Quick vent, just need to get off my chest!
Got the email earlier in the week to get my reserved Steam Controller, placed the order and watched the tracking. Of course it got delivered just as I left my apartment to visit family. I tried repeatedly to set the UPS shipping for pickup, but the option wasn’t available. Asked a friend to swing by, they couldn’t make it on Friday but went yesterday…
Of course there is no package, someone clearly nabbed it and now I’m $100 down. Can’t refuse the charge because it’s tied to my Steam account and UPS will tell me to check with my neighbors and open a case with them!
Feels like Valve created this scarcity with the stupid ordering process, if it’s anything like my Steam Deck, the packaging wasn’t discrete and they wouldn’t allow me to adjust the shipping.
Feels like I have no options and just need to accept that I’ve lost the money.
Rant over
Am I sure it’s the shipping company and not Valve? Yeah, I’m pretty sure.
I’ll break down what happens for me with the shipping companies that service my area.
USPS - can’t have informed delivery (I tried) because the person who previously lived here had it and hasn’t removed their claim to it.
Its a toss up whether or not I can actually have them physically hold my mail (I have been told my mail will be held and then continued to received mail regardless).
UPS - Hit or miss whether you can get their app or web page to allow you to hold for pickup. I have managed it but it was for an item that required a signature. I’ve also had them claim to have delivered a package and not actually delivered it. I attempted to file a claim and their website kept kicking me back out to the FAQ page. Eventually after about a week of trying I gave up.
DHL - Has just straight up refused to deliver a package to me and returned it to sender no matter what I did. Phone calls, website, etc.
Fedex - I used to be able to schedule deliveries and hold them for pickup. Haven’t been able to do that since COVID.
Theres just not that many options that an entity using a shipping company can control. One of the main ones is signature at delivery. Everything else is pretty much up to the shipping company.