These are frequently asked questions about 8-Bit Guy product orders. If you are looking for the regular FAQ, see Frequently Asked Questions.
Which email address do I use for order inquiries?
It has been pointed out that some of the automated emails have a return email address of “david@the8bitguy.com” however this is not correct. I have searched all over my website for hours on end and have not been able to find where this email address is configured. I’ve essentially given up. Anyway, the correct email address to use is dfwgreencars@gmail.com just like for any other inquiry.
How soon do you ship orders?
In the vast majority of cases, orders are shipped the next morning after you place your order. If the order comes in early enough in the day, it may ship the same day.
Where is my order? / Tracking Numbers.
All orders have tracking numbers. Because I use paypal for payments, those tracking numbers are attached to your oder. Typically, you should receive an automated email from my web store with your tracking number. But if for some reason you can’t find it, you can always log into your paypal account and look at the transaction and you will find the tracking number there.
If all else fails, you can email me and I can look up the tracking number, which is time consuming, but I can do it.
USA orders typically require 2-7 days for delivery. Vinyl records and other music is typically sent “media mail” which takes 5-7 days. Items such as T-shirts and Planet X2/X3 typically arrive in 2-3 days.
Overseas orders can take anywhere from 1 week to 3 months depending on how long it is held up in customs. There is absolutely nothing I can accomplish by calling the postal service to speed it up, so please don’t ask. It’s a waste of your time, a waste of my time, and a waste of the postal employee’s time. If you haven’t received it after 3 months, I will either refund your order or ship you a replacement. I’ve almost never had to do that, because it shows up before 3 months 99% of the time.
Import Duties
If you are ordering from outside the USA, there is a good chance your country will charge you an import duty. This is beyond my control. And I also have no way to keep track of every country and what they will charge. This is your responsibility. Griping at me about it is like griping at the mail man for bringing you bills. Also, I will not mark items as “gift” so please do not ask. I can get into big trouble for that, especially considering the volume of shipping that I do.
My order was returned to sender.
This happens more often than you might think. I receive at least 1 or 2 returned packages every week. The vast majority are from the U.K., but I also get some from Germany, The Netherlands, and Denmark. What typically happens is the package arrives at the local post office, but there are import duties to be paid. For some reason the recipient is never notified that the package is waiting, so after some time it gets returned to me. When this happens, I will send an email explaining that the package was returned. Typically I will offer one of these options:
- A refund of the entire order, minus the shipping fees.
- I can re-ship the order to you, but I will send you a paypal invoice to pay for the shipping, which is typically $22 USD for European orders.
You might ask why the shipping fees to Europe are $22, and yet my website only charged like $12 for shipping? Well, the reason is because I subsidize the shipping on every European order to help bring the cost down. So to be clear on that, if you buy a single T-Shirt from me, for example, my profit margin on that is probably around $8. So, I actually lose money shipping that item to Europe. Fortunately, most people order something more expensive or multiple items. But the point is, if I subsidized the shipping the second time around, I’d be out $20 or more. So, when I have to re-ship an item to Europe, I have to insist on being paid the full shipping fee, especially when I am not at fault for the item not being received in the first place.
My item is defective / My order is wrong.
This is pretty rare, but it does happen. If this is the case, email me right away and I will absolutely make it right.
Where is my digital download?
Typically, when buying something that includes a digital download, you will receive an email within a few minutes of placing the order, which will have a download link at the bottom. Typically, each download code will work 10 times. However, sometimes things go wrong with the download repeatedly (for example if you are having connection issues, or browser trouble). In which case, just email me with your order number and I will reset the download limit for you. if you never received the download code, just email me and I will find your order and email you the link.
Why was my order suddenly refunded?
There should be an explanation listed in the refund email you get from paypal, as I have to type in a reason for the refund. However, the three most common causes of refunds are:
- You ordered one of Anders Enger Jensen’s music products, but you are not in the USA or Canada. I only ship these products to USA/Canada. If you are outside of USA/Canada then you need to order directly from his website at www.eox.no instead. This is actually stated on the order page of each of these products. If I receive an order for one of these, I will immediately refund it and cancel the order. I wish my website was more configurable so I could simply deny the ability to order this for certain countries, but I can’t.
- You ordered a T-shirt or some other product that I didn’t have in stock. I try to keep the stock up-to-date on the website, but things happen and sometimes it will say I have 1 left of an item, when in reality it is zero.
- You live in one of the countries I have stopped doing business with. This includes China and most any country in South America. The reason is 50% or more of the packages I send never actually arrive, nor are they returned to me. They just vanish. I don’t know where they go, but it is a huge loss for to deal with these countries. Sorry.