- STORE REVIEWS
- PRODUCT REVIEWS
2006-06-09
5/5
"Pros: Competitive pricing on items
Large selection
Free shipping on orders $75+
Cons: Great CSRs but difficult to contact
Shipping under $75 can be expensive
Some sections are overpriced (e.g. DVDs)
Overall: Scifi Genre is a great all-in-one source from miniatures to gaming to comics.
I've ordered a large number of items from SciFi Genre and have yet to be disappointed. In terms of wargaming and hobby supplies, such as paints, Scifi Genre has a great selection. In addtion, the site is priced competitively which buttresses their large selection. I will admit that there are areas that are difficult to price lower than MSRP such as DVDs or Video Games. But for items like that I scour stores like Deep Discount or Fry's. Scifi Genre's forte is the niche audience, from the wargaming hobbyist to avid comic book reader. And in those areas the store shines with its great pricing and large selection.
Everything arrives in a timely manner from Scifi Genre and well packaged. This is especially nice since orders over 75 dollars are shipped free. The downside to this policy is that shipping costs for items under this threshold are more expensive to ship. While I like the free shipping on large orders I would be more inclined to purchase items if I was able to simply pay a flat fee for shipping. That way it wouldn't affect my budget on large orders and allow me to order on small ones also.
I have only had to contact the store once to cancel an item on order. Not only did was the cancellation applied but the store upheld the free shipping (as the order dropped below 75 dollars) because of my frequent business with them. But while the staff is very friendly and helpful, there are some communciation problems. Scifi Genre has a telephone number listed on the BBB website as they are an affiliated member (this is reassuring to know). However, the website does not list any number and only provides email contacts. Had I not been recommended Scifi Genre I would not have placed my first order as I do not feel secure when I do not have a telephone number to contact. So for anyone wary like me, rest assured and just check the BBB for the actual contact number. I realize this is not a decision based on shadiness like many retailers, but moreso that Scifi genre has a very small staff and is more able to handle service inquiries by email.
The bottom line is that SciFi genre has a large website with great prices on all things scifi or even remotely related. Purchase in confidence as this is a well run retailer that is committed to customer service."
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2006-06-06
1/5
"I purchased several hundred dollars worth in items from the World of Hobbies and Games on May 22nd. After waiting a week for the items to ship I contacted the shop and was informed that the delay was due to the manufacturer but my order would be shipped out the next day. Two days later I called back as the items had not shipped out still. Unfortunately, the backordered item still had not arrived.
World of Hobbies and Games states on their website that no backordered item will hold up an entire order. Any backordered items will be shipped out at the store's own expense. Well, clearly this was not the case with my order. However, I was once again told that the item would ship by Monday, so I waited several days. Sure enough, I called back Tuesday to find that the order was not shipped!
Needless to say I cancelled my order on the spot. When I complained to the staffer I spoke with, he essentially offered me to follow through with World of Hobbies and Games' shipment policy. That is simply too little too late. It is not proper to charge my credit card for merchandise you do not have and not to ship out anything. If World of Hobbies and Games had not charged my credit card and actually shipped the in stock portion of the order I would have no complaints. But I guess they follow a policy of "Charge first, ask questions later".
Pros: 20% off Games Workshop
Free shipping on order over $75
Cons: You are charged despite backorders
Indefinate delays
Overall: There are a number of e-retailers offering good deals for GamesWorkshop. Don't go through the hassle of backorders with these chaps.
On a final note, I do not believe this store is untrustworthy or in any way unethical. I think the staff are sincere but it is clear they are not prepared to run a website business at all. Online business is a gold mine for small local businesses but at the same time you have to be equipped to handle the additional responsibilities of running a good e-business. I think World of Hobbies and Games simply lacks the ability to do so at this time."
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2006-06-04
3/5
"Pros: Exhaustive selection of DVDs
Eliminates video store hassle(s)
Cons: THROTTLING
Damaged disc policy
Horrible customer service
Did I mention Throttling?
Bottom Line: Netflix is best for the casual viewer who is willing to make sacrifices for convenience.
I have been a customer of Netflix for a little less than a year now and the experience has been tumultuous. The best way to describe my experience is to divide it into three epochs.
The Halcyon Days:
I decided to give Netflix in 2005 as I was tired of the limited selection at the local video store and rising costs of rentals. As I live near the San Jose distribution center I figured I had nothing to lose. By the end of the trial I was hooked. No longer did I have to spend a half hour driving to and from the video store. Nor did I have to deal with poor selection of anything besides a new release. And on top of that, I was saving money overall due to the amount of rentals I have a month. After several months of satisfication with the 3-at-a-time plan, I decided to increase my subscription to 5 moveis at a time. But the good times would not last.
Throttled!
At first I was unconcerned that it was taking awhile for certain new releases to arrive. Who cares if it takes a little longer to get Revenge of the Sith when I have a ton of other great films to watch. But the delay on new releases soon began to expand and more films were on the long wait of my queue. I knew something was rotten in the state of Denmark when Skeleton Key took 2 months to get. In fact, any new release was now a 2 month wait guaranteed for me. I knew Netflix had a policy of throttling but I figured I was not outside of the normal bounds of renting. I subscribed to 5 films at a time and it took me roughly a week to view all of them. But when I mailed them at the same time it would show that they were recieved on different days. Furthermore the turnaround used to be 2-3 days as I lived 10 miles for the distribution center. Now it was 5 for some reason. Enraged I complained to customer service via email and recieved a response that thanked me for the feedback but said (I do not exaggerate heere) that Netflix recieves too many emails so they can't respond to them. Needless to say I dropped my subscription from 5 at a time to 2.
The Present:
Well I still use Netflix as I detest Blockbuster and the local video store is quite small. But now I simply use Netflix for more obscure or older films. Ultimately if you're looking for a video store replacement it all depends on what type of film viewer you are. If you're a film aficianado and view a lot of movies then Netflix is not for you. If you're a casual viewer and looking for something primarily out of convenience (or only rent less popular films)then Netflix is great."
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2006-06-03
5/5
"Pros: Large Inventory
Great Prices & Cheap Shipping
Excellent customer service
Cons: Website design is archaic
The War Store is one of the best hobby and gaming supply stores on the internet. There is a huge inventory of miniature ranges in all genres: fantasy, scifi, and historical. In addition, the War Store sells board games, hobby supplies, and other gaming paraphernalia.
The store is also the de facto Games Workshop store of the internet. While GW does not allow stockists to have online sales anymore, all one needs to do is email the store with a list or call the shop to get a quote. The War Store takes 20% of MSRP on all GW items so it is well worth the extra effort to contact the store.
The best part of buying through the War Store is its excellent customer service. The store is owned by Neal Catapano and chances are if you call you will get Neal. He also provides his direct email and office number in case you have any questions. Shipping through the War Store is quick and cheap as all orders are $3.95 flat shipping through UPS Ground or USPS Priority (Contingent on package size).
The bottom line is that the War Store is the exemplum of online shopping: great prices, large inventory, and customer service that you can reach. For your wargaming needs you can not go wrong with the War Store."
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2006-06-02
2/5
"I purchased two items from Wherehouse; a used item on clearance and a full priced item. Because I was saving money on the used item I decided to swing the extra cash for the other item. Wherehouse emailed me several days later informing me that the sale item was cancelled and that the other item was shipped. Enraged, I searched for a contact number to sort this out with Wherehouse.
Sure enough, Wherehouse no longer has a phone number for their internet sales posted. All correspondence must be through email. To make the long story short, Wherehouse has a good return policy as the return shipping was free. However, the fact that Wherehouse will cancel parts of an order and still ship without further approval is a bad practice. This is exacerbated by the apparent lack of phone support. My recommendation is to avoid Wherehouse as there are a lot better e-retailers out there."
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Ability to determine if a product was in-stock real time
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Delivering products on-time
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Delivering products damage free
Being updated on the exact date the delivery was sent
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2006-05-26
2/5
"Pros: Sales on Pre-ordered items can be great
Cons: Website issues, poor customer service
I've made several orders through Outpost over the years and every time it is a crap shoot in terms of the experience. At its best, Outpost offers some good deals. But at its worst, Outpost is the e-retailer from Hell. Every so often Outpost will have a pre-order special for games, taking $10 off MSRP and offering free shipping. A great deal for the gamer on a budget, but only if you're willing to risk venturing through the Outpost website.
First, you have to wade through the horrible site organization, exacerbated by the unhelpful search feature. Success! Now all you have to do is provide the payment information and you've just saved yourself some money and time in one fell swoop. This is all foiled by the fact that the website often suffers from errors that prevent you from submitting the order.
So you call to place your order with Outpost. Not a problem, except for the fact that the wait time is quite excessive considering the traffic the site gets. Once you get a CSR you can give him or her all the information they need and you'll be on your way, right? Wrong. You have to provide the rep with the item number (which doesn't alwayts work) or more likely, pray they can navigate their inventory better than you can. Unfortunately this is not always the. Finally, they find your item and you place your order. So it took a bit more work to save that $10 but it was worth it, you're a cheap ass at heart. But there's one minor problem. Outpost's inventory system is like everything else, and prone to backorders. After all the work there is a chance you will get an email in a week or two stating that the item is out of stock and that they apologize for the inconveinence. Oh well, back to square one.
The Bottom Line: Sometimes the deals are too good to pass up. But keep in mind that Outpost is run just as well as the local Fry's, and that is never a good thing."
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Ease of checking delivery status
Delivering products on-time
Being updated on the exact date the delivery was sent
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