"After reading many of the postings, I guess its hard to believe this company offers good products and services. I have been placing orders with this company for over two years now, and have yet to have any problems. I’ve ordered everything from solar cells to solar garden lights and every product meets the specifications and descriptions posted on the website. When I first purchased items from Silicon Solar, I was using them for my own personal use; however, currently I am using them in many of my own products. Currently I am using many of their solar lighting products, much more powerful them many other models sold. I would recommend purchasing their Solar Accent series light, they seem a but pricy, but you get what you pay for sometimes, and the light output and quality of these lights has not been matched by any lights I’ve purchased. In addition to the solar lighting, I also use their AquaJet solar pump kit. Basically this kit simply is set outside, (or you can even place the solar pump inside) and it will power water with most fountain fixtures.

Being a business owner I can understand how a few customers may slip through the cracks, and it always seems like those customer find away to make the best out by posting some fairly hash comments regarding their experience. I would defiantly advise purchasing from this company, they are one of the few companies that know their products well, manufacture them and always are willing to work with a customer that is willing to work with them. Cheers!
"

"My experience with this company echoes that of many others at resellerratings.com. I'll never order from them again and would strongly warn others against doing so. Their customer service is absolutely horrible and you can't believe the information about stock or shipping dates.

My order confirmation indicated it would ship in "5-7 days." A week or so later, I received another email stating the order would ship in "5-7 days."

A month after placing the order, I sent several emails asking about the status. Those emails were ignored. Finally, more than 5 weeks after placing the order, I tried to call. On at least 10 attempts over several hours, the phone simply rang and rang...no answer...or I would get a busy signal. When I finally reached someone, she told me the item was backordered and would not ship for at least another two weeks.

I immediately ordered a similar item from a more reputable company, www.smarthome.com, and emailed Silicon Solar to cancel the order and demand an immediate refund. About 4 hours later, I received an email from Silicon Solar stating that my order had just shipped. Hmmm...strange...I wonder what's in the package. I immediately called to complain (took several tries again) and to let them know I would be refusing the package.

My cancellation email was sent at 10:40 a.m. MST (12:40 p.m. EST). Billing information was received by UPS at 4:39 p.m. EST and the package was picked up by UPS almost two hours later. Clearly, they did not even attempt to ship anything to me until after I cancelled the order. I can only imagine what might be in the package. I'll never know. Don't believe a thing you hear from this company.

After reading the response from Silicon Solar:
It's doubletalk. Yes, I was contacted 3 times via email about the "status" of my order...the initial order confirmation, the email about a week later, and the email received after they shipped the item (only after being notified of the cancellation). SiliCON Solar apparently wants everyone to think that they contacted me 3 times to let me know the item was backordered. The simple fact is, they ignored NUMEROUS emails sent a month after the order was placed, and were almost impossible to contact via phone.

And a note to the responder: Contact you? I have better things to do with my time than write emails which will be ignored and make countless phone calls to a business that doesn't even answer the phone.

Updated 2/4/05--Silicon Solar received the refused UPS shipment back on 1/14/05, but has refused to refund my money unless I remove this negative review from ResellerRatings.com. I will not do that. Consumers have every right to be warned about such businesses and their questionable practices. That's what this site is all about. I have contacted Silicon Solar directly on numerous occasions, but the owner merely repeats his threats to withhold the refund unless I censor my review. Funny, I thought we were allowed free speech in this country. In this case, free speech apparently costs $84.77. I have now filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau and the New York State Consumer Protection Board. I have also disputed the charge with Visa."

"I will NOT purchase anything ever again from Silicon Solar and recommend that anyone who desires to purchase solar cells to go elsewhere.

I paided via PayPal on 11/21/2004 for their 25 watt solar panel kit ($90) and their informational packet ($3) plus $10 shipping via their web interface. Product was to be shipped 5-7 business days.

After 7 business days I used their customer support page to inquire about the status of my order. After two days no return email. Again I used their customer service page to inquire about my order. I never got a response to that request either. This sent chills down my spine. Was I out my cash?

I finally decided to do some background checks on this company. I searched the Better Business Bureau's web site (www.bbb.org) and I was in for a shock: "Silicon Solar has an unsatisfactory report with the Bureau due to the pattern of complaints and because the file contains unanswered complaints." Then I ran across this web site. I swallowed hard.

I then tired calling their customer support number and the phone just ran and ran with no answer. After two days I finally spoke with Adam. He said that they were making some kind of changes to their PayPal setup and that my order was not released. Funny, Paypal said they they were paid two weeks prior. Adam mentioned that my order would be processed the next day.

Well, two days went by and no confirmation or tracking number. I called again and spoke with some lady and she said that I would receive it the next day. Never happened.

Another few days went by and I called again speaking with Matt. This was an experience. Matt mentioned that because they were moving to a new location that the order was delayed. I mentioned that this was not my problem and that I was promised my order a week earlier. I then mentioned that if I did not receive the item in three days that I would contact the New York Consumer Protection Division and file a complaint and any other agency covering consumer protection. He basically said that that won't do anything. Great customer service.

Well, about 30 minutes later I got a tracking number for my purchase. It arrived two days later and was I disappointed (let alone the time it took - almost a month)

The solar cells they sent had major problems. The cells they included were 3x3 inch cells poorly cut from 6x6 cells. The cells themselves looked like seconds. These were not newly manufactured 3x3's. This company claims to manufacture their own. The kit did not include solder or the instructions to build an inexpensive housing.

The informational packet they included was a 4 page document that looks like it was quickly pulled together from other sources and photo copied. Don't bother with it. Go to Google and search for this information.

There was no sense in my wasting any more time with Silicon Solar. I would not recommend this company for anything (forget how professional their web site looks).

Save your money and buy your solar cells elsewhere. I finally purchased 40 new 4x4 inch solar cells off eBay for the same price.

If you never heard of a company, do some searching on the web. Use Google and search for "Company Name Complaints" or the BBB web site.

I learned a lot from this experience."

"Very dissatisfied, I would reccomend everybody NOT TO DO BUISNESS WITH SILICONSOLAR.COM.. but read on..

Here's my story, a lesson can be learned. I made a somewhat small purchase (~40USD) to silicon solar. I recieved their sales confirmation email (automatically generated) immediately after my purchase and, at the time, had no worries. Within this email it is written that all packages ship within "5-7 working days of the purchase". No problem. So far, so good.

After 7 working days, i check my "order status" with their automatic, online tracker. It still says that my order is "Being Processed." Fine, it's getting close to christmas, i would imagine they are busy. I send off a polite email asking when my order will be shipped.

The original purchase was made on November 19th. On December 9th, my order is still "Being Processed" and i have not recieved any reply to my polite email. At this point in time, i'm beginning to get alittle irritated. So, I do alittle more research into the company and come up with many complaints similar to mine. This is bad.

Being that i payed with PayPal, i notified their fraud department with a compiled list of of evidence. This complaint was filed four days (2 working days) prior to my writing of this evaluation. Today, i recieved a full refund of my purchase. PayPal managed to contact SiliconSolar.com (with somesort of reposession of funds notice, i assume) and this is the aswer SiliconSolar wanted forwarded back to me:

"Note from Seller:
Your packaged has been shipped, however since the goods were sent via parcel post we are unable to provide tracking information. We would appreciate a payment when you receive the goods."

When i get the goods, and if they arn't poorly packaged or broken. SiliconSolar will be getting their money. Otherwise, i'll let them know that their package is "Being Processed" and will take "5 - 7 buisness days" to ship. We'll see how they like the treatment.

To sum things up, if (for whatever reason) you decide to buy from SiliconSolar.com i suggest you use PayPal to broker the deal. If something goes wrong, PayPal will fight for your money back. I am extremely appreciative and impressed with PayPal's service and have no problem reccomending them. But, be wary of SiliconSolar.com. They've got something up their sleeves.

if you need to contact me:
paulhannah604 @ hotmail . com

---------------------------------------------
EDIT AFTER SiSOLAR RESPONSE:

This is a brand new story i've never heard!

SiSolar: "International orders take 2-3 days to process"
-Great. I waited 15 business days. Still, no reply/shipping information. Poor service.

SiSolar: "customer contacted Paypal to stop payment on their order, preventing their order from leaving our facility"
-The stop payment was issued FIFTEEN business days after the purchase. By that time, by your "2-3 days to process" rule, it should have already been shipped. Poor service.

Silicon Solar needs to get it's story straight. Now, what is it? Has my package been shipped via post? Or did it never leave your facility? I'm getting mixed messages from you guys. Please, try and stay consistant.
---------------------------------------------"

"I wish I had found this site earlier and saved myself a lot of grief. When I read the review dated 12/7/04 I nearly laughed out loud. It exactly described what had happened to me. On three occassions I called to ask about the status of my order, and all three times the rep told me it would ship "today or tomorrow" and I would have it within a couple of days. I was somewhat suspicious from the outset because I was paying normal freight (UPS ground) and they were somehow going to get it from New York to CA in two days. Some special "ground-air" arrangement. Yeah, right. I finally canceled my order, and I'm now heading to Baja California with no electricity to charge my laptop, digital camera, etc. They are either incompetent, liars or both. DO NOT ORDER FROM THIS COMPANY."

"Aviod this company!!! I placed an order on a Tuesday and paid for 3-day shipping. When I called on Friday, the customer service person said it would be here Friday or Monday. When I called on Tuesday of the following week after not having yet received it, the same customer service person mentioned it would be here Tuesday or Wednesday. I asked her for the UPS tracking number, since this was for a birthday gift for Wednesday, and I wanted to make sure it was going to get here today. She put me on hold, and then came back and said that they would overnight it to me, and that it would be here Wednesday. When I asked for a tracking number, she said she would not have it until 3 p.m. She lied to me by saying that it would be here Tuesday or Wednesday or tomorrow (like she did the previous week when she said Friday or Monday).

The item had never shipped, or else she would not have offered to overnight it. I told her to cancel the order, since I had no confidence they would send it. When I asked to speak to a manager, she said none was available. What a surprise. I told her I wanted an e-mail confirmation that the order had been cancelled. I doubt it will be coming, and have notified the credit card company of this.

I called about 20 times before anyone picked up the line. I wish I had seen this website before ordering. I'm not sure what kind of bait and switch they are trying to pull here. Stay away!!!

Update: 12/10/04
Received a call from Silicon Solar today, after they read my review here. He seemed apologetic for what happened. I did tell him I was disappointed that it took me posting on this website to get a call back, after I e-mailed, called, and faxed my concerns/problems with the order. Messages don't seem to be getting to them (or maybe their ignoring it). I still cancelled the order and will keep on eye on the this site to see if they will be getting positive feedback before even thinking about ordering again. They seemed to be more worried about feedback on this site than anything else.

Update: Response to Silicon Solar

I cancelled the order by phone and by e-mail. After not receiving any confirmation that the order had been cancelled after requesting they do so, I faxed the cancellation, since I would have confirmation they received the fax. When Silicon Solar called in response to my review on this site, they were still unaware of my fax. I resent the fax and the e-mail, and finally received an e-mail confirming the cancellation of the order. The order, however, still shows as in process on their website. "

"I placed an order for a "Solar Fountain Plus Kit" that "can be used not only for a fountain, but for constructing small to medium size waterfalls" on September 9, 2004. What I received about 2 weeks later was missing parts, poorly constructed, and did not work. I called and explained the problem. I was given a RMA number and told to return everything at my expense. I was told that I would be reimbursed for the return shipping costs if the items were found to be non-functioning. I return everything as directed and have received nothing. Repeated emails to the company have gone answered. I made multiple phone calls but only made voice contact once – two moths after my original order. On that occasion, I was told my order was being shipped that day. Another month has passed and still nothing. DO NOT CONDUCT BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY! The only thing they did promptly was charge my credit card. Their customer support is totally unacceptable. In my opinion, they are crooks and their actions criminal. Do yourself a favor and take your business elsewhere."

"I wish I would have found this earlier. I ordered on 11/1/04 got my confirmation email, with in a minute I realised I had made a mistake so I sent them back a an email for the correction, I also filled out the online form, Next two days I tried calling them, same as everyone else reported, you get an automated message that all the customer service reps are busy, yeah right, how can they be busy when they never pickup the phone.

on the third day got through to a lady, she was very rude and said ok change made, I asked her when this would ship she said in a week.

I realised then that I had made a mistake of ordering from them, I have been calling back since then every 10 minutes during the day to cancel the order but no one pickups.

I have sent several emails to cancel my order, and filled out the form several times.

I have never received any kind of response from this company.

Luckily my credit card was not charge, I have called my credit card company to keep an eye on them.

The worst customer service ever, The company seems to be a fraud.

11/16/04 - to this day no response from the company, not even to say that the order is cancelled. I am glad I have not been charged and really don't want to deal with this company"

"I ordered a solar spotlight set from Silicon Solar on 9/3/04. The company sent the wrong item. The customer service number is automated and one cannot leave a message. 2 e-mail attempts to contact the company for return of the wrong item and correction of the order have gone unanswered. I will not do business with this company again."

"I purchased a small solar pump and received a piece of junk. Customer service did not return my emails for 2 weeks. When they did they were unhelpful. The phone number on the site and invoice goes to a recording with no voicemail. So much for 24/7 service.

I should have known something was up when I placed my order and immediately received an email telling me to use the correct form to return my item. This was before I got the confirmation email that I bought the item!

I am using my credit card's fraud protection option to get my money back."

"Just purchased an item from this company, solar fountain kit, works great! Thanks, i found it at www.siliconsolar.com/solar_fountains.htm"

"5-Aug-04
Billed on credit card.
10-Aug-04
Sent email asking when item would be shipped.
11-Aug-04
Silicon solar responds that item is shipped.
13-Aug-04
Item arrives damaged. Packaging had no padding for the glass
panel. Sent email that item was damaged and images:
http://myphotos.ilanyo.com/galleries/clarsen/g=solarpanel.html
16-Aug-04
Silicon solar responds to contact UPS to deal with damage. They say
when UPS has inspected, they will either send out a replacement or
issue a refund. Sent email letting them know that UPS will be
inspecting damage.

17-Aug-04
UPS inspects item and determines that item was improperly packaged
by shipper. They will give report to insurance company.

23-Aug-04
No response to inquiry of 8/16/2004. Sent e-mail once again to ask
for refund/replacement.
24-Aug-04
Response to email of 8/16/2004 indicating "talk to UPS regarding
damaged items". No response to inquiry of 8/23/2004. Sent email
again asking for refund/replacement.

Tried to call 607-563-SUN1 and message says that offices are closed
until "8/20 for renovation" and to use online forms for support.

Left voice message indicating that I expect item refund or replacement."

"WOW! I wish I had seen this website BEFORE I ordered from these idiots! I rue the day I ran across their website. I ordered their solar flag light in early June 2004. Waited two weeks, and when order was not received, I checked on my order via their website. It noted that my order was still being "processed!" I called customer service (took me about a dozen tries to get a person on the line), and of course they could not explain the delay, but "they would look into it and let me know what the problem was." Of course I never heard back from anyone, but lo and behold when I checked the status the next day, the item had been "shipped."

When the item was received it was JUNK. DAMAGED junk. I paid $89.95 for a "solar flag light" that was basically their $15.95 solar garden light with 4 bulbs added at the top. A difference of $74.00 for 4 little bulbs? They must be SOME little bulbs! It also looked NOTHING like the drawing they had posted on their website, which makes the solar flag light look like a spotlight - NOT a garden light. That has to be some kind of "false advertising" in my opinion. Not only was I disappointed with the item, but the item arrived damaged. Very poor packing of the item and they packed a loose battery inside the clear plastic dome of the light. Naturally, with the loose battery banging around freely inside the dome while shipping, the item arrived with the dome cracked.

Similar to the experience of others posting here, their Customer Service is terrible! The first few times I tried calling, no one picked up, it rolled over to voicemail, voicemail was full, so I couldn't leave a message. When I finally did get somone on the line they were extremely RUDE!

I got my "mandatory RMA number" and returned the item for a replacement. When I returned the item, I also enclosed a note specifically asking them to either pack the battery better or remove it from the plastic dome before shipping. Of course they ignored my note. When the second item arrived I opened the box and for a second I thought they had shipped me back the exact same item because - you guessed it - the plastic dome was cracked ! Not only that, the metal area and wires where the 4 tiny bulbs attach was thoroughly RUSTED! And there was dirt on the stake - so it was OBVIOUSLY an item someone else had used, didn't like and had returned.

I'm now in the process of getting ANOTHER RMA number so I can return this item. I've requested a refund this time, and I've asked that the "restocking fee" be waived, since this is twice now I've received damaged goods - and especially since the second time around I specifically asked them to take extra care and they ignored my note.

I have low hopes on this - I'll probably never see any part of the $100.00+ I've spent with these jokers. I'll update this post to let everyone know what finally happens.

I do plan on complaining to every agency I can, and I also plan on finding out the name of the Company Owner and their address via Hoover's online and writing them a letter. Although I'm sure it will do very little good. I'm also thinking about calling all those "satisfied customers" they have listed on their website to see if they really are "satisfied customers" and see if they are aware that they are being used as a reference for these clowns.

My only hope is that someone who might be contemplating purchasing anything from this company reads these posts and has second thoughts."

"Company shipped the wrong product and not only that,two different wrong products. Also shipped late with no reason for the delay. Am having to pay shipping charges to return their mistake. No apology and they did not offer to send the correct product at no additional chage. I will see how the return process goes and amend this as appropriate."

"I would avoid this vendor. After I placed an order, I was informed that "returns are subject to a 30% restocking fee" and that "we do not replace cells broken in shipping." Meaning: They send you the stuff, and if it's broken because of their own packing and shipping, you lose 30%. I asked the vendor to cancel my order within 2 hours of placing it, and they refused. Avoid like the plague.
"