- STORE REVIEWS
- PRODUCT REVIEWS
2015-04-16
1/5
"Carters, a popular company specializing in children's clothing, needs to get its act together regarding online sales. Until then, you are strongly advised to refrain from doing any business with Carters.
I placed an order online for an e-gift card to be charged to my credit card. Within hours, my credit card company indicated a hold for the amount I charged. However, my intended recipient had not received email indicating receipt of the gift. After a day of still not hearing back regarding the gift card, I spoke to Carters' customer service, and was informed that it takes from 48 to 72 hours for an e-gift card to be processed. Incredible - 3 days to process an electronic transaction with no shipping involved!
That was not all - I was also told that the e-gift card would be sent in two emails: one to the recipient's email address with the card info, and another to the recipient's SPAM folder (yes, intentionally!) with the PIN number. On top of that, I was told the primary email would not TELL the recipient where the PIN could be found; they were expected to call customer service only when they failed to find the PIN so they could be told to look in their SPAM folder. So how much weed do you think their service architects were smoking when they designed this arcane plan?
But it gets worse. A day later, I received an email telling me that my order was cancelled because they could not verify the information I had supplied when I paid for the gift card - but they could not tell me WHAT information was not verified. When I pressed them on it, I was informed that they use a third-party service to do their verifying, and usually an order gets cancelled when it is placed from an IP address that "seems to be different from the billing address." In other words, you can't order from your work place, or while at a friend's house, or on vacation. (And in my case, I ordered from my billing address anyway.)
So, to summarize, Carters is not a place where you want to entrust your information or money. Do yourself a favor and avoid this disaster of an e-tailer until they can figure out how to handle online transactions that actually benefit their potential customers instead of driving them far away as they did me."
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2014-12-19
1/5
"Let me first qualify this review by stating that I did not complete an order with Peachsuite. However, I did speak at length with a sales rep for the company, and I think what I discovered merits repeating here.
I was looking to replace an office printer that I knew to be discontinued by its manufacturer. The only website I found to list that model for sale as new was PeachSuite. They posted a price with free shipping that was reasonable. Skeptical, I called their sales team to confirm the stock just before completing my order. I'm very glad I did.
Apparently, PeachTree DOES NOT NORMALLY STOCK anything. They function as a purchasing middleman, accept your payment in full (!) and only then pass it along to their purchasing agents who generate a purchase order for you. They contact the manufacturer and try to secure the item, which would have to be sent to their warehouse first and then subsequently to you, assuming it was even available.
IN A NUTSHELL, THEY WILL PROCESS YOUR CHARGE CARD FOR THE FULL AMOUNT FOR AN ITEM THEY DO NOT HAVE IN STOCK, AND WHICH THEY KNOW NOTHING ABOUT REGARDING ITS AVAILABILITY FROM THE MANUFACTURER.
Additionally, the rep told me that the price listed on their web page is just an estimate, and subject to change based on what the manufacturer charges them.
Only after several days - if not weeks - of your money being in their hands would you find out your item is not available.
In my opinion, this is a totally unacceptable business practice and you should avoid this company like the plague. CAVEAT EMPTOR."
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Merchant Member
2013-11-15
3/5
"Auto Parts Warehouse primarily sells aftermarket parts for just about any vehicle that may be on the road. After two recent, separate purchases, here are my observations:
The good:
1. Their website is well designed, and it was relatively easy to find exactly the parts I was looking for.
2. Because the parts are not OEM, prices are far lower than what you'd pay for originals. (But see below regarding aftermarket vs. OEM parts.)
3. Shipping is fast and free (if the order exceeds a specified threshold).
4. All aspects of their after-sale communications were excellent.
5. Customer service was available, friendly and, for the most part, very helpful.
The not-so-good:
- Returns are subject to postage and restocking fees unless the part is determined to be defective in some way. In my case, a part did not fit and it took quite some time with the agent to prove the return was justified (I had to provide the VIN and OEM part name to prove my order was correct, etc.).
The bad:
- In BOTH cases, the aftermarket part did not provide an exact fit. In one case, for a power window regulator, the mounting holes did not align, and this could not be addressed with any workaround, so it had to be returned. In the second case - a complete headlight housing - one of the two wiring harnesses did not fit the existing socket. However, I was able to snip the wires and use the old harness - a PITA but the end result works fine.
Because of the above issues, I cannot give APW any more than 3 stars. The business itself is very well organized and staffed, and their prices and services are hard to beat, but if the part doesn't fit, that all goes to the wayside. In my case, it may just have been bad luck (both times), but I have to go by my own experience. Apparently, the older the vehicle, the higher the possibility that aftermarket parts will not fit. Be aware of this when ordering."
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2013-11-15
4/5
"From what I can tell, Trinity Software deals in a "gray" area of software in that they offer non-retail versions of software or registration codes or license keys for software that can be downloaded from vendor sites. Non-retail may be backup CDs or other non-boxed (but OEM) software.
In my case, I ordered a 3-user license key for a popular antivirus package that I already had installed, and which was up for annual renewal. Trinity offered the key for less than half the price that the vendor asked.
The good:
- prices are very low;
- the web site is very clear and informative, and provides every detail you might need to know about what they're selling and what you should expect to receive;
- customer service was very friendly, responsive and helpful;
- after-the-sale email was immediate and helpful;
- the license key they provided was valid and legal.
The not-so-good:
- Apparently, out-of-stock circumstances are not shown on the website;
- The provisioning of the license key in my case had to be performed manually, so even though my purchase was for only a key, it required human intervention. Not a big deal, but a minor nit.
In summary, I can recommend Trinity Software to those who fully understand what they will be getting. Potential buyers need to carefully read the terms of sale and all technical details regarding the software. With those caveats, it seems to be a very good site to acquire software at highly competitive prices."
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2013-09-20
3/5
"Here's a brick and mortar shoe store somewhere in Indiana that managed to latch onto a very good domain name, shoestores.com. I recently ordered a pair of shoes from them, and here are my observations.
The good:
1. Their website is nicely designed and organized.
2. Their selection is good, including some items not found on the two big competing sites, zappos and shoebuy.
3. They promise to meet or beat competing prices on the same item.
4. Free shipping both ways is offered.
5. After-the-sale emails were sent confirming the order, and providing other details and links, etc.
6. No tax is charged for out-of-state sales.
The Not-So-Good:
1. In my case, the price of the shoes was identical to the manufacturer's retail price. No discount was applied at all.
2. Some of the links in their emails were invalid.
3. There is no stocking information on their website and no way to tell if an item is actually stocked by shoestores.com.
4. The free shipping offer is limited to purchases of $70 and over.
5. Communication with customer service was spotty. One of my emails was "lost in the shuffle," according to a subsequent response.
The Bad:
1. The shoes I ordered were drop-shipped. This means that shoestores.com actually did not stock the shoes, but instead simply passed on my order to the manufacturer. Because of this, no tracking information was initially provided and I had to email (twice) to get that information.
2. The transfer of my order to the manufacturer added about a week to shipping time.
3. When the drop-shipped parcel arrived, it contained no paperwork at all, nothing reflecting my transaction with shoestores.com, no return labels, no invoice and no instructions on how to return them if I wanted to. According to their website, returns must be initiated by sending an email. This is where they fall very far below the convenience of their competition.
In summary, I found that shoestores.com is trying, but not succeeding, to compete with the big-boy competition. When I learned that my order was transferred to the manufacturer to be drop-shipped, I investigated that manufacturer's web site and found that not only was the price the same, but they also offered free shipping. Additionally, the manufacturer is geographically closer to me than shoestores.com. Therefore, there was no benefit whatsoever in purchasing from shoestores.com. However, I give them credit for at least including what I was looking for on their web site. For that reason alone, I would say shoestores.com may be worth a visit if you don't find what you're looking for elsewhere."
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2013-07-16
1/5
"I'll make this short and sweet. This vendor has a very enticing website with competitive prices, and free shipping on some items or when orders exceed $50. However, THEY DO NOT INDICATE ON THE WEBSITE WHEN AN ITEM IS OUT OF STOCK OR BACKORDERED, and they do not inform you of this during or after the sales process. The item I ordered was backordered and not due in for over a month, and there was absolutely no communication from Pet Street Mall indicating this. For this reason alone, I recommend you stay far away from this vendor."
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2013-01-05
1/5
"This basement operation is another instance of getting exactly what you pay for: very little. The rock-bottom price with free shipping was too hard to resist. After two weeks of no delivery and multiple emails requesting a status, I was told the item had shipped on December 21st. Only after subsequently filing a claim with PayPal did I finally receive the tag, bearing a postmark of January 2nd. The steel dog tag I did receive is virtually worthless, as the engraving is so small and shallow that it is close to invisible. I recommend that you save yourself the time and trouble and cough up a few extra dollars for a more professional vendor."
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2012-10-25
5/5
"After exhausting all resources on the internet looking for a reasonably-priced rolling catalog case, I found that ebags.com was the only vendor who not only had exactly what I was looking for, but offered it at a very good price. Some of the reviews here made me hesitate, but upon further analysis, it seemed that they were either questionable or solely related to misunderstandings, so I took a chance and ordered from ebags. I'm extremely glad I did. Here are my observations:
1. Their web site is very good. It's well laid out, easy to navigate, and provides very detailed photos and descriptions.
2. Prices are extremely competitive. In my case, shipping was free and no taxes were imposed. This made the bottom line unbeatable.
3. Although I didn't have to take advantage of their offer, apparently returns are free (ebags will pay the return postage) for a refund or an exchange.
4. Communication was excellent. I received immediate verification of my order, and also a subsequent notification of shipping, with tracking information supplied.
5. While shipping was not lightning fast, I received my bag in one week, which was fine.
6. Most importantly, the bag I ordered was perfect in every way, and even nicer than I expected. A leather case such as the one I received would cost at least double in a department store or a luggage store.
In summary, my transaction with ebags was positive and rewarding in every sense. Perhaps the prior negative reviews triggered a response in their staff to improve their service - which apparently seems to be the case. I will certainly look to them for future luggage needs."
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2012-09-02
4/5
"Judaica Savings is a small retailer of Jewish religious and cultural wares based in Brooklyn, New York. I ordered a gallon of lamp oil from Judaica Savings and here are my observations:
1. Their website is clean and reasonably easy to navigate. The items they sell are well presented with substantial details included.
2. Prices are competitive, although not the lowest.
3. JS accepts most credit cards as well as PayPal, a big plus.
4. Order status can be checked online. Order fulfillment was not the fastest, but very reasonable.
5. Shipping was slightly high, and tax was charged on the shipping. As a NY resident, I expected tax on the merchandise, but tax on shipping was an unpleasant surprise.
6. Packing was minimal and poor, and I was surprised the shipment got to me intact.
7. Email was answered relatively quickly and with welcome, professional courtesy.
Overall, the transaction was fine but there is room for improvement."
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2012-09-02
4/5
"Located in the heart of Amish country in Ohio, Lehman's is a home goods and hardware brick-and-mortar retailer with a very impressive web presence. I recently ordered two hurricane oil lanterns from them and here are my observations.
1. Their website, although somewhat busy, is extensive and very well constructed. Finding what I wanted, as well as some useful information about their goods, was easy and rewarding.
2. They carry a very large inventory of hardware and home supplies, and their prices are highly competitive.
3. I did not sign up for an email-based login account but instead ordered without one. Their website does not provide a way of checking order status without an account, a small but annoying nit. I had to call customer service to ascertain its status. I got through to them with no wait and the woman I spoke with was very friendly and helpful.
4. The lanterns were packed professionally and with great care. Shipping was reasonably fast and inexpensive ($10) but unfortunately they use "UPS Surepost" which delivers the package to a local US Post Office who must then take over the delivery to your address. This almost always adds at least one extra day (and sometimes more) to the delivery time.
To summarize, I was happy with the entire transaction overall and I would not hesitate to order from Lehman's again. If they would modify their website to allow order status checking via order number and some other secure information, and change shipping to regular UPS, they would easily earn five stars."
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2012-05-01
2/5
"EMTC sells accessories for electronics, including TV remote controls, cell phone chargers, cables, etc. This review is based on my purchase of an OEM replacement remote control for a TV.
EMTC's website indicates that they carry remotes for almost every TV on the market. While almost everyone sells "universal" remotes, EMTC seems to specialize in original equipment from the manufacturer (OEM) and their prices are very competitive.
THAT BEING SAID, I was happy to order a "Genuine Original Element S0702142 Remote" since I wanted the OEM device which provided functions very specific to the TV that are not available in an generic or universal remotes. The website indicated that the item was in stock.
A week or so later I received a generic, universal remote, with no explanation of why the OEM item was not sent. They simply made the substitution without asking my permission. Additionally, the cheap, generic remote they sent is available in my local pharmacy for half the price I paid EMTC.
A very negative aspect of EMTC's online ordering is that there is no provision for checking the details of your order. Additionally, their order status email, although timely, do not identify any details of your order. It's virtually impossible to see what item(s) you ordered after the fact.
Using their "30-day, no-questions-asked" return policy, I returned the unwanted item and was credited for it, but my return postage was out-of-pocket and not credited.
The unauthorized substitution, the lack of order details anywhere, and the failure to refund my postage are the basis for my rating.
I will not be returning as a customer to EMTC.com anytime soon. Caveat emptor.
************** IMPORTANT NOTICE ***********************
emtc solicits positive reviews at resellerratings.com with their orders. Additionally, an extremely large proportion of the five-star reviews of emtc in this forum are from submitters who provided only that review and no others. I suggest that you treat this circumstance with suspicion and give more credence to those reviewers who have reviewed several different vendors.
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2012-04-20
3/5
"I think it's important to understand a few things about DHgate to get some perspective here:
1. DHgate is NOT a vendor or seller. It is a central online service for individuals to market and sell their goods (much like ebay or etsy). Therefore, although your transaction is handled by DHgate, all other factors (pricing, quality of merchandise, shipping, communication, etc.) are the responsibility of whatever individual you're dealing with.
2. DHgate is entirely a Chinese operation. All of the sellers and all of the wares are based in China.
3. The quality of some of the Chinese goods being offered can be extremely low. Fakes, knock-offs and generally poor-quality items are rampant.
4. After-the-sale support is rarely dependable. Remember, you're dealing with people whose first language is Chinese, and who have little or no means to handle returned goods or otherwise address problems.
5. It is highly risky to order anything of value that seems like a substantial "bargain." For exampe, ordering a wedding dress online is probably foolish regardless of the site, but ordering one from China borders on insane, and ordering from DHgate - where it's actually coming from someone's garage, is beyond understanding.
6. HOWEVER, ordering small, cheap items (like those you'd find in the local "Dollar Store") is probably the only safe way to use DHgate.
7. Use a reputable payment facility like PayPal where you can hopefully get your funds returned to you if there's a problem.
ALL THAT BEING SAID, my experience with DHgate was perfectly fine. I ordered a dozen pairs of sunglasses for a party, and although the shipping took about two weeks, I received them exactly as described. Shipping was free. I was able to use PayPal to protect my purchase. DHgate provided several emails related to the transaction status, including tracking information from Hong Kong.
In summary DHgate is fine so long as you use it with caution and with the knowledge of whom and what you're dealing with, and limit your liability to very low-priced purchases."
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2012-03-19
2/5
"UPDATE:
After using a Bones softball bat relatively few times (less than 50 at-bats), my team found that the bat offered no pop at all and was discarded from our equipment bag. Because of its unusual slim taper from knob to end, we will only use it as a fungo bat.
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Bones Bats is a small company that manufactures and sells "professional" hardwood bats for baseball and softball. The company is owned and operated by former major leaguer Javy Lopez. I ordered a custom-designed softball bat and here are my observations.
1. Their website is clear and easy to navigate. Their product lines are well-delineated. Some of the site's information is just fluff (like the blog). There is a very nice feature to customize the bat you're ordering.
2. Prices are competitive, especially considering the they will make a bat to order for you.
3. Shipping was slightly high but within reason. The bat was well packaged, and most importantly, Bones Bat stuck to their promise of getting a custom-made bat manufactured and sent to me within 15 days. I received mine in exactly 15 days.
4. The quality of the bat looks and feels very good, and my specs were met exactly as I requested. I've yet to actually use the bat, so I'll update this review once it gets field-tested.
5. I received an email order confirmation immediately after ordering. The only problem I encountered with Bones Bat was related to subsequent communication. I was not able to check on the status of my order online, and when I emailed them, there was no response at all. Soon after I had placed my order, I did receive a personal email from Javy Lopez informing me that production might be delayed due to weather-related problems at their manufacturing site. This was nice of him, but his email included all his customers' email addresses in plain view, earning an "E" from any scorekeeper.
In summary, I as pleased with Bones Bat, but I'd like to see their after-the-sale communications improved. If the bat lives up to its touted quality, I'll be back for more."
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2012-03-15
5/5
"Bows 'n Ties is a San Francisco-based operation that sells men's ties, a few women's scarves, and related accessories. I purchased a silk tie from them and here are my observations:
1. Their website is beautifully laid out, easy to navigate, informative, and provides excellent images of their wares.
2. Their selection of ties is classy and elegant, and satisfyingly absent the dopey novelty and other ugly ties that clog up many of the other ties-only websites.
3. The quality of the tie I received was excellent, and thread-for-thread as good as or better than similar ties at Brooks Brothers or Neiman Marcus that cost 5 to 10 times as much.
4. After-the-purchase communication was exemplary, with emails at every step of the process, including tracking information with easy links.
5. The tie was wrapped, boxed and shipped carefully. Shipping charges were reasonable and shipping was fast.
In summary, Bows 'n ties provided a pleasurable shopping experience from beginning to end and proved to be a model web vendor. If they have the tie you're looking for, don't hesitate to order from Bows 'n ties."
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2012-03-14
2/5
"Dessy.com, or “The Dessy Group,” also known as A & M Rosenthal, is a wedding apparel vendor located in New York City (their corporate office is in the same building as the somewhat famous Kleinfeld’s). My recent experience with dessy.com revealed that basically they’re an old-fashioned bridal schmata business that hired a very good web designer for their online presence, but they have a lot of learning and experience to gain before they can be considered a good online source. Here are the details:
The good:
1. Dessy’s website is spectacular. It’s extremely well-designed graphically, and presents their product lines clearly, comprehensively and with stunning use of images, colors and layout. It’s a model website (no pun intended) for this type of vendor.
2. They offer a large collection of wedding formal wear, primarily for women, although many men’s accessories are available, and many of those accessories are specifically coordinated with bridal party gowns and dresses.
3. From what I can tell, their prices are competitive.
The not-so-good:
1. Dessy.com’s after-the-purchase customer service is very poor. From what I can tell, their website is supported by a technician-for-hire, but anything that has to do with the actual purchase gets referred to someone else. Email responses are achingly slow; the quickest response I got (using their “contact us” link to initiate a return) took 2 days, and that response simply referred me to someone else’s email address, after which it took another 3 days to get a response.
2. Their product descriptions are carefully worded to avoid anything that might reveal low quality. In my case, a tie and pocket square were described in flowing terms like “duchess satin” but which turned out to be cheap polyester made in China. I had arrived at the page for these accessories from the site’s “Silk ties” link, so I was quite surprised that what I ordered was not silk.
3. Shipping charges were very high, and were not variable based on the order.
4. Order fulfillment was very slow, and communication was totally lacking.
5. Every step of the return process was a very slow and mistake-laden experience. Dessy’s staff could not handle the fact that I wanted to pay for return shipping myself (and not use their overpriced shipping), could not accurately calculate the return amounts due, ignored most of my simple and straightforward emails, and the entire return process took many weeks before they finally got it straight.
In summary, I think dessy.com needs to acquire and train a staff specifically for its online business. This old-fashioned garment-industry business needs to advance to the digital age and understand the online business model. I was taken in by the flash and quality of their website, but totally put off by the experience of dealing with The Dessy Group as a consumer. With unknown web vendors, I gauge their overall performance by a trial purchase such as this one. Perhaps my experience is indicative of how a small purchase is treated by dessy, and perhaps I might have received better service had I dropped several thousand dollars on their goods, but I will never find out. Are you willing to risk YOUR money for such an important occasion with this type of customer support?"
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