Stay away. Worst shopping experience
Written: Apr 26 '02 (Updated May 16 '02)
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I had to write this review in order to let other fellow members know to stay away from this merchant. This is not a hate letter, these are the hard facts that could not be blamed to a string of bad luck and coincidence.
The decision-making:
Before I made a decision on who to by my universal video signal converter from, I did not only look for the lowest price, but also how presentable the different merchants were and their rating by other online shoppers. Looks like I have made a big mistake this time and I only have read one somewhat positive review about this merchant without getting a second opinion. This is what happened:
First contact:
I called them ahead to ensure that the goods would be delivered by a certain date and they confirmed that. By the way, if you are on the phone to Etronics, expect to be on hold for at least 30 mins. at any time of the day. They have confirmed that the goods would be delivered at that date, so despite the fact that one of their competitors was selling the same item $30 cheaper but could only deliver after the date I needed, I have gone ahead with Etronics online sometime early afternoon.
Ordering:problems start
Order went through OK but I have received an Email notification from Etronics, that my billing and shipping addresses were different (it was not). They asking me to Email them or call them for clarification. I called them immediately to ensure that nothing else would go wrong (another 30 mins. on hold). Finally I got across to one of their reps., who asked me for my credit card issuing bank's phone number for verification and promised that they would Email me shortly with an update. I have asked her to call me instead but she said they do not call customers(??).
Finally I received the email that the credit card was OK and my goods would ship (no date specified). I called them to ensure that the package would ship the same day (30 min hold). A rep. told me that they ship goods from third party warehouses and they do not have any control over it(!!).
After about 2 days order status online was still showing: "Packaging".
I called them again and they said that the goods have left (1 day late). Their online system still was not showing that, nor of course the promised tracking code which was supposed to be shown if only the status was "Shipped" but it was still in "Packaging".
Delivery:
Finally I got my package 2 days late then I anticipated and guess what?, they have shipped a model that did not include a second power adapter (220V). I have called them again (5th time?!) to clarify. A rep. told me that they had no control over this(!!!) and that they would contact the Warehouse and someone probably would send me an Email but also said: "if you do not hear from us after some time to call them again"(!). I asked what did "some time" meant and she said about two weeks(!).
After Sales support:
I am still waiting for that Email right now but if that was not enough display of unprofessionalism by Etronics, 2 days after I received my incomplete package they sent me an Email notification which has finally triggered this review: "We thought you would like to know that your order has shipped on [date]. Order Number: [number]. Tracking Number: [number]."
Nice one! at least I now know that the UPS Ground service is faster then the Etronics' useless status notification system which today still is frozen at: "Packaging" and "Will be shipped soon" stage.
I am going to wait for a week for the promised Email and a missing part and if they do not solve the problem to my satisfaction, going to return the product at their expense (it's against their policy no matter who's fault - read the small print on their site) or dispute the charges with the help of my bank.
If you still have doubts about Etronics and think that it was just a coincidence of so many things going wrong, you are welcome to try them but look for those warning signs:
1. Hold time when you call them.
2. Phone menu: press 1 for sales, customer support, technical support (?!) if you are lucky they will pick up within 15 mins. or will pick up and say "Thank you for calling Etronics, please hold" and put you back on hold a little longer, just in time when you opened your mouth to say something.
3. Ask them about the product you are buying (my grandma knows more than they do).
4. Ask them if they are shipping from their warehouse or "drop shipping" from a third party. (This is the most important one if something goes wrong and the supplier and the merchant will start blaming each other like in my case).
5. Read other members negative reviews to see when things go wrong with Etronics, how bad they do.
Thank you for your time for reading this long review but I hope it will help you not to make the same mistake I have made. I wish you lots of good luck if you deal with Etronics, you may going to need it.
This is my update as of 16 May 2002.
I promised earlier that i would only deliver the hard facts, so I decided to post this follow-up:
They have never called. when it was coming too close to the date when I could return the product, I have called them again and a lady representative offered me a $10.00 cash credit for the missing power supply. She said they could not find out from their suppliers whether they have it or not. Say what? (I'm sure they did not even bother finding it out or someone would have sent me that promised Email). She also told me that I could buy the adapter for $10.00 elsewhere. I very much doubt you can buy a 220V AC to 15V DC 450-600ma adapter for that money or even find one. Radioshack sells 9V version for $23+tax. And would it not render the product warranty void? It would, according to the product manual.
I guess the only option is to dispute the charges.
I am changing the On-Time delivery to "Never showed" since they have never sent me the right product and failed to resolve the situation.
Recommended:
No
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About the Author
Location: KY, USA
Reviews written: 5
Trusted by: 2 members
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