Final Post: I'm moving!

I realized a long time ago that my tastes have moved into the gaming realm. Check me out at Alan Plays Games.

So long, and thanks for all the fishes.

Glyde.com: you piss me off

I like to think of myself as a veteran of trading sites online, especially of games. Goozex, Amazon, and Glyde.com. But now I have come to an issue that I am not sure how to approach.

About a week ago I requested to purchase a game from Glyde.com, Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition. For those who do not know (and have not browsed my incredibly small blog for reviews on stuff), Glyde is a website where users can buy and sell dvds, games, and books and Glyde handles the mailer and trade process, so that neither the seller or buyer really have to interact with each other. Anyway, the game was supposedly sent and supposedly arrived at my apartment on January 18th. I checked my mailbox and spoke with the doormen and they did not see my package, nor received anything from Glyde.com. According to USPS, they dropped it off on the 18th, and Glyde uses their delivery tracking service for 1st class mail. When it gets dropped off at a mail stop, it gets marked as delivered (very important note).

For Glyde, any products that arrived have to be commented on within 3 days. However, there is no “I did not receive the package” option. Now, normally I know in this situation I have to send a complaint email. So I did and I asked them to give me a few days in case USPS mailed it to the wrong building. I was given the tracking number via email again and asked to check local buildings and the local post office. Well, I live in New York City and while it was a pain in the butt to do so, I did check with the apartments nearby and they did not receive anything for my building.

So I wrote back. And they responded to check with the local Post Office. This is also a chore, as the Post Office nowadays is only open until 5:30pm and no longer open on weekends. To compound the issue is that since I only have 3 days to report feedback to Glyde and I am on day 2, I will not be able to check with the Post Office until next week. Efforts to try to delay the 3 day window were responded with a copy paste of the previous emails.

At this point, I am trying to plan my next move. Do I file a report to USPS that someone stole my mail? Glyde says that by using delivery confirmation it means my package arrived. But it isn’t certified mail, so there’s no indication of who had actually received my package, no signature, no indication of who actually took it in, only that it was “delivered”. Should I contact the company’s local Attorney General (They are in California)? Do I contact the police? While I am fortunate that this isn’t a larger amount of money, I don’t like getting scammed.



For those who think this is too long:

1. Requested game from trading company Glyde.com

2. Company sent game to address via USPS

3. USPS reported it as “delivered” but my building manager tells me they received nothing

4. Glyde won’t give me more than 3 days to figure out what happened and tells me to check local post office on a Friday afternoon.

5. Glyde says 1st class delivery confirmation says delivered, therefore it is delivered, but it’s not certified, so I don’t know who actually took the package once it was “delivered”,

I'll figure out my next steps soon, but in the meantime, I'm not a big fan of Glyde.com at the moment.

What bugs me is the fact that they use USPS tracking as a way of determining if something was delivered. Letters, ok I can understand. But packages? At least with certified we can see who signed for it. Also, with sites like goozex, I can work something out when a deal goes sour. Customer service here is nonexistent. I'll put up the email threads shortly.

Ugh, I hate getting burned online.

To those of you still keeping track at home....

Alright, so I didn't quite die yet. I've actually spent the last few months being productive:

1. Moved to New York
2. Found a new job
3. Played a ton of Call of Duty: Black Ops
4. Played a ton of Gran Turismo 5
5. Started work on an upcoming website along with some other tech savvy bloggers.

Stay tuned.

DC2NY: The standard of traveling from DC to New York on a bus

(Disclaimer: I'll put this up at the beginning of all of my reviews for the buses:
1. This is not based on a single experience, but multiple trips from each company. I'll try to point out the highs and lows so you know what to expect.
2. You can't blame traffic on these guys. The Turnpike is a bitch no matter what you drive. Some are smarter than others, but you can't pick and choose your drivers for any of the companies. Having said that, expect the bus ride to be around 4.5 hours on a good day or late night, 5 hours or more on a Friday afternoon in traffic.
3. I'm a bit of a paranoid internet user. I don't like sharing internet connections on a bus, so I carry a datacard with me. Or I bring movies with me on my laptop. But I have tested them all at various times. And all the bus companies have had buses that had broken wifi. Count on it!)
4. Oh yeah, and I don't use a bathroom on a bus. Some buses will make rest stops. Use them.

Where does DC2NY Pick you up:
DC2NY has three locations in DC and one in NYC:
Dupont Circle is pretty easy to find, I'll post up a map and picture courtesy of google maps where the pickup spot is. Get off on the North Entrance.

The 14th and H pick up spot is a little trickier, but not far from MacPherson Square, in front of the Cafe Philips:

The drop off is at 14th and I, but I won't show u a picture of that since it's so close and it's not like you'll get lost GOING there.

The Union Station pickup is quite a weird one. You'll need to head up the escalators that are in the middle of the terminal area of the train station, then walk out to the bus area up another set up escalators. You'll see the area below. Note that Boltbus is also here as well as Washington Bus:

The New York spot is on 33rd and 7th. They also duke it out with Bolt Bus for this spot as well. And yes, it is in front of the adult video store.

What Makes DC2NY So Special: 
Service:
I don't know how I got into using DC2NY, but for me personally, it is my favorite service. It was started by a group of people who saw the business opportunity of having a comfortable bus system between NYC and DC. It's scary to think that 10 years ago your only choice was the Chinatown buses (shudder). The one thing I must say about the management for the company is that they are very hands on. If you take the pick up from DC you'll either see Asi the president taking your name on the list or a nicer European guy (I forget his name at the moment) do so, and they will also help you with your larger bags and place them under the bus and keep an eye on it. If you take the New York stop, you'll see the long haired Avi do the same. I've yet to see another bus company actually do that. Also, buses will take votes as to whether or not they take a rest stop. Most people choose to go straight to NYC. Except one time where it was a buncha stupid kids who wanted a rest stop. Those bastards. They also wanted to watch the Nutty Professor 3.

 
Amenities:
Another nice touch is that they give you a bottle of water, which doesn't offset the price or anything, but it's a nice touch since you will be on a bus for 4 hours. They also offer a choice of movie, which could be interesting (The Blind Side, Quantum of Solace) or crappy (The Nutty Professor 3? Really?). If you're a picky movie watcher I'd grab a book or movie instead of trusting their taste. If you just like watching all sorts of movies you'll be fine. Internet is pretty decent when it's there.  I got around 1 mbit a second with a 100 ms ping. Good for surfing, but you're not going to be streaming a movie. Also, power plugs are available on every other row of seats.

Here's another twist to DC2NY though. They have some buses that they own, but occasionally on busy weekends they will actually contract additional buses, which is why you see things like World Tours and DC Trails and the like. Some have the plugs, others do not. Service is the same, just the buses may be arranged a little differently.

Pricing:
$28 one way, $50 round trip for members if you book it online. Also, as a member, if you do at least 6 one way trips (I think it was 6), you get a free one way. They switched to a points system now with the beach buses, none of which I've used but the points should be the same.

For non-members, it's $30 one way, $55 round trip if you book it online.

If you walk up, it's $35.

The downsides (because you know nothing is ever perfect):
They don't tell you on the website, but some of the Dupont pickups that occur before Union Station pickups are the same buses. Meaning that if you get picked up at Dupont, you're not actually going yet and that adds some time to your trip. Also, especially on Fridays Union Station pickups have to wait for that other bus to meander through the crappy DC traffic from Dupont to Union Station before slogging northward towards I-95. So sometimes that 5:30 from Union Station doesn't leave until 6pm.


Conclusion (and tips):
I guess it's because I like it when people take that extra step and provide some customer service, and they do treat their customers like customers rather than cattle to stuff into a bus. They're reliable, friendly, clean, and I reward them with my loyalty.

Some tips and things to note for DC2NY:
-Book at least 3 days ahead of time if you want a specific bus time. Also, do the membership thing if you use it alot. Membership online is free and you save at least a couple bucks.
- I've never taken the beach bus. That's all on you.
-There is very little overhead space in the bus. Don't be a dick, just carry your backpack and tuck it under your seat.
-Vote to go straight there. Do you really want to spend an extra half hour traveling on top of the 4-5 hour bus ride? Movie is up to you.
-Again, wifi may not work and movie may not be what you want. Bring a book or something else to entertain yourself. 

Next up, Boltbus! Stay cheap you guys!

I'd give an excuse as to why I haven't been posting, but I have a list...

So far this summer I have eaten 120 oysters in one sitting (ACME Oyster house in New Orleans), traveled to Bermuda, beaten roughly a dozen games, dropped 20lbs, and taken Bolt Bus AND DC2NY at least a dozen times.

Also, during that time, I've had a laptop die on me and it had my original articles. I also have a potential new side project developing that I'm working on with a fellow friend and I was hording articles for that project but I've decided to start putting them here first, then potentially rewrite them on the main site at a later date. Anyway, as summer winds down I will start posting here more frequently, probably every two weeks or more. Can't say I tried this summer tho. :-P

Stay cheap.