Etronics.com - Liar, Liar, Website's on Fire - Buyer Beware
Written: Jan 25 '02 (Updated Mar 27 '02)
| Customer Service: |
 |
|
| On-Time Delivery: |
 |
|
| Selection: |
 |
|
|
| Full Review |
Two months now after I wrote this review on Etronics, it was mysteriously deleted. Someone accessed my Epinions account, deleted this review, changed my e-mail address and then changed my password. Coincidentally, I had used the same password at Etronics as I did here at Epinions. Read on to see why someone doesn't want you to read my review.
I found etronics.com while searching on-line for a wide angle lens for my digital camera. Their pricing was by far the best that I had found (almost 50% off the retail price). I continued to search the site and found that they also had a polarizing filter that I needed. Just two days later, my office decided to purchase a digital camera and accessories for a co-worker that was leaving. I immediately thought of etronics.com and searched their site for a good deal.
Search
Searching is very easy on the site. If you know the part number of the item you are looking for, just enter it in and the site will find the matches. A nice feature that also appears with the search is Recommended Accessories. Of course some items come up that you would probably never consider buying, but there are some great recommendations. I didn't know what type of camera that I wanted. We had collected a little over $600 and we wanted to get a good camera in that price range. On the left hand side of the screen, there is a list of all the categories of electronics that they carry, from Cameras, Video and Home Theater, to Car Audio, Outdoor Equipment and DJ Equipment. I went to the Digital Imaging, then selected Digital Still Cameras. I was surprised that they had 145 cameras to choose from, ranging in price from $64.99 to $2,699.95. You can then sort through the list by pricing highest first or lowest first, then by Brands. Since I only knew the price range, I chose to sort by highest price and looked for the cameras around $500. I found the Olympus C-700 Ultra Zoom for $534.99. I do not know very much about cameras so I decided to check it out on epinions.
Pricing
Once I got to epinions, I found that the camera had been highly rated by 3 members. I read through them all and decided that this was the camera that I wanted. I then scanned the pricing that came up with Compare Pricing section on epinions and found that the pricing ranged from $420 to $599. After doing a little research, I discovered that the etronics site was offering a free 64Mb card with the camera, a $50 value. I also looked at the ratings that the other camera sites had received on epinions and almost all of the sites had fairly poor ratings, etronics had a rating of 4 stars. Weighing all of this together, I decided to go with etronics.
Placing the Order
Shopping at etronics.com was very simple. I ordered 5 items, the C-700 camera, a UV Filter, a lens adapter tube for the camera, my wide angle lens and a polarizing filter. All items showed that they were in stock and typically shipped in 1 - 2 days. At the bottom of the screen, your shipping options were listed; Ground, 3 day, 2 day and Overnight. Each time you added an item to your shopping cart, the shipping charges for each option were updated.
Checking Out
This process was simple. You simply typed in your e-mail address and created a password. Then you gave the usual information, your address, credit card number and shipping address. You had to choose a shipping option and there was even a screen that showed when you would typically receive your order. Since our co-worker's last day was on a Monday, I selected the UPS 2 Day option so I would have the merchandise on the Friday before she left. Once you were done with the order, you clicked submit and you are done.
E-mail Notifications
Once the order was placed, I immediately received an e-mail thanking me for my order. All of the items that I had purchased were listed along with their prices. There was a sub-total for the order, confirmation that I had selected 2nd Day Air and then a total for the order. This e-mail went on to tell me that I would receive a tracking number once my order had shipped.
The next day, I received my second e-mail. This e-mail was from customer service and stated that my order had "passed through both our authorization and verification department and is now in our shipping department to be picked, packed, and shipped out." This was great. Everything was on time and there was no mention of any backorders. I wasn't expecting any since the site had stated everything was in stock.
The next day, I received my shipping notification along with the tracking number. I followed the links to the UPS tracking site and sure enough, my package would arrive on Friday, just as it had been promised.
Shipment Arrives (or so I thought)
Friday after work, I immediately went to my front door and found the package on the porch. "Hmm, the box is small. Good. The camera will fit nicely in the gift bag I bought", I innocently thought. I opened up the box and excitedly took out the camera. Next I found the polarizing filter for my camera. I reached in the box again and found . . . NOTHING. What the heck?! There are three items missing, two of which are gifts that I am giving on Monday. I look at the packing slip. Only three items were listed. One of the items on the packing slip, the UV filter, had a hand written note that it was backordered. I needed answers. I had to give this on Monday to someone that I am not going to see everyday anymore. I had to get a hold of customer service.
Customer Service - The Nightmare Begins
I consult the packing slip and discover that the Customer Service is only open until 1pm on Fridays! I want a job there! Hey, no problem. I'll just go to the website and get my order status from there. I went to etronics.com, logged in using my e-mail address and password. Next, I went to the Order Status link. Finally, the window comes up with directions to select the order number from the list below. Great, except, THERE IS NO LIST BELOW! just white screen. I tried going to the tracking screen, maybe my order would be there. No luck. Just a screen telling me that I had received my order, LIARS. Then I tried logging onto my account. Maybe, there would be a recent order link there. NOPE. Maybe something was wrong with the site. I'll try again tomorrow. Nope, the site is still acting the same way and by Sunday, the Order Status link does not work at all.
I decided that I had better check my credit card statement. I logged onto my credit card site and sure enough, I had been charged for all of the items that were supposed to be in the box, but that I did not receive.
On Monday morning, I called customer service at 9am sharp. They still weren't answering the phones. Maybe my watch was fast? I waited until 9:03, still no answer. 9:05, now it is busy. I called repeatedly about 6 times until I finally got ringing on the line. I selected the option to talk to customer service about an order. I then wait 10, TEN minutes on hold. A very unhappy young girl answered the phone. She did not understand why someone would write "backordered" on my packing slip since there were "a lot of them". She put me on hold, came back and told me that the my order should ship complete soon because "the guy that orders photo equipment is really good about making sure that we have everything." I found this a bit odd since 60% of my order did not arrive. I asked her to please find out when my order would ship and to send me an e-mail. Surprisingly enough, she sent me an e-mail and she said that my order would ship by Thursday, three days later. She also apologized for the inconvenience (I had explained that it was a gift).
Customer Service - The Nightmare Continues
Friday morning, I checked my e-mail expecting to find an e-mail that my order had shipped. There was no e-mail. I called customer service at 9:10am and waited on hold for 20 MINUTES! When someone finally came to the phone, I gave them my order number. No, my order still hasn't shipped. They are still waiting on my wide angle lens that was supposed to be in Thursday, but did not arrive. "When will my order ship?" I asked. "Well, the guy that places the orders isn't here yet. I'll have him check when he gets in, but I am sure that your order will ship early next week." I asked her to please send me an e-mail when she got an answer.
Customer Service - The Neverending Nightmare
After I had been told that my items still were not in stock and would ship the following week, I checked my credit card. Sure enough, my credit card had been billed on Wednesday, two days before I checked on my order. I called customer service on Monday and only waited 15 minutes on hold this time. I was told that my credit card was billed on Wednesday because the items were back in stock on Wednesday. "If my items were in stock on Wednesday, my credit card was billed on Wednesday, why hasn't my order shipped yet!", I calmly asked. "I have talked to a supervisor and we will make sure that your order ships today." I checked my e-mail and miraculously, my order shipped, but it went regular GROUND and I paid for 2nd Day Air.
I sent an e-mail to service@etronics.com to complain about my credit card being billed twice when my order hadn't shipped and also that I would like to get reimbursed for the 2nd Day Air charges since my order was shipped Ground. I got an e-mail back saying that their accounts showed my shipment went by 2nd Day Air and to please send them the tracking number. EXCUSE ME?! You show that the shipment went 2nd day, but you don't have the tracking number?! So I sent the tracking number. Then I didn't hear anything. I sent another e-mail asking for the status of my request. I got an e-mail telling me that my order shipped and they gave ME the tracking number. I sent a third e-mail asking them to please READ my e-mail this time and respond to my request. I received an e-mail that said "We will place a memo on your account for future purchases and will be able to help out in that way." NO THANKS.
Buyer Beware
I will never use this site again. I know that most electronics sites on the internet are similar, but I have never had such a terrible time with an on-line order.
Etronics.com Claims . . .
"Unlike most other electronics online retailers, we do not charge your credit card until your order ships!"
Liars, my credit card was billed before my order shipped on two separate occasions.
"Etronics operates a state-of-the-art warehouse and distribution center to ensure that your order is shipped quickly and accurately."
Liars, my order shipped out with no mention of a backorder and with items on the packing slip that were not in the shipment.
"When you call Etronics, you can be sure that you will be talking to a helpful, enthusiastic, knowledgeable and experienced sales representative."
Liars, in the many times that I called customer service, I never spoke to one person who was helpful, enthusiastic or knowledgeable.
"You can rest assured that no matter what you buy from Etronics, you've made a good choice."
True, but I never felt "rest assured" about Etronics and I feel that I made a terrible choice by giving them my business.
YOO HOO!!!
Now that my review has been posted, Etronics.com has gone from 4 stars to 2-1/2 stars!!!!
Recommended:
No
|
|
|
|
About the Author
Location: Wishing I was back in Tahiti
Reviews written: 40
Trusted by: 68 members
About Me: Our Tahiti pictures and video are on-line. Go to www.tahiti.wunschl.com
|
