Story: November 25, 2022
Black Friday is a colloquial term for the Friday after Thanksgiving in the United States. It traditionally marks the start of the Christmas shopping season in the United States. Many stores offer highly promoted sales at discounted prices and often open early, sometimes as early as midnight or even on Thanksgiving. – Wikipedia
Recently, I don’t buy clothing a lot. I like fashion, but I don’t want to possess the stuff in Canada. Because I don’t know how long I can live here. So, I do keep less as much as possible. However, I basically like to see fashion and I make a wish list on the fashion website even if I don’t buy.
I signed up Lululemon account a while ago. It was for checking marketing and the newsletter design. It was winter Olympics season and I checked the team Canada products as well. I put 2 items on a wish list, a knit cap and a small bag. I liked them. I could buy it at a regular price, but it was a little pricey. So, I did not decide to buy them.
Product of wish list
©Lululemon
$38 for a small bag and $48 for a knit cap. I don’t say that it is expensive, but the price may be around $10 if it is no brand, not Lululemon. I saw that people complained about the price during the Olympics on CBC. I thought that people don’t have to buy it if people think it is expensive. I understand that Lululemon is not for everyone. The target is the upper middle, at least not the poor.
A company decides the price. People decide the value.
Holiday season 2022
A few days before Black Friday, I checked a small bag on the Lululemon website. It was discounted. I almost tried to buy it at that moment, but I could not decide on the color. Red looks better than black, but I usually do not wear red. I did pending.
On Black Friday, I checked the product again, but black had already gone at that time. I realized that black was more popular than red at that time. Good to know others’ preferences. Anyway, I could not buy black. So, I gave it up.
In-store experience on Black Friday weekend
I visited Metropolis at Metrotown in Burnaby, BC on Sunday afternoon. I was working at WeWork near Metrotown in the morning. It was convenient. Metrotown was so crowded on Black Friday weekend. I visited The Ordinary, Uniqlo and Lululemon. I saw the small bag, but there was no black or red. In addition, it was no discount. I gave up again on that day.
The next week, I was chatting about my experience with the WeWork receptionist. She said that the company sometimes adds products on Cyber Monday. You should check it. I could not believe so, but I checked the Lululemon website again on Cyber Monday.
The product on Cyber Monday
I surprisingly find the product, black and red, as the receptionist said. In addition, it was cheaper than Black Friday, from $38 to just $14. I bought black in seconds. I was happy and you can imagine that I could work very well on that day.
The story of 2 days later
2 days later, I was checking my wish list on Audible to buy audiobooks for the Christmas holiday. It was only $5 per book and I tried to buy 9 books, $45 total. However, Audible rejected my purchase 3 times. In the end, I could not add books to the cart. I called customer service of Audible, but he could not provide a solution. I called TD Bank. She said that someone tried to use my card on November 22, 2022. It was only $11 cents and related to Sony products or services. TD Bank blocked the transaction. I could use it in person, but my credit card was locked on online usage. Therefore, I could not use it at Audible.
I was wondering whether I could really buy Lululmon or not. According to TD Bank, my credit card was locked. Actually, I could not use it at Audible. How about 2 days ago? I did chat with Lululemon. She said I cannot cancel the product after 60 minutes I purchased. I did not willing to do though I thought I need to change my credit card. It won’t be a transaction. She said I cannot change the credit card which I used for the shopping. You have to shop for the same product with other credit cards, but the product is already sold out. I can recommend other products. I could not understand what she is talking about. I cannot change the credit card even transaction may be going to fail. I asked what will happen if the transaction failed. She said it will simply cancel.
In summary,
– I cannot change the credit card even if it is locked
– If the transaction failed, this shopping will be automatically canceled
– Lululemon does not contact customers in this case
– If I want to buy the product, I need to shop it online again, but it was sold out
In the end, how can I help you? She said. I did not know what to say. I assumed that I could purchase the product. I was not sure about transactions based on Audible experience. I cannot see the payment record on this credit card. I cannot change the credit card for this shopping. Lululemon does not contact me for alternative payment even if the transaction fails. It will be canceled if the payment fails. Where the product which I bought will be, she did not know.
Conclusion: Confusion
On December 1, 2022, I got an email about delivery estimation from Lululemon. Is it mean that I could buy the bag? Did the credit card work? What happened between Cyber Monday to 2 days later? If my credit card worked on Lululemon, why the credit card did not work on Audible?
I don’t understand when the credit card was locked, who did try to use it, where was it, etc. TD Bank said they don’t inform about the criminal information to the victim. I doubt whether TD Bank really investigates it or not.
Life goes on. I do focus on my work.
Bonus: Shipping issue
*Update: December 10, 2022
This often happens in Canada and very unsatisfied user experience, but career does not deliver the item. Their excuse is that we delivered but you are not at home. Who can stay home on weekdays for waiting for shipment? A career does not leave a door tag. So, I have to call them.
The worst case was that tracking showed the item was delivered, but I did not receive it. There was no door tag. This is not a rare case. The quality of shipment service is significantly low in Canada compared with Asia.
*The item was dropped off at a store which is near my apartment and I picked it up the item on December 14, 2022.
