I agree. If they are so bad then why have people been buying them for years on end? When I purchased an MDG laptop a little while ago, I could not help noticing that the place was actually busy.

Come on folks? Does one bad apple spoil the entire bunch. If I believed all of the negative hype about big name consumer brands on community blogs then I would be shoeless, clothed in olive branches and consume grass. : )

That's a good point. Opinions are just thAT. You need to look at the facts. They advertise all the time. Why do they have so many stores across Canada, if people aren't buying the products?

I just read that MDG Computers is now operating in Staples Locations in London, Ontario. They must be doing something right. As well, MDG stores are all over Canada. A company selling junk would not be able to grow to such a level. So what if people don't like their advertising. So what if users don't like their sales approach. There are obviousely more satisfied customers than not. I am one of them.

This is my first time doing this, so I'm obviously brand new to this site. I need a great computer, with a humane price. I mainly want it for writing and recording music. I don't think I want to go with MAC though because I'm completely Unfamiliar to it. I'm here because I've been curious about MDG for a long time but have heard negative. I would love to know the truth. I'm also thinking about DELL. I have heard there gear is great, but there service is challenging. Can you give me some input?

I just went through and thinned out the MDG posts in the message boards, as they were generally repetitive. If you want to discuss MDG computers, I would suggest you write a review of the company or the system on Epinions rather than hitting the message boards with it. It will be seen by a larger group of people, that is for sure...

However, I have tried to steer the folks who post here in this direction before and it seems to fall on deaf ears. Barring this, I would ask that any posts regarding MDG computers be kept to this particular thread. If we start balooning out to multiple threads again they will be deleted... Thanks.

IVplay

I am a salesman for MDG. Let me clear a few things up.

MDG uses NEW Intel motherboards and processors, NEW Western Digital HDDs, NEW memory, NEW EVERYTHING. I say again, the components are all new, fresh from the box.

Horizon systems are built at the head office, not in the store, and it shows. They are $799 for a reason people. Don't get angry with me if I tell you that Horizons do not have a PCI-E x16 slot. What do you want for $799 anyway?

I'm not here to rip you off, or to score super high points off you. All the employees at the store I work for know our computers, inside and out. I'm here to listen to what you want to do with the computer, and suggest a reasonably priced solution. That is all. Preferably it would be something I can build custom for you so that you can really see what MDG has to offer as far as performance and quality.

As far as the advertising goes, even as an employee, I hate it with a fierce passion. Free this and free that. And most times the free stuff is free for a reason. Think about it. The advertising is the only thing that sucks about my job, and sometimes I think it hurts MDG more then it helps. But you know what? It gets people in the store. Period. That is why advertising exists for any company.

I like our computers so much I got one for my parents, and I recently bought a laptop from MDG for my wife, and they have both performed flawlessly.

I tried to purchase a Notebook as advertised on their website. After being insulted and argued with the local manager at Edmonton, AB about the validity of what was advertised and what I was being offered, I decided to contact their main office.

To my dissapointment they were no better.
They basically told me that the advertisment on the website was a mistake and they would not honour the product and price. However they would be happy to sell me this same product for $500 more!!!

Nice try!
In my books this is called false advertising, or you could just call it a scam.

I'm now taking my case to Consumer Affairs and wherever else I can, to expose these scammers. I will send letters with all the paperwork I have in my posession to as many newspapers and magazines as I can.

Companies like MDG will have to stop treating consumers this way.

Be aware and stay away from MDG!

A friend of mine had a similar experience; however the outcome was quite positive. A higher end processor was included in a configuration for an entry-level machine. The owner or manager of the store in Scarborough mentioned that it was a misprint; however he would honour it in the form of a price reduction on a better PC with more bonus upgrades than were offered in the paper. She left the store with a bundle of software and hardware goods, as well as better laptop to suit her interests.

Elliot,

I am not sure how to take your post. From reading it literally it sounds very much like a bait-and-switch tactic. Did your friend end up paying more for the system that she walked out with than the advertised special? If this is the case, the store may never have intended to sell the system in the ad, but knew it would draw folks in. Then when they are there the salesmen can use aggressive selling tactics to get the person to buy the higher-priced, higher-profit notebook...

Again, I don't know if this is what happened, but it seems to follow from what I read in your post. Thanks for any clarification!

IVplay

And this is exactly what it is IVplay.

Sounds to me that they use this tactic a lot to attract customers in their stores and then upsell them more expensive computers.

There's always the excuse: "oh, it was a misprint...", or "we ran out of this particular model...but we have this other one we can sell to you for X dollars more".

They're unbelievable. 3rd world tactics which unfortunately work with many unsuspecting customers.

Then there's more to their scamming tactics. They advertise on the newspapers andin their website desktops and laptops with an "Intel Pentium M" processor.
Little do unsuspecting customers know that they are really getting a CELERON M processor in their computer!

It happened to me when I tried to purchase the notebook I mention in a previous message. The store owner insisted I was getting a dual core CPU but when I asked to see the box he showed me a CELERON M box and insisted that CELERON M CPUs are dual core and also that Pentium M and Celeron M is the same thing, something that is, of course, far from true.

Generally, I would never trust to buy a computer from them and I would advise whoever did buy a desktop or notebook from MDG to open it up and check the components they got. I'm pretty sure that most of you will be in for a surprise...

They discounted the value of a better laptop in lieu. They also added hardware and software at no additional cost. At the end of the day my friend walked out with a better deal in hand. From what I have heard, everything is in working order.

elliot I'm sorry to say that what you describe doesn't sound like MDG at all.

Here's a link to an advertising complaint report at the Advertising Standards Canada: http://www.adstandards.com/en/standards/adComplaintsReports.asp?periodquarter=1&periodyear=2005

This is not the only one of course. There's a wealth of complaints in many websites such as Complaint.com etc.
I, myself, filed a report with the Consumer Affairs lately and I was informed that they have a huge number of complaints filed against them for similar issues.

They're also notorious for watching forums and spamming real consumer complaints with "happy customer" replies.

Elliot, do you work for MDG by any chance?

I've been a computer tech. for over 10 years. MDG Computers are cheap and the parts are cheap. If you pay half the price for a computer with the same hardware configuration than a "major" brand, you must realize that there's a catch. As for everything, if you pay less you get less quality. My best friend, sadly a "computer beginner", bought few months ago a $1200 computer from MDG. 6 months later... Monitor replaced twice, mouse replaced, system board replaced. He still like his "FREE" scanner and printer... Whatever!!!

Thought I would chime in with my recent experience with MDG salespeople. Last weeks paper had a flyer from MDG(no taxes until Friday 9:00pm,lots of free software), and as we were in the market for a laptop, decided to give them a try. Came here first looking for opinions regarding their computers, and was a little skeptical regarding all the negative comments, however...
First stop, Montreal East store, see a salesman and show him the flyer. Wanted the Aptonbook 6000. He tells me "we don't have that but let me show you something similar" it's an Acer, smaller screen, larger harddrive cdrw not dvd burner and $200 more (small alarm bells). I ask him if I can get it tax free like the Aptonbook he says no. I tell him I'll try another store (there are 2 on the island). He goes on to tell me the store was broken into and the stock was stolen, then that he sold 28 that day. I'm gone.
I call the Dollard store on the West Island and am assured by a woman that they have the Aptonbook in stock, that they always have stock. Fight rush hour traffic across the island, get to the store, get directed to a salesman, and guess what? No Aptonbook, but they have something similar I might be interested in. Another Acer. By this time I'm livid and tell the salesman (rather loudly) that I had checked out Epinions and was skeptical regarding all the negative comments, but that perhaps all the negative comments were valid. I was not offered a raincheck, nor an apology.
I decided to check out the Laval store as it was on the way home (to confirm my fears?). Show the salesman the flyer, and to my amazement he tells me he has an Aptonbook in stock. However, it's $1157 not $977 as in the flyer. He tells me the model in the flyer is a 2005 model and the one on display is a 2006. Not only that, but that the one in the flyer comes with a battery that only lasts 30 minutes and a regular battery will set me back $250.
There you have it-maybe just bad luck, maybe not. Anyway, yesterday I ordered a Dell (roughly the same price but not loaded with software), and with it I got an extension number of a person I can deal with

I'm not surprised. As you can see this is a common tactic for MDG. All they're trying to do is just lure you in their stores and then "reveal" that the advertised PC or laptop is "magically" sold out on all of their stores.
One can only laugh with MDG...

An update on my case: I filed a report with Consumer Affairs and I'm waiting to find out if they can do anything about MDG (which I doubt...). If everyone who had problems with them would file a report we could make a difference, and show them that they can't treat consumers this way.

This company is a disgrace to Canadian ethics...

Hi:
Well. how gullable I am, despite reading all the negative report about this MDG company, I got tricked into going to their Calgary store over the Victoria long weekend w/ their no gst advertisement on a horizon desktop with lot's of free upgrades and software. Anyway, I went in asking for the system, and the salesman Jay told me that it's available, well, I thought maybe the Calgary outfit is better. He did try to do his job into upselling other stuff and tried hard to convince me not to go with the upgraded memory and 19" monitor as they are both inferior. anyway, I went to get gas and went back 15 minutes later and told Jay to write it up as it was advertised in the newspaper, nothing more nothing less, just what's advertised. When he didn't take out the paperwork, I immediately knew something was wrong. By now you can probably figure that they now say they don't have all the part available. Why didn't he tells me the first time. Oh, by the way, MDG doesn't answer their phone, I tired calling them 5 times on 3 different days, and they just don't answer

Actually, what is viewed here are isolated incidences that I don't believe should be reflected on the company as a whole - I'm not going to blame Mr Nash for MDG's failings. Instead, I will reserve my disappointment for the specific people I have dealt with. My experience with MDG is absolutely dreadful. I received no help from the salesperson, my questions went unanswered – in fact, he simply typed in the order without discussion with me. His demeanour was not welcoming at all. He didn't even attempt a dialogue with me as we waited for the data to be processed on his computer - I felt as though I was intruding on his day and that my patronage was unwanted. I made the purchase with the understanding that I would receive the computer in 2 to 3 working days. However, I am now told that I will have to wait 2 more weeks for the computer. Today is Wednesday and I made my purchase last Wednesday. And so, although I might have saved $400, I am out a computer three weeks and inconvenienced without compensation. I'm now wondering if it's worth the cost of waiting. It is my intention to ask for my money back and shop somewhere else. In all, I'm extremely disappointed and upset.

I agree that there are isolated incidences posted on this board. My experiences with MDG have been quite pleasant. I have purchased several machines from MDG for both home and business use. And to be quite frank, they are all in good working condition. From what I noticed, MDG has taken steps to help resolve customer issues.

On another site, the quality assurance manager posted his contact information. Why don't you just email him?

Name: Fran McLoughlin.
Email Address: fmcloughlin @ mdg.ca