RetroFestive Pop Culture & Christmas Store — Attraction in Oakville

I have been buying from Retrofestive for a few years and up until now I have been happy with purchasing from them. However, this year one of my orders was VERY delayed and although they answered my emails promptly it was lip service with no real action or attempt to make it right.

I order my Christmas gifts well in advance every year to ensure I don’t get caught up in the holiday rush. I placed my order on Nov 28th. On Nov 30th I received confirmation it had been shipped. On Dec 6th I received another notice that it had been picked up by Canpar with an ETA of Dec 11th. On Dec 11th a Canpar driver showed up, passed me a box, and said, “It says 2 of 2, I guess I’ll be back tomorrow.” Shortly after I received an email from Retrofestive telling me my order “has been successfully delivered”. I immediately replied telling them what the courier said and asking them for information on the whereabouts of the missing box. They responded stating “it is very common for the 2 parcels to arrive on different days. The other parcel should arrive today or tomorrow.”

On Dec 13th when we still hadn’t received the missing package I reached back out asking for a new tracking number because the first one still had the old information. I received a response stating it is held up waiting to be scanned at a depot in BC and was given a tracking number to the OLD info with the Dec 11th ETA.

I reached back out Dec 19th. They said it had not been sorted yet and they were awaiting information. I was then asked how I want to proceed - putting the onus on me. What I wanted to say was, Well, I want my order in time for Christmas, which was my intention when I ordered it well in advance. How am I supposed to answer that? You can’t expect me to know what to do when I have no information to base my decision on. So much time had past at this point, I really felt like they could have already stepped up to try and offer some sort of resolution but they just tossed it back at me, like it’s my problem to solve. They are the seller, I feel it is up to the, to offer a solution.

Dec 20th Retrofestive informs me “the shipping company has confirmed that the parcel is backlogged with Canpar. This means that it has not been declared lost” but they couldn’t provide an ETA.

So I’m left with 3 choices - 1. refund the order and have to try and get last minute gifts plus lose out on the free gift my order qualified me for, even based on just what was in the first box, because it was in the missing parcel; 2. wait and hope it arrives before Christmas; 3. get it reshipped but definitely get it too late for Christmas. So really, I felt I only had one option: wait and hope it arrived on time. It did not.

Now it’s Dec 27th - I received an email stating my order was in transit with an ETA of Dec 11th! What?! I reached out to Retrofestive confused and frustrated by this notification. A short time later the parcel was delivered, and I got a response from Retrofestive saying as much and asking me to confirm. No acknowledgment of the inaccurate and confusing email I received, no apology for how late my order arrived, no offer of an apology credit or partial refund. Nothing! So much time, stress and frustration spent on this. Terrible...

Last year, I came across a documentary entitled "Road Trip for Ralphie" in which a young engaged couple decide to trek between Canada and the United States to find filming locations, props and behind-the-scenes stories of the 1983 film "A Christmas Story" as both were huge fans of the film. Needless to say, I was completely enthralled with the documentary, and I was curious as to what the couple (who not only starred in the documentary, but also created it) were up to over a decade later. A simple Google search led me to RetroFestive, a store in Oakville they both own and operate! Unfortunately, as I live in Guelph as well as being legally blind without means for transportation, I haven't had the opportunity to visit the store in person. I did however make a purchase via their online store. I honestly couldn't have asked for a more smooth experience! I had placed my order last Friday morning, and it was at my door by Monday afternoon! They have such an incredible selection of seasonal and novelty gifts as well as tons of pop culture items! It goes without saying that I will definitely be a...

Very pleased with the items I received (quality, uniqueness). Unfortunately I did not have a good experience otherwise.

Following confirmation of my purchase, there was no communication whatsoever for a week. At that point I reached out and asked when I could expect a shipping notification. The reply was quick - and I was told the items would be shipped in two days time. Later that evening I got another email saying that three of the items I ordered were now out of stock and that I could expect a refund in a few days. I was not given the opportunity to order other items as replacements for what was no longer available.

Two days later I recieved the shipping notification with tracking number. The items were recieved as expected. Unfortunately I had still not received my refund. I reached out again...only to be refunded half of what I was expecting. I sent my third email to RetroFestive and was refunded the rest promptly. It just felt like I had to follow up continuously, at almost every...