On an Amazonian Frustration

Received today, an e-mail from Amazon’s UK division:

Dear Customer,

We are sorry to report that the release of the following item has been cancelled:

Lance Parkin “Doctor Who: Gallifrey Chronicles (Doctor Who S.)”

This item has now been cancelled from your order and we can confirm that you have not been charged for it.

Please accept our apologies for any disappointment or inconvenience caused.

If you took advantage of a promotional offer when placing this order, this cancellation may affect your order’s eligibility for that offer. If you discover this to be the case, please contact customer service so that we may investigate. You can send an e-mail to customer service from the following URL:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/502564/ref=cs_hd_cus_1

This item may be available from an Amazon.co.uk Marketplace seller. The availability of the item will be indicated in a blue box that says “More Buying Choices” on the top right-hand side of the product’s information page. The links in this box lead to lists of new, used, refurbished and collectable copies of that particular item. To buy the item click the yellow “Buy from Seller” button and fill in the requested information to complete your purchase.

To view the current status and the costs associated with your order, please visit Your Account (http://www.amazon.co.uk/your-account).

For your reference, here is a summary of your order:

1 of Lance Parkin “Doctor Who: Gallifrey Chronicles (Doctor Who S.)”
Item unavailable

1 of Justin Richards “Doctor Who: The Clockwise Man (Doctor Who S.)”
Usually dispatched in 4-6 weeks (but may not be available at all)

On the date of dispatch, you should receive an e-mail message confirming the date, contents and method of shipment.

Please note: This e-mail was sent from a notification-only address that cannot accept incoming e-mail. Please do not reply to this message.

Thank you for shopping at Amazon.co.uk, we hope to see you again.

Sincerely,

Customer Service Department
Amazon.co.uk

Disappointment, the e-mail asks. Disappointment?

Damn skippy I’m disappointed. Because the book has started showing up in bookstores across the UK in advance of its official release date of June 6th. The book exists. My whole reason for ordering from the UK was because I wanted it early, earlier than we’d get it on this side of the pond.

My hunch is Amazon has Parkin’s Gallifrey Chronicles confused with John Peel’s Gallifrey Chronicles. The latter book, out of print for about ten years, is showing as shipping within one or two days. Which doesn’t make any sense.

Bastards.

And in cancelling the order, I now can’t cancel The Clockwork Man. My whole reason for ordering that along with Gallifrey was to spread the shipping costs across the Atlantic out somewhat. But no, by cancelling Gallifrey Amazon is now prepping Clockwork for shipment, so I’m paying three times the book’s cost in shipping.

Complete bastards.

Such are the pains and perils of being a Doctor Who fan. 😕