Kirb’s Musings

Kirby Witmer’s ponderings, ruminations, and meditations of… anything.

Comments:

118 Responses to “Google Checkout Flunks”

1. Peter on 20 Jul 2006 at 7:38 am #
   
   

   I have had a problem with one of the sellers I chose to do business with, but I blame that retailer and not the person who handles the money transfer. Everything else has been butter for me.
2. Brandon on 20 Jul 2006 at 2:43 pm #
   
   

   When implementing Google checkout into the backend system, the orders must be “injected” into the internal order management system (bypassing CC authorization/capture), and a notification sent back to google every time the status is updated.

   It’s possible that Buy.com completed the injection part of the implementation, but is working on the notification system still. At least that’s what we did. Took about 2 weeks to close the loop and debug.

   I would bet that you get the order before you get a notification that it shipped.

   Brandon
   http://inspiredimpressions.wordpress.com/
3. Kirb on 20 Jul 2006 at 6:36 pm #
   
   

   < >

   maybe.. but I called buy.com and they said they hadn’t released it yet. so I’m not sure what’s going on.
4. Samer Forzley on 21 Jul 2006 at 9:27 am #
   
   

   Hello

   I have a question, how long do you think a consumer is willing to wait before the order ships. In your opinions and generally speaking are consumers willing to wait 1, 2, 4,or even a 10 days before the order ships.

   Thanks
5. john on 28 Jul 2006 at 10:49 am #
   
   

   Do you have experience using checkout for other website besides buy.com ?
6. Kirb on 28 Jul 2006 at 10:56 am #
   
   

   >>>Do you have experience using checkout for other website besides buy.com ?<<<

   no.. i don’t. I placed two orders with buy.com using Google Checkout, and neither worked, so I quit using it. Maybe I’ll try it again here soon..

   Kirby
7. Mark on 30 Jul 2006 at 11:54 pm #
   
   

   At least Google sent him a goodie bag now:

   http://blog.kirb.com/index.php/2006/07/27/google-sends-goodies/

   Google is awesome!
8. mushu on 31 Jul 2006 at 11:56 am #
   
   

   people stop your whining, geez people are so quick to crucify a company, who’s the idiot who rushed to sign up for googlecheckout in the first place, instead I think it would be a good idea before google made it available to the public that they test it out on some people first to work out any bugs. perhaps you might consider using a a real ecommerce solution
9. Andrey on 1 Aug 2006 at 10:15 am #
   
   

   I don’t think Buy.com is a guy to blame. Google Checkout has a lot of problems. Credit card processing delay is one of the most serious ones.
   Customer places the order and receive confirmation email from Google, but cc is not charged yet. It could take from few hours to few days (weeks) for Google to verify CC and approve the order. Until then merchant doesn’t have any details about the order and it couldn’t be fulfilled.
   Google goodies are good, but better spend this money for testing and improvement of the system.
10. Jessica on 14 Aug 2006 at 2:41 pm #
    
    

    i am a keen google user and i use it practically every day. today ( 14th August ) i was very unhappy to not see any connection with the pakistan independance day on the google home page! how come you have links with every little thing like an artist birthday but not something big?? i am very disappointed as me mum is islamic and it really put me down!! i hope you improve on this next year!!
11. joe on 15 Aug 2006 at 2:22 pm #
    
    

    I am having nearly the exact same problem with GoogleCheckout and buy.com right now. Without going into the whole deal - i made an order on 7/21 and paid with GCheckout. after 2.5 weeks and 8 phone calls to buy.com, i cancelled the order, placed the same order at amazon.com and received my product 2 days later.
    It’s now been another 1.5 weeks and I’ve “cancelled” the order 3 times now, but am still getting emails from buy.com that my order is going to be fullfilled. I just spoke with buy.com, and they told me to contact GoogleCheckout - they said each time i’ve requested to cancel the order, they’ve sent a request to GCheckout, so I might as well try to do it myself.

    So for all this ire i’ve been building towards buy.com, it appears it should have been directed at GCheckout all this time (although buy.com isn’t faultless for having terrible customer communicaions anyway).

    I think i’m going to remove my CC# from GCheckout to make sure it doesn’t get charged at some point for this purchase.
12. Perkonius on 25 Aug 2006 at 3:13 pm #
    
    

    I have had the same problem with Google checkout. I bought an eBay item on 8/18 using Google checkout; as of 8/25, it hadn’t shipped. I contacted the seller and they said “Google hasn’t given us the payment yet”. I suspected fraud but logged into to my Google Purchases account to check, and sure enough, it’s marked “in progress”. No email from google (beyond the initial “thanks for your payment!” one), and no product (which I was counting on having). I guess I’ll stick to PayPal until Google gets their act together.
13. Moureen Ballard on 19 Sep 2006 at 8:05 pm #
    
    

    I bought a computer through Google Checkout on 9-12. I had problems processing the order but it went through and the seller contacted me and assured me that my order was being sent. Well today my order came and instead of a computer I received 2 sacks of birdseed. Nether Google checkout or the seller will answer me. My credit card company is going to check it out but I will never use Google checkout again. There is no phone number to talk to a real person and no one answers my e-mails.
14. Sunny on 8 Oct 2006 at 6:05 am #
    
    

    Google Checkout has a lot of problems. Credit card processing delay is one of the most serious ones.
    Customer places the order and receive confirmation email from Google, but cc is not charged yet. It could take from few hours to few days (weeks) for Google to verify CC and approve the order. Until then merchant doesn’t have any details about the order and it couldn’t be fulfilled.
15. MikeFM on 16 Oct 2006 at 12:58 am #
    
    

    As a small online retailer I can tell you consumers have unfair expectations. People don’t want to pay any where near the MSRP (I usually get less than 20% markup on products before taking out my costs such as credit card processing.), they don’t want to pay for tax, they don’t want to pay for shipping and handling - then they want 24 hour customer service, fast delivery, the ability to cancel/return for any reason, etc. It’s something of a nightmare at times. I tell customers over and over that orders will take 2-3 weeks on average, even though the real average is less than a week, and still I get people calling up two days later asking why they haven’t received their order yet. Take a couple days off to be sick or go on vacation, so you’re not answering your phone, and you’ll have people that have charged back their orders despite the fact you’ve already shipped their products. I call these types of consumers the Wal-Mart curse.

    I think consumers just need to learn that if they need soemthing right away they need to fricking go to the local store and get it. If you order it online you can’t expect to get it in two days every time you order. For online retailers there are many issues that can slow down orders - technical, supply chain, shipping issues, billing issues, etc. Retailers make an effort to keep these to a minimum but stuff does happen.

    If you want fewer problems and delays then expect to pay more for your products and even then stuff still sometimes goes wrong.
16. Andy on 16 Oct 2006 at 6:12 pm #
    
    

    I placed two orders through google checkout on 10/2 and 10/12 at different stores. Neither received my orders. I called the two stores, the CSR told me they do not receive any order from me. I sent an email to google checkout, google checkout told me the order is not sent to merchant dur to technique problem. there is no way to cancel and I hate it. I just want to say if you are not ready for the business, why are you in the business? I will never be with google checkout any more.
17. Brian on 18 Oct 2006 at 3:12 pm #
    
    

    Lets get this straight… they charge to get the clients via adwords, they actually run your clients cards, and they keep the funds indefinitely with no explanation? How much did you pay to get the clients on adwords before you found out your were not getting paid? Can you say CLASS ACTION?
18. Google_GO_out on 22 Oct 2006 at 11:32 pm #
    
    

    I too have exactly the same problem. Infact, I did not stop with one, I placed 4 orders and all 4 have been cancelled for no clear reason. There is no way that my account details could be incorrect, as my card has already been charged (but the transaction is not posted yet…guess the money is on hold)…

    This google checkout and the stress of cancelling and checking order status is awful…just for $10, I have had enough mental torture. Now, around $350 has been locked on my credit card account, just because of this shit…
    P.S. None of my orders have gone thru, but just the money has been locked.
19. Jose Martinez on 23 Oct 2006 at 9:45 am #
    
    

    I too have had a problem with Google Checkout and Buy.com. I ordered ONE high end HP calculator from Buy.com and recieved two. I ended up being charged 129.41 (139.41 - $10 off for using Google Check out) and 139.41 for the second one. I understand that goof-ups happen. So, I went through the hassle of requesting an RMA and I chose the closest option for receiving a 2nd calculator which was “overshipment.” Big mistake. Buy.com has received the calculator and sent me an email telling me that they will NOT issue a REFUND for the overshipment. Excuse me! I just sent them an email and told them to clear it up within the next 24 hours or I have my bank do a charge-back.

    I will not be using Buy.com or Google Checkout ever again.

    -jose
20. Stefani Burk on 23 Nov 2006 at 9:22 am #
    
    

    I am currently also having problems with Buy.com using Google checkout. I placed an order in a hurry yesterday, but as it was sending I noticed that they were charging almost $30 shipping (for 4 ink cartridges, 20 sheets of paper and a small kids’ book), so I immediately cancelled the order. Later that day I noticed that they’d already charged my card, so I sent another email. Still later I got an email telling me that my request was awaiting “approval” so I again emailed suggesting they expedite it or send me a phone number to call. Sure enough this morning I got an email telling me they weren’t able to cancel it, but I could refuse the package. My guess is they won’t refund the shipping, but I’d like to find out (or figure out a way to get them to) before the package arrives. I’m hoping I can just get Mastercard to refund whatever Buy doesn’t, but I’m disgusted with both Buy.com’s shipping and with Google, because I suspect there was a delay in getting the cancellation notice to Buy. Seems like a merchant would want to be able to see cancellations as they happen instead of waiting for Google to let them know. I do a lot of online shopping and this is really one of the most irritating things I’ve encountered. I found the shipping notices from Buy particularly ironic (we won’t charge your card until the item is shipped - but Google had charged it in seconds!).
21. B Hartman on 27 Nov 2006 at 1:59 pm #
    
    

    I cannot even get GCO to come up for a buy.com order. See the discussion on fatwallet discussions under the title buy.com gco.
22. Gaussj on 30 Nov 2006 at 1:28 am #
    
    

    . I have started using Google checkout for a few months. While couple of my order have processed properly, I have problems with rest of them.
    First one of my buy.com order got cancelled for no reason.
    Now, I placed two orders at Ritzcamera.com and it has been 3 days since I haven’t received any confirmation from Ritzcamera whether they received my order or not but my credit card payment has been locked.
    I emailed them through google checkout and got a vague autoreply which says to send another email if I don’t hear from them in 48 hours.

    So, it seems like google checkout is just taking cash out from your credit cards, lending that money on hig APY to banks and making profit and it seems to consumers that they are doing something nice.
    Bottomline is to stop using Google checkout.
23. Alex on 1 Dec 2006 at 6:48 pm #
    
    

    As an online merchant I was about to install the Google checkout as an additional payment flow option on my site ( ILoveArtdeco.com ).
    I want to thank everyone for sharing your experiences, as customers — what a valuable information for merchants — I WILL NOT BE INSTALLING GOOGLE CHECKOUT any time soon after reading how mightmarish it was for you.
    As a merchant I do not want to lose even 1% of my customers to Google checkout service after paying $100s to get them via AdWords and other means. If Google wants to offer us extra service and help, we, merchants, will take it. If Google offers help and service to our customers — we are all for it. But when they promote their services at our expense, deny us crucial data to fulfill orders and screw our customers - we have other fine working options to process credit cards efficiently.
24. June on 2 Dec 2006 at 3:59 pm #
    
    

    Hi-

    I have a real issue with Google Checkout - They need to Checkout the vendors they supply this service for. I and, from what I’ve seen on the internet, many others have been scammed by a company called ABCnet23 in Miami, Florida. I ordered a Wii 3 days ago and then spent the next 2 days trying to cancel the order. Company does not respond to any e-mails, doesn’t answer phone published on their website, only goes into a full voice mailbox and I have seen many, many unfavorable comments about this company. I have contacted Google several times, I was getting “generic” responses about how to check on my order which is always, you guessed it, “inprogress”. Now I’m getting responses from Google that they are checking into the matter further, but still no one will cancel my order. Isn’t Google supposed to check out these companies ahead of time or are they just in the business of collecting lots of money for anyone, including apparent thieves??? I’m hoping they haven’t given my credit card info to ABCnet 23, but, who knows, I don’t have much faith in Google Checkout right now and wouldn’t be surprised if somehow that “secure” information was given out along with my $325.00. I don’t know what I’m going to do at this point but I just want to make everyone aware that Google “secure” Checkout is anything but. I contacted them about this first before this was debited to my account, but now, in the meantime, it has posted and I think I’ll just be out the money, but, rest assured, Google and ABCnet23 are going to get plenty of “Free Advertising” for my money.
25. Allan on 3 Dec 2006 at 5:35 pm #
    
    

    11/22/06 - Bought item from a seller on google base.
    11/22/06 - GCO sends me a thank you note and charges my bank account.
    11/26/06 - still “In progress”, so I use the GCO function to message the seller asking when I’ll receive the item.
    11/28/06 - “in progress” - no response from the seller, so I message again with the same question.
    11/30/06 - “in progress” - still no response from the seller, so I message them one more time and message GCO as well, asking what to do if the seller has not responded.
    12/03/06 - “in progress”…

    What should I do? No response from the seller or from GCO. My $320 is missing and I need to receive this item ASAP. Should I cancel this order and buy from another seller (not GCO-based)? What do you guys think?
26. Mary on 4 Dec 2006 at 11:16 am #
    
    

    Google checkout messed up my order with Toys R Us and Toys R Us says to contact Google and Google says they’ll contact Toys R Us but that I should contact them too. Toys R Us doesn’t show receiving any response from Google. I am canceling my account with Google and denying the charges!
27. Joen Moreno on 4 Dec 2006 at 8:48 pm #
    
    

    Hello,

    Man, you got it worse than I did (except the part that you got a google goody bag). Here’s what happened to me: http://joenmoreno.wordpress.com/2006/12/01/buycom-google-checkout-horror-story/
28. S Laurenson on 6 Dec 2006 at 3:07 pm #
    
    

    Fortunately, the Google Checkout application wouldn’t accept my address and city - just garbage. Found this website while trying to troubleshoot the application. (I have an iMac w/Safari.) THANKS! A $20 savings is not worth this kind of aggravation!
29. Lori on 7 Dec 2006 at 9:16 am #
    
    

    I tried for 5 hours yesterday to order at buy.com and go through google checkout. I would get a message saying there was a server error with google and to try again in 30 seconds. I finally called buy.com and spoke to someone that could barely understand me, and vice versa, and he was getting irritated…he said it was out of stock, if it won’t go through they must not have it, and on and on. Funny though, just for the fun of it, I tired to go through the normal buy.com checkout, and could get all the way to the end! HMMMMM!! Anyone know what my problem is with google? It seems like there has to be something in my turtle slow dial-up that is causing a problem.
30. Tim on 7 Dec 2006 at 9:51 am #
    
    

    Tried ordering an NAS external drive from Buy.com on Tuesday and received a message from Google Checkout that my credit card was declined. So, I entered it in again and again and finally gave up. Called my credit card company and they said that it was charged 5 times and all we good transactions.

    Just went to Buy.com to order it using PayPal instead and the drive is sold out. Go figure. Hey Google, we’s my goodies, you owe me a drive!
31. Cinnamin on 7 Dec 2006 at 11:26 pm #
    
    

    I used Google Checkout for an order with Timberland.com. I placed it Nov 13th and it should have arrived on Dec 4th. My order is still in process according to Google’s Website. When I called Timberland to ask what their deal was and the CSR explained “We have no record of you or your order in Our System”. Crazy huh? Timberland has to now contact Google and then Google has to contact me before they can resolve anything. In the end I doubt if I will ever recieve my order. I asked if I could just place the order again if b/c they couldn’t find it but they said if I place it again and they can’t find it I will be charged Twice and I can’t return either item. Oh yeah Merchants aren’t very helpful nor are they sympathetic about the Google errors. I Guess I’ll hold my breath until they find it !
32. DNELL on 8 Dec 2006 at 9:55 am #
    
    

    Dude anyone trying google checkout is totally taking a huge risk with security and privacy. Does anyone know how long its taken PayPal to create a secure system? Years! and Google thinks they’ve done it in 6 months. yeah right.

    PayPal has hundreds of people working in security alone. They also have an FBI department right in paypal to help combat fraud. Google has a total of 0 people in these departments.

    I think google making 3 Billion a Quarter needs to spend the money on this. Otherwise company’s will never support this system. I surprised its even being used during XMAS most important time of year.

    Should have tested it better and after the holidays.

    I’ll never leave paypal, yeah the fees are higher than google checkout but I know I’m secure with PayPal.:lol:

    -Donald
33. Tim on 8 Dec 2006 at 5:14 pm #
    
    

    Just received a message back from Google Checkout saying that my credit card was denied because my card was used in an unauthorized Adword program and that I should check out to see if there were any unauthorized charges on my card.

    What the hell. They suck.
34. Amber on 8 Dec 2006 at 9:59 pm #
    
    

    I had the same problem with Toys r us. I contacted toys r us. They have no record of my order. I tried to contact google. Nothing. It is 16 days before christmas, i have boughten all of the accessories for the major purchase I made for my daughters christmas present. Now i am not getting anywhere. Amber
35. Mike on 9 Dec 2006 at 1:58 am #
    
    

    Has anyone had any experiences on how Google Check out handles the $20 off orders of $50 promotion? when you need to do an exchange or return? I just completed a $53 order (before shipping & tax) with Sierra Trading Post, $40 after Google’s $20 discount minus shipping. I have a feeling I am going to get screwed exchanging sizes. Sierra Trading says that it won’t do exchanges when you use Google Checkout. So I assume they will refund the cost of the shirt $21 to Google Checkout. Who will subtract their discount of $20 and refund me a wopping $1.00. I will then use my $1.00 to buy the larger size for $20. Total cost $19 + return shipping + new shirt shipping. What a deal.
36. Dee Dee on 9 Dec 2006 at 6:06 pm #
    
    

    I wish I had done some research before I used google checkout. I placed an order on Timberland.com on Nov. 26th. I used google checkout to get an extra $10 off my order. I should have just spent the extra $10 because as of 12/9/06 I have no order and according to the customer service guy at timberland.com I’m never gonna get it because google checkout had a problem with their network and had to cancel 6000 orders they were supposed to process for timberland.com. He said I should have received an email to let me know the order was cancelled. The only thing I received was a response to my request I sent 12/6 for them to find my order. In my request I told them if I couldn’t get my order by Christmas I didn’t want it. In their response I was told the only way I could cancel the order was to contact the seller! How in the world can I cancel an order they don’t have?! I suppose I should be happy my check card has not been charged (yet?). I received an email with a satisfaction survey for google checkout and believe me they are going get a piece of my mind. Spread the word people- google checkout is CRAP!
37. juan on 9 Dec 2006 at 6:34 pm #
    
    

    the main problem seems to be that those companies implementing google check out are not spending the time to follow up with what is a completly seperate system. google checkout is a tool that can be inplemented poorly. paypal is a much simpler tool with fewer options to fu%k up.
    its hard to belive that goole is keeping peoples money. but if they are they are shooting themselves in the foot. too bad since the api is realy slick.

    buy.com should have implemented via the API and not the basic button. it is no surprise to me that they droped the ball
38. Cinnamin on 11 Dec 2006 at 3:41 pm #
    
    

    **Update on My Story** They have now cancelled my order with Timberland. So Now I’m stuck trying to find a Red Timberland Boots 2 weeks before Christmas. SMH Thanks Alot Google !
39. John on 11 Dec 2006 at 7:37 pm #
    
    

    I as well had an issue with Google Checkout and ToysRus. The order I placed using Google was not sent to TRU. The TRU Customer Service Rep was very nice and told me Google hasn’t sent them orders for several days. She said she said just about every call she gets is due to someone using Google Checkout. She advised me not to count on getting my order by the holidays. I’ve e-mailed Google, but they are probably swamped with similar non-performance questions and cannot answer. It will be interesting to read their “excuse” if I ever get a response.
40. michael on 12 Dec 2006 at 10:50 pm #
    
    

    Run far away from Google checkout!

    They ruined my chance for a Wii at Toys-r-us.com. Placed one in my cart and why oh why did I choose google checkout! I received an email pretty quick from google saying my order was received and sent to toys-r-us, but it showed my order “in progress”. Called TRU, and they said they had no record of the order, and that it could take 72 hours for the order to reach them. BTW, the Wii’s were sold out very quickly, and TRU does not reserve stock when you use google checkout. Lost opportunity for me.

    No replies from google to all of my mail except for a generic “we are looking into it”. Google won’t cancel the order, TRU says they have no oder to cancel, and my credit card has been authorized for the full amount of the order.

    I think it’s time to write the attorney general. “DO NO HARM” google? I think not.

    michael
41. Patti on 13 Dec 2006 at 10:33 am #
    
    

    A co-worker and I ordered Elmo for toysrus.com. I used google checkout and she did not. She got her Elmo and I did not. I called toysrus customer service and they assured me that I would get mine - that the item was reserved even though the google process was not complete. I called 4 days later - how long does the google process take. Well, guess what, I just rec’d an e-mail from toysrus saying the Elmo is no longer in stock. So, google checkout is no longer for me. They made me miss a chance to get an Elmo. NOT HAPPY. E-mailed customer service and never got a response back. DO NOT USE GOOGLE CHECK OUT
42. Audrey on 14 Dec 2006 at 3:28 pm #
    
    

    Well, add me to the list of people having trouble with Google Checkout and Toys R Us!! I placed an order on Nov. 26; received notification on Nov. 28 that my order shipped and my credit card was charged. However, it is now 2 weeks later and this shipment has NOT been delivered to me! Google says to contact Toys R Us. Toys R Us takes 3 days to respond via email only to say call customer service (which I have not done yet). Suffice it to say, I will NOT be using Google Checkout again! I’ll find some other way to save $10!
43. Andrew on 14 Dec 2006 at 11:41 pm #
    
    

    Seriously - is there a chance that this amazing story would be picked up by 60 minutes, NYT, Attorney General, et al. - We are among the few that are savvy enough to blog, write, talk about it -but what about the “10’s of thousands” ( says Goolge in numerous announcements) of people who have used checkout and are writing this off as a mistake, and perhaps will do nothing because they believe its a time suck, and they move on. Google needs to pay for this, in money lost and for the inconvenience they created for consumers. All because they do not believe in Beta testing before rolling out a new product.

    Here is my story (the quick version): We ordered a few products from Toys R Us, got charged for all 3 items, one was shipped. All three items showed up on packing slip, no mention of “backorder” but we assumed that they were, because that is how most big e-tailers handle shipments and associated packing slips. net/net, we had to email, got no repsonse. Emailed again, and finaly got a resposne this time telling us that the products were not shipped. Duh!! get this, and the rest of the order was cancelled! And “you have to call Toys R Us! what??? GREAT - now we do not have the items we needed for the holidays, and we have to start over. And, oh yeah, why were we charged for everything? Whatever! just give me my money back!

    What would have happened if we forgot about this mistake? Google pockets the $19.99 x 2 = $39.98? x 10,000 orders = $399,800. wow! is this how they make more money - and maybe an apology comes later? like the click fraud issue on Google ad Sense program?

    Thanks Google - and cheers to another 1.9 Billion dollar quarter!
44. J M on 15 Dec 2006 at 6:40 pm #
    
    

    Like many of you, I am currently having a problem with Google Checkout charging my credit card over a week ago for an order that has not shipped, and the merchant (Buy.com) cannot give an estimate on when my order will ship.

    A Customer Service contact from Buy.com (yes, I actually got someone at Buy.com to respond to me, though it took 4 days)provides information that conflicts Google Checkout’s published policy.

    Google Checkout’s policy states:

    (Pertinent excerpt)
    “As a Google Checkout merchant, you’re required to adhere to the Google Checkout policies at all times.

    2. Order Management

    b. Ship orders before charging the buyer’s credit card
    You may not attempt to charge the buyer’s credit card until you have shipped the order.”
    http://checkout.google.com/seller/policies.html

    But, Kim from Buy.com Customer Service states:

    “Please note that you are billed though your item has not yet shipped. This is one of the unique policies when purchasing through GoogleCheckout.

    For more questions on GoogleCheckout policies, please visit our Buy.com help site. Under Pricing and Billing click on “What are my payment choices?”. Then, choose Google check out or you can simply copy paste the following link in your address box:

    http://www.buy.com/corp/support/billing/google.asp

    Please feel free to contact us if you have other questions. Sincerely,

    Kim
    Buy.com Customer Service
    http://www.buy.com”

    So - which of the above policies is correct?

    I’ve asked a Google representative at checkout-pro@google.com
    No answer, yet.

    There are a lot of dissatisfied people, myself included, who have been charged for merchandise that is not forthcoming and has no estimated shipping date.
45. liz on 15 Dec 2006 at 10:22 pm #
    
    

    I also decided to do some on-line shopping with google check-out.I like to call it “the Nightmare before Christmas”story.Who doesn’t want to save money and with such a reputable company,should have researched.I placed several orders on Dec 6,and three more the next day.The first one with Toy r us seemed pretty normal so I did some more googly-check-out the next day.By the end of the day Dec 7 I knew something was horribly wrong with the whole checking out the “easy”way with google.I got charged for an item that was confirmed on google check-out but Toy r Us says they have no record.I was possibly refunded but just some made up amount-I’m not kidding,they made up an amount and no it wasn’t more than what I was charged!!!I haven’t received my buy.com-google check-out order but they say it has shipped?I also purchased heely’s from sports authority through google check-out and so far my order started shipping in Kentucky,then to Illinois,then to Los Angeles,then to Orlando,then to Illinois,then back to Orlando-I live in North Florida and I’ll have an easier time getting these heelys(if they even shipped)if they just throw them out of the airplane.Now I did place an order that second day with Toys R Us,before I knew things would go down the crapper,and that order seems terminally stuck in “processing” but at the ‘warehouse’.I won’t go into to the countless hours I have spent on hold,with no help,except it will certainly ship today.On the toys r us website sometimes my order shows up and sometimes it doesn’t-very disturbing.Today is the last day I’ll be making a call-the lady at Toys R Us said I might need to go somewhere else to buy this item as it probably won’t get here-Oh yeah,of course my credit card has been charged for all these orders except the last Toys R Us order and my bank won’t stop payment because the authorization went through!!!She said I could always call back after Christmas IF I get my order to request a return mailer so I won’t have to pay return shipping-Holy Cow what a nightmare,I’m having nightmares,and I never want anything to do with these guys anymore,any of them-if I ever hear the Toys R Us theme song again I’m going to vomit!!!Basically I’ve paid for stuff I haven’t gotten,I can’t cancel what hasn’t been shipped,and now I’m having to duplicate buy so my little girl doesn’t think I don’t love her-I’m saving money now,not,thanks for nothing google
46. joe on 16 Dec 2006 at 12:43 am #
    
    

    I purchased an item at toysrus through google checkout and had the item canceled from toysrus. reordered the item from toysrus to not dissappoint my child. Item was shipped from toysrus with no cancellation. I have received no answer to my emails. I would steer clear of google checkout to avoid the hassle
47. Dean on 16 Dec 2006 at 2:51 am #
    
    

    I wonder if they shut it down on Buy.com? I can’t even get to google checkout to buy an hp printer. I’ve tried for 2 hours. They may have decided it was more grief that it was worth.
48. Jackie on 16 Dec 2006 at 3:03 pm #
    
    

    I too have been a victim of Google Checkout. I placed an order from the LuxuryTree.com website on December 9th. Luxury tree says that I should receive by package in 3-6 busness days. Was going to use their normal checkout, but saw the google checkout button and thought I’d try it out. You can count on Google, right?

    Google immediately charged my credit card. I received no confirmation email from anyone. My purchase history shows that the order is “inprogress”. I have tried to “contact the seller” numerous times, checking the box to send a copy to my email address. Now, I know you’re not going to believe this, but I receive a copy of the email in my inbox, but soon after, it disappears. I know that sounds ridicuous, but it’s true. I’ve done it several times. The last time I forwarded it to another email address as soon as I received it. The email is gone from my inbox, but I have a copy in my “sent” folder. No response from LuxuryTree from any of those “contact the seller” through google. Have tried to call LuxuryTree, but only get voicemail. Have forwarded the Google to LuxuryTree through my regular email and have contacted Google, but as yet no response from either. No more google checkout for me!
49. Fitch on 17 Dec 2006 at 2:17 am #
    
    

    I made the mistake of trying to cancel a buy.com order through Google Checkout. I realized IMMEDIATELY that I had put the wrong shipping address. Needless to say, it only generated an e-mail which wasn’t returned until the next day, after it was “Sent to warehouse” even though it was SATURDAY.

    This is just plain evil. Any online retailer should have an automated way to cancel an order, especially within the first 5 minutes of placing the order! But it would be MUCH more profitable for buy.com to pretend like they have no control over this magical “warehouse”, and ship your item, and hope you just decide to keep it anyway, now that they have your money.

    Amazon.com does this, in fact, MANY online retailers do this, but buy.com is evil.

    Furthermore, when they finally give in that they screwed you somehow (case in point, I paid for 3-day shipping and it got sent as ground) they gave me a GIFT CERTIFICATE for $10. Granted, $10 was more than the difference they took from me, but it’s more profitable for them– what can you get at buy.com for $10?? nothing, you have to spend more.

    Assholes.
50. Amanda N on 18 Dec 2006 at 6:31 pm #
    
    

    I placed a $170 order through Toys R Us online, using the Google Check Out to save $10 bucks. What could go wrong??? Unfortunately, it just exactly as everyone else has described. They took the $$ immediately (it’s locked on my checking account). They didn’t send the order to TRU, which means it will never ship before Christmas. I tried to cancel the order, but all TRU could do was send a notice to Google to refund my money, but that it would take 7-10 days to get my money back!!! I was barely squeeking by for Christmas as it was, now I’ve got to buy more presents with money I don’t have. And Google does not have any phone numbers listed on their site to call to get help!!! Does anyone have a number for google?
51. J M on 18 Dec 2006 at 7:08 pm #
    
    

    Regarding comment #44

    Buy.com responds:

    “Thank you for contacting Buy.com regarding your order# 30794xxx.

    Please be informed that the link you have used as a reference for Google Checkout was for online merchants who wish to sell more by providing a fast, convenient, and safe online shopping experience for their buyers.

    For more questions on GoogleCheckout policies, please visit our Buy.com help site.
    http://www.buy.com/corp/support/billing/google.asp

    Please feel free to contact us if you have other questions.
    We hope this information is useful to you.

    Sincerely,

    Vince
    Buy.com Customer Service
    http://www.buy.com”

    Um, I presume we can take that to mean that Buy.com does NOT want to provide a fast, convenient, and safe online shopping experience for their buyers.

    …And that Google Checkout has no way of providing a fast,
    convenient, and safe online shopping experience for their buyers
    because they don’t require Buy.com to adhere to Google Checkout Program Policies.

    Ive asked Google Checkout support about this. Still no answer beyond, “I am still looking into this order. I will get back to you as soon as I can about this. - GoogleCheckoutPro”

    Google spokesperson Megan Lamb has not responded.
52. shannon on 18 Dec 2006 at 7:23 pm #
    
    

    I placed an order through Toys R Us and used Google Checkout. Toys R Us cancelled an item off of the order and Google still charged me!!!!!!!! I contact Toys R Us, (30 minute hold time) and they said Google would process my credit for the cancelled items. Now it’s a month later- they still have NOT given my refund. I’m on hold with Toys R Us again for the last 40 minutes and their hold music is killing me… and I don’t know when I’ll get through or if they can do anything to refund the overcharge amount. I emailed google checkout, but this is way too much work for $20 they over charged me.

    If I don’t get it resolved today, I’m going to let them keep the money because it’s not worth the hassle… But I DO NOT recommend using either site. This is very inconvenient and a perfect example of poor service.
53. AJ on 18 Dec 2006 at 9:39 pm #
    
    

    Google Checkout Sucks!! My 2 orders that I was relying upon for christmas got cancelled after a wait period of 16 days.. Now I am late for the shopping and am totally disaapointed.. !!!! Google checkout simply Sucks!!! Booooooooo!!!
54. liz on 19 Dec 2006 at 1:13 am #
    
    

    Follow-up,Still no word from the googly guys on the whole mix-up,toys r us order still “in-processing”,even though the authorization expired on my credit card-google keeps pushing through re-authorization and my bank says they can’t stop it,only dispute it once it’s through!Buy.com shipment came today,thank goodness-not google.I hope the heely’s come,but it’s anyones guess as the tracking for usps said they have already been accepted-not by me.Sure enough my seven year old took a look under the tree and asked,”Where are my presents,,mom”I’m up late doing last minute ordering on e-bay,they banned google check-out there.I’m glad that people are posting-most of these situations are worse than mine,I wonder what can be done,if anything about this situation?It is kinda like robbing people isn’t it?I mean isn’t that illegal,taking money,then no product,or incorrect refund?
55. J M on 19 Dec 2006 at 10:29 am #
    
    

    Regarding comment #44 - Google Checkout responds

    The following is Google Checkout’s response to me, and subsequently - my response to them.

    > Hi,
    >
    > Thanks for bringing this to my attention. All merchants integrate
    > Checkout in different ways, and have unique billing and shipping
    > policies. If you are concerned that your order will not arrive in the
    > timeframe you expected you should contact the merchant to cancel your
    > order. I will follow up with this merchant to make sure their policies
    > work with ours.
    >
    >
    > GoogleCheckout

    (My response to the above):
    So, to clarify, Google Checkout does not require merchants to adhere
    to Google Checkout Program Policies, and expects customers using
    Google Checkout to risk their money by paying in advance for orders
    that may never be filled?

    You have got to be kidding.

    People who have tried to cancel their orders report that they get nowhere
    with this; they get no credit to their account, just the runaround.
    The merchant says to contact Google Checkout because they are
    the ones who charged the customers account, not the merchant. Google
    Checkout says to contact the merchant who then says there’s nothing they
    can do, Google Checkout charged the customer.

    When they do finally get someone willing to take responsibility for this, they are then told that it will take 5-10 business days for their refund to process. Why does it take 5-10 days for a refund when the charge was posted to their accounts immediately?

    The complaints are pretty widespread and all involve the use of Google Checkout when buying from several major e-tailers.

    A lot of people have just gotten fed up with this and filed a fraudulent charge complaint with their credit card companies, starting the process of a chargeback.
    But, they are told it may take as much as 60 days to resolve the issue.

    Some people have been socked with credit card interest for merchandise they never received because it was never shipped, and is not likely to ever ship.

    Why on earth should buyers trust Google Checkout?

    Either Google Checkout or the e-tailers are holding on to a lot of money for
    orders that were never filled and merchandise that was never shipped.

    Google Checkout just throws buyers into third party payment processing hell.
    This is not the “fast, convenient, and safe online shopping experience” that
    the Google Checkout program claims as its goal.

    J M
56. Dako on 19 Dec 2006 at 12:49 pm #
    
    

    Google Checkout definitely has some bugs they need to iron out. My case actually differs QUITE A BIT from what most people here have experienced. I placed an order through ebags.com and used Google Checkout to receive $20.00 off my order. Well, I used Google Checkout and they put a charge to my Debit Card right away. I then got the confirmation from ebags.com that my order was processed. Everything seemed fine and then I got a shipping confirmation from ebags.com shortly thereafter. I was actually impressed with the expedient processing. Then two days later, I get an e-mail from Google Checkout stating they cannot charge my card as there appears to be missing information. This makes absolutely NO SENSE since they put a pending charge on it! Three days later, I get an e-mail that they’ve cancelled my order for lack of updated information on my part. The pending charge also dropped out of my bank account. Ha! My order was already shipped from ebags.com and then they cancelled the payment/order!! Now we’ll have to wait and see if they try to recharge me for the item or if they’ll gloss it over. It should be interesting to see the result since they seem so keen on grabbing peoples’ money without shipping product right away. I wonder if they’ll have the same motivation in a reverse situation.
57. Phil on 19 Dec 2006 at 1:27 pm #
    
    

    Google Checkout is asking for user feedback.

    http://services.google.com/surveys/ts_checkoutuser

    Let them know about your Google Checkout experience
58. Marty B on 19 Dec 2006 at 5:59 pm #
    
    

    Yet another sad story… I purchased a $600 camera from Ritz, using Google Checkout. About the time the camera should have shown up at my door, I called Ritz and they said they hadn’t shipped it yet. Not being terribly patient (I paid for two day shipping, afterall!) I cancelled the order. Big mistake!

    The next day I received a note from Google Checkout saying my order had been shipped. I called Ritz and they said NO… the order was cancelled and we did NOT ship it. Now, a week later, I’m still waiting for a credit on my charge card… Ritz says they can’t issue it, only Google can.

    Several notes to Google have been returned or unanswered. What a nightmare. Now I’m going to have to dispute the charge with my credit card company.
59. liz on 21 Dec 2006 at 12:49 am #
    
    

    Update-The heelys arrived.Toys r Us called me!!!!I wasn’t home though-just got the message.I checked my e-mail and toys r us credited my card for the charge mix-up and cancelled the stuck “in processing” order-whew I’m so tired now.I’m still way miffed at google though-I called toys r us yesterday to officially put in word to cancel that order-you can do that.You officially request to cancel the order-I wasn’t told I could do that until yesterday.Anyways the guy at Toys r Us said the whole google thing had been a big problem for them.An understated response.Good luck to all
60. Donna Mersberg on 22 Dec 2006 at 12:26 pm #
    
    

    I live on an isolated island in the Pacific. I have to order online. And I got greedy. Decided to save $10 on my TRU order 11/30 by using Google ckout. Most expensive $10 I did not save.

    My granddaughters have had a very hard year and so this Christmas was to be special for them. I cannot buy any toys on island (we don’t even have a McDonalds here) and so I got all their gifts that were to be from me and those of Santa on line. The order kept saying “in Progress”. I started emailing TRU and Google within a few days. Never got a response from TRU and only generic ones from Google.

    Today got the corporate office of TRU on the phone and they say the order was never received!!!! Too late to order anywhere else and nothing I can do on island. My granddaughters will have no toys for Christmas. I cannot beleive I let them down. I should have gone with eToys. I am devastated and am so sorry I also let the girls down. Horrible and I am now so angry and vegenful at Christmas…

    Can someone post the telephone number for Google ckout? I want them to know exactly what they have done to two little girls
61. Amanda N on 22 Dec 2006 at 3:48 pm #
    
    

    I wrote the comment #50 on December 18th. Here’s the update:

    I had called Toys R Us to cancel my order on the 18th. It was a miracle, but the hold on my debit card just “disappeared” the next day. I was sooo happy, and thought it was resolved. That was until the toys started appearing on my door step on the 20th. There was no email or anything to confirm, and the order still showed “in process” from google. hmmmm? It was just too good to be true. Free toys? Naw…on the 21st they charged my account AGAIN! After I told them to cancel the order! This was after I bounced all over town to buy replacement toys, so now I have to do a bunch of returns! Toys R Us needs to ditch them, and quick.
62. J M on 23 Dec 2006 at 11:41 am #
    
    

    Regarding comment #44

    Google Checkout Happy Ending!

    Google came through!

    Google helped me get the same item for the same price I would have originally paid - and - my order was delivered ahead of schedule.

    I’m very impressed with the help I received from Google on this.
    Great job, Google!
63. mike on 23 Dec 2006 at 6:45 pm #
    
    

    google checkout really sucks.
64. mike on 23 Dec 2006 at 6:46 pm #
    
    

    google checkout really really sucks. there seems no customer service at all.
65. bill craig on 23 Dec 2006 at 8:10 pm #
    
    

    If I had read all the complaints about buy .com I wouldn’t be writing this. so i’m the latest sucker. so i will call Ohio atty General and report my dealings with google and buy .com. I must tell all my friends first.
66. Steve on 26 Dec 2006 at 10:52 am #
    
    

    Another HORRIBLE experience with Ritz Camera and Google Checkout. Ritz Camera says my order hasn’t shipped, Google says it has, and has charged me. I canceled the order with Ritz and google and they haven’t refunded my money yet. Ritz says there is nothing that I can do about it because it has to do with google, not them. I called the CC company and they said Google has up to 30 days to take the charge off my account.

    NEVER again will I deal with etiehr of those companies.
67. Audrey on 27 Dec 2006 at 10:04 am #
    
    

    Just a update to my previous post (#42) — I called Toys R Us to find out whatever happened to my order that Google said had shipped and had charged my credit card for. I had ordered a Robosapien Robot for $29.99 and added a $1 donation to Toys for Tots. TRU said it appeared that Google only put through the $1 donation and, of course, the toy was no longer available. TRU said they would put through for a credit to my card. A week later I check my American Express online and there was no credit there. Emailed Google checkout and demanded a refund. They sent me the same standard reply I received for my previous inquiry– “Thank you for contacting Google Checkout at http://www.toysrus.com.
    As one of our valued customers, we feel that your questions deserve personal attention. Please contact us at 1-800-ToysRUs or 1-888-BabyRUs, and an online customer service specialist will be happy to assist you.” So I went back to American Express online and submitted a charge dispute. The credit immediately showed up in my account and is still showing there, so at least I got my credit. Also, on Dec. 15 I received an email from Google checkout asking me to “Please Rate Your Recent Google Checkout Experience.” HA! Did you all receive that? I took great pleasure in ripping them apart in this survey!!
68. Charles on 27 Dec 2006 at 2:59 pm #
    
    

    I’m struggling with this pathetic Google Checkout too! I tried to buy a camera on Dec 2nd from J&R. I’ve bought cameras from them before and always had excellent service. At the checkout I got sucked in to the $10 off offer from Google. That was a mistake! Within 30 minutes I realized something was wrong because I didn’t get an acknowledging email from J&R. So I called then to see what was wrong. They said that sometimes Google checkou orders can take “a few days to come through”. At that point I decided to cancel the order and buy elsewhere. I tried to cancel through the Google website and realized that they don’t have a real cancellation ability - they only send a message to the vendor. Well, if the order can take days so can the cancellation. So, I contacted Google “customer support” to have them head off my order and be sure that it got cancelled. I say “customer support”, but you can’t really call anybody, just send in an email and hope somebody reads it “in a few days”. I finally got a response playing back my request to cancel the order, but with no assurance that anybody would actually do anything. Sure enough, a week later I got a message saying that my card had been charged and the order had shipped! On calling J&R they told me to just refuse the shipment and they would process a credit for me. The only problem is that they depend on Google to actually credit my card. More delays with nobody to talk to. J&R put through my credit more than a week ago and still no word from Google. Contacting their “customer support” is like talking to a blank wall. Some Washington or Soviet government bureau would probably be more responsive.

    I should have read this blog before placing my order. But who would know. I’m a stockholder and everything Google does seems so well executed. They sure screwed up this time. They must be overconfident about how smart they are. How can you launch a service like this withou properlty testing it? There’s no excuse for all the finger pointing and no real customer support. Yes, this service really sucks!
69. Steve on 27 Dec 2006 at 6:51 pm #
    
    

    Update on #66

    Oh you have to love google checkout! I called Ritz and cancelled the order. Ritz says it isn’t cancelled. I called Ritz again and found out that google actually put in 2 orders at the exact same type (different order numbers) under my name. So now I have to fight with them for not one, but two credits. This is insane! In the time I have been fighting with them I have bought and received the product from a competitor of Ritz. I hope that this is a lesson to them to tighten up their customer service. And for Google to get some customer service.
70. Ritx Google Victim on 27 Dec 2006 at 10:17 pm #
    
    

    Same story.
    Tried to save $20.00 on Ritz camera BUT lost $50.00 rebate because the order was sent late to Ritz Camera.
    Cancleed another oredr - CC was charged - still figuring out how to dispute the charge.
71. Adam on 28 Dec 2006 at 1:25 pm #
    
    

    I ordered a camera through http://www.jr.com (a wonderful company to deal with) and unfortunately used google checkout. I placed the order on December 2nd, and after several days of no confirmation, canceled the order on December 5th. Note, my CREDIT CARD WAS CHARGED, and http://www.jr.com cannot do anything about it, because google charged my card. Its now December 28th, and STILL no refund from google, let alone any responses. I’m out $864.00 until they refund me, and in my eyes google owes me interest in addition to a refund. Does anybody know if theres anything we can do? Class action? Its kind of hard to go after a company with “no phone number”
72. Pissed @ Google on 29 Dec 2006 at 12:07 pm #
    
    

    Wow, can I tell you about my first (and only) GC purchase? What a rip! The “merchant” turned out to be bogus and I am still fighting google for a refund. I never got what I payed for and waited 3 days for a response from the GC team. When they did reply, they got my name wrong (not even close) and got everything else about my request wrong. It was a total lack of respect for me and for my situation. I have had to get Visa in the mix and file a formal complaint (and investigation) into the (so called) merchant and (sadly enough) Google. It has been over a week now and still have not heard from the merchant and have had only one half-assed attempt at communication from Google.

    Very sad indeed.

    Google, if you are reading this, stick to search engines. You have no business getting into this market.

    I really hope that Google gets over this “TEST” of the Google Checkout system and moves on to what they do best, giving us free crap to waste time with … oh and the maps!!

    Sorry Google, I gave you a chance and you blew it, bigtime! Maybe you should spend some of those record profits on better customer support???

    …end of rant…
73. furious on 2 Jan 2007 at 3:52 pm #
    
    

    
    I, too, got ripped off. I ordered a printer from ritzcamera.com on 12/1. Didn’t ship. On 12/18 I tried to cancel the order through both google checkout and ritz. No confirmation from either. Called ritz and cancelled on 12/19. Google sends me an email on 12/21 saying my card was charged and item is on its way. ???? Called ritz again, they said no, it was cancelled and I need to contact google. So I’ve got a $70 charge on my card that I cannot get refunded. I’ve emailed google pretty much daily asking for my money back with zero response.

    Isn’t this illegal or something?
74. Lisa on 3 Jan 2007 at 10:37 pm #
    
    

    Wow! I thought I was the only one. I am disgusted that google can’t get this right when they’re so on the money with a lot of other things. I ordered at toys r us on 8th december, and immediately received confirmation from google checkout that my order had been processed and RECEIVED by toys r us. Not true! Toys R Us have NO record of this order, and also can not get a response from google checkout as to the status of this order. I am loathe to cancel the order and purchase elsewhere (this was my daughter’s christmas present which she never received) as I don’t trust the cancellation process either. Anyway, don’t want to go into too much detail as all the stories seem to be the same. Simple fact is that the google checkout system obviously doesn’t work yet…..stick with Paypal (a lousy $10 saving is NOT worth it). I will continue to pursue with toys r us but don’t know what else I can do, as there is no way to contact GC and get a reply.
75. KR on 8 Jan 2007 at 11:39 pm #
    
    

    Google checkout SUCKS bigtime.

    Here is my experience
    12/23 - Order camera via Google checkout (Ritz Camera)
    12/28 - Send enquiry for status : No response from Google
    01/05 - Send enquiry again : No response from Google
    01/08 - Called Ritz camera directly : they tell the order was cancelled the first day because the camera is out of production
    01/08 - Send flaming email to Google
    01/08 - Google sends email that order is cancelled.

    It takes 15 days for Google to tell that order was cancelled, after 3 enquiry status to Google and one telephone call to Ritz

    NEVER NEVER NEVER again any business to Google or Ritz for me.
76. AO on 12 Jan 2007 at 5:26 am #
    
    

    The sad thing is Toys R Us is STILL offering GOOGLE Checkout!!!!! Therefore, as much blame lies with them as with Google! After all the problems with this Google Checkout, I don’t understand why TRU and other merchants are still offering it, and with the same $10 offer that suckered us into using it! Pathetic!
77. RRH on 17 Jan 2007 at 12:29 am #
    
    

    I had my first experience with Google Checkout today. After repeatedly trying to checkout for my Buy.com order and repeatedly being unsuccessful in getting their system to re-calculate the total with my chosen shipping, I contacted GC’s customer support. Their response: the issue is with Buy.com; contact their customer service. I contacted Buy.com. Their response: the issue is with Google Checkout; contact them. I think I’ll contact Amazon.
78. Mary on 18 Jan 2007 at 3:53 pm #
    
    

    With Luxury Tree also doing business as Allwatchesonsale.com (All Watches On Sale) wineultra.com (Wine Ultra) jewelryultra.com (Jewelry Ultra). Purchased a watch thru GoogleCheckout on 12/6/6. Of course no shipment. All four have same address of 4631 NW 31st Avenue (Suites 187 and 224), Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33309 phone # 305.735.8527. I filed with BBB in Ft. Lauderdale a complaint after being ripped of for my money and no watch. Complained to Google Checkout, yet they still allow all four sites to use Google CheckOut. You need to file with FTC (Federal Trade Commission) form is very, very easy. This guy has several companies that are defunct and he obviously is doing this to everyone. Google Checkout should be checking credentials of companies wanting to use their service. If enough of us complain on this monster perhaps the FTC will file a class action case and put him in jail. Just an FYI his mail server is out of Melbourne, Australia and he has another business address of 201 S. Biscayen Boulevard Floor 28, Miami, FL 33131. Let’s follow up on these crooks and have them held accountable. Also, lets organize something against Google Checkout too.
79. Barry on 18 Jan 2007 at 11:50 pm #
    
    

    Mary, thanks for that information! I too am waiting for a watch from allwatchesonsale/luxurytree.
80. LW on 26 Jan 2007 at 1:31 pm #
    
    

    I have some information on the Luxurytree.com/Allwatchesonsale.com scam. The address they are providing (4631 NW 31st Avenue (Suites 187 and 224), Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33309) is actually a Mailboxes Etc./UPS Store address and the suite number is probably actually their box number.

    I am a customer service/program manager for a gift card merchant and one of customers used their VISA gift card to purchase an item through allwatchesonsale.com via google checkout on December 18th 2006. Google charged her card the same night and as of today the order still says “in Progress.” Google will not return our emails and as you probably know, Luxurytree.com/Allwatchesonsale.com will not return any phone calls or emails, if they even truly exist. We are now starting the dispute/chargeback process, but to all reading this: BEWARE!! Google obviously doesnt check out who they do business with and does not care that customers are being completely ripped off.
81. Mary on 26 Jan 2007 at 3:07 pm #
    
    

    Barry - still no refund from All Watches On Sale. I posted this on Google Checkout’s blog today. I have filed with the FTC & State of Florida (Miami/Dade) equivalent. I also posted on http://www.ripoffreport.com all the company names and contact info. I’ve heard back for the FTC, but did not know of any other people who this had happened to. I’m for filing, if you want the website info let me know. Just an FYI, I believe there are possibly three other companies associated with the other four. This mail server for these four companies is out of Melbourne There may be: http://www.palmbeachjewelry.com, http://www.kenmarwatches.com and http://www.misterwatchonline. as the all are using the data gathering service for their website search engine listing site. Also the first four have been kicked off of: Yahoo Shopping, Pricegrabber, Nextag, Bizrate, Pricescan. And there are two of the same situations on Pricegrabber that we have. Let’s do something? I will provide you my case number with the FTC for referencing if you all want to actually get this creep: John Kelvin. By the way he also has a failed company (I don’t know name) that has a business address of: 201 S. Biscayne Boulevard Floor 28, Miami, FL 33131. And some other failed companies (which means he has done to others as he has done to us) Taken the money and ran. He has a few speeding tickets. So, I’m up for this. It only takes a few minutes to go to the FTC site and complain. It would be nice if everyone would just try. I also think if I can find all of this out so, why doesn’t Google Checkout do their homework? They should have some responsibility in this also. 1/26/07 Hope you’ll consider filing with the FTC.
82. mooshak on 27 Jan 2007 at 1:42 pm #
    
    

    The worst experience I have ever had using online checkout, this Google-checkout seems to be still in its infancy I think it is going to be a while before its reliable for commerce use, I ordered some items from http://www.luxurytree.com using Google-checkout after 4 weeks I saw no sign of the product I ordered or any confirmation or email regarding my purchase, I attempted to contact the seller several times by phone and by email without any success.
    After a long research I found an email address for Google-checkout support, after explain the situation about my order status to Google-checkout support after 2 days I received an email back saying they will contact the vendor and are going to look in to matter and if I don’t receive my product or some kind of communication from the vendor I should contact them again, that was 4 weeks ago I wrote several email to Google-checkout still no answer from Google or the fraud of company the do business with.
    It seems like it will be several years for Google to at list catch-up with wall mart for online business.
83. Mary on 1 Feb 2007 at 8:13 am #
    
    

    Update Allwatchesonsale All Watches On Sale, Luxurytree, Luxury Tree, Wineultra, Wine Ultra, Jewelryultra, Jewelry Ultra — for those of you familiar with this companies as all are under Luxury Tree. I received refund on Jan. 31, 2007. Here is what I did, letters to presidents of Google, to John Kelvin (owner of these companies and made them have to sign for them). Nearly everyday requesting refund through Google Checkout and calls that are long distance for me to Luxury Tree. I have case with FTC, FL Dept of Agriculture & Consumer Services, and with BBB in Miami/Dade county area. I will provide my case numbers to any of you still waiting for resolution. I set a email address just for this for all who want to file. Email address is: itstheprinciple at that screaming, ranting, yahooing place if you get my drift. I do feel it is the principle and just because I got my money back does not mean I do not owe everyone else who spent their hard earned money from getting theirs.
    Another tidbit I went to every website I could find that indicate reviews on these companies. MSN, Yahoo, Shop.com, Pricegrabber, Pricescan, Bizrate, Epinions and attempted to put in reviews. Most of them would not allow me to. And I think Bizrate has blocked me as it tells me to login to publish my review, but I get a page that says “Sorry, our functionality has been temporarily disabled.” It would be great if someone else would create an account and see if you get this message also. I believe with all these companies getting into ‘promoting’ sales online from multiple companies need to allow review to be placed on all of them as a protection to the consumer. And why hasn’t Google Checkout got that functionality working yet? Or do they and I’ve just not been able to access. Please let me know. And should you come across others — pass the email address along and I’ll provide them the info. It’s time we have some power of what these companies are allowing to happen and pursue what is right for all.
84. Mary on 2 Feb 2007 at 9:10 am #
    
    

    For those of you who may have an issue with All Watches on Sale Allwatchesonsale or Luxury Tree luxurytree. The following are the case numbers I have with the FTC and Florida Dept of Agriculture and Consumer Services. If you file and I think you should please feel free to reference these numbers in the appropriate reports. The websites are for the US FTC ftc.gov file/case #Re: FTC Ref. No. 9849292 and for Florida site is with IC3 Internet Crime Complaint Center ic3.gov Complaint ID # I0701181629593772. Good luck I hope all of you get this resolved.
85. Mary on 2 Feb 2007 at 9:17 am #
    
    

    Gosh, I’m not thinking today. Forgot to give you the one with Florida as the IC3 is also US government. Florida’s info is Contact person, Reference # 0701-01744/TRR. The address is Divistion of Consumer Services, 2005 apalachee Pkwy, Tallahassee, FL 32399-6500 or the phone number is 800.HELP-FLA 800.4357.352.
86. Sue on 3 Feb 2007 at 11:25 pm #
    
    

    Dang. I had virtually the same experience with a christmas order placed with WineUltra.com thru Google checkout… immediately charged my account… endless “in progress” status. I tried to cancel with both Google and WineUltra/LuxuryTree… got no response, tried again, etc. I managed to get responses from Google - twice over a 6 week period. Finally heard from them a couple of days ago telling me that the merchant was unresponsive, so I needed to go to my bank to request a chargeback. I don’t understand why Google doesn’t simply refund my money since they are the ones who took it and as far as they know, my order never changed from a status of “in progress.”

    I had just finished figuring out that the merchant - and I use that term very loosely - was really just using a mail center as a front when I found this blog. I don’t feel any better about the situation, but at least I don’t need to research it any more. :-\
87. Mary on 5 Feb 2007 at 8:38 am #
    
    

    Sue, if you don’t mind would you please report using the case numbers above. Even though you may get reimbursed these companies need to be reported. Also an update, I have the following case with the Broward County Consumer Affairs. 115 S. Andrews Avenue, Annex Room 460, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33301. It was referred to them by the Consumer Services Department of Miamij-Dade County. You can use Reference Complaint # 638215 Luxury Tree. Please take the time. Let’s get this crook off the internet and streets if at all possible. Luxury Tree as All Watches on Sale, Wine Ultra and Jewelry Ultra. LuxuryTree, Allwatchesonsale, Wineultra and Jewelryultra, John Kelvin need to be stopped.
88. Rajeev Kumar on 5 Feb 2007 at 6:05 pm #
    
    

    Hi Kirby, I have had a similar bad experience with Google checkout. I purchased an item from Toys R Us which I subsequently returned. But I have not received the refund even after 2 months.

    Can you please email me their customer service phone number. I was not able to find it through internet search.

    Thanks in advance.

    Sincerely,
    Rajeev
89. dim on 8 Feb 2007 at 9:00 am #
    
    

    I have a similar experience. I ordered some memory sticks from Buy.com, Buy.com obviously went out of stock and canceled my order. It has been two month, I haven’t received my refund yet. I kept writing emails to Google and Buy.com, both keep telling me that the other side is responsible for refunding my credit card.

    What a nightmare.
90. Stan on 21 Feb 2007 at 12:51 pm #
    
    

    Google just wants to grow. It doesn’t want to get any better. In fact it’s getting worse in everything it does; search, targeted advertising, checkout, etc. If you’re a merchant and accept Google Checkout just because it’s free this year, you’re part of the problem. The more you advertise Google Checkout on your site, the more people will sign up, and soon you’ll have no choice but to accept it. You get little or no support from Google now, if Checkout catches on, you’ll get zero support and will lose money on the buggy system. I’m all for creating competition for Paypal, but Google is even worse.
    Google has grown too big and about to blow up. Time to find alternatives.
91. HLee on 22 Feb 2007 at 6:19 pm #
    
    

    I should have know this site earlier. I order a washer and its accessories from absolutehome.com on Feb 5th through GCO, and GCO sent me an email they received the order and they charged my credit card Feb. 6th; however, I never received any confirmation from the merchant that the items are sent or out of stock (the website said, ship within 3 days) After a week, I read the description of GCO website how to cancel the order and I did it three times, but no replies. I