"I used to purchase a lot of office and computer products for my consulting firm from Buy.com. The service was great, the prices were very competitive, and thanks to their east-coast warehouse(s), it only took a couple of days to get the merchandise. I placed a dozen or so orders in 2001-2002, but eventually started using other services.

I returned to Buy.com this month and placed two orders. What a difference two years makes! The first item was listed as in stock, but 7 days after placing the order, it wasn't fulfilled. I enquired about the order, and was told that it wasn't on backorder -- there was a "delay in fulfillment," with an unknown completion date. (How is this different?) A second order is also unshipped after 1 week. I've since cancelled both orders.

UPDATE ON 8/13/2004: The first item (the backordered -- oops, I mean "unfulfilled" -- one) was cancelled promptly. The second one stayed at "Cancellation Requested" from 8/9 PM to 8/13 AM, when it promptly changed to "Completed". This, despite the fact that the site says that I would receive the status of the cancellation request "in 2 or 3 business days," or 8/11 to 8/12. Based on reading some of the other similar comments on this forum, it would appear that a cancellation request is treated as a inter-company prod to actually SHIP the product, not a cancellation.

I complained about the episode to Buy.com support, and was told that I could refuse the product when it arrives, or I could return it. Oh well, on to Step Three ..."

"I've been having the same problem as everyone else my order is stuck in the 'sent to warehouse' stage and nobody is telling me what is going on. I've noticed that several people aren't able to find the customer service number I haven't called just yet but I just found these numbers on a site that does nothing but list the customer service numbers of retailers that make it very hard to find their numbers 1-***-***-**** or 1-***-***-****. Hope this helps everyone I'll post a follow up later after I have called them myself."

"This was probably the worst online shopping experience I've ever had. I started buying from buy.com years ago when they first came and had lots of promotions, and never had problems with them until now. On my last order (all was to ship in 1-2 days), I waited and waited and got nothing from them, it just said it was processing. Several days later, I get an email saying that there was suscpicious activity and that they didn't want my busines, and that I should not contact them. Now I have no idea what that means, could it have been that my last order was 2 years ago, was it because I changed my address (I'd moved since then)? I guess I'll never know since I'm not supposed to contact them and they won't change their mind. Anyway, good riddance, they have good prices but it's not worth the hassle in the end, I'll stick with Amazon from now on."

"I have bought from them previously with no problems. This time, the status for my order stuck at "Sent to Warehouse" even though it was listed as in stock, ships in 1-2 days. I wrote an email Wednesday, then another Thursday because the automated reply had gibberish, and I wasn't sure if it went through. I searched but could not find any way to speak to a human. Then I found the same item cheaper at Amazon, so I cancelled on Thursday. I wrote again expressing displeasure, and was told sorry, but it was on backorder. But during all this time, it was still listed as in stock on their website. Now, it's Monday, and the cancel is still pending, so I don't even know if they will send it or not (no charge yet). They better believe I'll not buy from them again.

Update: After sitting at pending cancel for over a week, and after several emails saying I did not want it anymore, they shipped the damn thing. I will admit that, if they come through on their policy, it's not too bad to return - they provide a paid UPS label, so I just put it over the old one and send it back.
"

"I wish I checked this site before ordering from buy.com. This company used to be OK, but now just one of the worst. I am experiencing exactly the same thing as others described. Placed an order on an in-stock item last Tuesday, after 5 business days, status still shows "sent to warehouse" as of last check just now. Emails to support got no live reply. I am kind of worried now because the item has a MIR. Definitely will no deal with company again in the future no matter how "good" the deals they may come up, which in consideration of the delivery hassle, is none. "

"I recieved the exact same treatment as everyone else. If I had bothered to read the reviews here instead of at bizrate, i would not have ordred. I placed my order early on a friday morning, for an in stock dvd burner. Their site says in stock items ship within 2 days, and computer hardware ships the same day. I had taken their free budget shipping deal which said tracking information could be delayed a few days, so I didn't get worried until the next thursday. I tried to contact customer support, but all I recieved was an auto reply that was completely illegible. On friday I checked the status on the website and saw that my burner was put "On Order" (meaning they had no idea when it was coming in). I checked the product page and it was STILL listed as in stock. Finally recieved an email reply on sunday which said "We update our website once every 24 hours. Occasionally items run out of stock before we can update this information." Yet the product was (is) still listed as in stock a week after I made my order and even 3 days after it was listed as on order in my order status. I never recieved any of the unprompted emails alerting me that my item was on backorder (even though their site said I would be updated on order status). I cancelled right then and their. I am going to NewEgg, their price is about $15 more, but service is exponentially better."

"I bought a TDK MP3 player that supposed to ship in 1-2 business days. They shipped it after 5 days (4 business days) after. Tried to cancel the item after the 3rd day, but couldn't get quick replies to my mails. Another thing is they don’t have a telephone that you could reach them quick!"

"My experience was nearly identical to 'digger11' who posted yesterday. Item I ordered was never shipped, sat for almost two weeks in 'Sent to Warehouse' status. Meanwhile the item was listed as 'in-stock' the entire time. Email communication from Team Buy.com was canned, impersonal, and insincere. Not to mention that each response from them took approximately 48 hours. I asked them to send my feedback to management for review, but I don't expect to hear back from them. They either have no phone number by which to contact them or it is so well hidden that it was not an option. I am a PC tech who supports many home and business end users. It's a shame that Buy.com will never see any of my future business over something as simple as customer service, the one thing that is completely in their control. This was my first experience with Buy.com, it is also the last."

"Like a lot of others, I've found out that Buy.com has gone completely down the tubes. They're terrible! On 7/25 I placed an order for a Belkin Bluetooth GPS unit that showed in-stock and shipping within 2 days. Wrong . . . After several e-mails, I was told it was not in stock so I canceled the order. Wouldn't you know, it shipped the next day, 5 business days after I ordered it. On 7/28 I ordered 2 HP toner cartridges, which showed in-stock and shipping within 2 days. Wrong . . . It's now 8/6 and they still haven't shipped. Web site still shows them in stock. I'll take my business elsewhere."

"I also purchased the Kingston SD memory cards that Buy.com had on sale in late July,04, for $16 each AR, and it was canceled saying Kingston nolonger made the card. Odd, because they still sell the card on their website for like $25AR.. They don't respond to emails, etc. I have done business with buy.com in the past, but NEVER AGAIN!"

"I only have two things to say. Why is this company still in business? There must be something that can be done to shut them down. Secondly and perhaps more importantly, WHY are people still ordering from them???"

"buy.com has kingston 256MB secure digital card on sell from 7/26 to 7/31. I placed order on 7/31 when it showed available. Then my order was cancelled because "Product No Longer Available". But I noticed (8/3) the same prodcut was still shown available after the promotion was over on their web. What a liar. If you don't wanna sell at lower price,why list it on your web??? "

"I've been ordering things from this company for the past 7 years. This last year has been the worst. They used to be great. I could order something and it would be on my doorstep the next afternoon.

Now I order something, and it says "sent to warehouse" for days and never ships. Sometimes when you email them for status, they say it is backordered, even if the webpage says "In Stock ships in 24 hours." Sometimes they dont respond at all, and other times they write back with 2 sentences that have no informational value at all.

Impossible to get ahold of anyone to have your problem taken care of quickly.

You can cancel, and they ship it anyway days later... only to make you pay to ship it back to them.

I found a phone number that actually works since none is listed on their website!

Write it down! 1-***-***-****

The receptionist who answers speaks english very well. The people you get transferred to barely speak english at all.

Anyway, this is the 3rd time they have done this to me, and I will never order from them again! No way. I would suggest you all do the same. Run while you still can.
"

"Besides this business order I also had a personal order entered 7/30.

This company seems to have gone down the tubes. The orders both went to the website and sat there. Emails using their help system went unanswered. Finally I had to look up their non-800 number on the web and call them. (They don't list an 800 number on their site)

Finally I cancelled the personal order. I can't cancel the other because I already put in the expense report (well, I could but it would be a hassle).

They say they can't tell me whether the cancellation is successful for 2-3 days. So I have to sit here waiting for that. Most companies, at least if you call them, can give you a cancellation number immediately. Based on other reviews I expect to wait a looooong time to find out if the cancellation happened.

I'm also disappointed that their call center is OBVIOUSLY in India. Most call centers I have dealt with in India are very unhelpful as well as unknowledgeable. Don't get me started on taking jobs away from the US as well.

I will never order from buy.com again. I have also told my group of 20 engineers about my problems; I doubt they will make any personal purchases either."

"The last two times I have ordered from buy.com I have had the same terrible experience. An item that is listed as "In stock - ships in 1-2 business days" results in an order that sits in the "sent to warehouse" state for days and days. My most recent order was placed 10 days ago. Three emails to customer service resulted in no real help. Response sounded like a canned response that they are oh so sorry that that item is on back order, and that due to circumstances beyond their control, some items become unavailable after an order has been placed and before the status of the item can be updated on the web site. They also said that their web site is updated every 24 hours. That is false. The status of the item has shown in stock every single one of those 10 days. Buy.com says I can REQUEST a cancellation. I placed the cancellation request 3 days ago and am still waiting to see whether or not it gets cancelled. I WILL NEVER EVER ORDER FROM BUY.COM AGAIN!

UPDATE: Submitted a cancellation request on Tuesday. Called on Thursday to see why it was still "cancellation requested". Was told "it may take 3-5 business days to process a cancellation request". Called again on Monday. Was told I would receive an email within 24hrs with status on the cancellation. Now on Tusday, a full week after cancellation was requested I receive a ship notification. Call customer support and am told to refuse the delivery and that I will be credited for the order.

NEVER EVER ORDER FROM BUY.COM!!!!!!!"