I suppose this had to happen sooner or later. I sincerely wish it hadn't. Unfortunately, I'll have to be the first to relate a rather unpleasant experience with the website.
I want to say this is perhaps the first time I've taken the time to write down a complaint with a product or service. I'm a bit amazed after reading this thread and knowing the history of positive feelings left for this company. I most often allow my anxiety and OCD to get the better of me and I usually just put my head down and take it when things don't go as planned.
I'm on a very fixed and limited income. I've been following the Pax thread since before the release to gauge the performance of the unit. After reading the learned members of the forum's opinion on the Pax, I decided to purchase it on 8/11/12. I checked the Vapeworld website and the Amethyst Pax was showing as being in stock as of my order.
I entered my information and pulled the proverbial trigger. At this point my order was processed and my credit card charged. I realized it was probably too late on a Saturday to have my order shipped, so I shrugged it off and figured that my order would ship as normal on Monday.
Monday morning I received a notice saying my order had been processed, my card had been charged. I tried to check the order status using the number provided, but the website had yet to be updated. I checked several more times through the day, but the information did not update until after 5:00 p.m. After the information was finally added to the website, I checked to see that my order had been processed, but the Pax was now Backordered.
...Wha? If I had known this before purchasing the item, with a simple "out of stock" notice I would not have made this purchase. I'm a medical patient. Method of delivery is incredibly important, as is knowing the service I'm utilizing is one I can count on to provide what they're claiming. I can't endanger my health by going a week or more waiting for a mistake made on someone's website.
Best case scenario would be a simple refund, right? That would be well and good, but most likely that would take several days to even process the refund before the funds are back in my account. That means waiting most likely another <week> before I can make an order, then wait for that website (whatever it may be) to process my order, get it shipped, and have it in my hands. It could honestly take up to 2-3 weeks before anything actually happens and I'm able to purchase a new vaporizer. To say my day has been ruined is an understatement.
In the future, maybe set the website up to match current inventory. I've ordered from many websites online, from kitchen-ware to video games, and I've honestly never bought anything that was supposedly in stock only to be told that my item was backordered AFTER I had been charged. I'm not irate. I'm not even angry. I'm just sorely disappointed and surprised after reading this history of positive vibes. I'm torn right now between cancelling my order and waiting the time it takes to have my money actually refunded, and trying to gut it out and hope the item that I ordered and paid for is quickly restocked and sent. I'm at a loss. I hope the reader's experience is better than my own.