Ubid at your own risk
Written: Apr 18 '01 (Updated Apr 18 '01)
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The Bottom Line
Be wary. If you buy something from them, make sure you don't have to contact their customer support. You will run into problems if you do so.
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| Full Review |
I recently won a Microstar K7T Pro 2 motherboard from one of their auctions. The K7T Pro 2 has been rated as the top KT 133 motherboard by Anandtech.com in their November 2000 round-up. I was thrilled to pick one up for such a low price. What a bargain it was at $69, or so I thought. The basic shipping cost on the product was $15 dollars which I thought was pretty high. The total cost with shipping was $84 dollars, not too shabby considering the board retails for $120 dollars.
Things went downhill after the auction closed.
1) It took sixteen days after the auction's close for the product to arrive at my door. Unfortunately, this is common practice for them as I have read on www.resellerratings.com. This is partly my fault because I had read the reader comments and choose to buy from them none the less. The price of the motherboard was too hard to pass up.
2) After waiting sixteens days for the product to arrive, I found that they had shipped me the incorrect item. Instead of sending me the MSI K7T Pro2, they sent me the MSI K7T Pro - the Pro2's predecessor. It is sorely missing two key features of the newer board, namely core voltage adjustment via the bios and front side bus speed manipulation at 1 Mhz increments. Things would only get worse.
3) Customer service, rather lack their of. Although they do provide you with an 800 number, there isn't anyone on the other end to take your call. After listening the pre-recorded message hoping for an option to speak with a representative, you are greeted with a message directing you to their web page. This is a poor way to run a business by any standards. I have had shipping issues with other companies in the past. I have, however, always spoken to a person to solve any issues. This would be an exception.
I encountered this message when I called in my attempt remedy my situation. After emailing them, I received a response from the customer service department stating that if I wanted to receive the correct motherboard, they would have to charge my credit card again (shipping charges too). They would credit my card after they received the one in my possession (minus shipping charges). To top it off, I had to ship motherboard (at my expense) insured, with a tracking number, and shipment verification in a secure package. This alone would have set me back $15 to $20 which is nearly 1/4 of the motherboard's value. I have no problems returning the board, but I refuse to pay shipping when the source of the problem was caused by the retailer.
It's this simple, I would end up paying about $45 in shipping charges if I were to return the incorrect product.
- $15 initial charge
- $15 return of incorrect product
- $15 replacement product
All of a sudden my $69 dollar motherboard is now my $114 dollar motherboard. This is a far cry from the bargain I thought it was. I told them my shipping expenses, and they refused to help me in any way. In the end, I decided to keep the motherboard as a reminder not to deal with them again. I didn't makes sense economically to send it back. If their poor customer support is anything to go by, who knows when and if they'll credit my card.
Approach their site with caution. What may appear to be a great buy at first will quickly become a painful headache.
I have never given any service or product a one star rating (My Brandeis University Social life doesn't fall under the category of service or product). However, after the hassle and headache Ubid has given me, this single star rating is well deserved.
Recommended:
No
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About the Author
Location: Kansas, Bah
Reviews written: 25
Trusted by: 6 members
About Me: College forgot to teach me one thing: the real world sucks.
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