"Order placed for a Kata MC-60 Camera Case on 3/29/05. Even though the website showed it as an in-stock item, I didn't receive the shipment in a timely manner. When I didn't receive a shipment notice by email, I called them. The guy was very polite, and said I should have the item in about a week. On 4/15/05 I got an email saying that the item had shipped and I should receive it in about 1.5 weeks. Odd considering it was an "in-stock" item that it took a month to get it. When I did get it, it appeared to be something of a "factory second", and was missing some of the accessories. Instead of dealing with the retailer, I complained directly to the manufacturer, Kata, and they shipped me a new version of the bag from their headquarters in Israel. High marks for Kata, not for Video Direct."

"Video Direct's Inventory said “In Stock” so I ordered a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT on 3/18/05. As of today (4/14/05) I was still waiting.

They’re always courteous on the phone.

I called every week to check my status, when I called the third week, “Bob” said someone had cancelled my order that very day, which was untrue.

Two weeks later they say I’m “getting the first one which comes in, and the XT's are still on backorder from Canon”.

I cancelled the order today."

"Misled me about product inventory. Said it (Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT) was in stock. Then ordered from site and confirmation email said i should call the phone number listed if i "really" need it urgently. so i did. busy. for hours. finally got someone and they said it was indeed in stock and should arrive in 7-10 days. sounds great...
1 week later, nothing. no tracking number in email, no update, nothing. so i call number again. now they tell me they don't have it right there but they have it in a "satellite warehouse" and will have it in a couple days at which point they'll ship it--7-10 days. I wait a couple days, then call back. This time they say they flat-out don't have it in stock. At this point i cancelled the order.
The next week they called back a couple times harassing me about having cancelled."

"After reading previous reviews regarding stock status not being real time. I called to check on the stock status of a digital audio recorder and the rep asked me what state I am in then told me the item was in stock. They do not give tracking numbers but I received it UPS 8 days after ordering."

"I placed my order for a GL2 camcorder case plus a case of DV blank tapes online from videodirect.com on 11-5-04. Videodirect offered competitive prices, so I decided to give them a try. I called Video Direct approximately a week later to check on the status of my order. The customer rep was friendly and asked if he could call me at home when he could get more information. He indeed called and my order was shipped by UPS ground on 11-10-04. I received my order today (11-18-04). I'm happy with their service and I'll definitely consider them for future purchases."

"Due to previous ratings I decided to place my order by phone. Spoke with Bob Lassiter. Ordered a Panosonic DMW LTZ10, the price here was $100 less than anyone else. Because I had the product shipped to an address different than the billing on my card the address was confirmed by Bob with reverse directories and a phone call to the delivery address. I like this as a means of protecting against a stollen credit card being used. From day of order recieved 3 phone calls confirming order, delivery address and finally when the item was shipped and its targeted delivery date. From day of order to delivery was a total of 8 days. I'm very satisfied and wouldn't hesitate to order again. Suzan"

"Web site ordering is pretty unsophisticated. It's fairly clear that their inventory system is not connected to the web site because everything is labeled as "In Stock", regardless if it is true or not. This is a little deceptive but, to be fair, there is a statement (somewhat hidden) that says to call for up to date inventory status.

After I placed my order, the only confirmation I received was an order number on the web form I filled out, no email or anything. After a week, I called about my order status only to find out it was out of stock and would ship shortly. Ultimately, it took about a month before I finally received my order.

I'd rate the web buying experience as poor when it comes to order processing, confirmation and tracking. There are so many sites that do this well that this was more than a little disappointing. Other than that, I'm reasonably happy with how things were handled. They called to let me know when the order had finally shipped and didn't charge my credit card until it was out the door. I also somewhat surprised by the packaging that arrived as it was clearly packed with great care.

I'd say that the buying experience itself is not great because of speed and lack of customer interaction but, in the end, they did everything right."

"I placed a "pre-order" with Video Direct back in February for the Canon 1D Mark II and was told then (and subsequently a month later) that I was "Number One" on the list !

I was just informed today that I am no longer "Number One" on the list that "...some university order took priority over mine, BUT, I should be receiving mine very soon..."

Beware. This "company" deserves the 3.3 rating it currently has on this site. I reviewed their rating back in February and placed my pre-order anyway. Furtunately, I am also on Canoga's pre-order list.

regards,

Ron
"

"Receiving little to no response to my order unless I solicit the request for order status. At time of order placement I was led to believe per your web page that I would not be billed until item was in stock and available for shipment, I was billed on nov.26th through discovery card before stock was available. another problem I will look into is that the fact that your web site indicated this item to be in stock after that date, I have to assume that your stock has been sold to current customers across the counter instead of filling already paid orders from customers like myself being overlooked for sake of pleasing real time customer needs. please advise status and correction to resolve issues above.

David Sorrells"

"I ordered a tv cart on Sunday. I called two days later to check the status and was told it had shipped and that I'd probably get it three days later.In fact it was delivered 3 days later. The price was far better than any other Internet or retail store."

"I ordered a DVD player from them and got the confirmation E-mail right away. Everything looked fine. About a week later I decided to give them a call and guess what- they never shipped it. It appeared they never had it in stock although their web site had it as "in stock". BTW even on the confirmation E-mail there wasn't anything implying a back order. It never crossed their mind to give me a call or shoot me an E-mail and let me know. The CSR told me that they were expecting a new shipment from Panasonic in 6-10 business days!!??? I cancelled my order, hopefully they won't charge my credit card.
Don't order from these guys unless you're willing to wait a month or so.
"

"I placed an order for a Panasonic electric razor on 8/22/03 (Friday). I e-mailed them asking for a tracking number after I got an e-mail confirming my order. I got no response from them. I waited a few days, and still no response was given. So I called them on 8/27/03 (Wednesday) and asked for the status of my order. They told me that my order had not shipped, but it was shipping out that day (weird coincidence, huh?). So I waited a few more days for my razor. I still had not received my shipment, so I call back again, and the salesman tells me that they could not validate the address that I requested the package be shipped to (a major university with it's own zip code), so they shipped it to my credit card's billing address instead. Which, by the way, is at my parent's house in another state. The salesman went on to tell me that they tried to call me and validate the shipping address, and that a member of my family told him that it would be okay to have it shipped to my parent's house. First of all, I gave my cell phone number as my primary contact number, and it was never called. Secondly, my family didn't have a clue what was going on, so they basically just shrugged their shoulders and told the salesman "I guess he wants it shipped here". If they had called ME first, they could have solved that problem. They also had my e-mail address, but didn't try to contact me that way. So I had my family take the package to UPS and ship the razor to me.

Needless to say, I am not happy with this company. To top it all off, every time that I had called, I talked to the manager (Robert). In all of our conversations, he acted like he didn't care. I called after all of this was said and done and told him that I was not happy with his company or the poor service I received, and his attitude was the same -- he didn't care and he let me know it. After I would tell him I wasn't happy, he would say "Okay..." and then there would just be silence on the phone. There was no attempt on his part to even TRY to give some sort of compensation (like the shipping my family had to pay to get the razor to me), or even a simple "I'm sorry." NOT ONCE did he apologize.

I will NEVER buy from this company ever again, and I suggest the same for everyone else."

"I ordered several items many weeks ago, but still have not received it. There appears to be simliar complaints to many of the posts seen here. Also, item(s) ordered did not correspond to price(s) listed on the website. The prices were changed without notifying me. If I don't receive the items anytime soon, I plan on cancelling the order. The staff at videodirect.com are friendly and helpful. I want to believe that their customer service is good. However, that doesn't mean that I will get my order any faster. Unless things change anytime soon, I would not order any items from them in the future. I hope they get their act together. Until then, I will not change my comments on this website."

"Good prices, pleasant, reasonable shipping prices, but very slow to ship.

I've ordered from VideoDirect twice in the past 3 years. Both times I received brand new, US warranty Sony products for excellent prices and low shipping. The staff was friendly and helpful.

That's the good news -- the bad news is that the first order took about a month (more or less what they told me originally), and my most recent order of a newly released camcorder took over 2 months (I was initially told 2 or 3 weeks).
The staff is helpful when you call, but was not able to give good estimates of shipping dates.
I actually referred someone else to order the same camcorder there. He ordered a month after me and received his order a week before me! So it is not always first in, first out.

Nonetheless, I would order there again -- so long as I didn't need the item for several months."

"I ordered a sony CDPCX455 on June 19th 2002 and was told the item was not in stock but expected in 2 weeks.
After 5 weeks the item finally shipped and was as advertised in every way.
The people I talked to seemed plesant, but not very professional.
The only wish I have was for better communication of the order status.
I never got an update and had to call to receive info.
I would use this vendor again as I feel they were honest and the price was right."