Placed my first order on Dec 1. Website said order would ship next business day (Dec 2). I got an email on Dec 3 saying it "shipped" (1 day late, that's fine, it happens). It appears all they did was generate a shipping label. Fast forward to Dec 6, UPS does not yet have the package. Contacted them, they said it's "holiday delays".
I guess this happens, but why tell me it would ship next day? Why then send me an email telling me it "shipped" when that's not true? Why not proactively notify me of the delays? Why not expedite the shipping method to make up for the warehouse delays outside of my control?
I placed a somewhat small order for a hardware prototype that I am working on. I really needed these batteries and had to order the same batteries from our usual electronics parts vendor and pay a premium for shipping to get them on time. The lack of transparency here has legitimately cost me.
Edit: UPS lost the package (seems like it was stolen). This was not 18650's fault of-course. I added 1 start because they actually did work with me, filed a claim, and shipped a replacement. They answered the emails promptly. I unfortunately had to push a bit more than I should have, but to their credit, they did right by me.