Ok so here the low down on mdg, from a ex-mdg sales associate

1>the ads are complete crap, they are tools used by mdg to draw you in. the ads show you vision or apoton computers but are called horizon, so it looks like its a hell of a deal but once you get in the hot seat with a salesman they devalue the ad and up sell you into basicly the same machine for more money. so forget the ads just get your 1000 some dollers and go buy a computer.

2> never "upgrade". agine a tool to draw you in. the upgrades are usaly mail in rebates that you pay full price for but you never get your tax back. so you could save that money and just go buy a better product from staples.

3> watch them salesmen. mdg salesmen are very much like car salesmen. they only get comishion for pay (sad but true)the fact is that for every 20 bucks over cost they sell you they make about 2 bucks or what we called points, extended warrenty is the big commishion maker it only cost about 20 bucks to sell but they will sell it for $99 to $300. i recommend extended warrenty but dont pay more than 100 bucks for it,
if your currious about how much they are making check out the bottom left of the screen. here you will find some apparently innocent numbers and letters that look something like this p41x0p9. the first set of numbers the how meny points they are making on you ( so 41 in this case).

4> time is money. to a mdg associate time is money the longer you stick it out the better price you will get. dont be affrade to get a quoate and walk away and come back later.

thats about all i have to say. mdg dose make good computers but you the buyer must know what your doing. i recently quit mdg and i never signed any kind of contract with them saying i had to keep any info to my self, so this is my poorly writin horribly missspelled public service anouncment to all canadians. shop carfuly, buyer beware, and treat you salesmen well.

Ok, I don't have an MDG store anywhere near me. I am in Saskatoon Saskatchewan. As far as I know, the nearest store is Calgary 600 km away.

Here is my problem, I can not tell what these computers looks like. I call up MDG, they tell me that if I do a credit app, then they can transfer me to a salesman who should be able to help me.

So I do the app, and I get approved at level 1. I talk to a retarded salesperson who tries to tell me "It doesn't matter what it looks like, it matters what is in it" Well, if I cared about that, I sure as hell would not be buying MDG. I have an awesome Toshiba, I am looking for a good looking, cheap, decent laptop. After talking to this poor excuse of a salesman tell me there is no way to get a look at what laptop I am buying without going to the store, (or at least I think that is what he said, being that he could barely speak english, I am not sure) I hang up, and call back to talk to someone else.

So I get someone else on the phone, and level with them "I am sorry to be a pain, I know it shouldn't be up to you to track down photos for customers, that is what your advertising and art department should be doing, but how can you expect me buy a laptop when I have no idea what it looks like. I have no idea about the port layout, nor the contours of it, etc. Is there anyway that I can get a photo? I can't understand a company that does not show photos of what you they are selling (when it is on the net)."

His reply, -laughing- "What? You actually expect me to call up my art department and have them mail you a picture?"

me "If that is what needs to be done to accurately represent your product to a customer, then yes. Or, give me a return policy."

him "Dell and Acer don't show what their models look like either"

me -as I got to their website and ask him to hold on- "Ummm, I am looking at both of their websites, and they both show images of their laptops in detail, not to mention a simple google search will show 100's of pictures of Dell laptops."

him "Well maybe you should buy from them then"

me "Are you kidding me? That is your answer.. buy elsewhere? How are you people in business? Let me talk to someone who actually wants to do their job and isn't a complete moron"

him "I will let you talk to my manager, maybe you can actually convince him to care"

Then, I get managers voicemail of course...

So... I decide to call up Calgary's store... sure enough, they are out of laptops, but he tells me they look like acer laptops, and he probably wont have any laptops for a while because their shipping department "sucks" yes.. he actually said that to a customer on the phone.

So I call up Edmonton's store... they tell me the same thing, but just says there has been a delay in shipping. He tell me to check out the Aspire laptops, because it looks similar to that. So now I can see detailed view of some of the aspire laptops, but I have no idea which model aspire it looks like. Nor, do I actually know that what the store's laptops look like are the same as mdgdiret's laptop. I believe mgddirects are actually last years models?

Mdg Has computer pictures on their website.

I bought an MDG computer 5 years ago,when I knew nothing about them. It broke down after 5 months and I had to threaten with a law suit to get them to fix it. They didn't want to do it.
Their customer service is one of the best I've seen. They also
had put in a generic,cheap motherboard in it,that wouldn't be ok for any upgrades.

All their computers(including mine that I got from them) are very poor quality with flashy names,like "Genuine" or "Intel
Pentium" or "High Speed Ram/Burner". Those are clearly intended for people who know NOTHING about computers. Because they know,that if you know something,it's all..c.r.a.p. For the same price you can go to a normal pc retailer and get a much better,faster computer.
Over last 5 years,I do admit it,they did get a bit better,but you still would pay a lot more than from anyone else.
Even though I am a Dell fan,I'd take a Dell computer instead of MDG's any day of the week.

Now that I work in IT,I would not buy from them a single thing or recommend it to anyone. It's so sad how a such messed up company could grow so big. It's more sad how people still go and buy computers from them. Due to my job I've met quite a few people who bought their computers from MDG and most of them wouldn't buy again from them..ever.

You must work at MDG Stores ,,
to have only good comments.

Don't make the mistake to buy from
them, it is a scamm

It is false advertising
when you go to the store
it is a different story.

It is the worst companies i ve know.

MDG is not a coll company
you are wrong my friend.

Since my last post, I did a lot of google searches on MDG and found a very interesting 2005 adverstisement. From its own flyer, a customer can "upgrade" an ATI PCI-e graphics card to a integrated built-in mobo video card. A politician would have a hard time saying that with a straight face. Only new customers, not knowing anything about computers, would fall for this "upgrade". Draw your own conclusion. How could a computers retailer and its staff honestly believed that this is an actually upgrade? Make you really want to know about the other supposingly "free upgrades"?

Your problem with MDG is not only restricted to Edmonton. My computer did the same thing. They replaced the Battery, Cleaned the computer, Replaced the Power cord and finally acknowledged that the CPU was overheating. Out of twelve weeks MDG had my computer for ten of them. They agreed to replace my computer, but I Had to pay about $200 for a new shell and screen, since they were not able to to put the new parts in my old shell.

I wrote a complaint letter, stating that why I had to pay for a new shell when my laptop was still covered under warranty. I never heard anything back.

Further more about a year later after I got my replacement laptop, the shell cracked because of poor design, which they have changed the design of now. They said that it was not under warranty and accused me of breaking my laptop. 95% of the time I use my laptop on a desk and have never dropped or twisted the screen. I will never buy a MDG computer again.

Wehen I took my laptop in to see if it could be fixed they told me it would cost about $250. Instead of giving them money to fix my lap top I bought a new Dell laptop and am really happy with it.

This has nothing to do with money, it has to do with accepting responsibility for your product.

Their service sucks, their warranty sucks and I advise all my friends, family and employees never to buy and MDG computer and I advise you not to buy one as well.

Heres a question Dennis, you say you're a happy MDG customer, could you enlighten us as to which model you purchased and it's specs as well as the location you purchased it from so we may have the benefit of gaining the awesome deal you did.

I am an MDG employee. I am one of the few that work there and also have a conscience. I hate my job and will be quitting soon once I can find one of similar pay, but I feel it is necessary to inform customers of what is really going on with this computer retailer.
I have been working at MDG for a little over 3 years and have seen all the scams. I will attempt to explain how they work and how you the consumer need to know and report them if you think your a victim of it.
I am not bitter at the computer industry nor do I hate my boss or have any vendetta against the company other then they are ripping people off. You may have seen ads for computers on TV, in the newspaper, and on the radio.
All MDG advertisements prey on customer lack of knowledge of both computer hardware and knowledge of hardware pricing. You will get several different ads and compare them, the thing most don’t see is what is omitted or what is purposely included specifically to draw your eye into having something that the competitor doesn’t have. I’m sure Futureshop Staples and a bunch of other guys do it too. That part isn’t illegal as far a I know.
So now you decide that an MDG computer seems to be a good deal so you try to get one.
There are 3 lines of computers that MDG sells

Horizon
Vision
Apton

Profit on these systems are starting at different levels so your salesperson will treat you differently depending on what you are looking for, Remember all MDG sales persons are commissioned so they often feel that wanting an inexpensive system means you are not worth their time and effort. Sometimes they will even try to convince you they are non-commissioned. It’s a lie.

Lets do TV first.
You call in and ask for a TV system (it doesn’t matter what model it is they all have scams)
First you can’t get any newspaper systems or systems advertised on their website except if it is meant to be sold as a “TV” system. This is because the TV systems are quite a lot more money. But they do offer financing.
The salesperson you are talking to has one job only. Generate revenue while giving the appearance that the customer is getting a good deal. All financing is rated at 28.9% and there is also a financing fee on top. This financing fee is based on the amount of loss the salesperson may expect to lose. I’ve heard as much as $300 and as low as $100 plus there is a shipping fee also that can be the same range. So expect to pay a couple hundred more then advertised in fees just to get the computer. If you say you will credit card they will add 3% for a little extra profit or sometimes if the system is low margin then they will say financing is the only option available. If you mention cash or check certified or whatever you will just start to get transferred around till you give up.
Now if you call and want a bunch of upgrades then they may be nicer to you. Antivirus, floppy drive, more ram, and what ever else you want will all be sold at super high markups. If an OEM antivirus is normally retailed at $12 they will sell it for $49 or more. And then they may actually try to help you if the overpriced upgrade can cover the loss of the advertised systems.
Just so everyone knows
Horizon is normally below cost.
Vision is about zero cost
Apton is normally above cost

With every system they will try to sell upgrades and accessories to improve their profits.

None of this is illegal unless they play the transfer game till you give up.

. I’ve even herd of salespeople taking all the info as though they are going to sell the PC to you and just never put the order in. If you call to check, there will be no record and you will have to start all over. (Most just give up).
Bear in mind that MDG wants to sell computers and most people use financing and pay shipping and buy a bunch of overpriced upgrades and they pay a ridiculous price that after everything is finished is normally 2X more expensive then other big boxed retailers. That’s how MDG makes their money and why they won’t stop doing it.
You can probably also understand how it would be difficult to police this type of sales tactic since its something very hard to prove one customer at a time.

Next is retail.
Retail in store computers is 99% person to person. Almost never phone sales. That is unless it is an Apton system or something with very high profit.
It is hard to summarize all the scams in a few words but ill try.
First the upgrades:
Processor is advertised as a 3.4 Pentium or something like that and a free upgrade to a Duel core processor. So they will give you the slowest duel core processor available at the time 2.8, 3.0 are the 2 MDG are currently using depending on stock. MDG doesn’t even carry any 3.6 Hyperthred processor and the Duel core verson is about $800 more and you won’t get one no matter what. Some of the stores have been known to give a D processor witch most don’t know is a Celeron D at 2.8-3.4 or what ever they feel like. If you bought a PC from MDG check that first and call Consumer affairs first before complaining to MDG. They will simply pretend it was a mistake and give you the lower end Duel core. But most people don’t even know they are getting screwed. Morality plays no part in MDG just $$$ they will often try to please the 2 customers after ripping off the last 50, its all a numbers game.
Ram is often upgraded too; the sales person will always try to talk you out of it though. He will say the upgrade is lower end ram or its much slower or something like that. As an example the ad says 1GB DDR 2 MEMORY free upgrade to 2GB. The sales person will say the 2GB is DDR 1 ram it is older and not as fast. (Saving the company money plus you don’t get that upgrade you walked in expecting to get) or the 2GB RAM is 266MHz speed and the 1GB is 533 MHz so the 1GB is faster. Or sometimes it will be explained that the 1GB is Brand name Ram like Kingston but the 2GB is just generic. This is all just a way to draw you in from advertisements and then screw ya when you get in the door. You the customer would expect to get the same type of ram as the original but that is never the case.
It goes on like that for almost all the upgrades.
The 19” or 20” monitor is generic or only has a short warranty, but this 17” or what ever is cheaper for the store is better so buy that one instead. (saving the store about $100.)
The 250GB hard drive is faster then the upgraded 500GB or the 500GB is generic but the 250GB is brand name.
It has a High speed DVD burner but is not compatible with certain media so upgrade for $ to one that is more compatible. (both are the same drive)
Free Printer after Rebate. The sales person will tell you it doesn’t come with INK so you can upgrade for more $. (Good luck on getting the rebate back) Always read the rebate paper before leaving. We are often told to give out expired rebates. Only 1 out of 100 customers would call us about it after they left.

The sales person will use every angle they have to stop you from getting the upgrades and will always encourage you to buy extras instead.

By the end of the deal 80-90% of customers would be buying a computer that has swapped parts and is ridiculously over priced. Of those customers there would be only 1 or 2 out of a hundred that we scammed would complain. If there was a complaint the salesperson or manager would try to work an angle to not lose any money. Only if they felt it would result in a complaint to better business bureau or consumer affairs will they then give in.

There are many more scams too but it would take forever to list them all. I will monitor this forum and give feedback if necessary. I’m not trying to hurt MDG as a retailer. I just want them to clean up there act so I can sleep with a clean conscience at night. I am no saint and have been part of this company for a long time so feel free to hate me. I do regret being part of it but we all have to eat don’t we.

I was about to go into MDG in about a month and check out their systems and try to pick up one of the ones advertised in the newspaper. I never knew they did such things, I have to thank you guys for being honest.

Wow blah20000, your posts were an eye opener!
Thanks!

Well, where to start..... It seems i'm going through this sort of switch and bait and lying tactic stuff with MDG right now. (warning this will be long)

It started on Saturday. I had been looking at MDG's flyers for a while and they seemed to have really good deals on lately. My wife was coming home from working and shopping afterwards and i told her to rush home so we could go check out their store. It was going to be very close to closing by the time we would get there, but i just wanted to see what the deal with them was. We hurried across the city and got there just before closing. When we walked in a guy helped us right away and didn't seem to mind that they were supposed to be closed in a minute or two. He asked what i was looking for and i told him i was interested in the Apton L. He asked what i'd be doing with the computer and i told him. He proceeded to tell me he'd custom design a computer for me that was more suited to my needs than the Apton L was. He said he'd give me almost exactly the same as what he had at home as his own personal computer. This particular model is supposed to come with a Pentium Core 2 duo 6300 (1.86 GHz). He told me that going with a Pentium D 2.8 GHz would be a better choice (faster AND cheaper). Next he told me how great the motherboard that he was selecting was. I said " oh, that's the 975X from the ad?". Nope he said, it was basically the same thing as the 975 but the 975 was geared for gamers and had three PCI-E slots and less memory slots whereas the 946 he was recommending had more memory slots and only the one PCI-E slot that a non-gamer like myself would need. He said even he "a big gamer" didn't need that motherboard. On and on this went, with him telling us not to get the wireless keyboard and mouse that came with the model (as they didn't work very well) and instead to get the basic keyboard and mouse (cheapest they have) as these would work better. Then he asks about monitors and after i tell him what i'd like he "upgrades" the monitor for me (to the original monitor that is supposed to come with the Apton L, i come to find later) as well as changing the graphics card as well. Anyway, i'm sitting there thinking i don't want to buy anything tonight as i DON'T make impulse buying decisions, especially on bigger purchases. But i'm feeling guilty for making the guy stay 15 minutes late and my wife feels it's a good buy and the salesman seems really geniuine, so i buy the thing. Instead of just putting a deposit on it, i pay for the whole thing with debit, and we go home.

Before we even got home i started getting a bad feeling about this purchase. Maybe it's just guilt over making an impulse decision i thought. Then at home, i started doing some research into the costs of the components he had replaced and looking at the ad for the Apton again. A started to feel like alot of things got downgraded and the price never went down. Of course some "free" things were thrown in - we got a "free" TV tuner and got some speakers at cost "because we were there after closing and the salesmen wanted to get home"

continued....

here is what the ad stated and what we got:

AD: / Reality:
Core 2 Duo 1.86 GHz / Dual Core 2.8 Ghz($80cheaper)
Intel 975X motherboard / Intel 946 ($200 cheaper)
512MB 667Mhz (upgraded to 1G)/ 1G 533MHz RAM
250GB SATA HD(upgrade to 500GB)/250GB SATA HD
18X DVD R/W Dual Layer /16X DVD R/W OEM
BenQ 20" widescreen monitor /BenQ 20" widescreen monitor
Canon Printer/Scanner/Copier /nothing
ATI Radeon 512MB Graphics card /graphic media accelerator(?)
Microsoft Optical wireless /Microsoft basic keyboard
DT 3000 keyboard
Optical wireless Mouse /Optical mouse
Corel Wordperfect Office X3 /nothing
Microsoft Software Bundle /nothing
Microsoft Games Bundle /nothing
no TV tuner /Sapphire Theatrix TV tuner
no speakers /Altec Lansing speakers
7.1 Digital High Def Audio /5.1 Digital High Def Audio
Price (with tax): /Price (with tax):
$1641.94 /$1613.03

OK so i figure now, that this is hardly a deal since the price is almost the same and everything has either been downgraded or stayed pretty much the same. So i make up my mind to try and cancel my order as soon as they open on Monday, get a refund and come back next Saturday when i have more time to analyze the purchase. This is where the worry starts to come in:

I phone the store from work at 10:05 Monday morning and tell someone i want to cancel my work order. I am immediately given the store manager and i proceed to tell him i agreed to buy without having enough time to think through because i felt bad for the salesman staying late. I tell him i want to come in and get a refund and come back on Saturday and re-order. Before i can even finish saying this he interrupts me saying i'll lose my 10% deposit. "Even if i re-order one on saturday?" i say. Yes, because i got a coupon for an express upgrade to Windows Vista they can't give me my deposit back because the coupon is registered to my name and no good to anyone else now. What BS! He tells me it says 10% non-refundable deposit on the work order, which it does (i didn't read it before i signed as i wanted to get out of the store quickly so staff could go home) So then he asks what the problem is with the package. I tell him it seems that i'm getting alot less for the same amount of money. Immediately he asks if taking $100 off the price would help. I say it wouldn't hurt but i really just want more for the money and need some time to make sure this package is what i want. He tries to tell me that alot of stuff had been upgraded and the stuff that was downgraded was only to save me money. So now i have until the end of the week to decide. What i really want is just my money back. I guess 10% of it is gone for sure, but i'm scared there is going to be a fight to get the rest back as the manager said they'd build the computer and if i wanted any different components the'd just swap them for me. I'm guessing when i go ask for my money back he's going to try and tell me i have to take it because they've already built it.

Any advice as to how to get my money back? I'll be going in tomorrow, so barring any advice given tonight i guess i'll tell the rest of my saga tomorrow night.

Wish me luck!!!

Dude dont argue with MDG their whole deal it to take your money and they will most likly play the waiting game and cause so much frustration in your life that losing 10% will eventually sound like a good deal. I've done it before. (unfortunatly)
Just skip by all the nonsence and make a complaint to the better business bureau and consumer affairs. They have had enough complaints already thay yours will be taken seriously. We have always responded to the legal athority faster then a complaining customer. And beleave it or not it will most likely be faster too. And the windows Vista thing is BS your right. They will just get a pack of like 200 keys when its released and only the people that call in to get the upgrade will get one. Most won't even get any upgrade to vista and they definatly will not call you. I'm not a manager or anything but I do know how it works.
Also i doubt they even have any 975 boards in stock we've been sold out for a couple months now and can't order anymore. Did the sales person mention that. Its because hes simply supposed to switch you.. Thats all. Good luck i hope you get your money back.