"We ordered two new normal Seagate ST336753LC drives. Both drive were defective; they appeared to be, but were not, what was ordered. When installed as identical replacements for the existing drives, they caused a complete server RAID array crash, which caused the server to be down for days it was rebuilt.

Working with Seagate technical support, we determined that the drives were originally built and sold as custom system components for an OEM, and never intended for normal use. They were then re-flashed with firmware they were not intended to use, will behave differently from normal Seagate ST336753LC drives, and will provide unpredictable results due the the firmware mismatch.

They are accepting the drives back on RMA, but are accepting no responsibility for the cost they incurred."

"I should have read the reviews before I purchased from this store, and I will be sure never to do so again!

I tried to use the online order system but it would not go through and so I ordered by phone on Friday Feb 10th. I received an order number from sales Rep Josh, but no e-mail confirmation or tracking number. On Monday Feb 13th I used the online chat system to request the tracking number and was told to contact Josh by phone. I did so, and he promised to send the tracking number that day. He did not, nor did he answer my e-mail on the matter. On Tuesday I again contacted this company via the online chat and again got the runaround. I asked for supervisor contact information and since as of now I still have not received the tracking number or the item, I e-mailed the supervisor, Ryan, with a demand for the tracking number by the end of the business day today or I will pull the order. Their customer service is abysmal - don't bother with them! The low prices are not worth the drama! "

"After ordering a hard drive, I got no communication beyond an e-mail confirming my order. After a week of waiting for a tracking number, I saw that my order status on their web site was "Packed and Shipped Tracked Waiting for Review" and it had stayed that way for several days. I e-mailed them on the 28th and said to give me a tracking number or cancel my order. On the 30th I received an e-mail from Jennifer Feldman with a tracking number, and tracking my order, found it scheduled for delivery that same day, and I did receive it that day.

If the tracking number had been sent to me in a timely fashion, this order would have been routine and very satisfactory. However, with the lack of information, I got worried, and checked the company's reviews on ResellerRatings. Reading those, I found a lot of dissatisfaction, with orders not fulfilled or other problems, and I started to worry about my order, even to looking up other sources for the drive I had ordered. None of this would have happened, and I wouldn't have checked their pedigree and gotten worried, had they sent me the tracking number when they shipped the drive.

I would consider buying from Computer Giants again, but I would go to extra lengths to be sure that I was getting information on time and my order was being dealt with in a professional and satisfactory manner. It's a shame they shot themselves in the foot by not sending the tracking number right away, since that tarnished an otherwise quite satisfactory transaction with them."

"Based on the customer service I received and my current order status, I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS COMPANY TO MY WORST ENEMY. Please stay far away from this company. If you need something quick, fast, and in a hurry.......Don't do it through this company. Where should I start? Oh yeah, 2 weeks ago..........

1/4/2006 Placed order for a Seagate Hard Drive Part #ST336704FC (36.4GB). Shipment was normal ground.......so you would figure it would be here in about 7 days.....yeah right.

1/13/2006 Order still not received. Contacted costumer service via their online "live chat" window. I explained to the person, Roger Morales, the situation and he did some research and said, "We apologize but the order has not been sent yet. We will send it today". I told Roger that we needed this right away. He said they would overnight ship it. This was on a Friday and Martin Luther King Day was on the following Monday, so the package should be here on Tuesday...........not.

1/18/2006 The package has not gotten here yet. I got on their "live chat" again. Talked to Roger again and asked him for the tracking number. He gave me an 800 number to call. I called the number and the person I talked to gave me another 800 number. I called that number and it rang a few times and went to voicemail for Jennifer Feldman. I decided not to leave a message. I waited a few minutes and got back on the "live chat". Jennifer Feldman answered the chat this time. I asked her for the tracking number. She said she has to contact to warehouse and would email me the number "in a few minutes". A few HOURS later, still no number. Again, I get on the "live chat". Jennifer answers again. She says she is still waiting to her back from the warehouse and their email server is down. She stated that as soon as she hears word about the order, she would email me. I heard nothing for the rest of the day.

1/19/2006 I'm on the "live chat" now. No response from anyone in the last 10 minutes...........after 30 mins, they finally gave me a tracking number. I check the number on the FexEx website........the number does not exist.

1/20/2006 I contact them thru "live chat" again and let them know that the tracking number they gave me was not valid. Jennifer said she would contact FedEx and let me know the status..........

1/23/2006 Once again I contact them thru "live chat". Jennifer says she needs to contact the warehouse. I then, using old technology, picked up the phone and called their customer service. After going thru a few options on the automated service, I got redirected to a voice saying "Thank You" and the phone disconnected............8-(
I got back on the "live chat" and cancelled the order.........lets see how graceful that will be.

Yes, I am VERY DISSATISFIED...........unacceptable."

"On 11/4/05, I purchased a Western Digital WD800VE hard drive from their website for $115, listed as "NEW". Received the drive a few days later and it was clearly marked as "REFURBISHED" on a label pasted over the drive. Immediately called them and spoke to Steve Chung, who e-mailed me a postage-paid UPS label and issued an RMA number. Promptly received a refund for $115, but not the tax ($8.91) or initial shipping ($7.95).

Although Steve was friendly and responsive, they are either very sloppy or intentionally fraudulent (bait & switch?). Would not recommend. "

"** Beware ** Dissatisfied - I found the DAT Drive listed as "NEW BULK" w/ 60 Day warranty. After comparing to the other drives on the site that showed refurbished and used. I thought I would get a NEW driver in BULK packaging w/ 60 Day Warranty vs. NEW drive in BULK packaging w/ 1 yr warranty from another competitor. (In the past I have had good luck from computer giants.)
The Term "NEW BULK" according to computer giants is an industry standard. Since I have been purchasing items off the internet for 10+ years and in the business of repairing computers and purchase about $100,000+ a year of parts and PCs, it is interesting I have never heard the terms used like that. I have pasted some common terms below to help computer giants define their products. At least place a warning on the item about what new bulk means, would help the less knowledgeable like myself.

Product Version/Packaging:
Retail, Bare, OEM, Bulk (White/Brown Box), Refurbished & Open-Box

Retail
The "Retail" version of a product is what you would expect to see on a store's shelf. It is intended for an end-user, and is usually packaged in a fancy box along with a user's manual and sometimes "extras" such as a software bundle.

Bare Drives
Bare drives have a great price, but do not come with cables, drivers, or other software--unless stated otherwise. In addition, generally bare drives are packaged only in an anti-static bag, not a box, and come with minimal or no user instructions. In many cases, however, a user's manual can be downloaded from the manufacturer's website. (If you require a user's manual we recommend that you double check that before you buy.)
Hard Drive Warranty Information
Most hard drives sold by ZipZoomFly are bare drives. All warranties listed for hard drives take effect from the date the drive is first manufactured. The manufacturing date is located on the physical drive itself.

OEM & Bulk Products
The OEM and bulk versions of a product generally have some variations from the retail version, but often a much better price. Below is a list of the most common variations you may encounter.
o No fancy packaging. OEM/bulk products come in a white/brown box or simply in anti-static wrap or plastic.
o Accessories may differ. Accessories such as cables and screws may not be included.
o User's manual may differ. User's manual may be abridged or not included. If you find you need more installation information, it is usually available at the manufacturer's website.
o Software bundle may differ. Although OEM/bulk products usually include any necessary* drivers, they may not come with the more extensive software bundle that sometimes accompanies a retail product. (*Note that some Plug and Play devices only require the standard Windows drivers, and therefore additional drivers may not be included.)
o Technical support may differ. Many manufacturers will not offer full technical support to end users who have purchased OEM/bulk products. Part of what you pay for when you purchase retail hardware is technical support, should you need it. That cost is not included in the price of OEM/bulk products.
o Warranty period may differ. This is not normally the case, except with CPUs. Usually the retail version of a CPU has a 3 year warranty, while the OEM/bulk version's warranty only lasts between 30 days and 1 year.
Please note that although rare, variations besides these are possible, so it is always recommended that you compare the specifications of the OEM/bulk and retail versions to ensure that you are aware of the differences.
Refurbished Products
A product is considered Refurbished if it has been released by the manufacturer as a reconditioned product or if the retail seal has been broken at some point. Manufacturer's warranty, if applicable, varies per product and will be stated in the warranty section of the product's detail page.

Open-Box
There are certain products which, once opened, even if they have not been used, can no longer be sold as "new." Therefore, we drop the price on these products. Open-Box items may or may not include all accessories. Manufacturer warranty is provided on most Open-Box products -- please see each product's warranty section for details!

No Refunds accepted for Open-Box products. Products that are defective can only be returned for repair/replacement. Arrangement for a return must be made within 30 days from the date the item is shipped. All returns must also follow the return procedures mentioned in the Returns Policy.

The Bottom Line
Purchasing a non-retail product is a great way to save money -- especially if you are so savvy that you don't require all of the manuals, cables, and/or other accessories. Just make sure to keep these differences in mind so there are no surprises when you open up your package!

ps. I should have known better based on the price but have been lucky at computer giants - OOOOOOHHH The luck runs out. Remember the Ratings almost never lie. This will put them below 2."

"Sunday. I place an order for a hard drive on their web site.

Monday. I receive an email that the drive is not available, but they would be happy to offer another. I call and agree to another.

Wednesday. I receive an email that another drive is not available either, but they would be happy to offer another.

I call and they find that this was mistake, in fact the 2nd drive is available, and they will expedite shipping because of the delay.

In fact, they ship 2 more days later.

The drive arrives, and is found dead. Loud clicking sound when powered on.

I call and request to ship the replacement by overnight and pick up the defective drive. They agree and promise to ship it same day.

Next day I call to ask if they have shipped the
drive. No, I'm afraid we did not, please call our RMA department. I call. RMA says nobody requested anything like this. Can we talk together, can you make a conference call? No sir, we can't.

Another call to customer service. No, we sent them email yesterday. We will work with it.
Five minutes later RMA calls and says they are shipping the drive overnight.

Next day I call to find out if they did. Yes, we did, here's the tracking number. I enter it in UPS: "delivered". Woa! They did it! Let's click "details". Yessir, they have delivered it... to their own location on Long Island.
I call and get the explanation. Yes, they shipped it overnight to their other facility because of the tax reasons (?)

At which point I said "enough" and cancelled the order."

"----- Original Message -----
From: Andrew Napolitan
To: ****@****
Cc: ****@****
Sent: Saturday, May 28, 2005 9:46 PM
Subject: Online Purchase




Gentlemen;



I received my new Seagate hard drive, model ST94811A. This drive with serial # 3KW0ECYH, was recertified by Seagate until 30-JUL-2005.

This is FRUAD, totally unacceptable, I can’t imagine how this could have happened, Please email with RMA # for full refund.







Invoice # 241371

Invoice Date & Time 5/22/2005 12:04:53 PM

Order Status Packed & Shipped

Email ****@****

Customer ID xxxxxxxxx

Sales Rep INTERNET

Shipping Type Ground

Terms PayPal

Quanity 1

Item ST94811A



Description NEW FROM SEAGATE ST94811A 40.0GB

5400RPM 9.5MM 2.5 8MB CACHE 12MS ULTRA

ATA/100, NEW W/ 3YR WARRANTY IN STOCK!



Unit Price 78.00

Total 78.00

Subtotal 78.00

Shipping 7.95

Grand Total 85.95



"

"Ordered two port replicators on 4/19. I received two port replicators, but I received Rev A instead of Rev B. Rev A does not support USB 2, so the USB ports do not work with a USB 2 laptop. E-mailed customer service and received a response from Pooran. He said they would replace it, but I needed to call him with the S/N and invoice number. After checking the port replicators, they had the same S/N. I e-mailed him that to make sure I wasn't missing the numbers I was supposed to have. I did not receive a response. The last e-mail I received was May 16th. I e-mailed on 5/16, 6/22, and 7/15. All without a response. I finally have given up with Pooran since he will not answer my e-mails. Bad customer service, even when it is their mess-up.

------
UPDATE: Beginning 9/2 I began receiving e-mails from Pooran asking what part number and how many I wanted to return (that was in the e-mail I sent). I also e-mailed Jennifer Feldman again and her response was that she was trying to help me "resolve this matter." After that e-mail, I did not recieve another email. Exactly 1 month later, I sent another and said I would report them to the BBB if they did not take care of it. I was finally issued an RMA. I told them to pay for the return shipping and they sent me a UPS label that was not addressed for me. I waited for my replacment parts that they were supposed to send me and finally asked before my RMA expired. Pooran said they were out of stock and that is why they issued the RMA. I asked him if they were going to take back the power bricks I ordered to use with the port replicators. He said he would. Pooran issued a new RMA and a new UPS label. I returned the stuff before the second RMA expired. I was refunded $294 back to Paypal, but I lost almost $9 because of the fees. I called Computer Giants to get the additional money. I spoke to Don Stenersen and he called me back. He informed that Paypal only allows payments to be refunded for 3 months. Mr. Stenersen was the only person who made an effort to really satisify me. He ended up sending me money thorugh Paypal so that I could receive my full $294. Thank you Mr. Stenersen. Computer Giants, I will never buy from you again."

"I ordered a tape drive that was advertised as "condition: new bulk" what I received was used. All of the tamper-proof seals were either broken or missing. An email from Pooran (customer service) stated that "this product was purchased a new bulk meaning referb." An item is either new or it isn't. Is that really too difficult to understand? Now they want me to pay to ship it back and be charged a restocking fee. Worst experience ever. Avoid these people like the plague!"

"I have ordered 2x from this company, and both times received the orders promptly. Products were as advertised. I would order from them again."

"They did a very good job of getting the product out to me as quick as possible. Order shipped the same day I placed it online, even though I didn't submit it until mid-afternoon. Customer service was a delight to talk to on the phone."

"I needed to replace an IBM #IC25N020ATCS04 20GB laptop hard drive in one of our CNC machines. I couldn’t find one through my usual vendors, so I went shopping on Froogle. After comparing several sources on resellerratings.com, I chose Computer Giants. Their rating was a little scary, but it was the best of those that carried my drive. Their price was among the lowest, too. They also offered an optional adapter to allow the laptop drive to be used in a desktop PC, which would save me some time in preparing the drive for use in the CNC machine tool, which was the deciding factor.

I had some trouble using their web site to enter my order, so I called the contact number on their product info page and spoke to Jill. Jill took my order in a friendly and efficient fashion. Within an hour I had received an email with a link to an invoice and emails with tracking numbers for the packages. I had picked the cheapest shipping ($4.95 covered both packages), but received my order only four days later, on February 4.

The package for the HDD adapter kit was damaged a bit, but the product was fine. The hard drive was new, sealed in IBM’s anti-static packaging, and was packed well. The adapter could have used some documentation, but I figured out how to use it. I had no problems getting the drive ready to use, and it is working fine in the machine tool today. "

"I bought a 10-pack SONY AIT2 50/130GB 8MM bulk data cartridges (SDX2-50C) (http://www.computergiants.com/items/one_item.asp?part=52451&cat=9&subsubcat=102) for $450. This was the lowest price I could find online for this precise data cartdrige in new condition.

The package arrived two days later and everything was OK: the tapes were perfectly sealed, the 10-tape box was enclosed in a bigger box filled with shock-absorbing material.

I was perfectly happy with Computer Giants."

"Purchased a 1gb flash memory card for $72.00. The purchased item was never received. When contacting the company by phone they told me to file a police report and refuse to refund my purchase. "