Unfortunately, I have to warn you all of a change in Blackstar’s behavior
They are either beginning an exit scam, trying to make a quick buck off skimming a few unfortunate buyers (maybe people they dislike, given the recent outbursts against patrons who message too much?) and/or exhibiting exceptional incompetence compounded by refusal to make it right.
I’m willing to entertain that it was a genuine mistake they made that they unfortunately doubled down on, but it would not surprise me if this was the start of a company-wide exit scam with some plausible deniability. If this is truly an unfortunate mishap in an otherwise positive relationship, I’m more than willing to make amends, however I feel it’s my responsibility to post as I’ve seen here.
I noticed that Blackstar has been posting more erratically lately, especially against users they seem to find difficult. This gave me some pause already, but I decided to go with another order since they’ve been okay thus far. I went with a smaller order than usual, about half of what I typically buy (thank god!), which makes their later implications that I’m somehow the one trying to pull something even more ridiculous (why would I scam them out of half of my typical order, and not the normal amount, if I were the one at fault?). As usual, Blackstar was cagey and refused to give basic details such as whether the order had been processed, shipped, etc.—incredibly unprofessional behavior that I put up with due to our previously positive arrangement.
I gave them exceptional patience knowing they typically do not like “talkative” customers. However, by the 9th, I still saw nothing on Informed Delivery despite a suddenly “generous” deal with free express shipping (another thing I found very sus to occur out of the blue, but went with against my better instincts). Upon giving them a detailed account, they claimed that the package had been sent and picked up on the 6th. When I pointed out that it was ordered late in the day on the 4th and couldn’t have even arrived by the 6th, they claimed they didn’t just express it, they overnighted it. For free. Out of the blue. Interesting!
Clearly, they were now implying that I was lying and ostensibly trying to get a second order for free. I made it clear this had not arrived, and even offered to prove it: I mentioned that to confirm I’d not received the package, I’d record a video of my Informed Delivery to confirm that no such package had been received. Hell, I’d even call up the post office and ask them directly which packages (if any) had arrived on the 6th. This was met with deflection and general handwaving, saying it's my fault given I'd supplied the information (which they confirmed had been sent to MY ADDRESS—this is an important detail that leads me to believe they're lying and didn't just mis-ship it.) When I again reiterated that I could actually prove that nothing was shipped to my address, as they claimed, they completely clammed up. My suspicion is they thought they could bully me with vague allusions to me giving incorrect info (I'm autistic as hell and quadruple-check everything, so in the words of Chuck from BCS, AS IF I COULD MAKE SUCH A MISTAKE!) but they messed up by confirming they'd sent it to my address instead of simply saying it'd been shipped elsewhere due to a failure of mine; I could now confirm that they had, in fact, not sent it to me and they had absolutely no interest in any such confirmation. They slipped up! Should've lied and said it was shipped elsewhere, would've been less falsifiable.
So, there’s three possibilities for this lovely community to consider:
- Option 1: Blackstar truly did overnight my package out of the kindness of their hearts (mentioned only after being called out for it being impossible for express to have arrived on time) and that just so happened to be the package that I intended to steal despite it being half of my typical order, tarnishing my otherwise pristine record here (which, even if that were so, they offered no hesitation or contemplation about any real potential issue going on, somehow completely sure that they were in the right and I was wrong). This does leave the question of why they wouldn’t accept any attempts to confirm the possibility of an incorrect shipment, though!
- Option 2: the free express shipping is a ploy to get people to order, either for their entire business or for select customers that annoy them for being *too* communicative or perhaps at random given order history. Once they were called out, they changed their story to something implausible (overnighting for no reason). But they forgot that express shipping shows up in Informed Delivery, and can thus be empirically disproven. Like cowards, they simply hide and ignore any good-faith attempts at reconciliation
- Option 3: They genuinely did make a mistake, but are so arrogant, selfish, and/or greedy, that they refuse to take in any information that might require them to make it right.
If you order with them, you’re gambling that I wrote this entire manifesto for…what reason exactly? As you can see, I previously was nothing but positive with them! I’m currently under the impression it’s an exit scam, but I wouldn’t put it past them to be so arrogant as to ignore a massive blunder on their part. Either way, even if you currently retain a good relationship with them, you are putting your money and product at risk by continuing with their business; they can do this to any of you at any moment.
I'm still willing to make amends, Blackstar. But somehow, I don't think that's gonna happen. I've been down this road before, and it smells like the "biding for time" BS bad vendors always do when trying to maximize exit profit. Another otherwise decent vendor down the drain!