egl_archive

I guess I'll just start at the beginning. I noticed that the 17.90 shipping fee seemed inflated. I emailed them about it and she double checked the shipping cost to me from California, which I really appreciated. Her reply was quick:

The total weight with the box and skirt is about 1lb 5oz.
The shipping cost to AL is $10.20.
Plus insurance is $4.70 to cover the skirt (212)
And we charge $3 for shipping material and handling.
Which makes the total $17.90.

I suspected that this was not entirely truthful since priority shipping materials are free. Later, when the package came, I discovered that it was indeed a lie since I got my stuff in a priority box.

They also lied all about the price of shipping. 1.5 lbs from On the package, it says that it weighed 1lb, not the 1.5 lb they quoted me and that weight to me is only $5.83 or less depending on whether they get a discount from endicia. I don't expect shipping to be right on the dot, but they weren't truthful about the breakdown. I don't mind a small handling fee, but the overage was unreasonable. They also charge the same amount for a pair of socks. Sigh...and that's not all.

Before I knew this, I asked if they would consider using free shipping materials from USPS. She asked her manager. In the reply below, notice that the reason for the extra $3 fee changes from shipping materials & handling to this other stuff.

I talked to the manager,
and the conclusion is that the shipping price is not negotiable.
The shipping and handling fee includes,
the wrapping,
the gas fee to the post office
and the big part is that we ship out the official Angelic Pretty shopping bag with your purchase,
and the cost for making the bag in Japan and shipping it to the US costs a lot.
And there are much more that is calculated in the handling fee.

Sorry we couldn't help you out :(

Still, I hope you understand the situation.

Thank you!

1. It was shipping material in the last message, but now it's the bag, gas, and the wrapping paper. 2. The gas part is likely not true. Businesses typically have packages picked up at their location for free. They don't send employees to the post office. As a matter of fact I know they didn't do this because the label was printed from endicia. 3. I've never known anyone to actually charge you for the tissue they wrap your stuff in and the bag they pack it in. How stingy. Does the SF store charge you for the bag or wrapping when you check out?

I just grumbled and bought it anyway. It was only $3 in bogus fees, which wasn't enough to completely turn me off. Soon after I checked out, I got an email asking if I wanted the matching socks that hadn't gone up on the website yet. I replied that I wanted them.

Soon after that, I checked the receipt for the skirt and I noticed that they snuck in an extra $3 for shipping insurance > _ < 1. insurance is included in the shipping charge according to communication 2. It costs $4.70 to insure a package of that value, not $3. So it was clear that the fee was completely bogus. I'm more upset about the shadiness of it than the money.

What makes it worse is that I sent the email about buying the socks and the email about the extra charge only a few minutes apart. I got a lightning quick response to the one about buying the socks, but the other was ignored. After a couple days, I emailed that nice associate to see if she would help. Ignored again. Way to make it obvious that you're dodging the question, AP > _ > What nerve! I had just bought the skirt; and in practically in the same breath, I bought socks and asked for resolution, but they only paid attention to the purchasing part.

They told me that it would be here on the 27th. It didn't come, so I checked the status on their website, and it hadn't even shipped yet. By this time, I had lost my already waning patience.

I emailed them again and told them all about how they had done me wrong and that I wouldn't be back if this bad service continues. I also told them that I would be letting others know about how they treated me. They only resolved the extra fee problem and shipped my item after this email. They were very apologetic and I could tell that it was not the same girl that was helping me initially. The response was fast, as usual. I could not log in to see the update because of an error message. I asked them about it, they said they would check into it and to this day, almost a week later, nothing has changed, and no reply has been sent. I would not be surprised if they blocked me, but that's okay with me. Wasn't coming back anyway.

I really didn't expect this from AP USA, but considering that the same person runs this shop as ran SCB, I can't be too surprised. I thought it was only logical that they would be putting their best foot forward as a fresh start, but it seems they don't see it this way.

Communication 2/5. Emails were fast, courteous and thorough. They were doing great until they started lying. I forgave it and ordered anyway, then they ignored my emails even when I was right in the middle of the process of ordering from them. Unreal.

Shipping: 2/5 The shipping cost had fees that were there for no reason. It only cost them about $11 to ship that to me and they charged 20.90. Only after several ignored emails did I get them to take off the extra insurance charge I didn't bother emailing them about the shipping overage.

Quality 5/5: Nothing was wrong with my order. It was in pristine condition and the ties were in a perfect bow. They sent the AP bag as promised as well as cute pink wrapping paper. It was in a priority box.

Would I order from them again? Probably not. I honestly am not that irritated if it were the fees alone. It's the fact that they were dishonest and standoffish. If I'd had a problem with my order when it arrived, I would have likely gotten the same treatment. I'm also offended. I don't like being ignored and lied to. So that was my experience with AP USA.