EBUYER(US) - a Crap Shoot . Here's some gambling advice:
Written: Jan 10 '06 (Updated Jan 11 '06)
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Have placed large computer-related office supply orders at EBUYER twice, one year apart. (printer cartridges, flash memory).
I would conclude from my own experiences thus far, that dealing with EBUYER is a crap shoot - and your odds are 50/50 of having an efficient on-line shopping experience with no human assistance, vs. a problem with your order followed by a very bad customer service experience. Interestingly, ratings of EBUYER here reflect this disparity.
I logged on to this thread in an effort to offer advice to those tempted to do business with EBUYER for the very good reason that you can, and do, save a great deal of money with this company, when they get it right.
Here's what you need to know when making the decision to shop here. CAVEATs, I suppose. My specific experience is at the bottom of the review.
Shopping at Ebuyer is VERY TEMPTING. Particularly if you are shopping for one big-priced item at a time (or a multiple quantity of a small but very expensive item, like flash memory), because it is certainly possible to save a TON of money.
Know up front that the EBUYER shopping experience is "hit or miss", virtual shopping at a vast, blind, virtual warehouse with little human intervention integrated for customer service. You are required to deal with machines, mechanical processes,(computer warehouse protocol) and your experience depends a great deal on the machine's "processes". I really don't think the "customer service" folks at EBUYER can effectively intervene (even if they wanted to) because of the way this business is set up. Low prices here may, in fact, be due to the lack of traditional customer support services, courtesy e-mails, and user-friendly interfacing.
Be aware, that this company, for the most part, has does not support or imposes stiff penalties for RETURNS or exchanges, so you should shop here only for the item(s) you have researched thoroughly and are convinced you want to keep.
FURTHERMORE,you must be disciplined and research the EBUYER site to make sure you understand, and are comfortable with the EBUYER return policy for your particular item.
SCROLL DOWN to bottom FOR SAMPLE OF COMMINIQUE FROM EBUYER regarding returning the items they sent to me instead of items I ordered. (their mistake)
Hint: If you don't understand the "RULES" for returns on your item, or are concerned, you might even want to first participate in EBUYER "E-NOTES", asking questions to get info from EBUYER in writing about the return policy for your item including restocking fees. You might also wish to call the item manufacturer and ask about the warranties for the item when you buy from EBUYER. The manufacturer may be your only recourse for satisfaction if something goes wrong. In many cases problems with the product post sale (even out-of-the-box) must be referred to the manufacturer. Not EBUYER. Ask manufacturer about paperwork you may need, receipts, etc., then verify you can get said paperwork from EBUYER.
If you are satisfied that you can accept the "risk of returns", at the chance of the "reward of savings", a further caveat as to relying on delivery time quotes. The date quoted on your order holds true only if there are no stocking or warehouse blips. It's fair to say many big on-line outfits run into the occasional stocking snag. It's also fair to say, however, that EBUYER does not feel it's necessary to rush on their end in order to rectify problems that occur.
Be aware, you don't ever receive a traditional "receipt" for your purchase. It may be possible to request one; I've not specifically asked for one from EBUYER.
The various EBUYER machines have your account's invoicing history information on them. (Also delays, stocking blips, shipping blips, billing blips.) You have to hunt these down on the website. There are no courtesy e-mails provided by the system regarding orders, inventory blips, shipping delays.
You'll also notice that the EBUYER machines are not terribly user friendly, and not as intelligent or modern as some computerized inventory machines that deal with multple warehouses (Amazon, B&N, Staples, etc.)that you might be used to dealing with.
Be aware that EBUYER charges your credit card BEFORE confirming they have actual stock, and charges your credit card for items and shipping, prior to shipment.
Be aware this company does NOT notify you if the items you have ordered are not in stock. It is your job to discover this (you may discover this only because they miss their shipping date estimates), and contact "customer service."
Please know the website will show items are in stock, when, in fact, they are not. And EBUYER will readily explain/admit (via a call to "customer service") that it's website can be wrong and will shows things are in-stock when they actually are not. They refer to this as a "website problem."
Be aware this company does NOT notify you when it charges your credit card more than was initially quoted when you submitted your on-line order and printed your order form. Furthermore, you will NOT be able to find these extra charges by logging on to your account on EBUYER and checking what's been charged to your credit card.
Likewise, be aware this company WILL CHARGE your credit card for EXTRA shipping, again, WITHOUT notifying you, and you will NOT find these extra shipping charges on your account on EBUYER.
Of course, you can always find these extra charges to your credit card by looking at your credit card bill during time following your order placement while you await shipment. (Which, I heartily recommend you do.)
To be fair, EBUYER will also credit your credit card, without bothering to notify you. In this case you will also not be able to find the credit information through your account on EBUYER. The items showing on the order pages will change, but, there's no record of what was credited or removed. Of course, you can always be pleasantly surprised with such credits when you review your credit card bill.
Hint: I would recommend using your American Express Card for EBUYER transactions, in the event you do have a customer service-related issue with EBUYER. You can make use of American Express's Customer Satisfaction program and let AMEX help you withhold payment to EBUYER while AMEX leans on EBUYER to credit you properly and timely, or otherwise satisfy their obligations under the transaction. You can also use AMEX's on-line statements to watch for those super-secret surprise charges and credits to your AMEX from EBUYER.
Be aware this company readily explains/admits that it's warehouses have coding issues when you are delivered an item you did not order. (also via a call to "customer service") The refer to this as a "warehouse problem".
Be aware, this company charges for shipping by the number of items ordered, and, particularily for a multiple-item order of lightweight items, shipping costs will seem outrageously high.
Be aware this company publishes item return "RULES" in various places on the website. Be aware they have different "RULES" for each item.
Be aware, the company keeps a long list of items that may not be returned to Ebuyer even if proven to be defective immediately out of the box. In fact, some items, if defective out of the box, may not be returned to EBUYER precisely because they are defective. EBUYER only accepts returns on certain merchandise, and then, only if it's in perfect condition.
Be aware, that on SELECT items, ONLY they will take returns and eventually issue an 80% credit if you are persistent, if you can read pages and pages of on-line return instructions, and if you are able to figure out how to work through the difficult and time-consuming on-line return protocols, with little or no help from "customer service". For your trouble returning an item, you will be charged a 20% re-stocking fee. (Thus 80% credit.)
Be aware, the customer service at EBUYER is not really about customer service. EBUYER is not "set-up" to provide actual customer service, however, the folks on the phone are capable of giving you the RULES, and referring you to the website. When you have a problem and call customer service, you should expect to feel condescended to, and to be treated with some disdain if you are having difficulty understanding the processes on EBUYER, or if you expect actual customer service, because that's not what they do. Expect to be given time consuming hoops to jump through, and even actual extra work to do, over a long period of time, in order to obtain a refund or exchange (even if it was a mistake EBUYER has made.)
Please know I found an 800 number for "customer service" after making a number of calls long distance to the pay number. It's on the website, however you must hunt through pages and pages of returns rules in order to find it. For your info: on 1/10/06, the TOLL FREE customer service number provided was:
1-800-218-4013
and it worked. There are various recorded instructions to get through, which all tell you to log on the the website for your answers, but, if you just press your category and hold on to the phone, a human does pick up.
Note: It does no good to consumer-complain to EBUYER, because "customer service" really can only say to such complaints I'm sorry you feel that way" They actually can't help much, and so they do say "sorry" a lot. Whether on the phone or via E-notes. In fact, the EBUYER computer is direct, yet polite.
EBUYER can say "we are sorry for our mistake". This happened to me in my case, where they clearly sent me the wrong item. However, they do insist that you do all the work to make up for THEIR mistake. Therefore, it does not feel like they are sorry. And, of course, if you tell them THAT, then they "are sorry you feel that way". ; )
I think it's only fair to say, your EBUYER customer service problems will eventually be resolved, if, indeed, you are persistent, and if you understand the process and follow the RULES.
But it's also fair to say that it's not a pleasant experience. And there are a lot of RULES. And if you didn't read the RULES in advance as to your item's return-ability, you might indeed discover that your problem is never going to be resolved, because ... it's YOUR own fault you didn't read the RULES, and EBUYER is not responsible in your case for your problem.
The details on my ordering experiences that have led me to give you the advice above:
My first ordering experience with EBUYER was fine - prompt, mechanical, with no errors or blips or need for human assistance, so I eagerly returned for 2nd experience.
For the Second experience the online ordering portion went smoothly as before. I even tried out the e-notes and got a 24 hour reply. However, there were problems with this order fulfillment, and resolving them was very difficult, and certainly an unpleasant experience. (Experience detailed below.)
In spite of good 1st experience, 2nd experience was painful enough that I would not recommend you consider using EBUYERs (in spite of cost savings) for anything other than big priced one item purchase where savings prove to be truly significant. Certainly don't use EBUYER to order long lists of office-type supplies on a regular basis.
During my 2nd experience, quoted shipping costs (for my small, light-weight items) seemed excessive, so I asked question about shipping using the EBUYER E-NOTES process. Got response that wasn't what I wanted to hear, (shipping charge policy - by item, not by weight or shipment) - but at least, I got a response. Apparently, they ship from many warehouses all over the country so, as a rule, shipping costs are based on number of items, not weight, nor actual number of packages delivered.
Prior to ordering my 3 items, I did conduct a comparison of total cost (incl. shipping) from Ebuyer and total cost from other on-line office suppliers (shipping free). It turned out that on this order, Ebuyer yielded savings on the products so significant relative to using other supplier that the excessive Ebuyer shipping was not an issue given total costs. With $33 quoted in EBUYER shipping charges, I was still saving $120 over those shops willing to ship free.
2nd Order - Fulfillment problem:
(Rounded numbers, nearest $) Charge total was $563. EBUYER charged my credit card once for items & shipping, as indicated on my printed on-line order form. Three days later, upon shipping, they charged my credit card again for the same shipping cost. Without notifying me. So, we begin with double charges for shipping, undisclosed. We end up with the product never arriving, and me having to jump through many inconvenient hoops to discover 1) it never would arrive and 2) to get the proper credit to my credit card.
The portion of the items I ordered that did arrive without problem totaled (including shipping)$145.
However, I was sent a box of product I did not order, so called Ebuyer to notify them of the mistake. During this call, I also inquired about the various parts of my order I had not yet received, but had been charged for.
I was then told they didn't actually have the product in stock and never would have), and that the website was wrong. It was explained that EBUYER is not responsible for its website content.
When asked why I wasn't told of this development, they said they didn't know it wasn't in stock until I called just them, and they had researched it just then.
When asked why I was sent the wrong product, in place of product they knew they did not actually have, (and never would have) they explained it was indeed mistake caused by a warehouse problem and due to warehouse coding error. It was explained that EBUYER is not responsible for it's warehouser's problems.
(By the way - I ordered a large quantity box of printer ink cartridges - a box of black and a box of color. And, in place of the color cartridges, they sent me two boxes of a cheap software product. Not even close.)
When asked for credits for $425 in product & shipping I would never receive, I was told that my credit card would not be credited for anything until they had received from me the product they mistakenly did send me. (Product mistankenly sent me was worth $30 x 2 = $60)
When I requested credit for the items they would never send me, less the $60 value of the items I was obligated to return to them, my request was met with disbelief and they asked me if I did or did not have product from them. I said I did, but it was not what I ordered. They told me that because I had product from them, they were not obligated to credit my account until I returned the product. That was one of the RULES. They told me they had no idea what I really had of theirs, and until I returned it, how would they know? They told me I would indeed see the credit in the billing cycle following their receipt and re-stocking and recording of my return.
When asked when they'd send me the prepaid shipping labels to return the things they sent by error they said (on Jan 10, 2006) that "due to the holiday" their "holiday RULES" indicated it could take 72 hours for me to receive (via e-mail) said shipping labels.
I hung up, and waited for shipping label e-mails which did not come as I understood they would come. Instead, what happened next was that I received an e-mail that explained and instructed as to more hoops I needed to jump through in order to begin the "Returns" process. I was instructed to go on their website and use the "Returns" area of the website in order to obtain an authorization code to be authorized to return the item.
I called customer service at EBUYER again to see if I might have better luck with another customer service person.
The 2nd customer service person treated my requests with condescension equal to the first. (At least they are consistent.) And, this service person also was well versed in how to explain to me THE RULES, and was only a bit annoyed I didn't "get" THE RULES the first time they were explained to me. She actually quoted to me the date and time (PST) I was read THE RULES previously, in the event I was fuzzy on when I'd already had the reading of THE RULES.
(EBUYER doesn't actualy use the word "RULES". They sometimes do call it "the process" or "the policy".)
Customer Service person #2 also had the date and time that the e-mail I did receive was sent to me, and knew that it contained all the details I needed, to participate in the returns process, screen by screeen. First I needed to make my on-line request for an official approval from the EBUYER machine - (an approval from EBUYER!) that would approve me as a customer who has been determined to have a problem that is worthy of EBUYER resolving, to approve that the item I was returning was indeed return-able, and to send me confirmation numbers that I could use in the Returns process. Those numbers would respresent that I and my items had been approved to participate in their highly selective RETURNS process.
She also said that if I would simply follow the instructions in the first e-mail correctly on Ebuyer - on-line, that she was certain I'd receive a second e-mail with further instructions and shipping labels, within 72 hours of correctly completing the on-line forms. She did say that she was sure I would be allowed to participate in the RETURNS process, given my situation, but I had to follow the RULES.
I remember feeling ... not much better.
So "goodbye" to "customer service" and back to the computerized website process.
To be fair again,... they are on top of their customer contact dates and times at EBUYER. And, they do know how to use their customer service date and time records as "we already told you what to do" weapons, rather than as tools for dispensing empathy to concerned customers who aren't quite sure things are actually going to be resolved any time soon.
End of 2nd EBUYER shopping experience? Not quite there yet, but .. I have returned the unwanted shipment via the RULES and the process, and am checking AMEX daily for coveted credit to my credit card, have made warning call to AMEX on my EBUYER charges ... just in case ... and after 3 weeks of lending $425 to EBUYER I simply felt compelled to advise others about the gamble of shopping there.
FINAL CAVEAT: A difficult EBUYER experience such as mine could not have been avoided even if I followed my own advice given here. So, if you roll the die, brace yourself - and be willing to take on all of the responsibility for fixing EBUYER's errors.
Thanks for your time, and good luck to you in your gambles with EBUYER. With some effort & persistence, you just might get lucky!
Here's a SAMPLE of just one of the COMMINIQUES FROM EBUYER regarding returning the items they sent to me instead of items I ordered. (this was one reply to my notifying them of their mistake) TRY NOT TO LAUGH, (it wasn't funny!)
Dear Ebuyer Customer:
Below are the instructions for submitting a return:
1 Log into the Ebuyer website by going to www.ebuyer.com and clicking on Login/ Register.
2 Then scroll down and click the link that says return a product.
3 Near the top of this screen you will need to click on Click Here to return a product.
4 Then select the option to search by invoice from the first pull down menu and then the product from the second pull down menu.
5 Once both items have the proper selection you can click on search.
6 At the next screen choose the reason for the return and the required action you would like taken. You will also need to fill in the comment box with detailed information about why you are requesting the return. This is where you should include any case numbers from manufacturers, any pertinent information that you would like to be considered in the returns decision, and specify whether the product is still factory sealed or not.
7 Click Submit and the next screen may require you to click the box that says Agree to terms and conditions.
8 Once your Returns request has been successfully submitted it will give you a request number. *IMPORTANT* If you do not receive a request number your returns request may not have been processed correctly. Please contact Customer Service at 1-800-218-4013.
9 You will receive a follow up email in 24-72 hours that will explain if your return has been approved the email will also give you additional instructions for completing your return.
For further information contact us via our on-line E-Notes System or call our Customer Service Line at 800-218-4013.
Thank You,
Ebuyer Support
*** Please Note that all return requests are subject to the return guidelines***
** Please do not respond to this e-mail, as this address is an unmonitored alias. Please contact us either by phone or using our e-notes system. **
Recommended:
No
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? volume packages of printer cartridges
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wiseoldshopper
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