transaction is marked as "Under Review." I remember other ladies mentioning that this happened to them in previous months, so I'm curious about what ended up happening? Did BB fulfill the gift card purchase? I have been wanting to make a purchase all day... but I really want that $20 from my other account! Starting to get nervous since it has been about 6 hours "under review".

 

[natashaia]

Quote: Originally Posted by jocedun /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
when that happened to me, it came through the next morning. 

 

[OatmealandLace]

The honey and coconut Kind Bar is what dreams taste like. It is SO FREAKING GOOD. I'm not even a huge coconut person, either. *Tries not to eat the whole box of them that's sitting in the pantry*

For a second I thought you were saying that you got the coconut honey flavor in you're BB and I was so jealous lol. Might have to get myself a box now, sounds Yummy!

 

[JimmyJazz]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tigerlilly6309 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  I doubt Birchbox has much control over the boxes once the boxes are handed over to the shipper.   2 of my boxes that shipped on the 4th were scanned in Indiana and it says a delivery date for the 17th or 18th.  I don't expect my other 2 boxes will arrive until May sometime at this rate.   I made a couple of purchases in the Birchbox shop yesterday that are being shipped from the same location but going USPS and the delivery date is Monday. 

Maybe if Birchbox gets enough complaints, they will change who they use for shipping. 
 It would be interesting to see if that happened.  BUT look at Ipsy - a whole lot of us complained about DHL - and they basically made it into an "Open forum to ask us questions/tell us what you think on shipping."  BUT at the end Ipsy basically said "We are using DHeL. "

 

[meaganola]

Quote: Originally Posted by JimmyJazz /img/forum/go_quote.gif
   It would be interesting to see if that happened.  BUT look at Ipsy - a whole lot of us complained about DHL - and they basically made it into an "Open forum to ask us questions/tell us what you think on shipping."  BUT at the end Ipsy basically said "We are using DHeL. "
The big difference here, though, is that ipsy is just standing to piss off subscribers, and they have a waiting list of people wanting to subscribe even with the horrific shipping.  Birchbox is standing to lose actual *customers* at a time when they are trying to build more sales in their shop. 

 

[kgirl42]

Quote: Originally Posted by katiecoll /img/forum/go_quote.gif


Link to what you read?

And, I've got a bone to pick with birchbox right now. I'm waiting to call and complain on Monday, even though I'm dangerously close to being one of those annoying customers that complain about everything. I made an order march 28th, and that package got lost in the mail. They resent out another package for me, but they accidentally gave me someone else's order. So they are resending me my package for the 3rd time, but when I got the shipping invoice this morning one of my items ordered was not listed on the invoice. I realize that they are in the middle of a move and it getting lost in the mail wasn't their fault, but still! I can't complain too much since they gave me 200 points and let me keep the other girl's order. But I want my products!

I had a similar experience! My Chella highlighter was missing from my order in late March, so Birchbox gave me 100 points and re-sent the item. When I received the replacement package, it was a different girl's order. Got to keep that and received another 100 points. Then today I finally received the replacement replacement package, and they sent me not one, but two Chella highlighters! A lot of trouble and waiting around, but can't complain since I got 200 points, a full size Nipple Balm for Lips and a Chella highlighter out of the deal! /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[queenofperil]

Quote: Originally Posted by kgirl42 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
I had a similar experience! My Chella highlighter was missing from my order in late March, so Birchbox gave me 100 points and re-sent the item. When I received the replacement package, it was a different girl's order. Got to keep that and received another 100 points. Then today I finally received the replacement replacement package, and they sent me not one, but two Chella highlighters! A lot of trouble and waiting around, but can't complain since I got 200 points, a full size Nipple Balm for Lips and a Chella highlighter out of the deal! /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
Out of curiosity, does the Nipple Balm have a taste/scent? Birchbox does not want me to sample it, but I've really wanted to try it and may buy it to do so, haha.

 

[jocedun]

Quote: Originally Posted by queenofperil /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Out of curiosity, does the Nipple Balm have a taste/scent? Birchbox does not want me to sample it, but I've really wanted to try it and may buy it to do so, haha.
It's just pure lanolin (which is a wax that comes from the wool of sheep), which I personally think tastes disgusting. It's a very hard taste to explain, but it's kindof like a mix of farm-y hay/grass and vaseline, leaning hard on that farm-y taste. It's relatively mild, so the taste might not bother some people. Even though I hate the taste, it does wonders for my lips, so I use it whenever my lips are super chapped.

If you really want to buy it, I'd recommend buying Lansinoh at a drugstore or Wal-mart/Target (usually labeled for breastfeeding mothers) for a lot cheaper than the marked up Dr. Lipp. Then again, drugstores don't take Birchbox points. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[gypsiemagic]

ahahhahahahaahha i lol'd so hard.

 

[Angelalh]

Quote: Originally Posted by gypsiemagic /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 

ahahhahahahaahha i lol'd so hard.
omg lmao i did not notice that!!!

 

[queenofperil]

Quote: Originally Posted by jocedun /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  It's just pure lanolin (which is a wax that comes from the wool of sheep), which I personally think tastes disgusting. It's a very hard taste to explain, but it's kindof like a mix of farm-y hay/grass and vaseline, leaning hard on that farm-y taste. It's relatively mild, so the taste might not bother some people. Even though I hate the taste, it does wonders for my lips, so I use it whenever my lips are super chapped.

If you really want to buy it, I'd recommend buying Lansinoh at a drugstore or Wal-mart/Target (usually labeled for breastfeeding mothers) for a lot cheaper than the marked up Dr. Lipp. Then again, drugstores don't take Birchbox points. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
Ah, okay. Probably not worth the gamble. Thank you.

Quote: Originally Posted by gypsiemagic /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 

ahahhahahahaahha i lol'd so hard.

If anyone here actually gets the reference of my signature (which I've had since I joined MUT), I will personally pray to the Birchbox gods that you get the items you want next month.

 

[kawaiiwoofs]

Ah, okay. Probably not worth the gamble. Thank you. If anyone here actually gets the reference of my signature (which I've had since I joined MUT), I will personally pray to the Birchbox gods that you get the items you want next month.

Alka-Seltzer??