"I checked the ratings available for this store and thought that most seemed to revolve around dissatisfaction on a mystery box sale so I didn't put too much stock in those reviews. (both SD & FW)
I placed an order for $76.26 with the free shipping coupon they emailed - 12/5 was the date of the order.
I received a notice a couple days later that my order had shipped. I then had to email them on 12/28 asking where my order was. Turns out that they decided they didn't want to honor the free shipping and wanted me to pay for shipping.
I emailed again and told them I used their free shipping coupon and should not have to pay shipping. 5 emails later - then wouldn't honor their coupon.
They canceled my order on 12/29 for not communicating with them - I guess they don't count the 5 emails back and forth as communication.
Anyway - I was OK with their canceling the order since I found their customer service to be seriously lacking and rude anyway and there are plenty of reputable stores I can order from. Their prices aren't that great but the free shipping coupon made it seem worthwhile to give them a try.
Fast forward to January 2008 and the receipt of my credit card statement - sure enough they charged my card the $76.26 back 12/07 - BEFORE it was even supposedly shipped!
Their response...
"There was no way for us to know that it was charged and never shipped unless it was brought up by the customer."
What the heck is that? So they can charge you, not ship the item and unless YOU contact them you won't get your money back? Makes me not have very much faith in their ordering system at all.
This is just my experience and I know I won't be ordering from them again.
Of course you should judge for yourself but be sure to keep an eye on your cc statements if you do order from them.


"

"I ordered 2 40" diameter log racks and when I received them they were 2 36" racks. I called customer service and the lady was clueless. I told her I ordered the 40" and got the 36" and she asked if I received the packages yet. It turns out she says they don't carry a 40" log rack and they will email me an rma in a couple of days."

"I paid for expedited shipping, still have not received my item or any acknowledgement other than seeing the charge on my credit card. Emails go unanswered, 5 calls to customer support and I still haven't talked to anyone because their system just drops the phone line while you're waiting. I tried leaving a callback number, no one has called back. I am now going to dispute the credit charge and refuse delivery if it ever does show up. "

"Basically they: 1) took 7 days (5 full business days) to ship even though "Availability: Usually leaves our warehouse in 1-2 full bus. days"; 2) never notified me of order status or shipping information. Details: I ordered quite a few high-end smoke detectors on 4/3 @6:01pm. Sometime thereafter (I don't remember when exactly) I got a call from a guy who said that my order hadn't downloaded correctly (I looked on my email receipt and saw my keyboard had missed a '0' in my delivery ZIP though their site didn't check). I gave them the correct one and they said it would be sent right away. A few days later (7 days, 3 hrs after ordering) my purchase was shipped from GA(UPS says: "04/10/2007 9:04 P.M. ORIGIN SCAN"). I only knew about this since I called and was told and had to talk them into getting me any/the correct tracking #. The items eventually arrived as described, but obviously they did NOT have them In Stock. I was counting on getting them right away as smoke detectors are important and HomeAndBeyond.com failed."

"I ordered a pair of Black and Decker cordless scissors from home and beyond and when the arrived, the were not as described online. I immediately phoned the company and was assured that they would contact Black and Decker to have them send me the extra parts that should have been included. I waited for 2 weeks and still had not heard from home and beyond or Black and Decker. I called home and Beyond again, and they told me that they would call B&D again and let me know what they found out. A week later I called again, and still no solution was given. Finally, over a month later, I got a call from a supervisor who told me that B&D had given them the wrong description, that the scissors did not have these extra parts, and could not even accomodate them. I know that this is not true, because I already have a pair of these scissors that did not come with the extra blade, and I know that they can accomodate the extra blade. However, they gave me the option to return them, which I wanted to do when I first received them. They were to have sent me a FedEx return label. This was last Friday. I called today and was told that they e-mailed me a label on Monday. I have not received it. I feel that I have been given the runaround for 6 weeks, and have been lied to. I will NEVER purchase from this company again, and would discourage anyone else from doing so as well."

"Order 2 of the mystery boxes.. turn out I got the exact same items as other people who order one. Why should I be charge the same? otherwise, where is my second box?"

"Not only did the order take a week to ship, it took.. get this: 2 MORE weeks to not even get here.

I canceled the order after Fedex returned it to Home and Beyond"

"I ordered 4 "mystery boxes of stuff" on November 27th. My wife ordered 2 "mystery boxes of stuff" on November 28th.
Boxes arrives and we got the EXACT SAME ITEMS.
Why was I charged for 4 when I got the same items as an order of 2?

I called their 800 number. Was told to email support.
I emailed their support and got no reply.
I called again a few days later. I was told to email support again. I told them I had. They said there was nothing they could do, other than "relay the message to their 'box of stuff' department".
I emailed again. No answer.
I called back again. They said they would once again relay the message.

I am now forced to take this up with my credit card company. I will never shop HomeandBeyond.com or Polsteins again."

"Bought several boxes of stuff in their last promotion. Received the same as people who bought only one. Some of the products imperfect (rejects?), the others useless. Called customer service (sic) and got an annoyed employee who told me to email. Received a form letter that didn't address the problem. Called again, never get anyone.

Can I give them a minus rating? I wouldn't buy water from them if I was dying of thirst. Absolutely the worst company I've dealt with this year. BEWARE!"

"I placed my first order with Home and Beyond over the Internet on Friday, December 15, 2006 just after 11AM. I Googled for a Homedics Shiatsu Massage Cushion, model SBM-200 as a Christmas gift for a family member hoping for a reasonable price and shipping charges. I found Home and Beyond during my search and decided to give them a try. Navigating around Home and Beyond’s web site was easy, direct and user friendly….as it should be. I found the product, ordered it for about $10 cheaper than most other sites with included reasonable shipping charges. My only concern, would I receive it in time for Christmas? The very next day, Saturday at about 3:15 PM I heard a knock at my door to find FedEx had left a package, which was the massage cushion….ordered the day before! I was absolutely flabbergasted. I immediately sent a “thank you” email to Home and Beyond’s customer service department, whereupon within the hour I received a reply.
I’m 59 years of age and fairly computer literate, having been a Christmas-time-only-Internet shopper since 1997, so I know a good company when I see one. I will definitely, without a doubt, shop with Home and Beyond again in the future. Speed, courteous service and price all make for a happy customer.
Sincerely
M.
Long Island, NY
"

"Never in all my life have I encountered a store that would stoop so low as to rob people in broad daylight. I ordered 3 "random box of stuff" from them and I got a bunch of items that sell for $1 from a dollar store--no exaggeration. One item (a battery operated light) that seemed somewhat useful ended up being so cheaply made that not only did it not work but the AA batteries that I inserted got stuck. A word to the wise, avoid this store like the plague. This store has no class and lack respect for people, let alone respect for themselves. "

"I ordered 2 boxes from their promotion for a random box of stuff. They shipped it all in one box. Of the 8 items I got about 1/2 of them were broken and damaged. The store isn't even selling their old items / inventory. It looks like the specifically purchased very cheap items to make money off of this promotion. Total value of my order was maybe $5, seeing as even the coasters they sent out were torn. But the shipping box was in perfect condition. Customer service does NOT email back or even really care that they products were complete crap. "

"Ordered from them ealier this week. E-mail confirmation almost immediately and the product(s) shipped that day.

Received free shipping and item(s) were shipped USPS priority mail and received 2 days later.

Item(s) packed securely and the item(s) I ordered WELL exceeded my expectations.
"

"I actually ordered something from them through amazon.com, but this review applies to homeandbeyond.

I ordered a dehumidifier from them on 11/27/06. I was kind of shocked at the price of $80, which was low for a 40 pint dehumidifier, let alone this model, which I could not find anywhere else for less than $180, even from gray market sellers. I was also kind of leary about ordering from h&b because of the reviews on this site, but 4/5 bad reviews does not a bad store make, escpecially since I have known people whose full time jobs were to post on review sites and in forums positive things about their employers and negative things about their competition. I went through with it because I wholly trusted amazon to make things right if h&b sent me the wrong item or something that was refurbished.

The order was placed in the late morning, and I received a shipping notification in the afternoon of the same day. The order arrived two days (11/29) later via Fedex ground. The shipping was around $20, which was definitely reasonable for something that large and heavy.

I can't comment on h&b's method of packaging, since the unit came in a sturdy box with styrofoam packaging already, but it was brand new and in perfect condition. I hooked it up, and it runs great. Overall, I am very happy with the experience, and just placed another order for a second dehumidifier for another part of the house using the 10% off coupon the e-mailed me with my first order. I don't know if you would have the same experience that I did, but I thought people would want to know that they are not all bad."

"Item ordered May 5, my account charged May 5. I emailed customer service May 27, got no reply. Item arrived June 2. Avoid this seller if you are accustomed to 5-10 day delivery."