"I finally had enough money to purchase one of Merkortech's "Grade-A" Sony G-500 Trinitron monitors. After reviewing other consumer's reviews and reading their site, I was a little skeptical but gave them the benefit of the doubt and proceeded with my order. The order went through all right, of course my credit card was charged almost immediately after I confirmed the order, however I never received a confirmation email. Luckily I wrote down the order number at the receipt screen. The monitor came reasonable fast; it arrived less that a week later. This is where the troubles began. I opened the monitor to find it decently packed it foam with a power cable and generic VGA cable. However upon removal the monitor immediately showed signs of distress. It had huge gouges, un-cleanable marks, and many large (2"-3" diameter) sections where the plastic seemed to have been melted then repatched. Now I understand that Merkor states a Grade-A monitor may have minor scratches and dings, but this was pushing it. I then powered the monitor on to see severe screen blur and screen burns covering about 30% of the screen. Basically what it boiled down to was that I was not given a "grade-a" monitor, I was given a piece of crap they tried to sell as A-Grade.

I immediately called their support line and was told to return the monitor, where it would be checked for damage and then a new one would be sent out. So I had to send the monitor back, at my expense, and repeatedly call them for status.

Today I finally got a hold of someone from tech support saying nothing was wrong with the monitor. So now I can either have them ship the monitor back, or return it with: a 20% restocking fee AND no refund for shipping costs AND the additional shipping cost that was required to ship it back. So because of Merkor and their questionable product descriptions I am out 200 dollars on a 300-dollar monitor. This ordeal has soured me on online purchases from anything but major vendors and shops.

If you were reading these reviews ready to give Merkor a chance, I would advise against it. Unless you go into the deal with low expectations and no hope of getting what you paid for, then by all means proceed. For anyone else with even a shred of doubt about this company, LOOK ELSEWHERE, it will save you a lot of headache in the long run. I just wish I would've listened instead of being focused on getting a "good deal."
Some good deal...
"

"Ordered a 21" Grade A Trinitron monitor. The monitor received had an extremely dim display. I called them, got an RMA number issued, and shipped it back to them (76 pounds at my expense). Over a month later, I still had not received a replacement so I called them. I was told "your monitor tested bad... you'll have a replacement Friday". Friday came and went, and almost a week later it finally arrived. Surprise, surprise, this one is bad too! I'm cutting my losses and giving up on this company."

"GREAT company!Ordered a refurbished 21 inch Grade A monitor. Very easy to order, shipping was FAST! Ordered on a sunday and got the package on wednesday the next week! Got the cables with the monitor, everything was packed great and securely. The monitor was definitely Grade A. Except for a little black mark on the side, i saw no scratches or anything! The prices were excellent, except for high shipping costs. Over this company is great! I recommend them to anyone who wants to buy great monitors for cheap!"

"well, i would never buy from them again and you shouldn't either. here is why.

ordered a monitor. had scratch on it. after countless emailing and calling. i FINALLY got the monitor 2 months after i RMA'd it! and these people don't even know their own rma/warranty policy by the way. they lied to me about a dozen times about shipping new monitor.

finally got new monitor. opened the box. no scratch. but no vga cable!!! and after calling and emailing for that they finally sent it. and i think these guys never sent out my stuff until i kept on calling them. they made up lies about fed ex losing items.

CONSIDER YOURSELF LUCKY and pray you don't have a problem if you order from these bozos. "

"Placed an order for a grade A, Sun 21" X7136A monitor of Thursday 3:00 pm, arrived Saturday 2:00 pm, delivery in 47 hours! Even from Ohio to Maryland I thought it would be another few day. Packaging was good the monitor looks great, no screen scratches or dead pixels. The case is clean and in excellent condition. Couldn't be happier, the same monitor goes for $1000 new and over $600 reconditioned at many other places. I am very happy with my purchase and highly recomend them. I have many hours on the monitor already and it has been solid, now as long and it stays that way i'll be very happy."

"I ordered a 21" IBM flatscreen monitor from this company and it was on my doorstep in 6 days. There are no detectable scratches or scuffs, all of the cables were bagged with caps over the connectors, and the packaging was great. I used to set up brand new office computers and this monitor's condition and packaging is comparable. Great price. So far so good!"

"I ordered a 21" IBM Flat screen monitor on sale for $175 on their web site. At the time of the purchase the quantity shown on the web site was 31. Two weeks later I called to see what the hold up was on the order. The order status was still IN PROCESS. I was told that it would ship that day and that I would receive an e-mail by 6:00pm regarding a tracking number. As you may have guessed, it never shipped. I tried calling their support number (10am-6pm EST) but kept getting an answering machine. I called sales and finally talked to someone name Alex who informed me that the order had been canceled. He told me that the monitors were in worse condition than advertised and were not going to be shipped. He had no excuse for why the web site order status was not updated or how I was supposed to guess that the order had been canceled. I would avoid this site if you ever want to see a product."

"I cant believe the service I got from these people. I Ordered a 21" Mokia 445Pro monitor grade A. It came very fast for such a huge monitor. (about 1.5 weeks) And I was satisfied with it until I found they did not include the BNC cable that was promised on the website. (it has dual inputs and came with the VGA cable, and power cord) So after about 2 weeks of nice emails I finally got my BNC cable. The problem came when I hooked up the BNC cable to my server. I switched the monitor into BNC mode, and NOTHING. The BNC section of the monitor was blown. Now I was a little suspicious, and was wondering if they knew the BNC was blown and didn't include the BNC cable on purpose, but I gave them the benifit of the dought, and since it was under warranty I called them. They said that I just didn't know what I was doing, and since the monitor worked in VGA mode that they would NOT exchange or refund my monitor. I emailed them later and told them that since the BNC section didn't work, therefor the monitor didn't work. They emailed me back and told me that they wouldn't do anything, and that I just probely didn't know what I was talking about. I emailed them about once a week for over a month requesting some kind of resolve, but all my emails after the first one went unanswered. They definatly have the potential to be a good company. But they just refuse to correct their mistakes. I will never buy from them again, and I would advise EVERYONE to NOT buy from these people. "

"Product was shipped the day after I ordered it. Arrived promptly. Was securely packaged. The ad said it was in "nearly new condition, with no scratches on screen", product was in almost new condition with no scratches, all cables were included. Highly reccommend."

"Iordered a P260 that was kinda fuzzy. When I called back to request a return, I received help immediately and they shipped me another P260. The customer service rep told me he would personally check this monitor he was sending out to make sure it was good. Sure enough, it just got here and looks great!

Great service, great price."

"Initial Posting:
03/31/2003 - 1545EDT

On 03/04/2003 I ordered a black IBM P260 monitor from Merkortech's website. I immediately received an automated invoice, but no shipping information. I waited over a week before calling the company hotline, where I spoke to "Alex" who told me there had been some problems with the P260s and they were waiting for a new shipment. Fair enough, but I wish they had e-mailed me or called me and let me know that.

Finally, on Saturday, March 15th, the monitor arrived - without ANY cables. No VGA, no DVI, no Power. Nothing. I called the company hotline immediately and left them a message. On Sunday I got a call back and was told the cables would ship on Monday and they would send me a tracking number at that time. And so I waited. And waited. And waited. All e-mails went unanswered.
(on a side note: finally, I went to CompUSA and bought an SVGA cable for $20 out of my own pocket. It doesn't work well (lots of fuzz and smearing), but at least I can use the monitor.)

On Monday the 24th, a week after I was supposed to hear from them, I called the Hotline again again. This time I was transferred (after a LONG wait on dead air) to an "Albert" who told me that because of my confusing e-mail address the cables had been shipped to the wrong address. The explanation wasn't terribly coherent, but he did say he would ship the cables that afternoon and e-mail me a tracking number. Another week passes. Again, all e-mails go unanswered.

Monday the 31st, I call the hotline again. This time I speak to "Alex" again, who was defensive, argumentative and abusive, insisting that he would not help me because that was "Albert's" job. I asked to be transferred to "Albert" and was told that I had to call back to a long-distance number, at my expense. I asked to speak to a supervisor, and was told there was none. I asked to speak to Albert's supervisor and was told he had none. When I insisted on being shipped the cables, "Alex" hung up on me.

Despite their sterling reputation and the high praise I heard about this company from many soruces, my experience with Merkortech has been one of my worst online experiences ever. I would never do business with them again, and I will go out of my way to inform others to avoid them as well.

Update:
03/31/2003 - 1641EDT

I just spoke with "Albert," who gave me a tracking number and informed me that my cables shipped on the 28th. While not satisfactory, considering I bought the monitor on the 4th, I was still somewhat placated - until his next comment.

It seems that if I do not retract this statement made here at Reseller Ratings, he will cancel my warranty. Now, having bought an "A condition" monitor, I paid for a One Year Warranty. Now "Albert" has chosen to use it as leverage to silence me about my experience.
Sadly, if he had been apologetic and asked me kindly, I might have reconsidered my posting. But I find his heavyhanded blackmail tactics reprehensible and atrocious for anyone claiming to call themselves a businessman.
So my comments remain, and I lose the warranty I paid for.

Once again, I warn anyone who will listen to steer clear of this company.

Update:
03/31/2003 - 1531EDT

My cables arrived, poorly packed and in bad condition, but they arrived nonetheless. I installed the CRT cable and power cord and found the visual quality to be far superior to the $20 cable I had from CompUSA. The DVI cable doesn't appear to work, despite running a number of different tests on it. Still, with the CRT cable working, I suppose I should be grateful for that much.

Update:
04/07/2003 - 1220EST

After pestering Merkortech's offices for a week to put my warranty status in writing, I finally heard back from them. They have warrantied my monitor through mid-March of next year.
I will alter my rating of their company to reflect this new information, but I'm still not wholly satisfied, considering what I went through.
I, personally, would not buy from this company again, nor would I recommend it to any of my friends.
Still, as in all things, your mileage may vary.

Caveat Emptor."

"They are very responsible. Highly recommend this company for used computers.

"

"I purchased a Grade "B" Sony G500 21" Monitor on Feb 27th. Recieved it in a flash, on the second day. Packing was great, but the problem was, when I turned it on, it had a huge screen burn coming from the right bottom corner and going towards the top left corner, covering about 50% of the screen area. I was upset because I really didn't expect such a huge technical damage. It was more like a "C" grade screen.

So, I contacted Merkor by phone. The first time I didn't really get much help from the first rep. But, after I spoke with Albert Arustamyan, I immidiately received great assistance and got the problems resolved. He seems like a great person and employee, who's very helpful and understanding. I had a new monitor shipped to me in a few days,which was almost flawless, and I shipped the original one back. They also took care of the shipping for me.

Overall, I had a great expirience with MerkorTech.com, with only a slight problem that was resolved very quickly. Awesome product, unbeatable prices and terrific customer support! Highly recommend. A+ "

"On a second thought, perhaps my previous
comment on MerkorTech is too harsh.

I intended to buy a used 1920x1400 (or similar
resolutions) 21" monitor with around $300
budget. Now as I am misled to buy a 1600x1200
monitor and cannot return it, you can imagine
how upset I am when I see such a big chunk
of 21" tube.

At least the Sun GDM-5010PT monitor works fine
so far. Any Merkor buyer should google
the corresponding official specifications
and ignore the ones post on their site.
"

"Heard 'word on the street' about Merkor at various chatrooms and bulletin boards ( http://www.arstechnica.com ) - decided to give it a shot and got an excellent value on an NEC 1250 22 inch monitor.

I bought an A rated monitor, and it was exactly as it was supposed to be - showed up in absolutely perfect working condition with only minor physical blemishes (in this case easily removed by a strong solvent and some mild elbow grease). It showed up _VERY_ securely packed - wrapped in a thick black bag and physically restrained with form-fitting foam. I expect that upwards of 5 pounds of the shipping weight was packing material - this thing was packed for keeps.

I would recommend them highly."