"Sharper Image is the second worst company I've ever dealt with, not too far behind 1&1 Internet.

My story has the same motifs as all of the other negative reviews posted here. They will screw you over and then blatantly lie and make up reasons to justify themselves. I will explain how.

Often, when someone buys a gift card from Sharper Image, it comes with a hidden caveat that the gift card cannot be used for certain items (such as Bose). This means that if you purchase a gift card for someone else, you must embarrass yourself and say that the gift card has conditions.

I received a gift card for the Sharper Image, and as most of their stuff is crap, I decided to apply the gift card towards Bose headphones. I entered the gift card code during checkout, the system happily accepted my money, and everything went through.

A few days after making my order, I receive an email stating that my gift card was not eligible for the order (even though it already went through), that my order was cancelled, and the details have been removed from the system.

After emailing customer service, they respond and tell me that when I purchased the gift card from Groupon, that I did not read the fine print and I cannot apply the gift card towards Bose products. I did not buy the gift card from Groupon...

After responding to their email, they ignore everything I say, and tell me that the item has been discontinued. I check their website and the item is still up for sale.

From my experience, when someone gives two totally different excuses for something, at least one (usually both) excuses are lies.

I did some reading online, and people had the same experience, with the lies tailored to their specific situation. People that paid with Paypal were told that Paypal rejected the charge (even though the charge was made). People that paid with a specific card were told that their card was rejected (even though it was approved during checkout and the charge appeared on their card).

Back to my terrible experience. I email them back again, and tell them that the Bose headphones are a new item released by Bose, and that they are in no way discontinued. If they are simply back-ordered, that I will gladly wait.

Sharper Image emails me back, ignores my response again, and insists that I purchased the gift certificate on Groupon. Again, I did not purchase anything on Groupon...

Every time they get caught with a lie, they ignore you and come up with a new lie. It's likely that their margins on certain brand-name products are lower than the crap exclusive to Sharper Image, so they restrict their gift cards to the high-margin items only. If you don't like their crap, you can let your gift card sit around while they keep the money that the original purchaser paid for the card.

I will be filling a complaint with the BBB and I will certainly never be a customer with Sharper Image again.

Buyer beware."

"I ordered a xmas present for my wife , She did not like it, So I called sharper Image to return it, They told me I had to return it to California at my own expense, It cost $68.50 to return an item that cost me $168.00. They received it on January 12th ,2015 as of today February 17th, 2015 I still have not received my refund. I've called twice a first they told me 14 working days, Now it Another 14 working days. BUYER BEWARE, DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY."

"The worst online transaction i have ever experienced. They have had my refund item since jan 6. They did not process refund until the Feb 5th. Now 5 days later they send me email that credit on card will be done 7-10 business days. Absolutely pathetic service. On hold on phone forever. Made three calls now and then attempted email took well over24 hours for response. "

"Listen to everyone and do NOT shop at Sharper Image. I purchased the wedge pillow for my mom who had surgery and needs to sleep upright. The pillow leaks and they will not refund me even a portion of the money or a gift card. Not only that, they do not answer emails and it takes 40 minutes to get through to customer service. This guarantees that your warranty will be up. The woman at customer service called me a liar, would not let me speak and was very rude. "

"This company is the most dishonest and dysfunctional online dealer!

I was arrogant enough to think that I could use a $32. gift certificate, which I received when I ordered a Christmas present. (The photo cube was described as "$32. off, but that was not true.) I tried to order 2 items online and to enter the gift certificate #, but the site would not let me do this, instead offering me "$26. off" which meant another unredeemable gift certificate. I then called to place the order by phone, but the order taker had the same problem. On Monday, I called, armed with the right #s to push to speak to a customer service representative. After waiting a very long time, I spoke to Shannon, who was able to apply the certificate. Hooray!

I received an order verification email and a tracking #. However, this morning I received an email saying the order had been canceled because they couldn't use the credit card. Upon checking online, I saw that 2 Sharper Image charges were pending. I called Customer Service again, waited a long time, and spoke to Jaye. Jaye informed me that one of the items wasn't in stock, so S I had cancelled that order, but sent the other item. Jaye couldn't cancel the order which was in stock and couldn't give me any proof that the out of stock order charge would be credited back to me.

The absolute irony is that the personal GPS tracker I ordered for
$69.99 is today available at Amazon for $29.48. I didn't notice if it qualified for Prime, but I could have had free shipping if this were the case. I'm afraid to check to see if the original gift was also available at Amazon for a lower price!

I called again and spoke to Karen after a wait. Karen assured me that the other item would be dropped from my credit card
within 24 to 72 hours. I'll check to see and will hope that I don't have to call - and wait and wait and wait - again.

In the meantime, I caution prospective buyers to check and double-check before placing an order and to be prepared for mistakes and long waits to speak to a representative.

"

"Like everyone else, I got no customer service from Sharper Image. I waited on hold for 30 minutes to be told to call anther number, where I waited on hold for another 30 minutes. When they told me to call another number I said I had already been sent to this number and then I heard a dial tone on the other end. She just hung up on me! Amazing. I had no idea Sharper Image was such a terrible company. I should have come here before buying anything from Sharper Image. I will never make that mistake again."

"I was given a Christmas gift of a neck massager that did not work for me. I called Sharper Image requesting information on returning the gift. After waiting 30 minutes on hold I finally reached customer service. I explained the problem I had with the product, was asked if I had opened the box and used the product. When I said "yes, how else would I know that the product did not work for me" I was told that it was a "personal care item" and that they would not accept it as a return if the box had been opened or if it had been used ! Sharper Image charges a lot for their products and if a product is not what the customer is looking for they certainly should accept it as a return. It is the very last time I, or anyone in my family will even consider a product from this company."

"I ordered a chair massage cushion December 7 that was to arrive before Christmas. On Dec 17 I wrote to customer service because I had received no shipping information. I received an email that the product would not be available until after Christmas due to manufacturing issues and that they would keep my order on file until they heard from me. I wrote back immediately and asked that the order be cancelled. No response. I wrote a total of 3 times for cancellation verification. No response. I tried to call customer service. Sat on hold over 30 minutes and hung up with no human contact. Wrote again and got an email that due to manufacturing issues the product was not available and that I would not be charged or the charge would be refunded. That was Dec 22. On Dec 23, I got an email that the product was in transit and my credit card was charged. I have yet to get someone from customer service on the phone and no replies to my emails. The product is here and now I have to ship back and wait for a refund. This company is a sham and has no customer service. No way to cancel or track your orders on their website. Do not buy from this company!!!"

"HORRENDOUS CUSTOMER SERVICE. :(

I ordered a mirror from SI as a Christmas gift- immediately after placing the order, I realized it was being shipped to an old address. I emailed customer service, and received an automated response...no response the next day. i contacted them again. no response. I finally spoke to someone who told me it had already shipped, and that they would have to re-ship it and then I could rturn it...this is almost a month ago and I still don't have the item. Because I used paypal, I lodged a complaint, but because the aold address is in the system, they say there is nothing they can do. So I have no item, and they have my money. The WORST customer service known to man. AVOID."

"I ordered an electric football game 2 weeks ago for my grandsons Christmas gift and still have no tracking order information.... Please note item still available on line although weeks ago it showed sold out and the rep at sharper image advise the back log as well ..
I have called company twice and both times my wait was longer than 45 min. I was told by consultant they were at the mercy of the vendor. I receive no status the entire time I had to contact them... I left name and number twice for management and no one has called. trying to reach them again this am, today is dec 23..... My grandson is going to be so disappointed. If I was told in the beginning they didn't have it I would have looked else where."

"I ordered a product from Sharper Image as a gift. I ordered online with the help of a service rep there. I had it shipped to San Antonio. The mistakenly shipped it to my billing address and then tried to tell me it was my fault. I filled in the address in San Antonio which you cannot even do unless you uncheck that the billing address is different from the shipping address. The customer service rep was so rude and condescending that I asked to talk to a manager. She told me that if I knew how to read I would have known that I made the mistake. She asked how they could help. I told them that I just wanted to get the package where is was supposed to go and she told me to put a label on it and mail it in a very condescending manner. She was of no help and more or less called me stupid. I am disabled and cannot go out to a post office which is why I ordered from them and had it shipped. I had to wait 50 minutes on hold before I could even talk to anyone. NEVER NEVER ORDER ANYTHING FROM SHARPER IMAGE. I guess I now understand why almost all of their retail stores have gone out of business. This is the WORST company I have ever dealt with. Buy anywhere but here!!"

"Wish I had read these reviews before I ordered. My order was processed but only part of my order was sent. 2 weeks later I am asking for a refund on the order, but getting the run around. They claim they have little control over the manufacturers shipping processes! What? How is that my problem! I have a strong feeling I may never see my refund - or the rest of my order ( which I no longer want anyway). Customer Service on the phone and by email is horrible. "

"I love Sharper Image, it disappoints me that more people have not rated this company higher. I've always been very happy with their service and will continue to shop there."

"Please please do not support this bait-and-switch company. They WILL cancel your order if you have a gift card on a big ticket item (like Bose). If they feel like they're don't want to sell you the item because you have a gift card, they will just cancel your order and say that it's not in stock. Especially when there's a deal going on with Groupon or Living Social on gift cards. Learn from my mistake, DO NOT support this company. They are deceitful. Listen to the other reviewers!"

"Order Bose dock. Got and email next day that item is backordered and will ship when available. Call after a month and was told that ordered was cancelled. I used a gift card which they never refunded. Called customer care and they hung up on me. Tried live chat and agent stopped responding. Piece of crap."