"Avoid this place. They will substitute different brands and inferior specifications without permission. After that they won't pay return shipping to get the inferior product back (despite promises made to do so). Other reviews also mention this behavior, but I ignored them, and then it happened to me on my very first order.
If you ignore these comments and get stuck with something, call Visa and explain and you'll get your charge refunded.
Update: My response to their comments:
2. The item I received was clearly inferior. When I explained this on the one time I got to talk to a live person (who identified himself as both customer and tech support), he agreed. He also agreed that a call tag would be sent to pick it up.
Despite that, their RMA department first tried to to have me return it at my expense. After I insisted on a call tag, one was promised but never received. Admittedly, I didn't bother trying again and again. Mail doesn't generally get lost on the way to my house and they obviously had the correct address or I wouldn't have received the (inferior) product.
"the tag at the bottom of this is incorrect" - I assume refers to my claim about Visa. My Visa account was credited by Visa just a day atter I disputed the charge. Visa will be able to get the money back from Amamax, I'm sure.
And just to put this in perspective, I've done business with dozens of vendors via the Internet, and this is the only time I've had to resort to Visa because the vendor was so unresponsive."
"I ordered a case on 9/6/2003 and was told on 9/15/2003 that they didn't have it in stock. In the meantime, all the other parts I ordered from different vendors came in.
RUN FROM AMAMAMAX EVEN IF THEY'RE GIVING STUFF AWAY!"
"Another disappointment among computer merchants...I ordered from 5 different merchants on September 9th and I have gotten all of my parts except from Amamax. Tried both their customer service and sales phone numbers and no one picked up...classic sign of a merchant about to go out of business. It will be my pleasure disputing this charge with American Express...
Update (09/16/03)
My item is finally on its way...I just don't understand why every other merchant can ship out small purchases right away except Amamax...I ordered a $100 video card that they supposedly have "in stock" and it took them 5 business days to package and ship a 2-pound item...absolutely ridiculous...I will never order from this merchant again...
Update (09/19/03)
I received my video card. Works perfectly. However, the merchant's deceptive policy of shipping out items "within 1-5 business days" should be reworded to "will ship on 5th business day" to inform innocent consumers of what they are in for. Also, the BS $3 Rush Order fee for express processing should be eliminated; don't try to insult our intelligence by offering this bogus service to pad your profits..."
"I ordered a 10GA-BS Silver/blue 400w ATX Mini-Mid case from this company on September 5. I wanted THIS case for under $25 and Amamax was the only one I could find. I saw on resellerratings that most people complained about slow orders, but as long as it was cheap, I was in no hurry. I was even prepared to do a credit card "chargeback" if I had to. Their shipping correspondence was not real professional, but I was pleasantly surprised to see my case arrive in good condition in only 6 days. I did NOT pay for any extra shipping fees or extra box in a box in a box packing. Since this was the only place I found this case for this price, I would probably reorder from Amamax if I need another. "
"took them a week and a half to finally email me and let me know that they didn't have my part in stock. at that time their website still listed it as in stock. they merely asked if I'd like to buy the next item up. of course, that part was overpriced.
If ever possible, DO NOT attempt to order from these guys."
"I ordered a Silver/blue ATX Mini-Mid case from this company on the night of August 26th. I got a confermation email on the 27th (not too bad since i did order around midnight i think). My credit card was charged on the 29th. The tracking number i got doesn't work at all. I used UPS ground and there's nothing under any of their tracking options. "Unable to find tracking #" is all I get. I finally call them today (September 9th), and I can't even get a live person. I left 2 messages in their "customer mailbox" with return call numbers and an email adress. I have my doubts that they will get back to me. I wish I checked resellerratings.com before I decided to go with this company."
"I purchased a Inno3D Tornado Geforce4 MX440 128MB DDR (4ns) DVI & TV out 8X Video Card. I never got a working tracking number from them. Luckily Fedex sent one to me. I ordered it UPS ground so I was surprised that Fedex emailed me the tracking number. I also sent 2 emails asking why the tracking number they supplied didnt work. I got no response.
I installed the video card and the bios upon startup shows 64mb. I go into windows an it also says 64mb. I paid for a 128mb video card. I would never buy or recommend this business. "
"I ordered a case from these people on 8/24. Received a order confirmation # immediately and they also charged my credit card right away. A week passed and no shipment or contact. I wrote them an email and recieved a response that said they were out of stock for that case and offered a "lesser" one for the same money. "What a deal".... I refused, and told them I wanted a refund. Since then, No Response, and No Refund. These people are undoubtedly the worst company I have ever dealt with. Avoid them at all costs. The item I ordered said "IN STOCK" and they never had it. Now I must go another route with these "SCAMMERS"
UPDATE 9/22
I finally received an email from Amamax stating my order was "shipped". Just like nothing ever happened. This came only after I sent them an email stating that I had disputed the charge with my credit card company and I was going to report them to the Internet Fraud Bureau.
I wouldn't do business here again if they were offering FREE merchandise. Don't get the run around, stay away from this company."
"I bought a case and two power supplies. items came without a hitch within the specific time frame. No Complaints here. Just a Positive feedback for this company. I didnt even pick the rush shipping. Just plain old free ground shipping. Ordered on the 27th of August. Delivered on Sept. 3. That is quicker than some of the people on that auction site online"
"I have ordered many cases from AMamax.com. There prices are pretty good and the selection is well to. A complaint that I always seem to have when ordering from them is that it takes forever to ship. there seems to be a 3$ ruch option you can select. I think all customers should be treated fairly and given rush treatent as per good customer satisfaction and service. they need some classes on that."
"I ordered a power supply from amamax and it shipped a bit late, but that's no biggie. For $14, I got a 400W dual fan PSU, pretty snazzy. Anyway, in a few days, the thing fried. I tried to contact amamax SEVERAL times and have yet to get any response whatsoever. I wish I looked at resellerratigns sooner, as I really just went here to warn others of their bad customer service. I am in a big hurry to get my machine running, and with no response from them, I am forced to buy another PSU from another company, and ask for a refund -15% restock. If they charge me for restock (and I know they will), I'm just never going to try their service again.
9/3
I recieved an e-mail from Amamax (yay!) asking me to fill out the RMA form on their web site. Of course, I already did send every bit of the info the RMA form asks for, even in the same order. Well, I'll try again. Let's see how long it takes them to respond this time."
"I ordered a video card. 10 days later still no pacakge. I contact customer service to find out that they HAVN'T process my order yet. Now they told me they just ship the item. I'm still waiting for the package to arrive. I will NEVER order from them again."
"09/02/03 update: Product expected tomorrow per UPS tracking. Just received an email from Customer service to tell me tracking number... LOL I already got that info from tracking department. I believe the Expediting option should be eliminated from their ordering, since it is obviously NOT possible for them to guarantee expedition. If they could give an estimated time of transaction it might be more realistic to offer the option, but likely if they get 400 orders a day, over 300 of them are probably requesting expediting so who really is pushed to the top? Obviously they can not actually handle expediting this many since my order was not processed until 3 or 4 days later so I will receive (hopefully) my product 1 week after my order instead of 3 or 4 days. That wouldn't be bad normally, except I was under the impression I would get it before the Labor Day Holday Weekend (where I could have worked on it all day and night). Just to clear up a little, it seems these people have a decent business, but do not have staffing to handle customer communication. If you are not prepared to "gamble" on shipping time, try phoning in the order or search for a local store to shop in.
08/30/03 update: I still did not get a call from them or speak to a live person, but I did receive an email from sales (no name mentioned) and they said they would forward my request to tracking. Apparently they did, because I did finally receive a tracking notice. Funny it was jus as I was going to cancel, sine I bought some of the parts locally. The good side is it looks as thought the product is on its way. Expecting it Wednesday next week. Bad news is its later than it should be since the order wasn't expedited as I paid for.
Positive note, I have found 2 local companies to shop from, I guess i am still a bit "old fashioned" and prefer to see product in hand when I am buying itm it is worth any extra taxes or few bucks to have a place to drive to and settle business and ask questions(especially with electronic components that can often be defective or lacking documentation).
My original post still stands:
Well, I am definitely disturbed, I wish I had seen these comments before ordering. I found a much better rating and postive comments for this company on another rating site (bizrate, I think) that steered me wrong.
I do not know at this point if my order is real or not, or if the product is being expedited or not (as I paid for) or if the company really exists, since all I get is a voice mail on the phone. Their website says items orderd are in stock and will be handled as same day if ordered before 11 am, well, I ordered via internet at end of day 6pm so I expected Next day (Wednesday) to be the order day. I called to confirm at 10 am,but got voice mail. I later emailed Tracking@amamax and emailed customer service, today I called sales and customer service again and verification, NO ANSWER at sales and voicemail at the other 2 departments. I left messages with them. I am still waiting for some verification that the order is REAL besides the automated order confirmation. I had similar problem with Colorcases.com, but their customer service called me back and emailed next day. It seems that the low prices and internet access has pushed them to not be able to handle their business.
I will not be ordering from them again. I was going to cancel the order, but the only way I see is by email and with no response, I guess I am best to wait it out. I get a little encouragement by a few of the other negatives here saying they did eventually get product, so I guess I need to be more patient... too bad I paid the extra to expedite. Learn from my mistake."
"I ordered two cases from Amamax and an extra power supply. They were shipped within a reasonable timeframe and they not only met but exceeded my expectations. I've paid $40-$60 for cases in the past and these are far better. Every one that sees the cases makes a positive comment and can't believe how much I payed for them. I will be ordering from the again for sure."
"I ordered a case on a Tuesday morning and paid the extra $3 for "expedited shipping". 2 days later and I couldn't even get a tracking number. They didn't answer emails, didn't respond to voicemails, etc. I finally talked to someone on Thursday afternoon. He informed me that the case was on backorder. I asked him when he had planned to inform me and he became rude and abusive. I cancelled the order and bought it locally (since I needed to build the computer this weekend). On Saturday morning I received an email saying they shipped the case Friday night.
AVOID THIS COMPANY AT ALL COSTS!!!"