Although most of the purchases went well. A couple of lulus occurred. First was ordering the video camera. The web site jzool.com had a good price and looked like a good choice. After placing the order and waiting for about 10 days the camera had not arrived. We took a closer look at the order, since we were leaving California within days. Although the site is is in English and prices are in dollars and euros, jzool is in Japan. After 10 days, the item had not even shipped! Masato was probably running around Tokyo checking the stores look for the best price. Since they considered the order as "processed", they would not cancel the order. What a pain. Oh yeah, the instruction manual was in Japanese, as were all of the words in the camera menu. They did give us an online link to the English manual.

The second order was for a Victorinox wheeled travel backpack. A luggage cart arrived. At least the return was smooth. The proper item eventually arrived.

The current snafu is an order through newegg.com for two Footprint Guides guidebooks on Peru and Argentina. Important, since we are going to Peru and Argentina.

A decent company, newegg, but the books are coming from A-1 Books, a newegg partner. They are in India. Ten days after placing the order, one book might be at the PO in Denver, the second one is somewhere. I think Arup is running around the bookstores in Mumbai looking for a copy. newegg customer service responds with form letters. Maddening.

The best experiences have been with B&H Photo in New York. Not in stock? It says so on the site when you order. During check out your shipping date and arrival date are posted. The package arrives on or before the appointed day.

Order an item through Amazon and need to return it? Easy. Go online and they give you a form, and credit you the day the receive the item.

So, be careful with your online shopping. Your next package could be coming from New Caledonia. And the instructions might be in Sanscrit.