"Well... What can I say... I tried to order a customized system, and I felt like Directron did not want to sell to me.

Directron has a VERY strict fraud prevention system. So strict, that my original order, placed on Aug. 4th, required TWO confirmation phone calls AFTER faxing them copies of my driver's license and credit card (both sides). Then, after about 10 days of waiting, my order was canceled for fraud because the date on the fax machine I used wasn't set to the correct date. I never received an email or a phone call.

I called Directron back, and was told that if I wanted the system still, I had to start a completely new order. Then of course, some of the items I had ordered went out of stock, and I had to choose other options (different MB, memory, case etc.)

I don't really blame Directron for being super careful, especially on a $3k order, but I can't understand why they wouldn't attempt to verify the validity of the order with either the buyer, or the credit card company before canceling it. (Is a $3k order not worth the effort?)

After several long discussions with American Express, they promised me they were not responsible for denying the charge. At least 4 ppl at AmEx told me my shipping address was an authorized address on my card, and I didn't even need to use a "billing address" as both would work. I'm not entirely sure AmEx is blameless, despite what they say.

I placed my second order with Directron on Aug 17th (using just my shipping address this time), and ran into the same fraud problems. Thank goodness I told the sales rep to put a note on my order that if they had any questions, just call me, and then call AmEx, and we would verify whatever they wanted. A couple days later, I received a call from a customer service rep stating that they needed another copy of my driver's license and credit card before the order would be processed. I fixed the date on my fax, and then sent them what they needed.

After a few more days, I got another call stating that their manager has flagged my order for suspected fraud, and it would not be processed unless I could explain a few things. At this point, I finally lost my temper, explained what I had gone thru, and demanded the guy get AmEx on the phone right now. Well.. his manager must have been listening on the phone, because he said that would not be necessary.

Finally on August 31st, I received an email with a tracking number stating my order had shipped. So I went to their order status page, and my order, despite already being shipped, was listed as being "rejected". I don't know if Directron has been a frequent target of online scammers, but I do think things are getting a little out of hand over there.

If I knew of any other company that offered what I wanted for a similar price, I would have gone with them. Unfortunately, Directron is unbeatable in this regard. As a former big fan of Directron, I will give them another chance, but at least for the time being, you have to RIDE THESE GUYS DAILY to get your order thru.

***UPDATE*** Received a call from Marc at Directron who seemed genuinely concerned about my trouble ordering and gave me his personal extension in case anything was wrong. Unfortunately, something did go wrong, and FedEx carelessly dropped the system at some point causing more than just superficial damage to the case, cpu fan, and hard drive rails. I can't really blame Directron for the shipping damage, the system was packed EXTREMELY well. Double-boxed in some giant HP printer box, complete with special inner space fillers for the large spaces inside the case, and carefully done bubble wrap around the CPU fan and video card. Judging from the massive bend the rails that hold the hard drives, the impact was massive.
I called Marc, explained the situation, and he immediately started the RMA process for me giving me a number, AND scheduling pickup of the system. So far I am extremely pleased with Directron's response to this unfortunate event."

"Very easy to order. Package arrived quickly. Would order from them again."

"Very easy to work with. Their customer service was a lot better than most online sales companies. Thanks for making my purchase so very easy!!!"

"Fast shipping, packed well, product as advertised."

"I have made multiple purchases from Directron and have always been satisfied."

"I received the lowest price compared to over a dozen websites and 3 major stores. Service was quick and effecient. Mailing date was accurate and product was exactly as what was advertised. I was EXTREMELY satisfied and will look to this website before any other from now on."

"Great company have ordered with them before & will order again"

"Don't let the site fool you, They are in the top 5 if not the single best online computer parts store. I have been shopping with them for years and have bought everything you could possibly need for your pc needs. If your A BYOPC type of person or just need something to satisfy your technological needs, they are the place to shop. I've shopped at Tigerdirect, Provantage, shop.com and others over the years, but Directron is my go to shop. They have great customer service and always pick up the phone not to mention the great discounts, they even give you discounts for assisting other customers on their forums. You could also receive cash for writing tutorials on their forums as well. Its a no brainer, Directron should be everyone's number one online electronic store."

"Good selection at rock bottom prices. Stocked items I could find no where else. Site could have been easier to manage and include more customer reviews. Purchase went smoothly; let's hope the shipping does too. I liked the option to test and double box one of my products."

"Ordered an older P-III mobo (getting hard to find) and hard drive, no problems with order process, shipping, or items. Packing was great, worth the fee for double box. I'll shop here again for sure."

"placed an order for $500.00...was informed a few days later that items were on back order...i cancelled the order with the specific instruction denying Directron.com to charge my credit card...
Directron did charge my credit card and did send a response acknowledging the order cancellation and did claim they would credit my credit card account...as of right now Directron.com HAS NOT credited my credit card account...this is my first time purchasing from this company and it will most likely be my last...in all fairness to Directron.com i will post a response if and when they credit my account...

update 8/18/2007 i did receive another response from Directron.com customer service apologizing for charging my acc't in the first place and an assurance they were going to credit my acc't the very same day....my acc't has been credited...thank you so much for resolving this..."

"They overcharged for freight. I requested USPS priority mail. The item would fit in an USPS Priority Mail flat rate box - $8.95. They charged $18.60 for freight.
After customer service reviewed my email they contacted me and apologized for the error. They corrected the overcharge immediately. Their customer service was the best of any internet merchant I have dealt with."

"Just ordered up another custom system from them. This makes six in 4 years. Knock on wood, I have never had an issue with them and everything was boxed like I'd do it and they give you every box that came with your hardware etc.

Assembly with OS install is dirt cheap at $39. I quit buying OEM computers as I can mix and match parts and if I run into an issue, they call me.

If your a drama queen and require tons of hand-holding and pump the hell out of email and the phone on a purchase you may never go through with ( fantasy shopper) then sure these guys are not ones to play with you for weeks or months. I'm in a different business and I get what they get so I don't bother them until I'm ready to make an official order. If they think it's a bad configuration they will call you.

I just placed my last order yesterday and I await another dream machine. Even in MD. they get it to me fast and damage free. I assume this order will be great as the others."

"order was picked up and I was very satisfied as usual."

"good experince, cheap prices! next closest store was $20 more expensive!"