Home > FAQ Main Page > Frequently Asked Questions About Our Order Management System

We're in the process of switching to a new order management system that will greatly improve operations behind the scenes and allow us to better communicate with our customers. Here's some information you might find helpful. Please read it carefully and feel free to email us (see the last question) if you have any questions or concerns.

Questions about the new offline order management system:
What is this new system and how does it benefit me?
What does this have to do with the online "order status" page I already know about?
How long have you been working on this change?
What is the current status of the system?
What is the status of my "old" preorders in the system?
So all of my "old" preorders that haven't shipped are in the system?
So why aren't my "old" Lettered Edition preorders on the "summary" order?
What about my old orders that already shipped?
What is the status of "new" preorders in the system?
What information will be included in my shipping confirmation email?
Can you give me an example to illustrate how the "old" preorders and the "new" orders work?
HELP! Why are preorders missing from a recent shipping confirmation I received? (Important!)
Will I receive shipping confirmations when I order in-stock items?
How can I make sure I receive email notifications on my "old" preorders? (Important!)
Do I need to send this contact information every time I order?
Will my online store account show all of my old orders?
Will my online account show the status of my new orders?
Why do I see two different order numbers referencing the same order?
I still have a question. Can someone help me?

Questions about the packing slip/invoice included with your shipment:
I received an "old" preorder and the packing slip says I paid $0.00 by check and the books are listed as costing $0.00. What does this mean?
I received the in-stock portion of my order, but the packing slip lists the forthcoming items as "being ready to refund" and there is an "amount to refund" at the bottom of the slip. What does this mean? (Important!)
I received the in-stock portion of my order, but there are also forthcoming items to come and the packing slip lists "Closing Balance For This Order" or "Back Order Total" at the bottom of the slip. What does this mean? (Important!)
What does the QTY column on my invoice mean?
What does the SHIPPED column on my invoice mean?
What does the B/O column on my invoice mean?
I still have a question. Can someone help me?

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Questions about the new order management system:

What is this new system and how does it benefit me?

This new order management system is the system we use at our OFFICE to track all of your orders in a central computer database. This has nothing to do with the online "past orders" database you can find in your online account.

This new order management system will let us quickly research any questions you might have about orders you've placed. With 20,000+ customers placing tens of thousands of orders every year, researching questions has been an important but time consuming task. In the past we haven't always been able to respond as quickly as we'd like, which could be frustrating for us and our customers.

This new system takes a lot of the time and searching out of that research, allowing us to respond faster while also giving us more time to work on other aspects of the business. With 30+ books already in the works for next year, we wanted to be able to process your orders quicker and more efficiently than before.

This new system also allows us to send shipping confirmation emails that tell you the status of your order. These emails can also include the tracking information in most cases. That way you'll have a much better idea of what has been shipped to you and when to expect it.

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What does this have to do with the online "order status" page I already know about?

The online "order status" or "past orders" page in your online account only shows a copy of your original invoice for orders placed through the online store's checkout system. It does NOT show orders placed via PayPal direct buttons, email, phone, or mail. It also does not show any sort of status update for your orders so it doesn't provide tracking information. Items that you canceled or returned will still show up in your "online account" since they were on the original invoice. Your actual refund or return was handled in our office's system where we actually process the orders, and we have no way of removing these items from your online account.

Remember, this online account only stores copies of your original orders placed through the online store's checkout system — it is NOT related to our new offline order management program that we run at our office. The online "order status" or "past orders" page is not an active system that can be updated. It's basically like an electronic photocopy of an old receipt.

This "order status" or "past orders" page is merely a function of our online shopping cart program. It has nothing to do with our new order management system, which is a software program we run offline at our office where we actually process the orders.

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How long have you been working on this change?

We began researching our options several years ago, but we had some very specific criteria that needed to be met so we didn't rush the decision. We spent a lot of time looking at software, talking to vendors, and comparing the various programs on the market to find the best one for our needs. After our research was complete, we made the purchase in august 2007 and we've been working double-time ever since to prepare our webstore, our staff, and our data for this change.

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What is the current status of the system?

We started the final stages of integrating the new system into our website and our warehouse on October 26, 2007. All orders placed on or after that date have been automatically downloaded into the new system from our online store. We're still tweaking the settings and modifying some functions to better serve our needs, but everything will be completely in place by January 1, 2008.

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What is the status of my "old" preorders in the system?

We took all of the outstanding preorders placed before October 26, 2007 and imported them into the new database. Everything you ordered before that date (that still needs to be shipped) is already in the new system.

So all of my "old" preorders that haven't shipped are in the system?

To get this information into the system, we took all of the "old" preorders for each customer — the preorders placed before October 26, 2007 that haven't shipped yet — and we created a special data file for that customer. This special file included the customer's most recent mailing address and any preordered Trade Hardcovers or Limited Editions that have not yet shipped. The only exceptions are Lettered Editions and the Limited Edition of The Secretary of Dreams (Volume Two). See the next question for more on that.

We then imported that data file into the new order management database as a SINGLE "SUMMARY ORDER" for each customer. This means a single "summary order" includes all of your Trade Hardcover or Limited Edition preorders placed before October 26, 2007.

You'll recognize this order when you receive a shipment from it because all of the items on the packing slip will be paid by "check" and the totals will be $0.00.

If you ordered 5 Limited Edition books on 5 different orders over the summer, for example, they all show up in the new system on this one order. This means a single "summary order" includes all of your Trade Hardcover or Limited Edition preorders placed before October 26, 2007.

As the books are published, they will be shipped to you and marked accordingly on that single order. The other books on that order that haven't been published yet will remain as preorders on that order until they are published.

So why aren't my "old" Lettered Edition preorders on the "summary" order?

PLEASE NOTE: As noted above, the first single "summary" order includes only your Trade Editions and Limited Editions. A second "summary" order will be entered for the Lettered Editions and any other special editions between now and when the next batch of Lettered Editions arrive in 2008. These special editions include the Limited Edition of The Secretary of Dreams (Volume Two).

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What about my old orders that already shipped?

To prevent confusion, old orders that have already shipped were not put into the system, but we will be retaining all of our paper records of old orders for future reference.

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What is the status of "new" preorders in the system?

All of your new orders placed after October 26, 2007 — preorders, in-stock, etc — will have THEIR OWN INDIVIDUAL ORDERS in the system, just the way you placed them. So if you place 5 different orders, they'll show up as 5 separate orders in the system.

ONLY the "old" preorders mentioned above are being combined into a single "summary" pre-order. That is a one-time process and will not need to be repeated.

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What information will be included in my shipping confirmation email?

As items from your orders ship, you'll receive emails letting you know what has shipped and what items from that specific order are still forthcoming.

The email will not include any information about your other orders, and this email will not include a list of everything you've ever ordered. It will just include the status of the items from that particular order.

You can see copies of your old invoices by clicking on the Order Status link, but these old invoices will not include shipping or tracking information. Orders placed before November 14, 2005 or placed via direct PayPal buttons will not show up on this page. Orders you've cancelled will still show up on this page because it is simply a summary of all of the orders you placed through our online store.

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Can you give me an example to illustrate how the "old" preorders and the "new" orders work?

Sure! If you preordered 10 books on 5 different orders before October 26, 2007 and they have not yet been shipped to you, there is now ONE order for you in our new system that lists and tracks all 10 of those books.

If you then placed 5 different orders after November 2007, all 5 of those orders are listed and tracked as SEPARATE orders in our system — just the way you placed them.

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HELP! Why are there orders missing from my preorder list on a recent shipping confirmation?

PLEASE NOTE: As stated above, all orders placed after October 26, 2007 are listed and tracked as SEPARATE orders in our system — just the way you placed them! So YOU WILL NOT get a list of everything you've ever ordered on every shipping confirmation. Those shipping confirmations WILL ONLY show the forthcoming items FROM THAT ORDER.

As noted in the order confirmation:
"You will receive the following preordered items from this order as they are published and you will receive additional shipping confirmations at that time. Please note this list does not include everything you have on preorder, just items from the order referenced above. If there is nothing listed below, this order is complete."

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Will I receive shipping confirmations when I order in-stock items?

Yes! You will receive shipping confirmations for any in-stock items you order.

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How can I make sure I receive email notifications on my "old" preorders?

Important! If you preordered a book or membership before October 26, 2007 that hasn't shipped yet and you want to receive an email as those orders ship, we'll need you to email us your full name, mailing address, phone number, and the email address you want the shipping confirmations sent to.

We need this information so we can find your "old" preorder in the system and add the email address to that order. Right now we have your name and mailing address and what items you ordered. We were not able to add your email address during the import process.

If you have "old" preorders and you'd like to receive shipping confirmations for them, please send your full name, mailing address, phone number, and email address to this special address:

newsystem@cemeterydance.com

Please use the SUBJECT LINE: "Old Preorders Contact Information" and be sure to spell "cemetery" correctly in the email address. (Or you can just click on the link above if you use a program like Outlook or AOL!)

Example:
Joe Customer
132-B Industry Lane, Unit #7
Forest Hill, MD 21050
410-588-5901
joecustomer@aol.com

Please use the format above. The newsystem@cemeterydance.com email address is only for submitting this information and it is the only address to send this information to. Please do not send a change of address or any other questions to this address. You will receive a confirmation that your email has been received. You do NOT need to send this information more than once so if you already submitted it and received a confirmation email, you're all set. ALL orders placed after October 26, 2007 are automatically set-up to receive email shipping confirmations and other email updates automatically. So from here on out, all you have to do is make sure you send us your new email address whenever it changes!

Please note: We do not need the above information to ship your orders, so not providing that information will in no way delay your shipments. It will make it tougher for us to contact you if there's a problem and obviously you will not receive shipping confirmations, but it will not delay your shipments otherwise

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Will my online store account show all of my old orders?

No, your online account will only show orders you placed through the store since we switched servers last year. Please note that orders placed through direct PayPal buttons are not shown in your online account.

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Will my online account show the status of my new orders?

Not yet. We're trying to add that feature, though. For now your online account will only show a copy of your original invoice for your reference. The Order Status page simply provides you a copy of your original invoice, not active tracking of the status of the order.

You can see copies of your old invoices by clicking on the Order Status link, but these old invoices will not include shipping or tracking information. Ordered placed before November 14, 2005 or orders placed via direct PayPal buttons will not show up on this page. Orders you've cancelled will still show up on this page because it is simply a summary of all of the orders you placed through our online store.

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Why do I see two different order numbers referencing the same order?

Our webstore automatically assigns the first order number when your order is placed, but our internal order management system assigns its own number when we import the order because there may also be phone orders and distributor invoices, etc, issued through the internal system. You may use either of the order numbers (the one on your email confirmation OR the one on your packing slip, which is the same as the one that you'll see on your shipping notification email) to reference your order when you contact us. Both of those numbers show up in your order records in our system so we can easily track the order.

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When will the next production update be sent out?

We're preparing another huge production update to send out after the holidays. We appreciate your patience while we prepare this production update and get our new order management system up-to-date. Please understand that replies might be slower than normal during the holidays. Thanks for your patience.

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Questions about the packing slip/invoice included with your shipment:

I received an "old" preorder and the packing slip says I paid $0.00 by check and the books are listed as costing $0.00. What does this mean?

All of your "old" preorders have been entered into the system without prices or the original payment information. This is to prevent accidentally double-billing. If you decide to cancel an "old" preorder before publication, we can retrieve the original price paid and payment method from our paper records and handle the refund or exchange accordingly. No data has been lost.

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I received the in-stock portion of my order, but the packing slip lists the forthcoming items as "being ready to refund" and there is an "amount to refund" at the bottom of the slip. What does this mean?

This is just how the system shows that an item is a "back order" or "preorder" — your preorder items ARE still reserved for you and no refund is being prepared. We're looking into whether we can customize this form to make this more clear.

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I received the in-stock portion of my order, but there are also forthcoming items to come and the packing slip lists "Closing Balance For This Order" or "Back Order Total" at the bottom of the slip. What does this mean?

This is just another way the system shows that an item is a "back order" or "preorder" — your preorder items ARE still reserved for you and no refund is being prepared. We're looking into whether we can customize this form to make this more clear.

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What does the QTY column on my invoice mean?

This is the number of copies of each item you ordered. That does not necessarily mean this is the number of copies in your shipment. See the next question to determine how many copies should have been in your package.

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What does the SHIPPED column on my invoice mean?

This is the number of copies of each item that should be in the package you've received.

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What does the B/O column on my invoice mean?

This is the number of copies of each item that are PREorders. This means the books are not in the package and will be shipping at a later date. "B/O" stands for backordered.

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I still have a question. Can someone help me?

Please email Brian Freeman at brianfreeman@cemeterydance.com if you have any other questions or if anything isn't clear. Thank you for your continuing support!

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