Abstract Ocean - Frustrated

[GBMaryland]

Oh, for crying out loud…

Something I’ve been waiting for come back in stock was in stock, so I ordered it…. Was in stock when I ordered it… and rather than telling me they didn’t have it. It’s suddenly a “pre-order...”

So much for buying anything for my model Y from them again.

Time to call American Express and cut them off at the knees….

 

[EddYct]

I had the exact same thing happend to me, when I placed an order just over an hour ago. So annoying

I assume you ordered the Superhydrophobic Camera Cover ?

 

[bmah]

Oh, for crying out loud…

Something I’ve been waiting for come back in stock was in stock, so I ordered it…. Was in stock when I ordered it… and rather than telling me they didn’t have it. It’s suddenly a “pre-order...”

So much for buying anything for my model Y from them again.

Time to call American Express and cut them off at the knees….

View attachment 924588

Did you actually try communicating with them and giving them a chance to resolve the issue before "cutting them off at the knees" so to speak? Just wondering. I read your post as intolerant and unforgiving towards a vendor who's been in the community longer than either of us.

Bruce.

 

[nate704]

get any ceramic coat product an Amazon and do it your self forever. It will last 20+ Tesla cars back up cameras for about 20 years.

 

[jjrandorin]

Did you actually try communicating with them and giving them a chance to resolve the issue before "cutting them off at the knees" so to speak? Just wondering. I read your post as intolerant and unforgiving towards a vendor who's been in the community longer than either of us.

Bruce.

Thats even with the fact I edited the thread title. I only mention this now because the OP knows what it was before, and based on your response here may think you edited it. You didnt (I did).

I also think the OP could have just canceled the order if they were unhappy with it being on pre order and asked for a refund (instead of posting a thread about it) but I am also of the vein that I dont think every interaction like this needs to be public, but others think different.

 

[Nosken]

I recently "Pre ordered" March 19th after seeing it was available on pre-order.
It just shipped yesterday, April 2nd, so it may not take as long for you.

 

[EddYct]

I think the OP has made a good point. He got an email notification that the product was back in stock and then placed an order thinking there was stock. The website didn’t state it was sold out already. Once he placed an order, it said it was a pre-order, so it was quite misleading. Don’t see a problem with creating a topic, instead of just cancelling his order.

This happend to me as well and I can understand why the OP was annoyed. I got this email from them after placing the order:

“As you know, the order you just placed contains a pre-ordered product. Everything else will ship normally, with this following ASAP”

I didn’t know, cause the website didn’t mention it was a pre-order or that there was no stock.

Quite surprised with the response of the mod … even if Abstract Ocean is a good sponsor doesn’t mean they don’t mess up and people can post their opinion about this

 

[bmah]

I think the OP has made a good point. He got an email notification that the product was back in stock and then placed an order thinking there was stock. The website didn’t state it was sold out already. Once he placed an order, it said it was a pre-order, so it was quite misleading. Don’t see a problem with creating a topic, instead of just cancelling his order.

This happend to me as well and I can understand why the OP was annoyed. I got this email from them after placing the order:

“As you know, the order you just placed contains a pre-ordered product. Everything else will ship normally, with this following ASAP”

I didn’t know, cause the website didn’t mention it was a pre-order or that there was no stock.

Quite surprised with the response of the mod … even if Abstract Ocean is a good sponsor doesn’t mean they don’t mess up and people can post their opinion about this

Sorry I was unclear. I didn't mean "vendor" as in a paid TMC vendor member...I meant the term in a generic sense, like "someone who sells products". I actually don't know off the top of my head whether AO is a paid TMC vendor or not.

Maybe AO made a mistake? We have no idea, because so far it looks like nobody bothered to simply talk to them and politely ask: "Hi, I noticed that this product, which I thought was in-stock, is now a pre-order. Is this true? If so, is there a way for me to cancel that part of my order? Thanks!"

I'm just tired of people not talking with others to resolve perceived differences or work through a mistake before appealing to some greater authority, such as complaining to their credit card company and on social media, rather than making a good faith effort to talk with a merchant. That's my commentary as a human being, not "the mod".

Thanks for reading,

Bruce.

PS. Full disclosure: I've been a satisfied customer of AO for seven years. Other than that, and the fact that the owner comped my son a set of red ultra-bright bulbs for suggesting those as as product (<-- admittedly proud parent moment here), I have no other relationship with them.

 

[Nosken]

I think the OP has made a good point. He got an email notification that the product was back in stock and then placed an order thinking there was stock. The website didn’t state it was sold out already. Once he placed an order, it said it was a pre-order, so it was quite misleading. Don’t see a problem with creating a topic, instead of just cancelling his order.

This happend to me as well and I can understand why the OP was annoyed. I got this email from them after placing the order:

“As you know, the order you just placed contains a pre-ordered product. Everything else will ship normally, with this following ASAP”

I didn’t know, cause the website didn’t mention it was a pre-order or that there was no stock.

Quite surprised with the response of the mod … even if Abstract Ocean is a good sponsor doesn’t mean they don’t mess up and people can post their opinion about this

Mine was just as you describe, except, once it was in my cart, it had a disclaimer mentioning that is was now a preorder. This screen would easily be missed, since it was the normal "Cart" screen. I decided to "pre-order" since they seem to sell out. Mine came within 2 weeks. Judging by the responses here, it seems be very popular....at least until all of us waiting get ours.

 

[Titan1080]

Honestly, you're not missing out on that lens cover. It was fine on ours until it got cold this past winter, then condensation started to fog up the inside, then when the big Seattle winter rains started, I found out that it did not have a completely perfect seal and filled up with water (yeah I know I clearly did not get a perfect seal when I installed it, but the design of the top edge leaves no room for error and it looked good and sealed when I did it). I took it off and haven't bothered with it again, just ceramic coated the actual camera lens. *shrugs

 

[pete8314]

Hi all

Sorry about the confusion. We have an automated email that was set to fire for pre-orders, but I forgot to disable it when we put the camera covers in stock today after spending the weekend stuffing 1200+ envelopes. Any orders placed today are not pre-orders, and will, as usual, ship within a day, please just disregard the bogus pre-order email that you got, and refer to the order confirmation you would have also received, and/or the tracking email which you'll get in the next day.

Again, sorry, it's just the two of us handling this as we didn't want to add another delay in the fulfilment by sending everything to our warehouse network.

To address some of the other comments:

Time to call American Express and cut them off at the knees….

It's your right to do that. But honestly, just talk to us. We've been around for 10 years as a business, longer than that on this forum as owners, where we started. We're not bad people, but sometimes we mess up. Chargebacks kill a small business like us, and should be a last resort (in my opinion).

get any ceramic coat product an Amazon and do it your self forever. It will last 20+ Tesla cars back up cameras for about 20 years.

No, it doesn't work. Many have tried, including us, none of the coating are anywhere near as effective, but, they do help a little.

Honestly, you're not missing out on that lens cover. It was fine on ours until it got cold this past winter, then condensation started to fog up the inside, then when the big Seattle winter rains started, I found out that it did not have a completely perfect seal and filled up with water (yeah I know I clearly did not get a perfect seal when I installed it, but the design of the top edge leaves no room for error and it looked good and sealed when I did it). I took it off and haven't bothered with it again, just ceramic coated the actual camera lens. *shrugs

I updated the installation video today to provide better guidance for this, in terms of getting a good seal, which is critical for the success of the product. We learned a lot from the first batch of units we sold.

 

[WyoDude]

 

[EddYct]

Hi all

Sorry about the confusion. We have an automated email that was set to fire for pre-orders, but I forgot to disable it when we put the camera covers in stock today after spending the weekend stuffing 1200+ envelopes. Any orders placed today are not pre-orders, and will, as usual, ship within a day, please just disregard the bogus pre-order email that you got, and refer to the order confirmation you would have also received, and/or the tracking email which you'll get in the next day.

Again, sorry, it's just the two of us handling this as we didn't want to add another delay in the fulfilment by sending everything to our warehouse network.

To address some of the other comments:


It's your right to do that. But honestly, just talk to us. We've been around for 10 years as a business, longer than that on this forum as owners, where we started. We're not bad people, but sometimes we mess up. Chargebacks kill a small business like us, and should be a last resort (in my opinion).

No, it doesn't work. Many have tried, including us, none of the coating are anywhere near as effective, but, they do help a little.

I updated the installation video today to provide better guidance for this, in terms of getting a good seal, which is critical for the success of the product. We learned a lot from the first batch of units we sold.

Thanks for the quick response and explanation in this matter, pete8314. Much appreciated !!

Glad that my order is on its way and can’t wait to install it

 

[DanDi58]

I'm just tired of people not talking with others to resolve perceived differences or work through a mistake before appealing to some greater authority, such as complaining to their credit card company and on social media, rather than making a good faith effort to talk with a merchant. That's my commentary as a human being, not "the mod".

 

[GBMaryland]

I'm just tired of people not talking with others to resolve perceived differences or work through a mistake before appealing to some greater authority, such as complaining to their credit card company and on social media, rather than making a good faith effort to talk with a merchant. That's my commentary as a human being, not "the mod".

Thanks for reading,

On the other hand, I am sick and tired of companies playing games with customers where you place an order and, without notice, the item is suddenly back ordered when it was clearly listed as in-stock. I’ve even seen where it was intentional.

AO immediately sent an email indicating “thank you for your backorder.” As such, there is no reason to expect a mistake. Period. This was literally the only time it was an “oops.” …out of 30 years of buying things in the internet.

———

I’m not positive how my original thread title was considered a swear… the reverend at my church disagrees with you, I actually asked!

 

[Mr_Joe]

On the other hand, I am sick and tired of companies playing games with customers where you place an order and, without notice, the item is suddenly back ordered when it was clearly listed as in-stock. I’ve even seen where it was intentional.

RTP Tesla... THIS...x100. I'll never place another order from them because of what you just posted.

Ordered an in stock package, they didnt ship it, I check the status after several weeks - its backordered. But guess what... they NEVER updated the website to show out of stock. Instead, they just kept accepting orders.

They eventually shipped out my item but I'll never order from them again because of how I was treated.

 

[WyoDude]

On the other hand, I am sick and tired of companies playing games with customers where you place an order and, without notice, the item is suddenly back ordered when it was clearly listed as in-stock. I’ve even seen where it was intentional.

AO immediately sent an email indicating “thank you for your backorder.” As such, there is no reason to expect a mistake. Period. This was literally the only time it was an “oops.” …out of 30 years of buying things in the internet.

———

I’m not positive how my original thread title was considered a swear… the reverend at my church disagrees with you, I actually asked!

Soooo seems you didn’t read the vendors post…

 

[jjrandorin]

On the other hand, I am sick and tired of companies playing games with customers where you place an order and, without notice, the item is suddenly back ordered when it was clearly listed as in-stock. I’ve even seen where it was intentional.

AO immediately sent an email indicating “thank you for your backorder.” As such, there is no reason to expect a mistake. Period. This was literally the only time it was an “oops.” …out of 30 years of buying things in the internet.

———

I’m not positive how my original thread title was considered a swear… the reverend at my church disagrees with you, I actually asked!

It wasnt a "swear". It was a complete ridiculous statement though, comparing a company that has an out of stock message to what many would consider as the ultimate evil in most christian based religions (before I changed it).

 

[Yelobird]

RTP Tesla... THIS...x100. I'll never place another order from them because of what you just posted.

Ordered an in stock package, they didnt ship it, I check the status after several weeks - its backordered. But guess what... they NEVER updated the website to show out of stock. Instead, they just kept accepting orders.

They eventually shipped out my item but I'll never order from them again because of how I was treated.

”Because of how I was treated….” Give me a break. You’re not waiting on a life saving device or medication. It’s a goofy car gadget with likely a 2$ margin. I have ordered from AO dozens of times and they have always been wonderful and provided a good product. People live in this Amazon style only world which is Unrealistic which defines the term snowf____.

 

[ArizonaFish]

For what it's worth... Had no idea who AbstractOcean was until I saw this post, looking at their web site now, I guess "bad" publicity is better than no publicity. Their response seemed very personable and reasonable.