"Well I was in a rush to go on a roadtrip and needed a carcharger for my palm, and couldn't find one in any store anywhere in my area and even had trouble finding it on the web. Just my luck the part was new and thankfully CDW was one of the few stores that had it in stock. The price seemed good, actually better than the manufacturer was selling it for so that was a plus as well.

I promptly ordered on the 15th with little time to spare (i was leaving for the road trip on the 19th) so I was praying that they would process it and get it out the door super fast.

Must say I was pleasantly surprised. I took a chance against the judgement of the fellow resellerratings people and ordered. The order was confirmed, processed, and shipped the next day (the 16th). On the 19th it came just in time, well packaged, and needless to say I was a happy customer. I must also mention that I chose Airborne Next Afternoon shipping as my option, so that people don't think this was with standard shipping.

Overall I will say that the experience was a good one, and if needbee CDW will make my list of online stores to consider."

"A very positive shopping experience! I received items on time, in excellent condition and boxed together for convenience; this allowed me to use my device upon arrival. The questions I had prior to purchase were politely and completely answered by sales associate. She even held the line briefly to verify one answer w/a technician rather than give me potentially incorrect information. I will re-use this vendor for additional purchases."

"March 11, 2005

I placed a total of five orders for three hard drive mobile docks each from CDW over a five month period. Each time, CDW packed the mobile docks in a cardboard box with airbags on two sides. As everybody knows, packing material is supposed to be on all six sides. In addition, one or both airbags were popped on most (all?) shipments by the time the box reached me, so airbags have proven to be a poor choice for packing material for cast aluminum hard drive mobile docks (bubble wrap would be better).

After my second to last order (10/18/2004) arrived improperly packed and with both airbags popped, I sent an e-mail to the customer service person (TONI ECCELLENTE) who was handling my order:

"I received the mobile docks yesterday and unpacked them today. The package contained the products I ordered, and two "Fill Air" packing material cushions. Both cushions were deflated, with obvious tears in them. My guess is that the package was dropped, and the shifting contents (which are made from cast aluminum and are therefore reasonably heavy for their size) ripped the air bags.

"Furthermore, two bags is not sufficient -- packaging needs to provide cushioning on all six sides. This is especially important for hard drives, DVD/CD drives, etc. (e.g. things with moving parts).

"I think your shipping personnel need more training and your shipping process needs better quality assurance."

After my last order (1/11/2005) arrive improperly packed with one airbag popped, I sent the following message to the CS person who was handling that order (WAYNE BOROWSKI):

"I experienced the same packing problem on my prior order, and reported it to Toni Eccellente on 10/21/2004. Please forward this message to the owner, President, CEO, or whatever, of your company so that he or she can tell me why CDW doesn't learn from it's mistakes, and why I should continue doing business with CDW.

"If CDW wants any future orders from me, please ship me three docks packed properly at no cost. If CDW wants the units back that I now have, enclose a completed shipping label."

What followed was a series of partial concession e-mails and voice-mails from Wayne, another CS Rep (Christopher Bynum), plus a voicemail from their manager to the effect "I'm not going to help you, Dave. My staff will. But, I'd be glad to talk to you if you like". The CS people did not meet my demands.

Finally, a sales supervisor (Elizabeth Nenortas) heard about my complains and issued an RMA and pre-paid return shipping label. This was better than the CS people, but still didn't meet all of my demands.

After I'd sent the package back, a "Resolution Analyst" (Tina Brooks) sent me an e-mail apologizing and stating that my information will be sent to the packing/shipping managers. She did not meet all of my demands.

I received my Visa statement today. CDW refunded the parts cost, but did not refund the shipping/handling charges ($15.45).

I have yet to speak with Mr. Edwardson. If and when Mr. Edwardson reads this, I suggest that you learn to follow the Two Rules of Customer Service:

1. The Customer is always right.

2. When the Customer is wrong, refer to Rule #1.

For everybody else who reads this, "caveat emptor".

David Christensen
Tracy, California
****@****

"

"I ordered a Promise S-150 SX4-M SATA Board. Delivery was fast and customer assistance during the order was great.

The board failed on the first day of receipt which was found to be a port socket issue. Unfortunately, the box had just been thrown away and picked up by the collectors.

CDW stated this was a special item that couldn't normally be replaced by them, although NOTHING on their sales site said as much, as I wouldn't have bought it otherwise. They boast about their replacement coverage but initially refused in this case. They decided to make an exception, but because the original box was not available, they refused altogether.

I received a bad product on the first day, and they will not honor their warranty. This is what you can expect from CDW. I had ordered from them because of everyone’s great success stories about them. Caveat Emptor – Buyer Beware!"

"First of all, I have to agree with the previous review concerning high shipping charges. They charged me $9.99 to ship Airborne ground for an order which couldn't weigh more than a couple of pounds and their warehouse is so close I could almost spit that far with the wind at my back.

Secondly, their shipping times are a bit off the mark. A couple of items were backordered with no ETA whatsoever despite the fact that their web site showed 4-6 days. Not good.

Finally, you have to watch their pricing like a hawk. I was charged $14.99 for one of the items I ordered. I subsequently discovered it was available from a number of other vendors for anywhere from $7.69 to $9.99......

....BUT GET THIS: $9.99 IS THE MANUFACTURER'S SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE! I later checked this on the manufacturer's web site, who btw, also sells the item for $9.99. THUS, CDW is CHARGING $5 OVER MSRP FOR THIS ITEM.......SO BE WARNED....WATCH THEIR PRICING! "

"Overall, if CDW were "Brick and Morter", they would be great. Like any business, they have great Sales Reps and lousy. Super Sales Managers, and jerks. But, considering their volumn, selection, etc., they do very good.

Advice for the disenchanted: CDW is very good at cross referencing everything with Manufacturer Part Numbers. Watch the Part Number prefixes and suffixes and check with the manufacturer's site and you will see the items that are "discontinued". And you don't go out and buy a generic 2004 Chevy Malibu - you buy this one if you want speed, that one if you want luxury, etc. Don't expect anything different when you buy computer or even a motherboard - there are often many variables that are reflected in the price. Try plugging in a motherboard part number in the CDW search window. You will probably get several referances that look very much the same, but if you check close you will see that this board has SATA and that one doesn't, or one has on-board video and the next doesn't, etc.

BEWARE OF SHIPPING COSTS! CDW does greatly inflate them. This current order for ink cost CDW $5.75 to ship via Priority Mail and they charged me $30.34. Even so, as I told the boss, "They are ripping us off on shipping, but we can rely on delivery, great support, and get what we order." Peace of mind is worth a lot. I agree with others - CDW is probably more of a Business shop than a casual user shop."

"I ordered 4 micro-innovations IBM wireless internet keyboards (which, by the way, are bad keyboards, don't order them). 1 of the was DOA. Since I have a corporate account, I called my CDW account manager to arrange a return. However, before I had received a return shipping label which they were to provide, much to my surprise I received the replacement product. However, it too was DOA. I called again, arranged to send them both back and did so. I then received the ``replacement'' product, which turned out to be the wrong product! CDW has yet to respond to any of my emails. If the product had cost more money, I would have used the BBB to get a working product. As it is, I am just calling it quits and will never purchase from CDW again."

"WONDERFUL SERVICE!!! I called to see of the graphics card I wanted was in stock. When informed that it was I placed the order at 7:45 PM on Thursday. Was told with the shipping I choose it would arrived the following Monday. It showed up FRIDAY AFTERNOON AT 2 PM!!!
Great price for the board and very nice, professional sales reps. Thanks."

"Fantastic transaction. Sales rep was extremely patient with my credit card issues and proccessed the order and overnighted it to my house by 3pm the next day. Shipping price was exceptionally reasonable. Would do business with again."

"Place an order with them for the latest ATI graphics card.
After LYING to me that I was on the " National Fraud Database Directory", they tell
me my order has been cancelled, because it is obsolete. ATI claimed they were “Bombarded by calls Just Like Mine”.
It IS available & we will start shipping in a few days.
CDW is just trying to get OUT of their pre-order price.
AVOID CDW LIKE A PLAGUE!!
"

"Worst customer service, ever. I ordered a product that was severely backordered, and i went in knowing that. But I do expect someone to reply to my questions, even if the answer is "I don't know." I'd rather have a response like that, than none at all any day of the week. I made a mistake of ordering from this site, will not do it again."

"This is a copy of an email I sent to my customer representative at CDW on August 5, 2004.


Now I understand why CDW's rating on www.resellerratings.com,
www.dealtime.com, and www.epinions.com has gone down so much in the last few
months. This type of treatment of customers is appalling. First, I find
out only after I placed an order that CDW does not even have stock of the
item. Second, even after calling my house to verify my phone number /
shipping address with my wife and preauthorizing the purchase price with my
credit card company, I am told that CDW will not ship to me unless I fax you
a copy of my driver's license. Moreover, your "management" does not even
have the curtsey to return my phone calls. This is not proper.

Due to concerns regarding possible identity theft, I am not willing to fax
my driver's license to CDW. I further believe such concerns will dissuade
many other potential customers from doing likewise. Accordingly, please
cancel my order. I will be adding my experience with CDW to the list of
reviews on applicable rating sites.

Regards,
Eric"

"I've read the past reviews, and I am a single home purchaser, and at first, I admit to being a bit wary. I have known of CDW for many years, and so I thought, "what the heck." I am not at all dissapointed with my experience, and will be ordering from them again. I live in Hawaii, and I ordered a Sony Clie Peg TJ35 from them and it arrived within 3 days, even though I used standard shipping. All of my email questions were answered within a day, and the order was exactly as I had ordered. The packing was well done, the item was new and so far, my PDA is working great. I don't know why there are so many bad reviews for this company, because I had ABSOLUTELY NO PROBLEMS from them and will gladly order from them again. "

"Was notified several days after placing order that an item that was listed as in stock on the website, but was not just out of stock, it had been discountinued. "

"I ordered an item on their web site in the morning. The order process was easy. Later in the day I checked my email and saw a note that indicated they wanted to talk to me on the phone. I called and they said they had already talked to my wife on the phone and the order was being prepared for shipment. They were calling to verify the credit card info. This was my first order from them so I was asctually happy to see they were being careful.

I ordered next day shipping. The tracking number was on the web site in the morning and the package arrived as expected.

I am very happy with this experience and would highly recommend them."