Have you won a book but never got it ??
Have you ever won anything from Twitter and not received it from another blogger ??
How long do you wait before you complain or mention ??
Is there a difference between a publisher or Blogger ??
I bring this up because I had to deal with a publisher and trying to get a book that I won, but it took forever to get a copy. Then I won a book from another book blogger on twitter and its been a couple months and nothing.
How long is too long ??
I usually wait about 4 weeks before contacting whoever was doing the giveaway. I know things happen and sometimes emails get deleted by accident. I know when people have contacted me stating that they didn't receive an item I was giving away both I and the the sponsor have remedied the situation ASAP.
ReplyDeleteThere have been a few that I've never received either the item or a response. In that case I stop following and move on.
Funny you should ask this question Julie. Recently in the past few months have been sent books by an author and they never made it to me, have in the past year been sent books from members of my Paperbackswap club and they did not make it either. I am wondering if part of your not getting a book was not because it was never sent out but because it was stolen in transit like mine?
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand have also had a problem getting a book or two from bloggers who were so overwhelmed that they "forgot" to contact the publisher with giveaway winners for 3 months and when I finally remembered to email it took another 2 to get my copy which was fine because have so many on my shelves now am never in a hurry anyway to receive more.
I won a book once from a blog and it never arrived. I was told that the author had sent it out. I sent a follow up e-mail to the blog and the author was gracious enough to send another one. I was supposed to get some other stuff but I declined that and just thanked her for the book.
ReplyDeleteIn another instance I was supposed to get some books and I e-mailed but I never got a response or the books. I didn't pursue it.
I'm not sure what to do in the case of a publisher. I would probably send a couple of e-mails and then drop it.
I think it is acceptable to follow up after a month, definitely 6 weeks.
ReplyDeleteI say that long because I am international.
I would prefer someone ask instead of thinking badly and it was a honest mistake.
If after a month I have received anything, I nicely touch base with the contest holder.
ReplyDeleteSomething like this:
Hey darling! I was just wondering if you could check on __________. Thanks :)
Every single time the blogger has been really cool about it.
Good luck.
I won a book from a blogger about 5 months ago and never got it. Emailed her two months ago to follow up, and she never email me back. I don't think someone should hold a giveaway if they don't plan on sending you the book ever! It's rude!
ReplyDeleteWow, I did not know this kind of behavior happens. :( It seems a little silly to hold a giveaway or agree to sending a book if you don't or can't do it.
ReplyDeleteSince I'm in Canada it usually takes a couple of weeks to get here. I would give it a month then follow up. I think communication is key here.
ReplyDeleteI once sent out a package of 5 books to a winner--and it got SHREDDED in the mail. The postal service sent me back a consoling note and a small piece of the original packaging. I re-sent the winner 3 other new books, and this time I duct-taped the package until it was indestrcutible!
ReplyDeleteI have both won and given away a number of books. Sometimes it seems to take awhile to get them (I know that occasionally if I am shipping the book personally it can sit in my car for a few days before I get to the post office during the hours they are open). Publishers and international take 4 - 6 weeks usually. I figure if I email after a month it's acceptable. The one time I won a book and it didn't arrive - I figured, "Well, it was a bonus free book anyway."
ReplyDeleteI like it when people email me to tell me if they didn't receive their book. With the postal strike that happened just recently in Canada, and living in Canada, there are some people who didn't receive their books and I would never know unless I was contacted. Even electronic gifts can go awry which happened to me once. There are some prizes I didn't receive from publishers and while I should have checked back, I've just been so busy I never had the chance and forgot about it. Sometimes the blogger doesn't know the prize was never received and I always hesitate to blame the blogger, especially if they're dealing with a variety of publishers and other sources to send out prizes. Deliveries all over the world can be so fickle. I am not putting blame on any one party, so please don't take this comment personally, but as anyone who has to rely on receiving anything on a regular basis, you would know how irregular that service can sometimes be. It's a difficult job, post delivery.
ReplyDeleteI have not received some things that I won--I always feel guilty emailing about it though. I'm not sure why. I know things happen and people get overwhelmed/things get lost.
ReplyDeleteI know I just hosted a contest in July and haven't sent out the book yet... but I have emailed the winner twice letting her know that I haven't forgotten about her.
I just had three books all at once that were not received. I contacted the bloggers and two said somehow they neglected to send on the info to the publisher and the other had sent the info to the wrong email address for the author. Shortly after I received two of the books and the author has said she would send out the other book shortly. It pays to make contact if you don't receive a book after about 4 weeks. Of course, sometimes you don't hear back and then I just give up and move on. After all, it didn't cost me anything and I chalk it up to lost in the mail, or human error.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
Mail mishaps happen. The more you mail, the more often you'll see the issues, statistically speaking. I'd wait 4 to 6 weeks and then start contacting whoever it is that's supposed to send it to you. If after a couple of tries you don't have a response or get a run around I'd just drop it. It's not worth the hassle. Eventually that person's reputation will catch up to them. I'm still waiting on a book pack I won in May. I waited 2 months and then contacted the host so they could contact the sender (I don't have direct access). So far the sender has been unresponsive. It sucks but there isn't much you can do. Just note them to avoid in the future and move on.
ReplyDelete@teresa --thanks for advice and nice to know I am not the only one.
ReplyDelete@jackie--so glad to know I am not the only one :)
@midnyte so glad not the only one
@marce so true about communication
@juju thanks for the support
@steph I agree its rude to do that too.
@lilychild yeah its bad behaviour and not mail
@Mel yes communication is key
@tiger I had that happen to me too and I made sure that she got the books promised, whether or not the mail had anything with it.
@beverly I agree its free book :) Bouns
@stephanie --no thanks for the comment because it could be the mail .
@kaitlyn but you are mindful about the winner and mailing the book. :)
@barbara I agree it does pay to contact the blogger
@donna I agree mail mishaps do happen but like you I am waiting on a book since may, and I have contacted the blogger but I agree it might be time to move on.
I have had the post office rip open my packages and steal half the contents. And I've had them smash things marked 'fragile,' and don't even get me on how many things they've lost.
ReplyDeleteI'm right there with all of these comments. A giveaway certainly shouldn't be offered if it can't be fulfilled. That being said, I host quite a few giveaways, keep track of them on spreadsheets and followup on emails but nevertheless I still end up with some missing (of the ones I send out).
ReplyDeleteI'd definitely recommend following up after about 4-6 weeks after the book was supposed to be sent out. Sometimes the tours I've been a part of have waited until everyone is finished to have the publisher send out the books. So depending on the tour you could be waiting awhile. Regardless...I never mind getting an email asking about the whereabouts of a book. So I'd hope others would feel the same. It's actually nice to know someone received it and was excited about it. :o)
All of that being said...sometimes the post office stinks! Just like Anni said above me. :o(
Good luck! I hope it comes soon for you!
Reverse has happened to me, I hosted my first international contest, with SIGNED books. I sent them out and they never got to the winner. Even though the confirmation said they had. I felt terrible, but I didn't know how to replace these signed books and it had cost me nearly $20 in shipping. What do I do - especially with the confirmation, what do I believe etc?
ReplyDeleteI once won a book and never received it, but it was the authors fault, not the bloggers. The blogger gave me a gift card instead.
ReplyDeleteI've also had problems with books sometimes taking a long time to get to the winners. The worst are blog tours~sometimes the publisher won't send them out till the end of the tour. In my case it was 2 month tour-felt bad for my winner.
I always ask my winners to let me know if they've gotten the book, that way I know when to bug the publisher or who ever about getting the book out. If it doesn't happen, I send a gift card of $10.00, b/c of the time it was done to me.
Forgot to add~I'd wait 4-6wks to complain if the book is coming from the publisher/author, less if it's coming from a blogger.
ReplyDeleteI usually give it about a month. I haven't had any problems when the book comes from another Blogger, but I've won books from authors' contests they didn't send, even after a polite inquiry/reminder. That left a bad impression for me.
ReplyDelete