Good to know I'm not alone, then.

errr . . .
Compensating for something?

dbartman wrote:I'm still waiting as well for my LE.  Not to be critical, but I think they should have been shipped first, just in case there were any additional snags in shipping.

I do not think it is being too critical to put forth that inquiry, and I agree with you.

The rant below will most probably make me even more of a pariah than I have been. But, I have spent the past two years lurking in the shadows anyway. So, more darkness will not cast any longer a shadow than I have been lingering in.

Unfortunately, I feel that something need be stated about this situation.

It seems to me that Grodog and many others who have posted here have been offering up explanations and excuses for Rob at every turn. Not to say that those explanations and excuses were invalid… Far from it in fact. But as valid and soothing as they were, they fail to explain away everything.

This has been going on for many months now. The advertisements for the Bottled City LE's and later the SA's started in at least April or perhaps as late as June of 2007 and the sales for the LE's ended in July 2007 (I think). And even after reading all of the posts regarding the SA and LE shipping info and all of the posts regarding Rob's health and monetary problems, I fail to understand the reasoning behind the oh so late time frame for delivery of the LE's. And more so, the final decision to ship out some or all the SA's before any of the LE's.

At a guess there are perhaps 30-35 packages of the listed 42 (or was it 43) total copies of the LE's printed to be send out, since several individuals purchased two copies each (Two copies per buyer was the advertised limit). I was one of those who purchased two copies of the LE. Of course, I later learned here that the LE is going to be almost exactly the same thing as the SA. With as I recall an autograph and a larger map than the SA version.

I am fine with that. Or at least I would have been had it been delivered in any version of a timely manner. Looking back, if I had known what was going to happen with this situation. I would not have spent that money. Perhaps I would have bought a copy of the SA, or not.

I was never sent any communication by PPP regarding my account and my items purchased. What company does not keep its customers informed of delays? Not through a fan web site, but personally? Let's be realistic though, honestly speaking, a company with only one employee such as PPP does indeed have time concerns for making such things all but impossible and most assuredly unlikely. I understand that also and as a one employee company owner, perhaps I understand that more than most others might.

But how likely is it that this sort of thing would have been tolerated by even the most patient of the Acaeum membership from any seller on E-Bay? Rob's name would have been long since vilified by certain outgoing members of the Acaeum as a seller to be avoided at all costs. Admit it folks, it is true.

Any E-Bay seller that would take seven months or longer to mail paid for merchandise would be blasted here and through E-bay feedback both. In fact I suspect that seller would have long since lost his E-bay account, probably banished forever from any further activities on E-bay.

I also own a business in which I am the only employee and as such (similar to Rob's case) if anything were to happen to me to completely incapacitate me, then nothing would happen with the business. However, that said, if I was capable of speech (IE. Picking up a phone) or of typing up a short form letter, then I would not allow my customers to hang in the balance wondering where I had gotten off too and where their product was (In my case I provide a service) and most especially if that client or clients had paid in advance for that product, or service. If I allowed a service to be seven months late for delivery, I would most assuredly lose those clients and very soon thereafter my company as well, as my business relies heavily on word of mouth advertisement from satisfied customers.

Feel free to blast me for speaking ill of the deservedly highly respected and honored Rob if you wish, but you know I am right. This situation should never have been allowed to happen in the first place and most certainly should not have been allowed to fester for so long.

All that rant aside, I truly feel regretful for Rob's past and present health concerns and for his monetary difficulties, and I truly hope his health and wealth both continue to improve.

I'm done with Pied Piper.  Hopefully everyone gets the product they paid for sometime this year.

ShaneG.

Badmike wrote:
I honestly thought the LE's would have been shipped out first; simply as a courtesy to PPP's biggest supporters. I was surprised and happy when I finally got my SE's, but puzzled when people started piping up they didn't get their LEs.  Wasn't this all supposed to have been taken care of by the end of January?
  Sad thing is, it is really a GREAT product, albeit very much a niche product, and this and further offerings from PPP could have really taken off.  Rob can't still be deathly ill (can he?); isn't it about time someone just admits this is a money issue and we need to move on from there, i.e. how can we best get this already paid for and printed product to the buyer?

Mike B.

TBH, I don't know what the problem is, but I am starting to care less and less by the moment.  I preached patience a couple of months ago, because I legitimately believed that it was still the best course of action at that point.   I really wanted to give Rob the benefit of the doubt and yet here we are now 2 months later and lots of people are still waiting on both money and product. I don't really want to hear any more lame ass excuses anymore, I wan't to start seeing people get what they are owed, period.  

Seriously, like I said, my patience is growing very thin now.  I am thinking that I have about 2 more weeks patience left in me and if something hasn't been seriously accomplished by that point in getting people what's owed to them(both money and product), I am going to start going out of my way to make things extremely uncomfortable.....extremely uncomfortable.

dcas wrote:Rob was snowed in and couldn't get to the post office. He says that all of the remaining orders should ship this week.

The reason the standard editions shipped first was that the limited editions needed special mailers because of the maps.

Snowed in for 6 full weeks? Wow, that must have been one hell of a snow storm.

I haven't purchased any of these items, and I'm not interested in any of these items, but it sounds like to me that it's one excuse after another.  This would lead me to believe it's not the snow, car, health, whatever.  I would guess it has more to do with the attitude.  I am not saying the excuses are lies; they're probably the truth.  But as many of you are making clear, there are seemingly work-arounds for each of the excuses.

And maybe I should just stay out of this since I don't know this guy, and he sounds incredibly creative, but everyone has to admit the string of excuses has been amazingly long.  The point has long past when the excuses aren't the reason for the delays; it's more likely the excuser.

I'm not trying to be mean; just observant.  I wish everyone the best.

It's so long ago I can't remember if I pre-ordered an LE or not. I usually do.  

I'm not phased by the wait: i've been on the waiting list for a telescope for 6 years and reckon I've probably got at least another 4 before I'm contacted. In that time I've been married and had two kids.

The usual form with the telescoipe is to give you a couple of weeks to make your mind up and come up with 50% of the price in advance as an earnest after leaving you hanging about for 10 years.

But, if it's worth the wait then no worries.

I'll let you know when mine arrives . Just ordered it; thanks for the tip. I was hesitant about ordering directly from PPP, especially after what I had read in this thread.