"I also had a similar experience as the user that posted below me did.

I ordered a Maxtor 40GB ATA133 HD from them on 08/8/02, I got a confirmation email of my order and another email telling me the HD would ship on or before August 13.. well, August 13 rolls around and it still doesn't ship, so I get another email that says the order is "experiencing an unexpected delay" and won't ship until before or on August 27!

I called Dell and asked to cancel my order. The lady I talked with said they found a vendor they can ship with and it would ship within 24-48 hours, so I waited 48 hours and still nothing. I called them again and asked to cancel, they said they would cancel it, and still nothing (still "Pending"). I finally emailed them through their website, and got a reply back saying they would cancel, but it would take 2 business days for it to successfully go through. I am now waiting to see if it will finally sucessfully cancel.

I wish they would have an option to cancel the order online like a lot of resellers.

I am not impressed with my first attempt with them.


-----------EDIT----------
Right after I wrote my comment, my hard drive arrived from Dell, shipped 08/14/02 via FedEx Express Saver. However, the order status on their website AND via the phone, it still says Pending. I am satisfied with the product, I am just still frusterated that neither of their order status systems (via phone and web) were up-to-date and caused a lot of confusion."

"Dell.com

Ordered a 80 gig WD SE drive w/free next day shipping. Got a confirm order email right away. Waited 5 more days, then got email saying order will be delayed for 14 additional days!!! So it takes them 3 weeks to get a new shipment of Hard drives in? Not impressed with first attempt with Dell. And their "overnight shipping" is definently not overnight. It took the B@st@rds 5 days to look in the warehouse and see they were out of HDD's.

However, with the online coupons floating around, good deals can still be found here. Just don't pay extra for any faster shipping services. "

"I purchased a canon powershot s40 digital camera from dell.com because of its reputable name. I placed my order knowing that it would take 1 - 2 weeks to ship. After waiting 13 days (8-24-02) I received a notice saying that I would take another 1 - 2 weeks to ship. I was disappointed because I would have to wait another week or two. The very next day (8-25-02) I checked my order status online and to my surprise the order was shipped and on its way. I recevied my digital camera within 2 days and am very satisfied. Well worth the wait. I would do business again with dell.

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Placed a second order for a Canon S820mg Photo Printer. I was aware that it would take 1-2 weeks to ship, after 2 weeks rolled around I received a call from a Dell Rep telling me that it was still on back order and I had the option to cancel the order or continue to wait. I opted to wait some more, sure enough it paid off because 3 days later it was shipped out. Dell is a great value but if you need it right away buy else where.

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Placed a third order for a Dell Axim X5 400Mhz PDA. The day after my order was placed it shipped out and I received it a 3 - 4 days later. Well when I opened everything up I noticed that they had not shipped the USB Cradle. I hopped on the computer to speak to a customer service rep. and they shipped out the cradle asap. I had to wait an extra week before I could really do anything with my Axim because without the Cradle or a data cable not much to do with it. They could have at least sent it 2nd day Air or Priority Mail because of their mistake. I'm still very satisfied with dell because of their deals and great products, I'll wait a few extra days to save some $$$"

"they need to work on the search capabilities of their site... you are supposed to be able to search for a product via manufacturer part number or dell part number, however, the search engine must be broken because I cannot find any products via the search engine. e.g. try finding the USB Mobile Port Replicator for the Dell Inspiron 2600 laptop... it's simply not there! seems like they only offer it as an addition to a purchase of a inspiron laptop. wtf?!

update: was able to order the thing.... but it took 15 minutes since it was through the phone..."

"I BOUGHT 2 DVD ROMS WITH FREE OVER NIGHT SHIPPING ORDERED THEM ON MONDAY DIDNT GET THEM UNTIL FRIDAY. THERE 1-3 BUSSINESS DAYS WERE ACUALLY 4 BUSINESS DAYS UNTIL IT SHIPPED OUT. OVERALL SERVICE WAS GOOD ITEMS ARRIVED IN MINT CONDITION."

"I wanted to buy a 40GB Toshiba 7200RPM notebook drive and a 52X/24X/52X Lite-On CD-RW from DellSB, since they had a 25% off deal. When I first placed my order, they gave me an estimated shipping date of August 4, which seemed like a pretty long time to wait just to ship, but I stuck with it and figured I could wait two weeks for a product.

Then as it got closer to the fourth, my hard drive order was delayed, but it didn't say a new shipping date. Then I believe about the third, my CD-RW was delayed. When I first placed the order, they were labeled as being in stock, and now both were somehow out of stock and delayed. On the 4th, I received and e-mail from Dell saying that both orders had now been delayed to a shipping date of August 18th! Waiting two weeks was long enough already, a month for something so simple seemed absolutely ridiculous.

I've bought from Dell before (Dell Home) back when their rating was in the high 6's. Obviously something happened to them seeing as their six month is so low. As it stands I would not recommend them anymore unless you can wait a month for a product. Personally, I don't feel like waiting another two weeks, since I know I can get my products elsewhere delivered in under a week. I've decided to cancel my order from them."

"Ordered a Western Digital 120gb Special Edition hard drive. Unbelievable price do to rebate, free overnight shipping, awesome acknowledgement for the order.

No gripes at all, highly reccommended, A++."

"Good price (at the time) for my Lite-On 40x12x48 CDRW. Prompt delivery, very good shipping cost ($3.50+NO TAX :) ). However...2 weeks after Dell's 30-day warranty had expired, Dell refused to accept the drive (which is understandable, yet somewhat disappointing). They offered to send me to the tech dept. So there I waited on the phone for the tech support, as 10min passed, after nothing, I redialed and waited again for the tech support...10min...20...30...1 hour. Occasionally, dell advertising messages would try and soothe your ears with subliminal messages of ordering from their site. After 1hr and 15 min of waiting on the phone, I was fed up and hung up. I have not received ANY help from the so-called Dell techs and am quite disappointed with their LACK of service. Unless there's a HUGE sale going on at Dell's...you'll find me looking elsewhere. Perhaps it could've been that at THAT very time they could've been VERY busy with phone calls (a weekday), but it has been my experience that their tech support has been unreachable. It also would've been nice if they could've helped me out with my problem...unfortunately not. Because I despise being "on hold" at all, let alone, an hour+...I'm sad to say that they've lost my business and respect. If your items work fine, they're good to go, but if you need tech support, take a number, drink a pill and catch some Zs...
Fortunately, I have contacted Lite-On, and am currently in the RMA process."

"Ordered a computer through them during their free camera/PDA/printer promotion. Never appeared during checkout, though it constantly stated it was valid with the system I was purchasing.

Talked on the phone with 5 people over the course of an hour and was essentially told that I was a liar and unless I came up with hard proof - impossible because they overwrote the link with a new deal - I was out of luck. Very unhappy with this and my brand loyalty, for which I've been a Dell owner for over 6 years, is now ruined. I will return this since it is too late to cancel the order and will never purchase a Dell again."

"Well, this has been a weird order. I placed the order and the webpage said 1-3 days until shipment, my confirmation email said it wouldn't be shipped until the 29th. I wasn't upset because I didn't have my computer that this order was for yet. So i decided to wait it out. The next thing I know, I had a package on the 16th. They gave me free overnight delivery and i recieved the package almost 2 weeks before it was ever supposed to ship. I am fairly happy with the situation. My reccomendation is that you call them when you place the order and check stock because if I knew ahead of time that there would be a 3 week wait, I probably never would have placed the order. I would do business with them again, but next time I will call to verify stock.

The laptop I order the RAM for arrived. As far as ordering Systems, DELL is probably the way to go even though they won't let you have it without windows. They provided a quality system in less than the time they estimated, good packing for the system as usual and a quality product."

"Dell is not bad, but amazon is SO MUCH BETTER when it comes to custumer service. I tried to cancel and order and had to wait on hold for like 1 hour. When the call went through I asked the CSR why they don't implement a cancel item option on the web. She answered that they wanted to make sure to keep my business. WTF?? So they basically make cancelling orders a hassle so people won't cancel? Also, another time my ordered was canceled and they NEVER sent me an email telling me that. I had to call them 2 times to find that our. Dell is not a bad company, but I would rather buy somewhere else if possible"

"This is my second order from Dell accessories with no problems. With 10 to 15% off coupons and free 2nd day shipping (check out xpbargains.com) their prices are hard to beat. "

"I'm totally unhappy with this company. I found a good Lite-on DVD deals. So I ordered 7 days ago. When I filled out orderforms on the internet, it said ,'You'll recieve confirmation# with estimated shipping date within 24-48 hours.' Oh well, I have not received any, so I e-mailed. I agree there customuer cervices are very good answering my question at least in 24hours. ( I can wait for 24 hours!) What they told me was that Lite-on-DVD player is out of stock and it'll be shipped before 20th of July which is 20 days after I ordered. After I mailed 3 times, they finally linked my log-on name to custumer number to track order. Also, it says ,'if there's unexpected delay, you'll be notified with a new estimated shipping date' Of course, I have not received any. On the other hand, I ordered a video card from newegg.com even 3 days after ordering at dell, it arrived today while dell is still lazy. This is going to be the first and the last order from dell."

"I have Ordered many things from DELL, maybe becuase of their coupons. FREE SHIPPING, 20% off anything. Because of this, most of the hardware they sell, it is cheaper than anywhere else. You just have to know when the coupons are.
Anyway.... Shipping most of the time was Free and fast. I ordered from dell over 7 times the past year. And all were excelent except when i ordered the LOGITECH Gaming bundle. Even though it took them 2 weeks to ship it out... they gave me free OVERNIGHT shippin. I dont know how this company stays in business with all these promotions.
I also ordered a PC from them in Janurary. It came in 3 days. Which was unbeilevable. ALL in ALL they are a SOLID company."

"I ordered what I knew to be a Western Digital WD1200JB 120 gig 7200 HD with the 8 meg cache (aka the "Special Edition"). It took five days to ship and a couple more to arrive and I never got a tracking number or a notice that it shipped, but I wasn't in a hurry, as it's going in a computer that I don't have all the parts too yet. With shipping, it was only $153, which is half the price of the same drive, retail boxed-and Dell doesn't charge sales tax in CA, a rarity. Haven't installed it yet, but it was well packed, so I'm sure it's fine. Only negative is that it only comes with a 90 day Dell warranty as opposed to the standard Western Digital 3 year one.
"