CAVEAT EMPTOR!!

All the News That Gives You Fits! Many of you who know me or have read my blogs know that I am a die hard NY Giants fan who bleeds Giants Blue. What an incredible ride so far this year. Last Sunday when the NY Giants beat the Dallas Cowboys I was in heaven. My brother, Bill, as you may well know, is as huge a Cowboys fan as I am a Giants fan so the game meant a little more to me than usual.

So last Sunday there I was sitting next to my buddy, Deadhead Mike, with one minute or so left in the first half and said, "The Giants are gonna get a touchdown and tie it up." Deadhead Mike (make that Free Range Mike now) always the pessimist said,"It's gonna be 21-7 Dallas going into halftime."

Nevertheless, with one minute or so left in the 4th quarter I said, "The Giants are gonna get a pick in the end zone and win." Free Range Mike's response was "Romo is gonna throw a touchdown." My friends, Whitey, Peter, Ed and I wonder if Dead Head Mike is really a Giants fan.

This week I went to Piping Plover deli and ordered bratwurst and sauerkraut and Wisconsin cheese to eat up The Packers. It seemed that last week's order of Texas chili from Ken's Plover helped. My dream is for Payback time. First the Cowboys (done, one down) then to send the Packers packing (this Sunday) and finally to make Patsies out of Bill Bell-a-cheat and the Patriots in the Superhype Bowl and wreck their otherwise perfect season. Shoulda happened in week 16 but for one errant Eli interception.

But I digress. I always try to wear some lucky gear when I watch a game. I ain't superstitious but a black cat crossed my path. Earlier in the season I went to my local Modell's (gotta go to Mo's) and purchased a NY Giants sideline 1st half season one size fits all cap. I had the same cap the players were wearing on the bench.You know the one with the red, white and blue stripes.

As it got cold I saw the players wearing the red with the white stripe wool winter hat. So I went to Mo's, but no go. Finally I ordered it online from NFL.com on 12/14/07. I checked the box that said overnight delivery from Fed Ex/ UPS. On 12/15/07 I received an e-mail saying it was out of stock. On 12/21/07 I received another e-mail saying it was in stock and would be shipped by USPS overnight. Days go by and I kept plugging the source number into the alleged USPS tracking site only to see the response "Item to be delivered received on 12/22/07. This does not constitute a confirmation of delivery" notice.

Christmas and New Year's came and went to the point I was so distracted by family and friends (in a good way)that I forgot to think about my order. Then on January 8th, 2008 a smashed up package appeared on my doorstep with the following message stamped on it: "Item delivered to this Post Office damaged and opened." The box looked like it had been run over by a USPS truck. I squeezed the box to make it look like a box rather than a squashed pumpkin and noticed the tape on the side had split. My first thought was that some nefarious no-goodnik saw the NFL logo on the box, smashed it open, and stole my hat. But fortunately, the hat was inside along with the bill and because it was a flat wool hat was virtually undamaged.

So where is all of this going to you may ask? It is said that lightning never strikes in the same place twice, but this is not true. George Santayana once said, "Those who refuse to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it." In other words, "Fool me once, shame on you! Fool me twice, shame on me!" So, on January 14th, 2008, the day after the exciting Giants' victory described above, I wanted one of those second season sidelines red with white stripes NY Giants caps (pictured above)that Eli and crew were wearing at the Dallas game. Just for luck.

So I go to Mo's, and again no go. Okay, I know the game, so I go to NFL.com--no go. I go to NY Giants.com--no go. I go to Modells.com--no go. I go to SportsAuthority.com--no go. Finally I think why not just go to google.com? So I plugged in NY Giants second season sideline cap and the first twenty-five hits of 5,292 in 3.6 seconds showed me a bunch of NY Giants hats, but not the one pictured above that I really wanted. So I go page by page twenty-five or so at a time. I'm persistent because I really want this hat, but I start to get a little worried when I start seeing not only NY Giants baseball caps, but also SF Giants baseball caps at about hit 250 on page ten or so.

Finally, I see the hat (displayed at the top of this already too long blog)at about hit 450 or so. I click on it and find out that not only is it available, but also it's ON SALE! So I go to checkout and punch in my google pasword and I have a choice of shipping. Well, my momma didn't raise no fools so I make absolutely sure I click the second box which said "Overnight delivery by Fed Ex/UPS for $4.99." Once bitten twice sly, right? So one would expect to receive the hat the next day, right? Wrong!

The next day I received an e-mail from the vendor TailgateSports,LLC, 11901 Santa Monica Blvd. #375, Los Angeles, CA 90025 saying that my order was ready for delivery and it gave me a USPS delivery number. "Huh?" was my response. Didn't I check "Fed Ex/UPS?" I checked my e-receipt and sure enough right there in the subtotal on their freakin' receipt it read "Shipping and handling Fed Ex/ UPS overnight Express, $4.99."

I e-mailed TailgateSports,LLC on 1/15/08 but did not receive a reply. I clicked the blue hypertext USPS "alleged" tracking number and saw the response:

"Status: Electronic Shipping Info Received

The U.S. Postal Service was electronically notified by the shipper on January 15, 2008 to expect your package for mailing. This does not indicate receipt by the USPS or the actual mailing date. Delivery status information will be provided if / when available. Information, if available, is updated every evening. Please check again later."

A definition of insanity is that one continues to repeat the exact same actions expecting a different outcome. By this definition I surely must be INSANE because every time I had checked the USPS "tracking" website, I received the same useless info. I even went so far as to sign up at the USPS "tracking" website for updates to be e-mailed to me. Needless to say I had received no e-mails.

On 1/16/08 I contacted the Google checkout team support (since I had received no response from TailgateSports,LLC) and explained my displeasure with TailgateSports,LLC schlepping my shipping off to the, inadequate at best, USPS and inquired as to when I would be receiving my already one day late overnight delivery. Emily and Turner on the Google support team were awesome. We exchanged three e-mails and they said they contacted the weasels at TailgateSports,LLC and asked them to contact me. I am still awaiting a reply from TailgateSports,LLC.

This morning I actually received a viable message from the USPS tracking website when I went to their website for nth time which said that my package was received at Bethpage, NY on 1/17/08. After clicking on more detailed information button (why do you have to click on this? Why can't the USPS give you all of the pertinent info at one shot like Fed Ex and UPS do?)I found that it had arrived at 10:29 PM. It did not say when it would be delivered. I assumed it would have been delivered today, but you know what happens when you assume things. You make an "ass" out of "u" and "me."

So this afternoon my local Post Office truck pulls into my driveway with my package. Two hours later I receive an e-mail from the USPS site informing me that my package had arrived at my local post office at 9:49 AM.

Okay, here are my beefs. If you pay more for an overnight delivery shouldn't it be overnight? Why bother to give a choice for shipping if you do not honor it? Most importantly, how rude is it, not to mention bad for business, NOT to respond to customer complaints? I urge all of you out there in cyber-land, wherever you may be, in joining me to boycott this rude company-TailgateSports,LLC- with its egregious practices.LET THE BUYER BEWARE!!

That's the news and my skewed views. What are your views?