Jan
Canadian Release of Dr. Horrible Delayed
We’re sad to report that it appears that the Canadian Amazon release of Dr. Horrible has been delayed. During December the Dr. Horrible DVD was available for pre-order but by the time the end of the month came it was marked as having a “distribution delay”, today the listing was changed to say “Sign up to be notified when this item becomes available”.
Reports have started coming in now stating that existing orders have been canceled and the item will no longer be available but the Dr Horrible team says the item has not actually been canceled. The message being sent out by Amazon Ca reads:
We’re sorry to report the release of the following item has been cancelled:
“Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blogâ€
Although we’d expected to be able to send this item to you, we’ve since found it won’t be released after all. Please accept our sincerest apologies for any inconvenience we’ve caused you.
We’ve cancelled this item from your order.â€
We’re trying to determine what the situation is and will keep you advised.
You can still order the Dr. Horrible DVD through the US Amazon store
Dr. Horrible DVD reaches #2
From Amazon.com
January 2nd, 2009 at 7:52 amSubtotal of Items: $10.49
Shipping & Handling: $7.98
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Import Fees Deposit $1.79
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Total for this Order: $20.26 USD
Thats $24.59 Canadian and a couple more weeks…Ouch!
I feel your pain having had pay for postage to Au. Is there anyone you can combine your order with to save a few dollars on postage at least?
January 2nd, 2009 at 8:05 amOkay, maybe they were going to fulfill outstanding orders (I haven’t received a cancellation notice for the CD, just the DVD, and they haven’t removed the CD from my order yet), but the CD is no longer available for order from .ca either, if you check its listing/profile. What’s going on ?
And why does Amazon.ca panic people saying it’s cancelled if it’s only delayed ?
That was a bit of a downer, opening my e-mail this morning to see that. I was hoping it would be in the mailbox today or early next week. I wonder what’s up with it. Of note for some Canadians who ordered:
Y’know the whole, “Order over $39 worth of stuff and Amazon.ca gives you free super-saver shipping” ? Well Amazon warns in their cancellation e-mails, “Please note, if you took advantage of a promotional offer when placing this order, this cancellation can affect your order’s eligibility for that offer. To view the current status and the costs associated with your order, please visit the Your Account page at http://www.amazon.ca/your-account”
I had ordered the Dr. Horrible DVD, the Dr. Horrible CD, and a comic book to push it above the $39 mark so I wouldn’t have to pay for shipping. The cancellation of the DVD took it back to $30.80, so now they’ve added a $6.89 shipping charge that wasn’t there before. Yet they’ll still ship it to you automatically when the other items are ready without making more of an effort to get in touch to ask you to confirm the modified order. What would happen if I didn’t check my e-mail for a couple days and the items shipped ? Surprise shipping charge plus no Horrible DVD in the mail, nice !
January 2nd, 2009 at 8:30 amAfter all the issues with getting international viewing available when the project first went online, they’re STILL having trouble with getting it available to anybody outside the US. I love Dr. Horrible, Joss and all his work, but this is getting exceptionally frustrating.
January 2nd, 2009 at 8:58 amI’m with James on this one. It was already frustrating that what was originally supposed to be released by Christmas got a post-Christmas release date up here, but now this. And it’d be nice to have some sort of explanation. I’m not that upset about the Hulu release because at least we knew the explanation behind it; the website’s designed and programmed for U.S. copyrights and it was fixed quickly. This is the rug being swept out from under us just one too many times, at the last minute, and we don’t know why.
January 2nd, 2009 at 9:43 amI’m not purchasing it until I can get it through a Canadian source. And I suggest that others respond the same way. If they want foreign purchases, they should be making it an issue to get it into the appropriate foreign stores. When an audience will jump through hoops to get a product, the companies will no longer jump through hoops themselves – so stop jumping through the hoops.
January 2nd, 2009 at 10:35 amWhat a disappointing start to my day. I really don’t want to order from Amazon in the US. I have a couple DVDs and CDs on order, cancelled now, and it sucks that I won’t see them for who knows how long. I think I’ll just wait until they’re available in Canada. All the shipping and customs fees aren’t worth it.
January 2nd, 2009 at 12:03 pmOh dear. If the release has been canceled in Canada that doesn’t bode well for us an ocean away!
January 2nd, 2009 at 12:13 pmYep I too will wait for the Canadian release…
ArrrOOooo!
January 2nd, 2009 at 12:46 pmLooks like the Dr. Horrible content delivery revolution hit the proverbial “establishment” with their international distribution.
I will patiently wait for a Canadian source to purchase from, like a good little Canadian. Sorry!
For the next installment of Dr. Horrible they should sell the ISO for the DVD on this site. Everyone and their dog now has a DVD burner and then we could just burn it ourselves and have a back up.
January 2nd, 2009 at 1:05 pmI’m getting so sick and tired of US based sources for things I enjoy telling the rest of the world how much less important the rest of the world is. It’s pathetic and arrogant. You know what? If you want my money (which you clearly don’t) you’ll find a way of making this available for me to buy without having the hassle of customs and this kind of nonsense. I love Joss Whedon and Dr Horrible, I had pre-ordered this as a christmas gift for my wife, I guess I’m getting her something else now.
January 2nd, 2009 at 1:17 pmThese are consecutive sentences I received from a reply from Amazon.ca
“I have checked into your order and found that “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” was canceled as we were unable to obtain the item from our supplier.
Rest assured your credit card has not been charged for the item, as our policy is to charge for items at the time of shipment.
Further, I have checked our website and found that the item “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” has not yet been released. Our latest information indicates that the expected release date is January 13, 2009.”
So, in four sentences, I was told that the release has been cancelled, and then that it was due out soon.
January 2nd, 2009 at 7:46 pmWhile this news is frustrating for those waiting on their orders, perhaps the additional orders through the US store will help to push the Dr Horrible DVD to the #1 bestseller in “Movies & TVâ€
Wow, you are encouraging Canadians to buy the DVD at twice the price to push the DVD to #1. Not cool!
January 2nd, 2009 at 7:54 pmKris I’m in the same boat as you. I added a bunch of cds to the order to save the shipping (cds that I can’t seem to find in stores, so it was only logical for me to do it this way).
The cds still cover the amount to save the free shipping on the Canadian site, but now if I chose to order via the American site to get the ORIGINAL items I wanted, I would now have to spend the exchange rate plus international shipping because the cds are apparently already being sent to me so I can’t add them to the American order.
So thank you Amazon for screwing me over and making me spend faaaaaar more money than need be if this isn’t fixed soon.
January 2nd, 2009 at 9:52 pmI’m sorry, that wasn’t what I meant, I was referring to those (and I’m sure there are some) that will order from the US store because they want it now and not wait until it becomes available.
January 2nd, 2009 at 10:36 pmI ordered two cds to bring the price over $39 to take advantage of the free shipping. In the span of 8 hours, between the time I was first notified to when I got home, the cds were already being prepped for shipping and I could no longer cancel my order. And because they didn’t total $39, a shipping fee had been added. Thanks for giving me the time to react to the news, Amazon.
Also, the cds I ordered to bring my total to the magic free shipping amount? Cheaper locally than through Amazon. So, now, I have to refuse the items when they’re delivered and, I’ve been told, I want be charged for any part of the delivery, including the shipping. I’ll believe it when I see it.
I will not order from Amazon.com. Not if I don’t have to. Between the unfavourable exchange rate, shipping and duty fees, it’s decidedly not advantageous. So for now, I’ll wait for news from Amazon.ca whether or not they will sell the item.
But this situation does not make me happy. And, as others have expressed, why do international fans always get the short end of the stick?
January 3rd, 2009 at 7:13 amFor those worrying about the shipping fee, just bitch at Amazon and you’ll get it back. My dad and I had the same issue (we combined our orders specifically for the free shipping), but one email to them resolved the problem.
January 3rd, 2009 at 11:49 amKeep bitching at them, I’ve gotten them willing to waive the shipping fee for when it’s available and I place a new order for it.
January 3rd, 2009 at 2:08 pm“Reports have started coming in now stating that existing orders have been canceled and the item will no longer be available but the Dr Horrible team says the item has not actually been canceled.”
I just heard this – so is it or is it not cancelled at Amazon.ca? I would like to buy it, have been waiting for it to appear on this side of the border (via Amazon.ca) and now it looks like I will either not get it or have to wait for it longer. The question I have is which is it exactly?
Does anyone on the “team” know for sure? If so, please share. Thanks.
January 4th, 2009 at 4:00 pmI, for one, will be waiting till I can get it from Amazon.ca. I had pre-ordered 3 copies before being informed that the order was cancelled and I will re-order those three when they become available again. If all you other wacky Canadians aren’t keen on paying customs fees and shipping … live around the Arctic Circle and see how much they gouge you. Ouchie.
January 4th, 2009 at 4:56 pmIt’s up! They’re available for pre-order now! But…the CD has gone from $7.99 to 14.99!!!! Jesus Christ! So we know that Amazon.ca probably “cancelled” the pre-order so they could double the price…it was probably the only way they could cancel everyone’s orders so they could milk more money outta us!
January 5th, 2009 at 12:52 amAmazon is now letting you pre-order it again with a new release date of next Tuesday, January 13th.
January 5th, 2009 at 5:43 pmAnyone any idea when the dvd is due out in the UK? There’s nothing about a release date on the site at all!
January 7th, 2009 at 3:24 pmThis is my note to Amazon. Maybe if enough of us complain, we can get them to honour the original price. The “Pre-Order Price Guarantee” is particularly irritating…
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I originally ordered Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog, the DVD and the audio CD. Then my order was cancelled, and now the items are back available on amazon.ca. The trouble is now the CD is almost twice the price! It is $14.99, up from $7.99.
1. I am unhappy at having my order cancelled, only to find out a few days later that the products are back online.
2. I am unhappy that the price has gone up, especially now that I want to order a few more copies.
3. I am seriously annoyed by your “Pre-order Price Guarantee!” which apparently does not apply in this case, because the price has gone UP, and my order CANCELLED. I ordered in December!
I strongly think you should consider honouring the lower price of the CD for anyone who had an order cancelled. This was supposed to be a Christmas present, and we’ve had nothing but delays and irritations.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
January 8th, 2009 at 7:56 amI just got a note from Amazon after my letter, (see above) and they are going to honour my original order price of $7.99 for the CD. Yay! I must admit, that’s prompt customer service.
January 8th, 2009 at 11:45 am