"I usually never write reviews for online merchants but I received such horrible customer service from Monarch Computer Systems that it would have been a crime not to. I placed an order on June 27th for a 512MB stick of OCZ PC4200 DDR2 laptop memory that was listed as in stock. I chose the three-day express saver shipping option so I could get my order sooner. My credit card was then charged on June 29th. When I still did not receive any shipping notification on July 7th I checked the status myself & saw that the order was still in the "processing" phase. Frustrated, I sent them an e-mail to cancel the order completely and refund my card that they had already charged. Unfortunately, instead of giving me a refund, Monarch decided to finally send out my memory instead. I refused the delivery that arrived on July 11th (one day after the product's rebate postmark due date passed and two weeks from my original order date) & again requested a refund. They responded by telling me I could either get a store credit less 15% restocking fee or have them resend the product to me as long as I paid for the shipping cost once again. Needless to say both of those options were unacceptable to me. I am now in the process of getting a refund through my credit card company. Save yourself a huge headache & order from more reputable companies instead. Sure, it may cost you a dollar or two more, but the customer service you receive if a problem with your order arises will more than make up for it.

EDIT: Shawn of Monarch contacted me on July 19th after reading my review and said he would have a credit issued to my card within 72 hours. It is now August 1st & I have yet to see that credit appear on my card."

"One of the worst experiences with an online store I have ever had. I ordered an aftermarket cooler on a Sunday and it is now Friday and it has not shipped. The item was listed as In stock, and it has been sitting in their warehouse for FIVE days instead of in a truck at least making its way to me. I paid extra for the FedEx Saver shipping over Ground because their website said the orders go out even faster with Saver, so that was complete B.S. It is going to end up taking a Week and a Half to get a small part from Georgia to the NYC area which is quite pathetic for something that normally should take three days! All you have to do is put it in a box and slap a label on there, and you are good to go, but for some reason MonarchComputer needs FIVE days for this! Complete crap, and I would never use this company again! "

"WARNING DO NOT BUY FROM THIS COMPANY

I ordered on 7-3-06 a mobo/cpu combo that their site says would ship in 2-4 days. They charged my credit card on 7-4-06 but have not received an email or merchandise so far (7-13-06).

I called and emailed them but no answer whatsoever. Their order status link doesn't show what is going on with my order.

I want my money back!


"

"I wish Monarch would carry laptops, I have had a long buying trend with Monarch and if I am to be honest. They have made some errors like you have read in the past 4 months or so. I am happy as other have said to see them on their way back up. My last 2 orders were a success and now if only they carried Laptops. I need to buy 10 for my boss. "

"Monarch has the second worst business practices of any online merchant I have ever dealt with. On June 7, 2006 I ordered an AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ AM2 processor from Monarch. I subsequently canceled the order on the 11th when I found out they would not fill the order until at least June 30 (as it turns out they did not have the item in stock until July 9) and Monarch confirmed the cancelation on June 12. However, despite numerous calls, all of which ended up dropping after I was put on hold for 30 minutes or more, I have not received a refund of my payment. In the first place, they should not have charged my card prior to filling the order, especially since the item was not in stock. But since they did, they should have refunded my money within a reasonable time of their confirmimg the cancelation. Their own policy states 10 to 15 days. That passed 2 to 3 weeks ago. Unfortunately, VISA requires 30 days but I have now referred the matter to them for resolution.

I will never do business with Monarch again. They may have a good selection and sometimes their prices are competitive but their business practices would embarrass the folks at Enron. I suggest not doing business with this company under any circumstances. "

"Just got my order in from Monarch and I am happy to say that the things I have heard about them improving are true. I gave them a chance and I am glad I did. I wish the best to Monarch and hope they keep getting better and better again."

"The men and woman of Monarch are so helpful. I needed some help picking out something for my grandson and a fine young man named Randal helped me find something that he said he would love and my grandson would too. "

"ordered some memory for a notebook
in the past monarch was good and profecional
this time the "online" verfier for my credit card refused to accept my address had to call 800 number many times and first 2 people said they couldent fix problem
third person said they would look into it
money has been out of my account for 3 days!!
i am verry upset paid extra for faster delivery what a waist if they keep the order screwed up!!!"

"MOnarch Computers is a pretty cool place. They clled me when my shipping address didn't match my billing address. This kinda securoty make me feel all warm and fuzzy. No joking i thought it was really neat of them to take the extra time to help me in case my card was stolen."

"I have nothing but good to say about Monarch all of my buying for computer parts will be from Monarch computers now. I am glad to see Monarch back to the way they were (or better?????)"

"My rig took awhile to get ready (just over 3 weeks) but you know what if I wanted a coockie cutter run of the mill pc I would have gone to worstbuy. No the wait was more than worth it, my pc kicks serious a**. Thanks Monarch"

"Pleasurable experience found what i wanted at a good price and everything arrived safe and well packaged. "

"After a recent motherboard failure, I decided to go with Monarch Computer Systems in finding a replacement. I mainly chose this company because we are both located in the same state of Georgia, with less than 100 miles between us. I placed an order for an Asus P4P800SE motherboard on Wednesday, June 28, 2006, expecting the order to arrive either on that Friday, the 30th, or the following Monday. Neither happened. I have been checking the order status via Monarch's website, and I am greeted by the same vague message each time: "Your order has been submitted to the warehouse for processing. Shipping from this point typically takes 2-3 business days after the order has been approved. Our shipping system will automatically email you your tracking number when your order has been shipped." I emailed the company today regarding my order status and received no response after a couple of hours, so I dedcided to give them a call. I was told that the order had been shipped and that I would receive the tracking information tonight, at around 7 or 8PM. We'll see if this holds true, but based on reading several pages of other users' reviews, I am not holding my breath on this. I find it unusual that after placing my order eight days ago I have still not heard anything from this company. We are in the same state, so I would expect shipping to be a nonissue, but clearly this is not the case. In the past I have ordered PC components from companies located both in the western US and in the midwest and have received them within two days of placing the order. Granted, maybe there was a delay due to the 4th of July holiday, but I think the order should have arrived sooner. Eight days and counting, we are located 100 miles give or take from each other. We will see how long the order takes to arrive.

***Update: FedEx information did in fact arrive at the time mentioned above. After calling the company, I received my motherboard the next day, set it up, and it works flawlessly. I would have been very satisfied with this company had they shipped this quickly when I originally ordered and not 8 days afterwards."

"I ordered $2000 custom built system for gaming/3D graphics and animation. Selection was done among 10-15 stores and included very detailed pro-contra analysis (prices, build quality, shipping, return policies and so on). Monarch was the best. Month later I’ve got my system and completely happy. It does take a time to receive the order, but part selection, build quality and packing were superb. Customer service was normal. I'd definitely recommend this company to anybody who is not in a rush to get the product. And they even upgraded my video card 7800 GTX to 7900 GTX – that’s the real treat.
Thank, you guys
"

"Everything is fine at Monarch until you have a problem. I ordered a brand new motherboard which did not work correctly on arrival and they will not replace it. They expect you to pay 15.00 extra at time of purchase for extra customer service which should be provided with every purchase. Cheap prices with a catch. Pay a little more somewhere else and have the piece of mind."