From: James H. E. Maugham (CaptJHEM_at_waterw.com)
Date: Wed Mar 29 2000 - 14:36:41 EST
Michelle,
Michelle Klein-Hass [mailto:bosslady_at_msgeek.com] wrote:
> Beware Egghead!!!
Beware of ANY online seller.
> They told me that my 365 had a built-in CD-ROM drive, but they were WRONG!!!
>
> They didn't give me enough money as an offset to buy an external CD-ROM
> drive!!!
>
> I will NEVER buy ANYTHING from Egghead again!!!
Some things I've learned the hard way about online sales.
First and foremost, document _exactly_ what it is you think you're purchasing.
Save and print the webpage of the offering and keep them safe. An email to the
seller asking for clarifictaion of the item's SPECIFIC MODEL NUMBER and
description is also handy.
Second, and just as important, pay ONLY by credit card! Any of them are
acceptable but I prefer American Express for their extended warranty offering
and quick problem resolution.
Even Egghead, with their generic declaration that pictures and descriptions may
differ from the item, can be made to uphold a deal. I purchased a _specific_
model of a Sony weatherproof walkman for my daughter last year. The model I
ordered had electronic tuning and 6 station presets. The model I received had
manual tuning and no presets. A phone call to Egghead Customer Disservice
elicited the fact that I should have paid more attention to the disclaimers at
the bottom of the page.
I enlightened the young lady (who was VERY curt and abusive) that, as I had
already notified AMEX that I didn't receive the item I ordered and therefore
wouldn't be paying for what I HAD received, her only option was to issue me an
RMA and credit my account. She refused to do either.
I faxed AMEX the webpage as I had printed it (it was also still up on Egghead's
site!), the cover page for the owner's manual of what I had received in it's
stead and a cover letter explaining the differences that made the item
unacceptable.
Result? A free Walkman. AMEX credited me the full amount and I never heard from
Egghead again.
I use the Egghead/Onsale example here because of Michelle's difficulty with
them, but this method has worked with the WORST of the NYC online mills when I
recently purchased a digital camera. That purchase wound up in a classic
bait-and-switch where what I received was worth about half of what I had
ordered. The only difference there was that I received an RMA by FEDEX two days
after I called AMEX!
Regards,
James
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