I currently live abroad and was excited to see Penguin offering free shipping for orders over $50. Shipping to my country is usually $20+ for even a pack of cards so I was excited for this promotion.

I selected the free shipment option that was advertised as 5-10 days.

I placed this order 10 days ago.

Unfortunately my package is STILL in the US.

I asked the customer service representative if they can check the status but all they told me is "free shipping can take a few weeks"

You can read the exact response below:

"With free shipping, we generally use either U.S. Postal Service First Class or Fed-Ex SmartPost. We make that call based on the what is best for the order. Usually those two shipping options will take a couple of weeks to arrive. Both track until it leaves the United States. We do have faster shipping with guaranteed delivery times as options at checkout for the future if you're on a deadline or need something for a show."

So Penguin advertises 5-10 day shipping but it's actually more like a couple weeks! I would not have ordered if it said "couple weeks shipping"

It's nice they offer free shipping but they blatantly lie about the time frame.

After 17 years of ordering from Penguin I am extremely disappointed and will not buy from them again.

I understand your frustration. I would be willing to wait two to three weeks for free shipping but this should be made clear at the point of sale.

You got an incorrect response from our customer service. I’m very sorry about that. The service your order was shipped with is supposed to only take 5-10 days.

Orders are supposed to arrive in 5-10 days. And they usually do. It’s not a lie. Orders *can* sometimes take longer, which due to customs etc is hard to predict.

It’s likely to arrive very soon. Also consider that your 10 days crossed 2 weekends, which usually doesn’t count toward “days”

Again, I’m sorry for the confusion. I’ll talk with our team about the answers they give.

Last thing, email me with your order confirmation number if you have any questions. I’m giving you these answers but I have no idea what order we’re talking about. I can look it up etc if you shoot me an email. Perhaps there was some other issue, which I’d be happy to look into. acar@penguinmagic.com

PM'd you my order number and tracking number. Thanks.

I wouldn't be too harsh on Penguin as I doubt they can be making much money on these orders. $50 is a fairly low threshold for orders which may end up costing them $15-20 to post.

It is very nice of them to offer this promotion but they should not make false statements about shipment time.

I was hoping to get my packaging in the advertised time frame (5-10 days) so I have some props for an upcoming show.

Instead it looks like I won't receive my package for several weeks. It is STILL in the US with no expected delivery date after paying 12 days ago.

I think if Penguin simply updates their expected delivery time for this free option it would be win-win for everyone. They can say 2-6 weeks free shipping and many people would still be OK with it.

Palmtreemagic, thank you for sending your PM, I looked into your order and will answer you here so anyone reading your original post can also read my response. I hope it helps clear up a few things.

1. You ordered on March 3rd, which is a Saturday. So your order shipped on Monday, March 5th. That's only 9 days ago today.

2. With most couriers, when a shipping estimate says X days, that usually only counts weekdays. By that measure it's only been 7 days.

3. Your order is NOT still in the US. Notice that the tracking updates you see are only from March 5th, the first day. That's because once it leaves the USA, tracking stops getting updated. This is one of the minor trade-offs for getting free shipping.

4. To clarify and respond to a few hurtful things you said, we would NEVER lie about our shipping estimates (or anything else for that matter!). That would only create a ton of bad-will, disappointment and headache for us. Our job is always to exceed your expectations. The vast majority of packages will indeed arrive in 5-10 business days.

In summary, your package has not been en route for more than 10 days. It is not in the US. I am not promising that it will arrive in the next 3 business days (by Monday, March 19), but it most likely will.

Have your goods arrived now?

But pants to post to slay off a company and then not update us after they respond.

Penguin has been very good. Sometimes it takes a little longer but the price is good and worth the extra wait for delivery.

And they always have! Penguin is at the top of my list for magical accessories!

Doug