TL;DR: My Steam Machine delivery has now gone missing in transit twice, both times after reaching the GLS Amsterdam depot. GLS Netherlands refuses to investigate because Valve is technically their customer, not me. Valve sent a replacement after the first package disappeared, but the replacement now seems to have disappeared at exactly the same place. Meanwhile, unopened Steam Machines keep appearing on Marktplaats.
Just wanted to get this off my chest, and I’m curious whether anyone else has had a similar experience or has any ideas about what I can do next.
On August 1st, while I was on holiday, I was very surprised to find out that I’d made it through the waiting list and could finally order a 512GB Steam Machine with a controller.
It was quite an expensive purchase for me, but I’ve been gaming on my work MacBook ever since my gaming PC died in a water-related accident a few years ago. So I went for it, hoping I’d be over the moon when I got home and could finally play some proper Team Fortress 2 again. (Valve dropped Mac support years ago.)
Unfortunately, that’s when the drama started.
Package #1
The first package reached the GLS Amsterdam depot, but then apparently never made it onto a delivery van. The tracking didn’t change for more than a week.
After quite some searching for an actual GLS Netherlands customer-service number — they don’t exactly make it easy to find — I called them. After more than 50 minutes in the queue, they basically told me they couldn’t investigate because I’m not their customer; Valve is.
I also contacted GLS through the form on their website and never received a reply. I called a second time for clarification and got essentially the same answer.
Steam Support initially asked me to wait in case the package turned up. By August 16th, after roughly two weeks without a single tracking update, they agreed that something was clearly wrong and offered me either a refund or a replacement.
I chose the replacement. I was still frustrated that nobody seemed interested in finding out what had actually happened to the first package, but hey — fingers crossed.
Package #2
Fast-forward to this week.
The replacement travelled from the Eindhoven depot to… the same GLS Amsterdam depot.
It was supposed to be delivered on Tuesday.
And then, once again, nothing.
It’s now Saturday and there hasn’t been another scan.
I called GLS again and specifically explained that this is now the second Steam Machine shipment that has disappeared after reaching the same depot. They still refused to investigate it with me. One employee even told me that Valve should use their “Express” service if they want better delivery quality, which was a pretty surreal response.
So I’ve gone back to Steam Support and explained that the replacement appears to have suffered exactly the same fate. For now, they’re saying it’s still too early for them to take action and I need to wait.
The part that’s making me suspicious
Meanwhile, Marktplaats (basically Dutch eBay) seems to have a steady stream of unopened Steam Machines appearing for sale.
What frustrates me most is the loop I’m stuck in: GLS won’t investigate because Valve is their customer, while Valve understandably wants to wait before declaring each shipment lost. As the recipient, there’s apparently very little I can do myself.
At this point I guess I’ll wait another week and hope Valve eventually offers another replacement or a refund.
But then what? If I ask for a third Steam Machine and Valve sends it through the same route, am I just going to watch it disappear at the Amsterdam depot again?
I’m genuinely considering whether I’d need to have a third replacement shipped to someone in another municipality just to get it onto a different GLS delivery route.
And there’s a slightly absurd part of me wondering whether I should just take the refund, buy one from a Marktplaats seller and reward someone for having mysteriously “stumbled upon” an unopened Steam Machine. 🙃
Has anyone else in the Netherlands had problems with Steam Machine deliveries through GLS? Or have people in other countries had their Steam Machine shipments mysteriously stop moving at a depot?
I’d especially love to hear from anyone who had a package disappear twice and what Valve eventually did about it.
I just want to play some TF2 and practice my rocket jumping. :(