Costco Galaxy S7 pre-order status?

[camblkid]

Has anyone who ordered their new Galaxy S7 from Costco received their new device yet?

 

[Carter Taylor]

Nope. Haven't seen any news of shipment yet either. Has yours shipped yet?

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[docfjc]

I pre-ordered two S7's from Costco on 2/27 and received an e-mail from Verizon before I even left the warehouse that expected delivery would be 3/11. I then got another e-mail from Verizon on 3/7 stating that the phones were shipped. What I found strange is that I live in NJ and the phones were shipped from PA to Washington State and arrived there on 3/9. I went to my local Costco store to ask why they would ship them cross-country only to ship them back again and I was told that is where their corporate headquarters are so they all go there first. He assured me that I would have them by the official release date of 3/11. At about 7:30 pm today, I got an e-mail from Costco ststing that the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge were now in stock and they were still advertising the same offers. If that is the case what was the advantage of pre-ordering? I didn't get any word as to my actual order but I'm going to go there tomorrow and if they didn't come in, I will just cancel the order and buy two phones from their stock.

 

[Carter Taylor]

How the guy I was talking made it sound, was that they weren't going to ship the s7s to the warehouse in AZ which is where I live, until the 11th. From the from Washington. Meaning I probably won't get it until around the 17th. Unless that guy was wrong. I'm hoping that the shipments are getting there by the 11th so I can get my phone.

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[DCFlyer]

Doc is essentially correct. The concessionaire for Costco wireless is a company called Wireless Advocates, with I think one warehouse in Auburn, WA. I pre-ordered the bundle and was told at the time that I would be able to pick up the phone at the local Costco Warehouse here in Washington, DC on 3/11. However, I received a call on 3/9 from Fedex with a tracking number - turned out Wireless Advocates was having Verizon ship my phone from Pennsylvania to Washington state, and then Wireless Advocates will ship UPS ground from Washington state back across the country to Washington, DC. They received it on 3/9 but still haven't processed it. I likely won't get it until 3/18, and so far they say I can't even pay to upgrade shipping from ground.

In the meantime, yesterday, 3/10, Costco announced that the same bundle is available at the stores. I'm waiting for Wireless Advocates to open (6am PST) but based on past experience, they may not let me cancel because it has shipped to them.

 

[Patrick Goodell]

I had a similar experience. Pre-ordered S7 edge in silver on 2/27, was told I would be able to pick it up on the 11th. Received shipping notification from Verizon, realized when it was received on 3/10 that was in Washington (I live in Dallas). Called Costco Verizon kiosk 3/10, they said to come in the next day and they would be able to fill the order with an item from inventory. Showed up on 3/11 right at 10am, got in line. The "manager" asked what I was there for, I explained the above. He said to wait in line and he would be able to get a phone from inventory. Waited 90 minutes in line, got to the front and he's like oh, yeah, we don't have ANY Verizon Edge devices. I was a bit of an ***, I was just like why didn't you tell me that 90 minutes ago, he basically said he didn't pay any attention to what I told him I was there for.

Not sure what to do at this point. I would like the silver version, which is now backordered on Verizon.com until 3/31. I can wait for my order to get here or order through someone else. Not sure what the point of the pre-order was? The rep also insists that it wasn't a "pre-order" it was like "deferred fulfillment" or something like that. It is still advertised on the Costco website as "pre-order."

 

[Carter Taylor]

Doc is essentially correct. The concessionaire for Costco wireless is a company called Wireless Advocates, with I think one warehouse in Auburn, WA. I pre-ordered the bundle and was told at the time that I would be able to pick up the phone at the local Costco Warehouse here in Washington, DC on 3/11. However, I received a call on 3/9 from Fedex with a tracking number - turned out Wireless Advocates was having Verizon ship my phone from Pennsylvania to Washington state, and then Wireless Advocates will ship UPS ground from Washington state back across the country to Washington, DC. They received it on 3/9 but still haven't processed it. I likely won't get it until 3/18, and so far they say I can't even pay to upgrade shipping from ground.

In the meantime, yesterday, 3/10, Costco announced that the same bundle is available at the stores. I'm waiting for Wireless Advocates to open (6am PST) but based on past experience, they may not let me cancel because it has shipped to them.

Do you have a link to where you saw that Costco is giving out the same bundle?

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[Danvill1]

I got an email from costco advertising the bundle yesterday. If you are subscribed to their mailing list you should have gotten it

 

[Patrick Goodell]

The reps at the kiosk are borderline useless. Costco/WA needed an order number in order to track the shipment and provide an ETA. I have all the paperwork I was provided when pre-ordering, there is not an order number on it. There is a super long "Pre-ship #" but that was not it. I called back to the store and they guy wasn't able to find any order number for my order. He said somehow not having an order number means the phone is 1.5-2 weeks out. I can't fathom why it would take that long to ship... it took a day and a half to ship from Memphis to Auburn, WA.... 2 weeks to basically make the return trip?

If anyone has their order number, you can reach Wireless Advocates @ 888-369-5931. The number listed on their website just kicks you into a voicemail black hole.

 

[Danvill1]

I really think this was not Costo's fault (not trying to defend them) it was Verizon's fault for not shipping on time, every other company shipped the phones early so that this wouldn't happen. I also pre-ordered 2 galaxy s7 edge silver on 2/28 and I didn't get a tracking number until 3/9 which is BS because you pre-order so that you don't have to wait. In this case Verizon sent the phones late therefore Costco's distribution center will ship them late and then all the people that pre-ordered from Costco will get screwed. I went yesterday to Costco and the guy at the wireless center told me that it would get there in between 7 to 10 business days and that Verizon wasn't getting any s7 edge at Costco. So guys don't cancel your pre-orders I almost did it yesterday and I would have regretted it, more because the silver is back ordered.

 

[Patrick Goodell]

I'm not intending to blame Costco... I mentioned Costco and Wireless Advocates together as they seem to be highly integrated, at least as far as cell phones are concerned. All I really know is it was someone from WA that sold the product/promise, and has not delivered. I don't know which company has dropped the ball, but the complete lack of any information is terrible. Seems like VZW was late with their shipment, but it took a day and a half to get from Memphis, TN to Auburn, WA. Costco/WA should be able to ship with a similar timetable, not 1.5-2 weeks.

 

[Hella Jay]

The only thing I can think of as a reason why our pre-orders are so delayed is the bundle deal. See if you pre-ordered through the carrier directly you needed to go to a samsung website to claim your free vr gear and on that site it says it will take weeks for it to arrive. But if u pre-ordered through costco, best buy, etc then the bundled vr will come with your phone and no need to submit a claim form. So my thought is verizon has shipped it's phones to WA and now they sit there until samsungs vr bundle arrives so they can ship them out together. Now if this is the reason and it only takes a few more days before they are dispersed to the stores then this is a win for us we may have to wait for the phone a Lil longer but we will have the VR gear sooner then the rest that pre-ordered through carrier. The free gear thru samsung site I think stated 4 to 6 weeks for delivery. My phone on Verizon tracking was delivered to WA on the 8th and I have no other updates on the phones movement so I think I'm on to something here what do yall think?

 

[docfjc]

I went to Costco yesterday to pick up my two phones that I had pre-ordered. There was another customer at the kiosk picking up two S7's so I waited and when another rep asked me what I was there for, I told her and she checked some list and said, "Yes, your phones are in. Just give us a few minutes. " A few minutes turned into a 90 minute ordeal. They then said that the phones were not in and that they didn't have a tracking number so there was no telling when the phones would get there. I told the rep to cancel my order and just sell me two phones that they had in stock and that when the others came in, they could sell them to someone else. I was told that they couldn't do that because the phones were linked to my account and that the only way to purchase phones on the spot was to add two new lines. I went into a tirade asking what the point of pre-ordering was when someone could just walk in on release day and buy phones before someone who pre-ordered two weeks ago. He called someone and they told him there was nothing they could do and I would just have to wait until they arrived. I then called Vetizon and they told me it was out of their hands because they had shipped the phones to Wireless Advocates. At that point, I told the Costco rep to either get a supervisor or manager on the phone because I wasn't leaving without my phones. As I said that another person, who didn't introduce himself, came over and showed the rep something on the computer screen and said something to him. In about 10 seconds, my original order was canceled and I was able to purchase two phones from their stock. The VR headsets and Micro SD cards; however, weren't in yet and he said they were expecting a shipment later that day. I thought that was odd because when I originally questioned them a few days ago as to why the phones are shipped to WA just to be shipped back again, I was told that they bundle everything together and then ship them to the stores so that was a blatant lie. If it were true and the VR headsets and SD cards were coming in later that day, why weren't the phones? I can wait for the VR, I just wanted to get the phones yesterday. People, you have to make some noise because some of these reps are clueless. I don't think I will ever pre-order through them again.

 

[Patrick Goodell]

Doc- were your phone's edge devices or regular S7's?

I don't think it's an issue with the vr bundle. Everyone else i saw purchasing with other carriers had their entire bundle.

 

[DCFlyer]

Well, Doc fared better than I did. I called Wireless Advocates, the Costco partner company that handles wireless. They told me to go down to the store. Like Doc's experience, they had S7s on hand and were selling them with the bundle. Talked to both reps who called Verizon, the manager, and the warehouse. I didn't throw a tirade, but let them know about my irritation. Can I cancel my order and buy one here? No, phone was already shipped to Wireless Advocates. Can Wireless Advocates cancel my order? No, even thought they have the phone there at the warehouse, I would have to wait for them to ship the phone to me and then I would have to ship it back (which is ridiculous). Can I get expedited shipping? No, because they claimed that they receive individual phones from Verizon and palletize them and ship them together to the store. What's the value of pre-order? To guarantee you get a phone (but I pointed out that if they canceled my order I could have one immediately...) Bottom line - Wireless Advocates doesn't understand pre-orders and tries to cut costs by managing everything through one distribution center on the west coast instead of having Verizon drop-ship to the customer or ship directly to the store. So I suffer the COSTCO PRE-ORDER PENALTY and wait at least another week for my phone while those who pre-ordered from other stores have theirs, as does anyone who didn't pre-order but just walked into the store. Terrible, tone-deaf way to handle this. I'll never pre-order from Costco again either.

 

[docfjc]

Regular S7's.

 

[docfjc]

DCflyer, that's the same exact thing they were telling me. Whoever this guy was that solved the problem happened to be in the right place at the right time, at least for me, as I was able to walk out with two phones yesterday. I'm sorry you didn't have the same luck I did. Hopefully you will get your's soon.

 

[Carter Taylor]

I called the Costco Wireless center yesterday, asking if they had any s7s in stock. I then asked if I bought one of those if I would still get the pre order bonuses. They said know I would have to wait for my pre order. And when I asked when they thought the pre orders would arrive, she answered with she didnt know. So I guess I just have to wait also.

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[piewhole]

You guys should all post on their facebook page they seem to respond better that way. If they start getting a lot of complaints on there we might get a solution sooner than later.

 

[Patrick Goodell]

I have posted on the WA facebook site, just added one to Costco. I also filed a complaint with the BBB for both companies. WA has an F rating by the BBB so I doubt they even care.

I followed up on my order today. They have no update, but did offer to cancel my order, which I happily took them up on. Oh, wait, apparently the Verizon network is down so they can't cancel the order. It's completely possible that is true, however it is just getting to be too many coincidences to believe anything they say.