"Penguins Express claimed to have a hard-to-find part (server hard drive) in stock for immediate delivery. I called to verify this before ordering, as I needed to be assured it would ship overnight for an important project. Then I ordered online. When I called them again to follow up, they repeated it was in stock and would try to ship it the same day (but it might be the next day.) No biggie. The next day, seeing that the order status was still "pending" I called and was put on hold while they checked the order. 10 minutes later they said they needed to "verify the credit card" although it had gone through fine when I ordered online. I didn't like the fact they had not informed me of a problem with the card (if indeed there was one) on the day of the order. Because this was a time-sensitive order I had to cancel. Bottom line: could communicate better."

"I purchased the a HP COLOR LASERJET CM2320NF on Saturday. Their site gave an option for a refurb or new. I selected new. I got shipment confirmation that Monday. I thought everything was great, until the box arrived. The box had obviously been opened before it arrived. The factory seals had been removed and blank packaging labels had been used to cover a prior return/shipping label. It was missing a factory hand hold. I emailed their customer service (since their phone people will not handle returns).

I emailed customer service that this was an open box and wanted a full refund. The response back was:

Jeremy's first email was "I was advised that it is indeed a new open box. The item is brand new and not used, the box was replaced due to bad condition of the original box and won't pass on shipping requirements. If you would still like to return the item, please provide us the Serial Number and there may be a restocking fee. "

A restocking fee for them selling me an open box! I opened the box on video camera and took high resolution pictures. Surprise, surprise. The serial number on the device was the same as the serial number on the box. This was the original box! I told them that this was not new, it was a "new" open box.

Jeremie's response was "regarding the open box, New Open Box products have never been used;".

I emailed back:

1. You are saying this box was replaced due to mishandling. The box is the original box verified by matching serial numbers.
2. You said new open box is never used. Then what exactly was this box. The factory seals were not in place. I have an identical printer with real hp seals. These are not.

Watch out for these guys. What you are getting may not be what you ordered. I did not get a new printer, like I ordered."

"Very disappointed in this company. Ordered a PN50B860 Plasma TV before christmas and 2 to 3 day delivery because it was 'in stock'. Called 2 days later and was informed that they were out of these TV's and it would be shipped after Christmas. The order was in a state of authorized on there web site. Called a week after Christmas and was told they no longer sell this item, I was sent an email telling me so and that the order would be cancelled. I never recieved any emails confirming cancellation or that they no longer sell this product. They have my correct email because I have the confirmation of order. Two days later the order was still in a state of authorized. I called back and was told over the phone that the order was just cancelled.

It is now January 7th and the order is still in an authorized state. Penguins Express still advertizes the product as in stock and the price has been lowered 31 dollars. I have no confirmation that the order is cancelled. You can't trust this company. I would never recommend this company and they really need to get there process fixed.

Jan. 18 - almost a month later. My account is still in a state of authorized. Penguins Express still advertizes the PN50B860 for sale. No real evidence to show that my order is cancelled. Nice people on the phone but they don't seem to get anything done."

"Outrageous! Total Rip-off!
Not only they sent me a USED laptop instead of NEW,
they also wouldn't refund my money in 3 weeks!
Never again!
Save time and money somewhere else!
"

"Horrible experience. I would strongly advise against this company. Its now been over a week and my in stock item hasn't shipped. Stick to NewEgg or Tiger Direct. "

"Horrible experience with this seller, Penguins Express...I placed an order on December 7th for a Sony stereo system for my husband for Christmas. When I placed the order, the item was listed as "in stock". After nine (9) days of no update regarding my order, I called the company. They stated that the item had NOT shipped and that they were now "out of stock" and on "back order" and would not be available in time for THIS Christmas. Although they said, "they were sorry," they had failed to let me know anything and had left me hanging for nine (9) days. Now it is too late to order from anywhere else without paying a very hefty shipping charge...SO, I am heading back out into the shopping rush to see if I can buy one locally...VERY DISAPPOINTED...VERY POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE...WILL NEVER SHOP WITH THEM AGAIN...I HOPE YOU DON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE I DID!"

"Do Not order from Penguins Express...they're not organized and not honest about their stock. They shouldnt be in business. I placed an order for a Sony stereo on a Wednesday which was supposely in stock, I paid $18 for an overnight shipment. Two days later and no shipment, so I checked on the order status and it said it was authorized. When I called I was told it was out of stock and they had no idea when it was coming in. They told me to call Monday to check if they had it in stock, so I did and it was in stock , so I placed another order for the same item. Next day, I get an email saying the shipping was $185, but when I placed the order it was $18. So I called and cancelled the order. I ordered it from J&R today and the item was already shipped. These people need to be out of business."

"This is the WORST experience I have ever had ordering a product online. I ordered a new $2800 HP office printer from them. A week after they received my order, they called to tell me that they suspected my printer may have been used, so they opened it up, ran test pages on it, and determined that it was brand new. They did not replace HPs packing devices in the printer--designed to transport it safely--and sent the toner cartridges completely unsealed. The toner leaked out of the cartridges, ruining $1000 worth of cartridges. I called and spoke with someone named Aaron (who refused to provide his last name and claimed to be an owner). First he said that he would send an e-mail to customer service, but could not tell me when anyone would get back to me. When I asked him to request in his e-mail that someone call me back by phone, he refused. Then he told me that he was no longer willing to write the e-mail; that I would have to e-mail customer service myself. He told me that customer service does not talk to customers by phone--only e-mail.

BEWARE of Penguins Express. They are shameless. Caveat emptor."

"Worst online dealer I have ever met. I ordered an ASUS notebook G51J A1 on Nov.15. The website showed it was still in stock. After I pay for it, Penguins Express authorized my order. Three hours later, they emailed me that they were out of stock. Although they refund the money quickly, I still feel they are very irresponsible. I will never purchase anything from Penguins Express. "

"I ordered several pieces of equipment from Penguin Express because they were one of the few resellers with the items in stock. After two and half days the items still hadn't shipped and the order status was still listed as "Authorized" on their website. I called to determine what the hold-up was. I was informed that they had sent me an email the day before indicating that the item was out of stock. The only email I had received was the one confirming that the order was charged. I stated as much to the service rep on the phone, but this was met with a rambling response in a barely understandable accent. I told them to cancel my order. I requested email confirmation of the cancellation but was told they can only provide a confirmation number over the phone. I am still waiting to see if the order is charged back to my credit card. Not the worst consumer experience I've ever had, but certainly not very positive. I'd recommend looking elsewhere."

"Very disorganized. Received email and phone call that item would be shipped overnight. I waited 2 days since it was being delivered cross country. Called and the stated that they sent an email that credit card was declined. Funny that I received the 3 other emails they sent me, but not this one. Told them to rerun it, cc company had called me to confirm that it was legit. Went through. Said it would be shipped that day. I also had an extra $93 charge on my cc that I had to ask them 3 times to remove, finally had cc take care of it when I found out I someone was trying to use it to purchase train tickets (funny that it was the same time as the order and from the same state as their company) so I cancelled CC... anyways... 2 days later still NO order!!! I call again, get, out of stock, no wait in stock... will be there first thing in morning... well morning came, then afternoon then evening... called back next morning... same run around finally, Aaron, who was wonderful, got it taken care of, called me back with tracking number and I had it next day. I will NEVER EVER order from them again and I DO NOT RECOMMEND them to ANYONE!!!"

"Long story short:

- inaccurate and very unreliable, untrustable stock availability information.
- kind, fast phone service though.

1. Bad thing:

Ordered Samsung TL320 digital camera for $319 with shipping. Showed the item in stock. Called customer services in order to double check the stock availability. The rep said there were 36 of them in the warehouse and might be shipped by the next day. Asked 'you sure it's in stock' at least 3 times (yes, 3 times) and he said 'yes' everytime (yes, everytime). Shortly after the conversation, however, received email saying that it is out of stock and the order will be cancelled unless I want to wait for the backorder. What the heck! On one side they assured aviailability and on the other side they said there is nothing. What the heck. Totally untrustable!! Should have provided more reliable, most up to date info on the website.



2. Good thing:

Fast and kind phone call. Could talk to a rep without ANY waiting. Could be that I was exteremly lucky but at least that's what happened to me. Rep is kind and tried to help but ended up giving me incorrect info. Kind but apparently was not informative at all. Want to note another good thing for the 'out of stock' notification as well, which was prompted.


3. Overall:

I would give 2.5 star for

Bad:
- Inaccurate, unreliable availability information

Good:
- Fast, polite customer service with no waiting time although it was not helpful.
- Fast notification/update about out-of-stock and smooth cancel process.

"

"Friendly and polite people, but very disorganized. Three weeks after placing the order on-line status showed it had shipped but no tracking number was available. By phone they explaned that there was miscommunication with an outside fulfillment partner. The new item was no longer available. Would I take a refurb and a partial refund. I said yes. A week later still no product. When I call they often don't have information, have incorrect information or ask me to call back the next day. About five weeks later, I now have a tracking number but the product has not shipped yet. They are polite, helpful and I suspect I will eventually get this product, but the wasted time, excessive delays and negative impact on my customer will have me hesitant to do additional business with them. I hope they get business better organized."

"Worst experience ever from an online vendor. Was told item would ship overnight, it didn't. Was told they would cancel the order, it still shipped. Tried email and calling multiple times for an RMA, still no response. Shipped item back and it was refused, thus return back to me. Called them to get resolution, was told they can't help me. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH DIRTY PENGUINS!"

"I ordered 3 Samsung 400CX 40" LCD monitors for use in video conferencing between out offices. After the order was placed, I was told one would ship the next day and 2 more would ship 2 days after that. I allowed the 7 day waiting period and didn't receive anything. I called to check the status of my order, and after being hung up on and put on hold twice, (I also wrote 3 emails to their customer service, with no replies) someone finally informed me that NONE had shipped, and were on backorder for another 2 weeks! No one bothered to call or send an email, nothing. But of course my card was charged. My company will do no further business with this vendor."